Finland allowance rules
Finnish employers can provide their employees with tax-free daily allowances, as compensation for the increased living expenses, when on a business trip. The tax-free allowances are granted under specific conditions, ensuring that the work-trip is fulfilling the requirements for tax-free allowances. Daily allowances can be given to employees on a business-related trip, that is more than 15 kilometres from home or the usual workplace.
The per diem allowance is set out from different criteria, such as the location of the trip. If the business travel is domestic in finland, the rates are at stated in the table below:
Duration: | Max. tax-free daily-allowance (2024) |
6+ hours | € 24 |
10+ hours | € 51 |
Note: If any free meals are received, during the trip, the maximum daily allowance is reduced to half the amount, stated in the table above.
Accommodation allowance
The employee can be granted a refund, from the employer, for their accommodation, used during their business travel. To be given a refund, besides the per diem granted, the employee has to provide reliable proof of accommodation expenses. Reliable proof of this, could be invoice/receipt, or other reliable written proof. If proof of expense is provided, the maximum tax-free allowances is set to the amount of the specific proof (invoice/receipt).
International business travels
When the employee has to go on an international business trip, the maximum tax-free amounts are not set as a standard amount for all countries. The maximum amount is specifically set for each country/region. Furthermore the amount is specified by the duration of the business trip. The different provisions can be found here: The maximum per diems payable for business travel outside Finland are as follows.
Documentation and Payment
Employers are responsible for ensuring all conditions for tax-free travel allowances are met and must maintain documentation for the purpose of the trip, the number of business travel days, and the calculation of the allowance.
Want to know more?
If you need further information, we recommend that you read more about allowances on vero skatt’s website. If you are looking for a system that can handle travel allowances for your employees, Acubiz calculate allowance based on the current national rates which we make sure to update automatically.