16A Statement on foreign income (earned income) – Instructions

Foreign-sourced income must be reported for tax purposes

Individuals living in Finland must also pay taxes in Finland for any income received from foreign sources.

You can report your foreign-sourced income in MyTax. In that case, you do not need the form. However, you can read these instructions for guidance on how to report earned income. If you want to file on paper, the form is available on our Forms page: Form 16A Statement on foreign income (earned income).

Use the same form for reporting missing information and for making corrections. The Tax Administration obtains information on some foreign-sourced income directly from the country from which the income was received; this information is shown on the pre-completed tax return. Such information includes pension received from Sweden, for example. Check the information and make corrections, if necessary.

If you are filing foreign-sourced income on a paper form, please note that there is a separate form for capital income. Use Form 16B to report foreign capital income.

If you have received wages from a foreign employer for any work you have done in Finland, you must report those wages on Form 50A Earned income and deductions. Alternatively, you can report the income in MyTax.

The Tax Administration receives information on income you gain on digital platforms, both from Finland and from abroad. The Tax Administration also supervises the reporting of these details for tax assessment. Remember to always report this type of income on your pre-completed tax return.

Application for a tax card, application for tax prepayments or claim for adjustment

You can also use Form 16A to report information for a tax card or tax prepayments. Request a tax card or tax prepayments with Form 5010e and enclose Form 16A with your application.

Also use Form 16A when you submit a claim for adjustment after the Tax Administration has finished your tax-assessment process for the year. Fill in a claim for adjustment (Form 3308e) and enclose Form 16A with the claim.

Applications for a tax card, applications for tax prepayment and claims for adjustment can also be submitted in MyTax. Using MyTax eliminates the need for paper forms.

Tips on filling in and submitting the form

If you are making corrections to previously provided information or you are claiming an adjustment, fill in all the boxes of the form's section to which you are making changes.

Report the exact income in euros and cents. If the income was paid in a currency other than euros, convert the amount into euros using the average exchange rate published by the European Central Bank. You can also use the exchange rate of the payment date.

Check the average exchange rate for the tax year (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish)

The return address is on the first page of the form. Do not attach any receipts or free-form clarifications to the form; store them for six years after the end of the tax year. The Tax Administration will ask for them, if necessary.

Instructions for filling in the form

1 Personal details and tax year
2 Foreign pension income
3 Work abroad for which you request implementation of the six-month rule
4 Work abroad, not covered by the six-month rule
5 Other foreign earned income

1 Personal details and tax year

Enter your name and personal identity code. Also report the tax year, i.e. the year during which you received income from foreign sources.

2 Foreign pension income

This section is for reporting pension income payments received from abroad. Foreign pension income is itemised on the form according to the basis of the pension. The different types of pension are:

2.1 Pension based on private-sector employment (statutory insurance)

Enter your earnings-related pension that is based on your past employment in private-sector companies.

2.2 Pension based on public-sector employment

Enter your earnings-related pension that is based on your past employment in the public sector, for example in municipalities or central government.

2.3 Pension based on public-sector business operations

Enter your earnings-related pension that is based on your past employment in a publicly owned company that conducts business operations.

2.4 Pension based on other social insurance scheme

Enter your occupational accident pension, pension comparable to Finnish national pension, or other pension based on social security legislation. However, this section is not for the earnings-related pension reported in sections 2.1–2.3.

2.5 Pension based on voluntary insurance scheme

Enter any pension based on a voluntary contract on pension insurance taken out by you yourself.

2.6 Pension based on private-sector employment (voluntary insurance)

Enter any pension based on a voluntary contract on pension insurance taken out by your employer.

If your pension is not based on any of the above alternatives, report the pension in section 2.7 Other type of pension; please specify. Also state what the pension is based on.

Report the survivors’ pension, which is based on the deceased person’s (spouse’s or parent’s) earnings-related pension, according to the type of employment. For example, if you receive a survivors' pension that is based on your deceased spouse’s employment in a private-sector company, report it in section 2.1.

Information concerning a pension received from a foreign source must include the country from which the pension was received, the name of the payer of the pension and the (gross) amount of the pension received. If you have paid taxes on the pension abroad, report the amount of taxes on the line ‘Tax paid abroad’. Report tax paid abroad only if the other country is entitled to tax the pension under a tax treaty. Do not include any social security contributions collected abroad in the reported amount of tax paid abroad.

If the pension was paid in a currency other than euros, report the currency exchange fees paid. Note that only currency exchange fees that total over EUR 60 per year should be reported, as the Tax Administration automatically deducts EUR 60 a year from the pension to cover exchange rate fees.

If you are requesting the deferral of pension income and income spreading, check the box in section 2.8.

If your pension is regarded as capital income, you must report it on Form 16B, in section 5.4 Other capital income – please specify.

Read more about foreign pensions

3 Work abroad for which you request implementation of the six-month rule

The amount of taxes paid on wage income earned abroad depends on the applicability of the six-month rule, i.e. the tax exemption provision referred to in § 77 of the income tax act.

