First-time homebuyer of a unit of real estate – how to file the transfer tax return and ask for registration

When purchasing a piece of property as a first-time homebuyer, you are  exempt from transfer tax only if the deed of sale or other agreement is signed before 1 January 2024.

If you are a first-time homebuyer and buy real estate, which is only partly covered by the exemption offered to first-time homebuyers, and you are not sure what the exact amount of base is, you can ask the Tax Administration to prepare a statement.

For example, only a part of the purchased real estate will entitle you to the first-time homebuyers’ exemption when it not only includes the land where you are going to build the house but also some fields, woods, or other sites or lots where a house can be built.

You can submit a free-text request in MyTax or complete Form 6020e, Request for a statement for registration of title and other legal confirmation. Enclose the following documentation:

• a photocopy of the deed of sale or other contract (if real property had been transferred, the contract must additionally contain a public purchase witness’s signature)
• calculation and estimates, based on adequate reasoning, of how the purchase price has been divided. Enclose other documentation as appropriate.

Read more about how to ask for a Tax Administration’s statement

If you have bought a building site or plot before 1 January 2024 and you plan to build your first home on that site, you may be entitled to the first-time homebuyer’s tax exemption if all other requirements are met. However, you must first file the transfer tax return and pay the transfer tax on the land or plot purchased. You must also ask for the registration of your title to the property from the National Land Survey of Finland.

You can request a refund of the transfer tax you have paid after the construction is finished, the house has passed the final inspection, and you have moved in and started to use the house as your permanent home. You can submit the refund application in MyTax or on a paper form. If all the requirements for tax exemption are met, we will refund the tax you paid.

Example: Property (piece of land) is sold on 31 December 2023. The buyer builds a detached house on the property. The house is completed on 15 November 2024 and is used for permanent living as of that date. The buyer applies for the registration of their title to the property in January 2024. The transfer tax return is filed and the transfer tax is paid according to the new 3% tax rate before the request for title registration is submitted. As long as the other requirements are met, the buyer qualifies for the first-time homebuyer’s exemption from transfer tax. After the house is completed and in permanent residential use, the buyer can request a refund of the transfer tax they have paid.

Requirements on the site of a building

If the requirements for the first-time homebuyer’s transfer tax exemption are otherwise met, please note that the exemption applies to no more than the plot area defined in the zoning plan. The tax exemption can also be granted for building sites in unzoned areas. In that case, the site exempted from tax is the building site used as the basis for the calculation of real estate tax. However, the maximum area that can be exempted from tax is 10,000 square metres.

The exemption applies to the land and to the residential properties located on it (a detached house and an outbuilding, for example).

You must therefore pay transfer tax on the part of the purchase price that is related to any land or property outside the tax-exempt maximum area. This may include woodland, field areas, or other building sites, for example. In this case, you must present a justified estimate of which parts of the total purchase price are for which pieces of property.

Alternatively, you can ask the Tax Administration to give you a statement on how much transfer tax you have to pay.

Read more about the first-time homebuyer’s exemptions when buying real estate (in Finnish and Swedish only, link to Finnish)

In a planned area, the exemption from transfer tax applies to no more than the plot as it is set out by the local zoning plan. If you have bought a site in an area that has not been zoned, your maximum exemption from transfer tax is for 10,000 square metres. This definition only limits the maximum tax-exempt size of the building site. The site used for the calculation of real estate tax is considered to be the tax-exempt building site.

You must pay transfer tax on the part of the price that you have paid for any land outside the tax-exempt maximum area. Examples of what you must include in such a price would be what you paid for woodland, field areas, or other sites suitable for construction of houses. In this case, you must present a calculation that shows the consistent parts of the price.

Alternatively, you can ask the Tax Administration to give you a statement on how much transfer tax you have to pay.