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Tax card, tax scale and municipal tax – what newcomers pay in Finland in 2026

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Your employer withholds tax straight from your pay, and the rate on your tax card (verokortti) decides how much. Here is how the 2026 state scale, your municipality's rate and the 25 per cent key-employee regime work – plus what Customs and the Food Authority expect of your boxes, your car and your dog.

Woman in a yellow blouse using a calculator and laptop with papers at a home desk
Photo: fizkes/Adobe Stock

Tax year 2026 brought a new state income tax scale (Act 1140/2025, in force 1 January 2026), a cut in the tax at source for foreign key employees from 32 to 25 per cent, and the end of the deduction for trade union fees. The mechanism is unchanged: everyone with income in Finland needs a tax card (verokortti) from Vero (the Tax Administration), and without one your employer withholds 60 per cent of your pay.

You are a resident taxpayer if Finland is your permanent home or you stay more than six months in a row – short trips abroad do not break the count. Residents pay Finnish tax on worldwide income; stay exactly six months or less and you are a nonresident, taxed only on Finnish-source income.

How much tax will I pay in Finland in 2026?

Earned income – wages, pensions, taxable benefits – is taxed progressively by the state and at flat rates by your municipality and, for members, your church. Capital income such as rent, dividends and gains is taxed separately: 30 per cent up to €30,000, 34 per cent above. The state scale is national.

Taxable earned incomeTax at the lower limitRate on the part above
€0–22,000€012.64 %
€22,000–32,600€2,780.8019 %
€32,600–40,100€4,794.8030.25 %
€40,100–52,100€7,063.5533.25 %
Over €52,100€11,053.5537.5 %

Source: Finlex, Act 1140/2025 on the income tax scale for 2026, read 24 September 2026.

Vero publishes the same table, though its page footer still says November 2024; the figures are those of the Act.

Municipal tax: why Helsinki and Oulu differ

Municipal income tax is a flat percentage of earned income, and the rate is a local decision within a national framework. Helsinki City Council set 5.30 per cent for 2026 on 5 November 2025, unchanged. Vero confirmed all rates on 18 November 2025; the average, 7.60 per cent, also applies to nonresidents taxed progressively.

MunicipalityMunicipal income tax 2026Evangelical-Lutheran church tax (members only)
Helsinki5.30 %1.00 %
Espoo5.30 %1.00 %
Vantaa6.40 %1.00 %
Tampere7.60 %1.25 %
Turku7.10 %1.20 %
Oulu8.10 %1.30 %

Source: the Tax Administration's decision on municipal and parish income tax rates for 2026, read 24 September 2026.

Vero's own example for a person aged 17–64 living in Helsinki, a church member with one type of income, gives a total tax rate of 8.5 per cent on €30,000 of pay, 14.0 per cent on €40,000, 19.0 per cent on €50,000 and 25.0 per cent on €70,000.

Contributions come on top – 8.19 per cent in that example: the earnings-related pension contribution of 7.30 per cent and 0.89 per cent for unemployment insurance. The tax card also collects health insurance – 1.10 per cent on wages, plus 0.88 per cent from €17,255 a year – and the public broadcasting tax that funds Yle: 2.5 per cent of income above €15,150, at most €160.

The tax card (verokortti): getting it and changing it

The first tax card is the one errand that must be done in person, at a Vero service point, as the registration of a foreign employee. You need a personal identity code; if your residence permit did not bring one, some tax offices issue one for tax purposes. For a stay over six months bring form 6150e and form 5042e; for six months or less, form 5057e; plus passport and employment contract. Processing normally takes one to three business days; service is given in Finnish, Swedish and English.

Your rate depends on annual income, home municipality, church membership and deductions; a spouse's income does not affect it. Cards for 2026 took effect on 1 January, and you can change the rate and income ceiling in MyTax as often as needed. Logging in activates electronic tax mail. Posted with an A1 certificate from the EU/EEA, the UK or Switzerland, you pay no Finnish social insurance contributions.

DeductionTax year 2026
Trade union feesNo longer deductible
Unemployment fund feesStill deductible
Standard home-office deductionAbolished for wage earners
Commuting expensesUp to €7,000, above a €900 threshold
Tax credit for household expensesUnchanged

Source: the Finnish Tax Administration, read 24 September 2026.

Key employees, short stays and the tax return

Coming for work that requires special expertise? Since 1 January 2026 the tax at source on key-employee income is 25 per cent, down from 32. You qualify if you become resident when the work starts, your cash salary is at least €5,800 a month excluding fringe benefits, you were not a Finnish tax resident in the five calendar years before, and you work mainly in Finland for a Finnish employer. Request the card with form 5042e within 90 days of starting. It lasts at most your first 84 months, is final with no deductions, and no Finnish health insurance contributions are collected.

Staying six months or less with a Finnish employer, you normally pay a final tax at source of 35 per cent and file no return; a tax-at-source card deducts €510 a month (€17 a day) first. Residents of EU/EEA or tax-treaty countries can instead ask for progressive taxation, on form 5057e.

Residents file a return. Vero puts a pre-completed one in MyTax by the end of March; if it is right, do nothing. The 2026 correction deadlines were 1, 14, 21 or 28 April, printed on the return. Include foreign income received during your stay – income from before you moved or after you leave is normally untaxed here, except pay tied to work in Finland such as stock options.

Customs: removal goods, your car and your pets

Customs draws its line at the EU border. From another EU country you declare nothing and pay no VAT or duty (Åland has its own rules). From outside the EU, removal goods must be declared and are tax-free only if you lived outside the EU for at least 12 continuous months, owned and used the goods for at least six months, declare them within 12 months of the move and, if you need one, hold a residence permit issued for at least a year – a student permit does not count. Duty-free goods may not be sold or lent for 12 months.

A car from the EU needs no customs declaration, but before driving it you submit a declaration of use to Vero, file a car tax declaration within five days, pay and register. The car-tax reduction for removal vehicles has been completely abolished: the tax follows the car's Finnish retail value and CO2 emissions. Part 12 has more.

Your pet arrives fromWhat the Finnish Food Authority requires
An EU country, Norway or SwitzerlandMicrochip, then rabies vaccination at 12 weeks at the earliest and at least 21 days before travel; EU pet passport
Dogs from those countriesTapeworm treatment 1–5 days before entry; not needed directly from Norway, Ireland or Malta
A non-EU country on the EU listMicrochip, rabies vaccination, 21-day wait; at least 15 weeks old at entry
A non-EU country not on the listMicrochip and vaccination, plus a rabies antibody test 30 days after vaccination and a three-month wait; at least 7 months old
All non-EU arrivalsHealth certificate from an official vet, valid 10 days; Customs check on the red channel

Source: the Finnish Food Authority and Finnish Customs, read 24 September 2026.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Work out whether you are resident (over six months) or nonresidentBefore you start work
2Get a personal identity code, then visit Vero with forms 6150e and 5042eFirst days
3Key employee? Request the 25 per cent cardWithin 90 days of starting
4Give the card to your employerBefore the first payday
5Posted with an A1: hand it in with the cardOn arrival
6Non-EU removal goods: declare them; car: declaration of use, then car taxWithin 12 months; car tax within five days
7Check the pre-completed return in MyTax; questions: tax-card line 029 497 050April

Source: the Finnish Tax Administration and Finnish Customs, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.