The Finnish tax card and your withholding rate
The Finnish tax card sets your withholding rate and annual income ceiling for each employer. Without one, the employer withholds 60 percent of your wages.
If your employer pays you before it has a Finnish tax card for you, 60 percent of your gross pay is withheld. The Tax Administration's page for wage earners states that "a 60% withholding tax is deducted from salary and fees" when there is no tax card for wages.
Get the income estimate right on your Finnish tax card and each month's deduction approximates the final tax for the year. Get it wrong and the difference settles in the following spring as a back-tax bill or as a refund that arrives months after the money left your account.
Who needs the card
Every person working in Finland under progressive taxation needs a tax card from the Tax Administration (Verohallinto). If your stay in Finland exceeds six months, you are a tax resident and the progressive scale applies. If the stay is six months or less, the Tax Administration taxes your wages at source at a flat rate on a separate card. The dividing line is the length of the stay, and crossing it midway switches your regime.
You need a Finnish personal identity code before you can request a tax card.
The income ceiling and the additional rate
The card states two figures for the employer: the basic withholding rate and an annual income ceiling. Your employer deducts tax at the basic rate on every payment until the cumulative wages paid by that employer pass the ceiling. After that point, the employer switches to the additional withholding rate for the remainder of the year, unless you request a revised card with a higher ceiling.
With two jobs, each employer measures only the wages it has paid against the same ceiling. Your combined income can sail past the ceiling while neither employer has any reason to switch rates. That is how a second job turns into a back-tax bill the following spring. The fix is a revised card whose income estimate covers both jobs.
Requesting and revising the card
The Tax Administration's MyTax service (OmaVero) is the standard channel. You enter your expected annual income and deductions, the service calculates the rate and the ceiling, and the card is filed. The card is usually available in MyTax right away; when a tax official has to review the request, processing takes 1 to 3 weekdays. You can request a new or revised card as many times as necessary during the year.
Without a Finnish personal identity code, you first apply for one, and the Tax Administration's paper route is form 5042e, with the card arriving by letter.
Delivering the card to the employer
Employers often receive tax card details electronically from the Tax Administration. Where yours does not, you deliver the card yourself, and the employer needs it approximately two weeks before the next payday.
Estimating income and deductions
The withholding rate is calculated from two inputs: expected annual income and expected deductions. The rate is only as good as the estimate behind it.
| Estimate problem | What happens |
|---|---|
| Income too low | Underpayment; back-tax bill after the spring assessment |
| Income too high | Overpayment; refund arrives months after the year ends |
| Deductions left blank | Rate is correct for zero deductions, higher than needed |
For a new job, the starting point is the contract's monthly salary multiplied by the remaining months in the year. Holiday bonus, overtime and any second income belong in the same total. Deductions matter as much as income, because the rate is calculated from what remains after them. MyTax asks for both sides in the same form. Leave the deductions side blank and the rate you get back is arithmetically correct and higher than it needed to be.
A first estimate made in your first week is not a commitment. Revise the card the moment the real number becomes clear.
The annual cycle
The Tax Administration sends a basic tax card at the turn of the year, with an income ceiling based on earlier years' income. A promotion, a job change, a partner arriving in the country, or a second income all make the old number wrong.
The second checkpoint is the spring pre-completed tax return. The Tax Administration fills it in from what employers, banks and other payers have reported, and your job is to read it, add anything missing, and confirm it. For a single employer and a current card, the return is a short reading exercise. For two employers or a mid-year change, it is where the arithmetic either confirms the card's estimate or corrects it with a bill or a refund.
Correction scenarios
A second job without a revised card is the mismatch that produces the largest bills. Each employer withholds at the basic rate independently, while the combined income sails past the ceiling that neither can see. The spring assessment produces a back-tax bill equal to the undertaxed amount.
A mid-year job change creates a similar gap when the old card's income estimate no longer fits. The new employer withholds at a rate calculated for a salary you no longer earn. Request a new card within the first two weeks at the new job.
A large one-off payment, such as a holiday bonus, can push income past the ceiling in a single month. The employer switches to the additional rate for that payment, but if the income estimate was already low, the additional rate may still not cover the real tax owed for the year.
In each case, a revised card with an updated income estimate resolves the problem for the remaining months. The spring assessment catches whatever the card missed.
The law behind the withholding
The Income Tax Act (tuloverolaki 1535/1992) defines tax residency, taxable income, and the progressive income tax scale. The withholding from each payment, and the tax card that sets its rate, are governed by the Withholding Act (ennakkoperintälaki 1118/1996).
Frequently asked questions
What happens if I start work in Finland without a tax card?
Your employer withholds 60 percent of your salary and fees, as the Tax Administration's wage earners page states. Payments after the employer receives your card are withheld at the card's rate. Tax withheld from earlier payslips at 60 percent is settled in your annual tax assessment.
Do I need a separate tax card for each employer in Finland?
No. The Tax Administration tells you to present the same card to all your employers (wage earners page). Each employer checks only its own payments against the ceiling, so with several jobs, order a revised card whose estimate covers all of them.
Does a revised tax card apply to wages already paid?
A revised card is used for payments made after your employer receives it. Wages already paid keep the withholding made at the old rate. The Tax Administration lets you revise the card as many times as necessary, and the annual assessment settles any difference.
Does the Finnish tax card cover freelance fees?
Yes, for fees paid to you as a person. The wage earners page states there is no longer a separate tax card for secondary income or freelancer's income. Business income for which you are in the prepayment register is handled through tax prepayments.
Can I get a tax card before I have a personal identity code?
No. The Tax Administration's work in Finland page requires a Finnish personal identity code to apply. DVV issues the code, and in some cases the Finnish Immigration Service or the Tax Administration can issue it.
Sources
- Tax Administration, Tax card for wage earners, checked 1 October 2026
- Tax Administration, Tax card, checked 1 October 2026
- Tax Administration, Work in Finland, checked 1 October 2026
- Tax Administration, Foreign worker staying no longer than 6 months, checked 1 October 2026
- Finlex, Ennakkoperintälaki 1118/1996, checked 1 October 2026
- Finlex, Tuloverolaki 1535/1992, checked 1 October 2026