Before you start

Personal identity code
A tax card (verokortti) ordered from Vero
Bank credentials or a mobile certificate, for MyTax
For the key employee route, an application made in connection with the start of the work

Step-by-step

1
Order a tax card in your first week and give it to your employer
Without a tax card the employer must withhold 60%. Order it in MyTax with your identity code and an estimate of your annual income, and hand it over before the first payday. The over-withheld amount is refunded eventually, but not quickly.
OnlineWho: YouWeek 1
2
Check whether the key employee rate applies to you
A foreign key employee with cash salary of at least €5,800 a month, special expertise, and no recent Finnish residence can be taxed at a flat rate withheld at source instead of progressively. That rate is 25% for wages paid from 1 January 2026, down from 32%, and the scheme can now run up to 84 months.
Via employerWho: You and your employerAt the start of the work
3
Understand what makes up the rate
State income tax is progressive. Municipal tax is set by the municipality — since the 2023 health reform moved most funding to the state, municipal rates fell sharply and now sit in the single digits for many municipalities. Church tax applies only if you are a member of the Lutheran or Orthodox church. Health insurance contributions are charged separately.
OnlineWho: You
4
Keep the tax card current when income changes
The withholding rate is calculated from your income estimate. A pay rise, a bonus or a second job means requesting a revised card, otherwise you accumulate a back-tax bill payable the following year.
OnlineWho: You
5
Check the pre-completed return in spring
Vero sends a pre-completed tax return each spring drawing on employer, bank and registry reporting. You check and amend rather than compile. Deductions for commuting above a threshold, trade union fees and work-related expenses are worth adding.
OnlineWho: YouMarch–May
6
Declare foreign income and assets
Finnish tax residents are taxed on worldwide income. Foreign accounts, property and investments must be declared and Finland receives automatic information exchange. Add them to the pre-completed return rather than assuming they are already there.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Personal identity code and tax card
Bank credentials or mobile certificate for MyTax
Employment contract, for the key employee application
Records of foreign income, property and accounts
Documentation of commuting distance and work-related costs

Things most newcomers don’t know

The key employee flat rate fell to 25% on 1 January 2026, and almost every guide still says 32%.

Foreign key employees with at least €5,800 a month in cash salary and genuine special expertise can be taxed at a flat rate withheld at source rather than progressively. The rate was 32% through the end of 2025 and became 25% for wages paid from 1 January 2026. Separately, since 2024 the scheme can run for up to 84 months rather than the earlier 48. Both changes are recent enough that stale advice is everywhere, and the difference over several years is substantial. Raise it before signing.

Source: Vero — Finnish Tax Administration

No tax card means 60% withholding, and it is entirely avoidable.

Finnish employers must withhold at a flat 60% from anyone who has not provided a tax card. The card takes minutes to order in MyTax once you have an identity code, and the actual rate is usually far lower. The excess comes back through the annual assessment, which can be more than a year later. It is the single most common and most painful first-month mistake newcomers make in Finland, and it is fixed by one online form.

Source: Vero

Municipal tax rates dropped dramatically in 2023, which makes older comparisons useless.

When social and health care funding moved from municipalities to the state in 2023, municipal income tax rates were cut by around twelve percentage points across the board and the state rate rose correspondingly. Total taxation was broadly unchanged, but every comparison written before 2023 that quotes a Finnish municipal rate in the high teens or low twenties is describing a system that no longer exists. Check current rates rather than reasoning from old figures.

Source: Vero

Church tax is membership-based and you have to actually be a member.

Finland levies church tax only on members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church or the Finnish Orthodox Church, at around one to two per cent of taxable income depending on the parish. Foreign nationals are not enrolled automatically, and being baptised Lutheran in another country does not make you a member here. Unlike in Denmark there is no registration form question that catches people out — but if you do join a parish, understand that the tax follows.

Source: Vero

Common mistakes to avoid

Starting work without a tax card and being withheld at 60%.
Being quoted the old 32% key employee rate rather than the 25% that applies from 2026.
Reasoning from pre-2023 Finnish municipal tax rates, which were cut by roughly twelve points.
Not updating the tax card after a raise and collecting a back-tax bill.
Failing to declare foreign accounts and property, which Finland already receives data about.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.