Deductions – claim certain deductions yourself
You may be entitled to certain deductions that reduce the total amount of taxes you must pay. We make some deductions for you automatically, but some deductions you have to claim yourself.
You can make the following deductions in your tax assessment:
| More information on the deduction | Own liability in 2022 | Maximum amount in 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| tax credit for household expenses (Home repair or improvement and renovations) |
€100 | €2.250 |
| tax credit for household expenses (Household work, nursing and care, and work on replacement of oil heating) |
€100 | €3.500 |
| travel expenses | €750 | €8.400 |
| expenses for the production of income | €750 | no maximum amount |
| deduction for second home for work (is part of expenses for the production of income) | €750 | €450/month |
| deductions for forestry workers (See how many percent to deduct) | no own liability amount | €240 (forestry worker deduction) |
| credit due to maintenance obligation | no own liability amount | €80/child |
| income spreading | no own liability amount | no maximum amount |
| donation deduction (Check the minimum threshold) | no own liability amount | €500.000 |
| deduction for reduced capacity to pay taxes | no own liability amount | €1.400 |
How and when can I get deductions?
Deductions for 2022
You receive your personal pre-completed tax return by the end of April. File deductions on your tax return before its due date. The deductions will then be taken into account in your tax decision, which you will receive by the end of October.
Deductions for 2023
You can benefit from your current deductions immediately if you file deductions for your tax card and lower your tax rate.
You can also submit deduction details in advance for your next year’s tax return, which you will receive the following spring. When you receive the tax return, check the details on it and make corrections if necessary.
How to report deductions
You can report changes and any missing deductions or tax credits in MyTax. You can also file corrections by using paper forms. See instructions for filing deductions
Were you granted less deductions than you claimed?
Most deductions are taken from your amount of taxable income, while some are considered tax credit that directly reduce the amount of taxes you have to pay. For this reason, the amount you claim as deductions is not always automatically refunded or otherwise credited to you in its entirety.
For example, if you claim tax credit for household expenses, that amount is deducted directly from the amount of taxes you have to pay. However, if you claim a deduction for travel expenses, that amount is deducted from your earned income before your tax is calculated.
Check the deduction details pre-completed on your tax return
Trade union membership fees and unemployment fund fees are deducted in full from your earned income before your tax is calculated.
Your earned income includes
- wage income
- earnings-related unemployment allowance
- basic unemployment allowance
- sickness allowance.
However, these fees cannot be deducted from seafarer's income.
Every year, your employer reports to the Tax Administration the pension and unemployment insurance contributions that have been withheld from your pay. You can see these contributions on your pre-completed tax return as deductions from your earned income.
Check your last payslip for the previous year to confirm that the amount of insurance contributions stated in your tax return is correct.
What expenses are deductible?
You are entitled to deductions for what you pay for the management and safekeeping of securities, book-entry shares and comparable assets. For example, you can deduct the rent of a safe deposit box and the annual fee for maintaining a book-entry account.
How much can be deducted?
All expenses for the management and safekeeping of securities are tax-deductible. However, please do not report fees under €50, as that is the credit threshold.
How does this affect my tax assessment?
The expenses are deducted from your capital income.
How much can be deducted?
In 2022, you can deduct 5% of your home loan interest. Starting 2023, tax rules no longer allow deductions for paid interest expenses of home loans.
Interest on a loan for the production of income is deductible in full. A loan for the production of income means that the loan has been taken out to generate taxable income. For example, you may have taken out a loan to buy an investment apartment, which will generate rental income for you, or shares, which will generate dividend income.
When can I get the deduction?
In 2023, you can deduct interest on a loan only if the loan was taken out for the production of income. No deduction can be made on the home loan or student loan interest.
You can still deduct 5% of the interest on a home loan in your tax return for 2022. If you have a first-time home, check your tax return to make sure that the purpose of your loan is stated correctly. If it is not, correct the loan’s purpose of use to first-time homebuyer’s home loan. Starting 2023, no deduction can be made on the first-time homebuyer’s home loan.
How does this affect my tax assessment?
Interest expenses are primarily deducted from your capital income, such as rental income or capital gains. Loan repayments are not tax-deductible, except for student loan repayments.
If there is not enough capital income for the deduction to be made, the deduction is made from the tax on your earned income in the form of a special tax credit for a deficit. The deficit credit is 30% of the interest amount. For interest on a first-time buyer’s home loan, the credit is 32%. The maximum amount of credit is €1,400. The maximum credit is raised by a further €400 if you have a child under 18 years, and by €800 if you have two or more children under 18 years.
