Scam messages have been sent out in the Tax Administration’s name. Read more about scams.
If you are based outside Finland and you plan to buy a house, apartment, corporate stocks or other assets here, you must obtain registration with the Tax Administration before closing the purchase contract. After you have become registered, you can submit a transfer tax return and pay the tax – not before.
The requirement to be registered concerns natural persons and legal persons alike. References to ‘based outside Finland’ in this guide mean foreign citizens or foreign companies, having no Finnish personal identity codes or Business IDs.
You can request registration yourself. If you are buying Finnish real estate, stocks, etc. with the help of an agent, realtor, or other representative, you can authorise that person to request registration on your behalf.
After your registration is complete, you are issued a bank reference number for transfer taxes. To pay transfer tax, you must have that number.
You will also be issued an artificial personal identity code. It is necessary to enter the code on the transfer tax return. Companies and other legal persons are issued a Finnish Business ID. It is necessary to enter it on the transfer tax return.
Submit a request letter in free text, indicating that you are requesting registration with the Finnish Tax Administration. Include the following information:
Please also enclose a photocopy of your passport. If you are requesting registration on behalf of another individual, enclose a power of attorney signed by that individual. Send the letter by post to:
Verohallinto
ATH prosessivastaava
PL 1, 00052 VERO
After your registration is complete, you will be issued the bank reference number for transfer taxes by post. If a realtor, agent or another representative asked for registration, we will send the reference number to that representative.
Foreign companies must first ask for a Finnish Business ID. This requires that a “Y” form for setting up a company is filled out and an appropriate enclosure added to it, as follows:
These forms and instructions for them are available at ytj.fi (the Business Information System).
As a minimum, you must give the following details when you complete the registration form:
Enter a statement that your company requests a Finnish Business ID for the purpose of paying transfer tax into the field for additional information on the “Y” form.
Send the company’s charter to the Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH):
Finnish Patent and Registration Office (PRH) – Tax Administration
Business Information System
P.O. Box 2000
FI-00231 HELSINKI
You can also deliver the registration forms to a Tax Administration office. Complete the forms in advance and bring all the required enclosures with you. Then we can receive your application and sent it on for processing in another unit. No Business ID is issued immediately.
If you are requesting registration on behalf of a company (or another legal person) as its agent or representative, you must have a power of attorney signed by that company. The letter of authorisation i.e. power of attorney can be written out in free text. It must be signed by someone who is authorised to sign for the company.
After the Business ID is generated, you will receive it along with your transfer tax reference number by letter. When you complete the transfer tax return for the company, it is necessary to enter the Business ID.
Individual taxpayers
To submit the return, complete the Transfer tax return form.
Limited companies and other legal persons
In general, companies and others are expected to log in to MyTax to submit their transfer tax returns. By way of exception, foreign corporate entities can be allowed to submit the paper form for transfer tax return, if logging in to MyTax is not feasible. Further information about e-service authorisations
To send the payment from your bank, you will need the Tax Administration's bank account number and your unique transfer tax reference number. When a realtor handles the sale and purchase transaction, you need the reference number already on the date when the transaction is finalised.
Call +358 29 497 026 if you need to ask for the information by phone (Payment transactions, limited service available in English, standard call rates).
The Tax Administration will send a certificate proving that you paid the tax to your postal address. It will also be displayed in MyTax.
If you bought shares in a housing company and the transaction was assisted by a realtor, you receive the certificate proving payment of transfer tax from the realtor (the estate agent’s office). MyTax does not contain the certificate if the realtor issued it.