In Finland almost 5 million individuals have already received their tax decisions - the rest will receive it in October at the latest

Taxation in Finland

Individual tax return

For the second time this year, taxation will be completed flexibly, i.e. customers will receive their tax decisions at different times. The majority of individuals have already received their 2019 tax decision. By the end of June, the Tax Administration has issued a tax decision for approximately 4,8 million individual taxpayers.

Additions or corrections to the tax return postpone the end of tax assessment. The reasons for why you have not received your tax refund on the date stated on your original tax decision may be the following:

• You or your spouse has made additions or corrections to pre-completed tax return. If the pre-filled tax return was amended by the individual itself or if his/her spouse made changes to own tax return, the end date of tax assessment indicated in the original tax decision will be postponed.
• The Tax Administration has received information that affects tax assessment. The end date of tax assessment will be postponed also in case if the Tax Administration has received information about the customer from third parties, such as an employer, for example.
• Refund has been used for paying unpaid taxes.

When the end date of tax assessment is postponed, the date of payment of the tax refund or the due dates of the residual tax indicated in the original tax decision may also be postponed. The taxation of the spouses is always completed at the same time, i.e. if one of the spouses has made additions to his or her tax return, the formation of the second tax decision is also postponed.

New decisions have been made in vain for some customers

According to the tax specialist at the Tax Administration Sami Varonen, some of new tax decisions have been made in vain.

- Unnecessary new decisions have been made in June-July for customers who have received dividend income in 2019 or who have been deal with property tax in the 2020. The same applies to the spouses of these clients. Such an additional new decision is identified by the fact that nothing other than the decision and end date of tax assessment has changed. The final result of the taxation has remained unchanged, and there has been no change in the payment date of the tax refund or the due dates of the residual tax.

According to Sami Varonen, customers who have received an unnecessary decision do not need to be in contact with the Tax Administration.

- Understandably, customers may be confused about new decisions where nothing seems to have changed. We apologize for the confusion this caused, but customers don’t have to worry. The new decision always replaces the previous one and the latest version will eventually remain in force when the tax assessment ends. However, the vast majority of new tax decisions sent to customers are quite appropriate. You should always look at whether the new decision is correct. And if decision is the right one, you do not need to do nothing, Sami Varonen says.

Tax refund dates

The refund date varies by the end date of tax assessment process. The end date valid for you is stated in your tax decision.

The Finnish Tax Administration pays interest on refunds. However, the interest is not shown in a tax decision. Instead, the Tax Administration will add the interest to refund when paying it. In 2020, the interest rate is 0.5%.

More detailed information can be found at Finnish Tax Administration website