How much can be deducted?
You can deduct up to €5,000 of the annual contributions you pay for either voluntary pension insurance or a long-term savings contract.
How does this affect my tax assessment?
The contributions are deducted from your capital income in the year of payment.
If there is not enough capital income for the deduction to be made, the deduction is made from the tax on your earned income in the form of a special tax credit for a deficit. This special deficit credit is 30%.
If there is not enough tax on earned income, the Tax Administration will automatically apply the credit to your spouse’s taxes instead. If there is still not enough tax for the credit to be granted, part of the tax credit will remain unused.
You cannot claim allowable losses based on pension insurance or long-term savings contract contributions.
Who can make the deduction?
Only the insured person can deduct the contributions in their own taxation. For example, if your spouse has paid your insurance contributions, they cannot deduct the contributions in their tax assessment.
How is the deduction made?
If you receive wage income, you will automatically receive a €750 deduction for the production of income in 2023 (€750 in 2022). However, the deduction amount cannot be higher than the amount of wages you have received.
If you have had more than €750 in expenses for the production of income, report these expenses in your tax return. Read more about how to deduct expenses for the production of income
How does this affect my tax assessment?
The deduction for the production of income is made from your wage income in both state taxation and municipal taxation.
When can I get the deduction?
You can claim a deduction for earned income if you receive
- taxable wage income
- other earned income for work you have done for another party
- business income distributed as earned income.
This deduction cannot be applied to pension income or social benefits.
How does this affect my tax assessment?
The deduction for earned income is made from your net taxable earned income in both state taxation and municipal taxation.
How much can be deducted?
In 2022 and 2023, the maximum deduction is €3,570.
- The deduction is 51% if the amount of income that entitles you to this deduction is between €2,500 and €7,230.
- For the part that exceeds €7,230, the deduction is 28%.
If your net taxable earned income exceeds €14,000, the deduction is reduced by 4.5% for the exceeding amount. When the deduction is reduced, all your earned income – including pension, unemployment benefit and sickness allowance – is counted as income.
If your net taxable earned income is more than €93,333, you cannot get this deduction at all.
When can I get the credit?
You can claim tax credit for work income if you receive
- taxable wage income
- other earned income for work you have done for another party
- business income distributed as earned income.
How much can be credited?
For 2023
- the maximum amount of credit for work income is €2,030
- If the wage earner or self-employed business operator:
- has reached the age of 60 years before January 2023, max. credit is €2,230
- has reached 62 years before January 2023, max. credit is €2,430 or
- has reached 65 years before January 2023, max. credit is €2,630.
- the credit is 12% of the income entitling you to this credit
- the deduction is reduced by 2.03% of the amount of net taxable income exceeding the 22,000-euro threshold, and reduced by 1.21% of the amount of net taxable income exceeding the 70,000-euro threshold.
For 2022
- the maximum amount of credit for work income is €1,930
- the credit is 13% of the part of the income entitling you to this credit that exceeds €2,500
- the credit amount is reduced by 1.96% for the part of net taxable earned income that exceeds €33,000.
When the credit amount is reduced, all your earned income – including pension, unemployment benefit and sickness allowance – is included as income.
How does this affect my tax assessment?
The credit for work income is credited directly from your state income tax. If there is not enough income tax for the credit amount to be deducted from, it is deducted from your municipal tax, church tax and health care contribution instead.
How does this affect my tax assessment?
Tax year 2023: The basic deduction is made in both state taxation and municipal taxation.
Tax year 2022: The basic deduction is made from your net taxable earned income in municipal taxation. The basic deduction is made after all other deductions applied to municipal taxation have been made.
How much is the deduction?
For 2023
- The maximum deduction is €3,870.
- If your net taxable earned income exceeds €3,870 after all the deductions applied in municipal taxation have been made, the deduction is reduced by 18% of the exceeding amount.
- You cannot even be given a partial basic deduction in municipal taxation if your net taxable earned income after all these deductions still exceeds €25,370.
For 2022
- The maximum deduction is €3,740.
- If your net taxable earned income exceeds €3,740 after all the deductions applied in municipal taxation have been made, the deduction is reduced by 18% of the exceeding amount.
- You cannot even be given a partial basic deduction in municipal taxation if your net taxable earned income after all these deductions still exceeds €24,500.
How much is the deduction?
The size of the deduction depends on your other taxable wage income and other earned income.
Year 2023: The maximum deduction is €10,320.
