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You may receive benefits such as a parental allowance, a sickness allowance, a study grant and an unemployment allowance. Some of the benefits paid by Kela are subject to tax, while others are exempt from tax.
You can request a tax card and check your tax procent.
Go to MyTaxYou do not usually need a separate tax card for benefits. Kela or another payor withholds the tax automatically, either at the tax rate on wage income or at the standard tax rate.
If you want to lower your tax rate, request a new tax card for benefits. While you are about it, make updates - as needed - to your other income and tax-deductible expenses. If later this year, any other changes would affect your income or deductions again, you can ask for a new card once more to match your situation at that time. Note, however, that the tax rate for benefits may be higher than the rate for wages, because benefits are not subject to the same deductions as wage income.
Some of the benefits paid by Kela are subject to tax, while others are exempt from tax. Check whether the benefit you receive is subject to tax or exempt from tax (Kela)
If you receive unemployment benefits from Kela: Kela automatically withholds 20% tax on unemployment benefits, so you do not necessarily need to send Kela a tax card for a daily allowance. Unemployment benefits paid by Kela include the basic unemployment allowance and the labour market subsidy.
If you receive an earnings-related allowance from an unemployment fund: The unemployment fund withholds tax on earnings-related allowances according to the tax rate on wages, so you do not need to present your tax card to the unemployment fund. The tax rate on the earnings-related allowance is usually the same as the tax rate on wages, but no less than 25%. In other words, even if the withholding rate on your wages is less than 25%, the tax withheld on the earnings-related allowance is 25%.
If you do not want Kela or another payor to withhold tax at the rate applied to wage income or at the standard tax rate, request a tax card for benefits in MyTax.
You do not need to send your tax card to Kela for a sickness allowance because Kela receives the details of your tax card for wages directly from the Tax Administration.
The tax rate on sickness allowance is usually the same as the tax rate on wages, but no less than 25%.
If you do not have a tax card for wages, Kela will withhold tax at the standard tax rate for 2025, which is based on the Tax Administration's decision. The standard tax percentage for 2026 will be published later.
If you do not want Kela to withhold tax at the rate applied to wage income or at the standard tax rate, request a tax card for benefits in MyTax.
In general, the tax withholding on rehabilitation allowances will match the percentage rate that applies to your wage income, however, it will be at least 25%.
If you have no tax card for wage income, the payor of your allowance will use the standard rate for 2025 (detailed information available in Finnish and Swedish) based on the Tax Administration's official decision on withholdings. The standard tax percentage for 2026 will be published later.
If you want to prevent the payor – or Kela – from using the standard rate or the percentage rate that applies to wages when you receive allowance, you can use MyTax to ask for a new tax card for social benefit income.
If you are a recipient of a pension, the rehabilitation allowance will be subject to 40% withholding of tax.
If you are a recipient of rehabilitation subsidy, you need to have a tax card for pensions. Read our instructions for requesting a tax card for pension.
You do not need to send a separate tax card to Kela for a parental allowance because Kela receives the details of your tax card for wages directly from the Tax Administration. Kela withholds tax either at the tax rate for wages or according to the standard tax rate.
Tax rates applied by Kela:
If you do not want Kela to withhold tax at the rate applied to wage income or at the standard tax rate, request a tax card for benefits in MyTax.
The child home care allowance consists of a care allowance, a care supplement and a municipal supplement to the care allowance.
The tax rate on the child home care allowance is usually the same as the tax rate on wages, but no less than 25%. In other words, even if the withholding rate on your wages is less than 25%, the tax withheld on the child home care allowance is 25%.
If you do not want Kela or another payor to withhold tax at the rate applied to wage income, request a tax card for benefits in MyTax.
You do not need a tax card if you are a student with no employment and if a study grant from Kela, i.e. financial aid for students, is your only income. Kela does not withhold tax on the study grant. This means that the study grant will be paid to your bank account in full.
If you want Kela to withhold tax also from your study grant, you need a tax card for the study grant. A tax card for the study grant cannot be ordered in MyTax; instead, you must order it by calling the Finnish Tax Administration’s service number or by visiting a service point.
If you receive Åland’s study grants that are part of the Student financial aid in Åland, the received amounts need to be included in your income tax return and they are subject to tax in the same way as study grants from Kela are.
If you receive a study grant from Kela and also have a paid job, you will need a tax card for wages. When you request a tax card, also report your study grant details in the request, because they will affect the withholding rate applied to your wages, i.e. the amount of tax you will have to pay. Enter the study grant in the appropriate field and enter the amount of grant received in different months. If you need help, please refer to the instructions on the tax card for wages.
Note that you do not need to report tax-exempt income, such as a housing allowance or a student housing supplement, in the request.
If you do not want Kela or another payor to withhold tax at the rate applied to wage income or at the standard tax rate, request a tax card for benefits in MyTax.
When you estimate your income for the tax card, refer to the benefit decision you have received. In the decision, you will find the information you need to estimate the amount of benefit.
Example: The basic daily allowance you receive from Kela is €32.40 a day for 22 days per month, i.e. €712.80 per month. The amount of benefit for the entire year is €8,553.60 (712.80 × 12).
The request has 6 stages.
Check that the information is correct.
Click Next to proceed to the next stage.
In this stage, you can see the details on which your current tax card is based. Check the information and make changes, if necessary.
If you are reporting a benefit for the first time, enter the related details in the “Other income” stage.
If you already have a tax card for benefits and you want to
Note that if you make any changes to the data on wages, MyTax will always create you a revised tax card for wages, too.
Select “Yes” under “Benefits” and then “Add new benefit”. Fill in the details.
At “Type of benefit”, select the payor’s name from the list, such as “General unemployment fund YTK”. If the name is not on the list, select “Other Finnish payor”. Write the payor's name in the field that opens, for example “Employment Fund”. Please note that the Business ID is not required here.
You can report each type of benefit only once per payor.
You can calculate the estimated amount of benefit based on the benefit decision you have received. You can also estimate the amount of benefit yourself. For example, the amount of earnings-related unemployment allowance is approximately 60% of your pay.
Enter the date from which your new tax card will be valid.
In MyTax, you can see how the details of your tax card are delivered to the benefit payer:
In the “Preview and send” stage, you can see the details on which your tax card is based, as well as your tax rate (also known as the withholding rate) indicated in the tax card.
If your tax card request is processed by a tax official, the processing time is 1 to 3 days.
If you have activated Suomi.fi messages, you will receive a message once your tax card in ready. If you have not activated Suomi.fi messages, you will receive your tax card by post. You can always find your tax card in MyTax, where you can save or print it