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Working in Finland for a foreign employer

When you work in Finland for a non-Finnish employer, your taxation depends on how long you stay in Finland.

The guidance is being updated.

If your continuous stay in Finland does not last longer than 6 months, you are considered a non-resident taxpayer. If your employer is not Finnish, you will not usually have to pay tax to Finland on

  • wages paid to you by the foreign employer
  • other income you receive from outside Finland.

However, if you do not have an A1 certificate from your home country and your monthly earnings are at least €800.02 a month in 2023, you will have to pay health insurance contributions and pension insurance contributions to Finland. If your monthly earnings are less than €800.02, you do not need to pay health insurance contributions to Finland.

If you work at a construction site, always remember to file the required reports.

If you have a foreign employer, you may have to pay tax on your wages to Finland in the following situations:

If your home country is an EU country, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein or a country that has a tax treaty with Finland, you can ask to be taxed progressively.

If you come to Finland temporarily but stay for more than 6 months, you are treated as a resident taxpayer. This means that you will usually have to pay tax to Finland on all the income you receive. However, your home country and Finland may have signed a tax treaty that prohibits Finland from imposing tax on the income you receive from outside Finland.

Temporary trips outside Finland – vacations in your home country, for example – are still counted towards the 6-month period of stay.

If your employer has a permanent establishment in Finland, it is treated as a Finnish employer. In this situation, your tax rate is determined progressively based on all of your income during the entire year. In other words, the more wages you earn, the more taxes you will have to pay. You receive tax deductions on the same grounds as other Finnish residents. You need a Finnish personal ID and a tax card or a prepayment decision.

Paying taxes

1

APPLY FOR A FINNISH PERSONAL ID

Fill in Form 6150e

You must visit a tax office to sign the form after you have filled it in. It is required that you visit the tax office in person.

2

REQUEST A CALCULATION OF PREPAYMENTS OR REQUEST A TAX CARD

Fill in Form 5042e (Application for tax card, tax prepayment or tax number – current or former foreign residents)

We will send you either a tax card or instructions for prepayment, depending on whether your employer has a permanent establishment in Finland and whether they are in the register of employers.

If you do not make the prepayments, you will have to pay back taxes as well as interest on the back taxes.

You can get an A1 certificate from your country if you are coming from another EU or EEA state or Switzerland. A1 is a certificate on social insurance coverage issued by the authorities in your home country.

If you have an A1 certificate, you do not need to pay any insurance contributions.

If you do not have an A1 certificate, your employer may withhold pension and unemployment insurance contributions from your pay in addition to tax. The contributions are remitted to insurance companies.

If you are covered by the Finnish health insurance scheme based on your work, your employer will also withhold a health insurance contribution from your pay (health care contribution and daily allowance contribution). Read more about health insurance contributions for individuals coming to work in Finland.

For more information, see

3

RESERVE AN APPOINTMENT AT A TAX OFFICE

You must visit a tax office so that you can be identified and you can be given a personal ID.

Please bring the following with you:

  • the forms you have filled in
  • a valid passport or official proof of identity (not a driver’s licence)
  • a valid residence permit or visa if necessary
  • photocopy of your work order or employment contract
  • a written account given by your employer regarding your work in Finland, if the following information is not included in your work order or employment contract:
    • employer details
    • the party in Finland who ordered the work
    • your full name and date of birth
    • length of employment in Finland including start and end dates
    • place of work and a short description of the work to be done
  • photocopy of A1 certificate, if you have one (A1 is a certificate on social insurance coverage issued by the authorities in your home country). You can get an A1 certificate from your country if you are coming from another EU or EEA state, Great Britain or Switzerland.

Make an appointment in MyTax

If you cannot log in to MyTax, make an appointment by calling 029 497 050 (if you are calling from abroad, +358 29 497 050).

The Tax Administration makes sure that your tax matters are in order. We will send you a tax card or instructions for making prepayments.

Tax offices where you can get a Finnish personal ID

File a Finnish tax return

You must file a Finnish tax return if you stay in Finland for longer than 6 months. The Finnish Tax Administration will send you a pre-completed tax return form in the spring following the year when you worked in Finland. Check the information printed on the pre-completed tax return form.

If all the information on the pre-completed tax return is correct, you do not need to do anything. You have received your final assessment decision as an enclosure to the tax return form.

If the pre-completed tax return does not have your income information or some information is missing, make the necessary corrections in MyTax or on paper forms. You must also include all income that you received from foreign sources during your stay in Finland.

Submit details in MyTax

How to file information for your tax return on paper

You will receive a new tax decision in the autumn with the final amounts of taxes. If you have paid too little, you will be given instructions on how to pay back taxes. If you are not satisfied with the tax decision, instructions for appeal are enclosed with it.

If you do not receive a pre-completed tax return, you must file a return at your own initiative in MyTax or on paper forms.

How to file information for your tax return on paper

You must also report the income that you receive for the work you did in Finland after the work is finished already. You must report this income, and you must usually pay Finnish tax on. Examples of such income include

  • an employee stock option benefit for which you earned the right when you worked in Finland
  • holiday bonus you have received for work done in Finland

More information on insurance contributions

Tax treaties do not affect insurance contributions.

For more information about insurance contributions, see:

Tax treaties

You do not always have to pay taxes to Finland even if you stay for longer than 6 months. If you stay in Finland for a maximum of 183 days during a time period described in a tax treaty, you may not have to pay Finnish tax on your wages.

If your employer is a foreign public body, in most cases you pay taxes on your wages to you home country. Public bodies include countries and municipalities. However, any other income you receive is likely to be taxed in Finland.

Leaving Finland

When you move away from Finland

Read more about moving away from Finland.

 

 

If your employer has a permanent establishment in Finland, they are treated as a Finnish employer. In this case, you will have to pay tax on your wages in the same way as if your employer was Finnish.

If you are a foreign leased employee, see the guidance for foreign leased employees.

Working in construction or shipbuilding?

Employee: Coming to a construction site or a shipyard

Employer: Guidance on how to help your construction workers with their tax matters before they start working. 

e-File

Detailed guidance

Foreign employer — other pages

Key terms:

Page last updated 11/23/2023