- If the net taxable earned income is more than €10,320, the deduction is reduced by 51% for the part exceeding €10,320.
- If the net taxable earned income is more than €22,500, the deduction is reduced by 15% for the part exceeding the amount.
Year 2022: In state taxation, the maximum deduction is €11,630 year and in municipal taxation, the maximum deduction is €9,660 year 2022.
When can I get the deduction?
In 2023, you can get the deduction, if your net taxable earned income is no more than €49,880.
In 2022, you can get the deduction
- in state taxation, if your net taxable earned income for purposes of state taxation is no more than €42,235.
- in municipal taxation, if your net taxable earned income is no more than €28,601.
How does this affect my tax assessment?
The pension income deduction is made from your net taxable earned income in state taxation and municipal taxation.
The deduction called disability credit is no longer part of individual income taxation as of 1 January 2023. This change in tax rules is related to the recent legal amendment connected to the wellbeing services county system.
Tax year 2022
When can I get the credit?
You can get a tax credit if you have a 30–100% degree of disability due to illness, injury or other such reason. If you are claiming the credit for the first time, report your disability percentage to the Tax Administration on Form 50A, section 12. Enclose a medical certificate or some other document stating your degree of disability in numbers or as a percentage.
This information cannot be submitted in MyTax.
If you receive disability pension, the degree of disability is automatically considered to be 100% and you will not have to provide a separate account of it. If you receive partial disability pension, the degree of disability is considered to be 50%.
How does this affect my tax assessment?
This tax credit is deducted from
- the income tax on earned income you pay to the state – if there is not enough income tax for the entire amount to be credited, the credit or its remaining portion is deducted from your spouse’s income tax instead
- your net taxable earned income in municipal taxation – if you only receive pension income, this credit cannot be applied in your municipal taxation.
How much is the deduction?
The maximum amount of disability credit in state taxation is €115 and in municipal taxation €440. Disability percentage affects the amount of credit.
When can I get the deduction?
You can get this deduction in the year when you receive a study grant.
How does this affect my tax assessment?
Tax year 2022: The deduction reduces your net earned income subject to municipal tax.
Tax year 2023: The deduction is made in both state taxation and municipal taxation.
How much can be deducted?
The maximum deduction is €2,600 but the deduction cannot be greater than the amount of your study grant.
If you receive wages or other earned income in addition to the study grant, the deduction will be reduced. Half (50%) of the portion of earned income that exceeds €2,600 will be deducted from the deduction. If your net taxable earned income is more than €7,800, you cannot get this deduction at all.
Further information
Read more about the deduction for study grants (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish)
When can I get the credit?
The student loan credit only applies to students who have started their first higher education degree programme before 1 August 2014.
If you have taken out a student loan and completed your degree within the target time, you may be eligible for a student loan credit. The credit is granted for the years when you are repaying your student loan.
How does this affect my tax assessment?
The amount is credited from State income tax. If your State income tax is less than the amount of credit, the credit will be deducted from your municipal tax, church tax and health care contribution on a proportional basis.
How much can be deducted?
Kela decides whether you are eligible for the student loan credit and what the maximum amount of credit is. The Tax Administration grants you the credit based on the information received from Kela for every tax year when you are eligible. In other words, you do not need to claim the credit separately on your tax return.
Student loan compensation for current students
If you have started your first higher education degree programme on 1 August 2014 or later, you may be eligible for Kela’s student loan compensation after graduation. The student loan compensation is tax-exempt income. The compensation is not indicated on the pre-completed tax return and it does not need to be filed on the tax return.
Read more about the student loan compensation on Kela’s website.
When can I get the deduction?
You are entitled to this deduction if you receive seafarer's income.
How does this affect my tax assessment?
The deduction for seafarer's income is made from your net taxable earned income in both state and municipal taxation.
How much is the deduction?
The deduction for seafarer’s income is 20% of your total amount of seafarer's income. The maximum deduction amount is €7,000.
If you receive more than €50,000 in seafarer's income, the maximum deduction amount is reduced from €7,000. The maximum deduction amount is reduced by a sum corresponding to 5% of the amount of the seafarer’s income exceeding €50,000.
You receive an additional deduction of €170 for each full calendar month when the vessel does not visit Finland (cross-trade deduction).
You can already claim the following deductions and credits for 2023 in MyTax:
- tax credit for household expenses
- travel expenses
- expenses for the production of income
- deduction for second home for work
- credit due to maintenance obligation.
You can file deductions for the current year in MyTax so that they can be pre-completed on your tax return.
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Page last updated 1/2/2023