This section is for reporting information on work done abroad, for which you are requesting that the six-month rule be applied. If the six-month rule is applied to the wages, no income tax needs to be paid in Finland. However, health insurance contributions on the wages must be paid in Finland if health insurance has been taken out for you in Finland under the Health Insurance Act.

Request that the six-month rule be applied even if your pay has already been entered on the pre-completed tax return as wage income that falls under the six-month rule.

If you have worked partly in Finland (e.g. remotely) and partly abroad, check that the wages you have received for work done in Finland have been marked as taxable wage income on the pre-completed tax return. If the information is incorrect, report the amount of wages you have received for working in Finland to which the six-month rule is not applied. You can submit the information in MyTax. If you want to file on paper, report the wages you have earned from working in Finland on Form 50A Earned income and deductions.

Go to tax.fi and check to which types of employment the six-month rule is applicable:

• Six-month rule: Working for a Finnish employer
• Working for a foreign employer

3.1 Working abroad during the tax year

• Report the country of employment and the period of employment in the tax year. If the work continues in the following year without interruption, the employment end date in the tax year is the last day of the calendar year.

• Check the box for the type of pay you have received: salary for insurance purposes (agreed between the employer and employee), wages subject to withholding tax, or employee stock option.

• Report the name of the employer, the employer’s home country and the amount of pay.

• If you work in a location other than the employer’s home country, report whether the employer has a permanent establishment in your country of employment.

• Check the box if you have an A1/E101 certificate issued in Finland or a Kela decision on eligibility for Finnish social security.

• Check the box if you are applying for the transfer of your tax liability from Finland to another Nordic country. Read more: Do you work in a Nordic country? – Your taxes can be reassigned to the Nordic country that has the taxing rights.

• Also report the number of days you stayed in Finland during the tax year (days of stay in Finland during work abroad).

• If the work continues uninterrupted into the following year, report the duration of the work (employment end date) and the country of employment.

3.2 Stay in Finland during the tax year (dates of arrival and departure)

• Itemise the periods of stay in Finland in section 3.2, entering each period on its own line (dates of arrival and departure).

• If you also worked abroad during the year before the tax year, in section 3.3 report the country of employment, the period of employment and the name of the employer.

Read more about working abroad

4 Work abroad, not covered by the six-month rule

This section is for reporting information on work done abroad that is not covered by the six-month rule. Fill in the country of employment, the name of the employer and the employer’s home country.

If you work in a location other than the employer’s home country, report whether the employer has a permanent establishment in your country of employment.

Indicate which type of income you received

• income paid by a public-sector employer
• seafarer’s income earned on a foreign ship
• income earned on a foreign aircraft
• income earned as a cross-border worker in Sweden or Norway.

Indicate also whether

• you have an A1/E101 certificate issued in Finland, or a Kela decision on eligibility for Finnish social security
• you are asking for income spreading
• you are applying for the transfer of tax liability from Finland to another Nordic country or vice versa. Read more: Do you work in a Nordic country? – Your taxes can be reassigned to the Nordic country that has the taxing rights.

Report the amount of pay (salary and fringe benefits). If you have paid taxes on the income abroad, report the amount on the line ‘Tax paid abroad’. Report tax paid abroad only if the other country is entitled to tax the pay under a tax treaty. Do not include any social security contributions collected abroad in the amount of tax paid abroad.

Report any expenses for commuting to and from work and expenses incurred in acquiring or maintaining income which relate to your work abroad. Travel expenses and expenses incurred in acquiring or maintaining income that relate to working abroad are not reported on Forms 1A (Travel expenses – Commuting) and Form 50A (Earned income and deductions), nor in the corresponding sections in MyTax. 

If you have worked partly in Finland (e.g. remotely) and partly abroad, correct the amount of wages you have received from working in Finland, if necessary. You can correct your wage data in MyTax. If you want to file on paper, correct the amount of wages on Form 50A Earned income and deductions.

Read more about working abroad

5 Other foreign earned income

This section is for reporting other income earned in a foreign country. The different types of other earned income are:

5.1 Trade income
5.2 Pay or fee for athlete or performing artist
5.3 Scholarship or grant
5.4 Compensation for membership of a governing body
5.5 Royalties

If the income you earned is not any of the above types of income, report it in section 5.6 Other income; please specify. Describe the type of income you have received. For example, if you receive social-media income from a foreign source, enter the amount(s) in this section. Social-media income includes income from your streaming service, income from your image gallery or galleries, and income from any other content in social media that you have uploaded.

Report the country from which the income was received, the name of the payer, and the gross amount of income. If you have paid taxes on the income abroad, report the amount of taxes paid on the line ‘Tax paid abroad’. Report tax paid abroad only if the other country is entitled to tax the income under a tax treaty. Also report any expenses incurred in acquiring or maintaining the income earned abroad. Check the box if the income was received from a public-sector payer. As regards trade income, also report the country of employment.

If you are asking for income spreading, check the box in section 5.7.