Summer jobs and taxes

Taking care of your taxes may seem difficult. With this in mind, we put together a set of easy-to-follow instructions for taking care of your taxes when you have a summer job.

If you have a summer job, you will need a tax card

If you get wages, you will need a tax card. If you do not have a tax card, the employer must withhold 60% of your wages as taxes. In comparison, the tax rate on a tax card for wages is usually 0% if you make less than €10,000 in a year.

Your employer needs your tax card for wage payments. The employer can get your tax card information in different ways. Ask your supervisor what the practice is at your new job. Some employers get tax cards directly from the Tax Administration, whereas some may ask you to show the tax card to them. Your employer will let you know what to do. Note that the employer will need your tax card well in advance before the first payday.

Make sure that you always get a payslip or some other account on the wages that are paid to you.

How can I get a tax card?

• At the beginning of every year, we send a tax card by post to everyone aged 15 and over. If you still have the tax card you received by post, you can use it. Or, if needed, you can scan the tax card or take a photo of it, for example.
• You can also find your valid tax card in MyTax. Log in to MyTax with your personal online banking codes or a mobile certificate. If you are under 18, your guardian can use MyTax on your behalf. See the instructions: How to find the tax card for wages in MyTax.
• Check your tax card’s income ceiling. Is the income ceiling high enough? Please note that you can request a new tax card any time if the income ceiling needs to be raised.
• If needed, make changes to your tax card in MyTax. Instructions for requesting a new tax card or making changes to your tax card.

Tax cards, housing allowance and financial aid for students

General housing allowance is a tax-exempt benefit. This means that no tax is paid on it, so it does not affect your tax card’s income ceiling or tax rate.

Financial aid for students includes, among other things, a study grant paid for months during which you study and a government guarantee for a student loan.

The study grant is taxable income and therefore affects your income ceiling. Go to Kela’s e-service to see the decision concerning your study grant. The decision specifies the amount of study grant that is paid to you exempt from tax.

If you want to make changes to your tax card, you will need an estimate of the amount of study grant you will receive during the year.

For more information about the study grant, visit Kela’s website.

A student loan is not taxed, so it does not affect the tax card’s income ceiling.

Check your tax return and inform the Tax Administration of your bank account number

In spring 2024, you will get a pre-completed tax return. Check all the information included in the tax return, such as the amount of wage income and any study grant you received during 2023. If anything needs to be corrected, log in to MyTax to make the corrections. More detailed instructions are enclosed with the tax return.

Your final tax decision for 2023 will be made on the basis of the tax return. If your tax rate was too high in 2023, you will get a tax refund. If your tax rate was too low, you will have to pay back taxes.

Give your bank account number in MyTax. This will make it possible for the Tax Administration to pay any tax refunds to your bank account. See the instructions for submitting your bank account number.

Other relevant information

Employer

Hi Employer! Click the link to download a checklist regarding summer employees’ taxes. You can forward the checklist as an email attachment or print it out and hang it up in the breakroom, for example.

Checklist for summer job and taxes (pdf)