16B Statement on foreign income (capital income) – Instructions

Foreign-source income must be reported for tax purposes

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

Log in to MyTax to submit the report on foreign-source income. If you use MyTax, you do not need Form 16B. However, to send the required information on your capital income you can apply the present instructions on these pages. If you prefer to submit the report on a paper form, go to the Forms page to download: Statement on foreign income, capital income (Form 16B).

Please complete just one form, both for adding information and for making corrections to information. For example, if you have any foreign dividends or interest among your income, and you received the dividends or interest through a Finnish broker, the amounts will appear on your pre-completed tax return form. Check the information on the pre-completed return and make corrections if necessary.

If you are submitting your report on foreign-source income on a paper form, please note that earned income must be reported on a different form. For earned income, you must fill out Form 16A instead.

You are also required to report any capital gains received from abroad on publicly traded stocks and securities, or any capital losses relating to the same. You can also submit the gains and losses in MyTax or on a paper form if you prefer: Capital gains and capital losses from trading with securities (Form 9A).

If you engage in trading with cryptocurrencies, and you have capital gains or capital losses, you should declare them in My Tax as ‘other property’ capital gains or losses, or alternatively, complete and submit the paper form: Capital gain or capital loss (Form 9). 

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

Form 16B can also be used to report information to the Tax Administration when applying for a tax card or for a calculation of tax prepayments. Complete Form 5010e to apply for tax card/tax prepayments and enclose Form 16B.

You can use Form 16B also in case you need to submit a claim for adjustment after the Tax Administration has finished your tax-assessment process for the year. Fill in the claim for adjustment of income tax (Form 3308e) and enclose Form 16B.

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

Tips on filling in and submitting the form

To correct the information you have provided or to claim an adjustment, fill in all the lines of the section to which you have made changes.

Report the income in euros and cents. If the income was paid in a currency other than euros, convert the income and income taxes (if any) into euros using the exchange rate for the transaction date. You can also use the average exchange rate published by the ECB.

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

For capital gains and losses, you must use the exchange rate that was in force at the time of the transaction.

The return address is marked 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 you for them, if necessary.

Instructions for filling in the form

1 Taxpayer identification and the tax year
2 Foreign dividend income
3 Rental income from abroad
4 Foreign capital gains or losses
5 Other foreign capital income

1 Taxpayer identification and the tax year

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

2 Foreign dividend income

This section is for reporting your dividend income from a foreign country.

• Report the country from which dividend was received and the amount of dividend.
• If you have paid taxes on the dividends abroad, report the amount on the line 'Tax paid abroad'. The amount of taxes entered here may not exceed the maximum amount of tax refund to be calculated on the basis of a treaty-based tax rate. In the Nordic Tax Treaty, for example, the tax rate for withholding taxes on dividends is 15%. The amount of taxes entered in the section 'Tax paid abroad' may not exceed the amount calculated according to the tax treaty-based tax rate, even if you have paid more taxes abroad.
• Report the name of the company distributing the dividends and check the box, according to whether the company is a publicly traded or non-publicly traded company.
• If you have received dividend income from a non-publicly traded company, also report the total number of shares and the mathematical or fair value of the shares in euros and cents (fair value as on the last day of the tax year).
• Also report any expenses incurred in acquiring or maintaining dividend income.

If taxes have been withheld on the dividend income abroad based on a tax rate higher than the one specified in the applicable tax treaty, a tax refund is claimed from the tax source. For instance, if the tax rate applied in Sweden was higher than 15%, you must claim a tax refund from the Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency.

Check the maximum amounts of creditable tax based on a tax treaty, when dividend income is received from abroad.

3 Rental income from abroad

This section is for reporting rental income you have received from abroad. If you co-own a rental property, you only need to report your share of the rental income and any associated costs.

3.1 Calculation of rental profit or loss

• Check the box for an apartment or a real estate unit. If you check the box for other property, specify which type of property you have rented out.
• Report the country in which the asset rented out is located.
• If the asset rented out has a code, enter it on the line 'Code of the asset rented out'.
• Report the name and address of the asset rented out.
• Report the rental period, as well as your percentage share of ownership in the asset.
• Report the gross amount of rental income and the expenses relating to rental income, without interest.
• You can also report the amount of depreciation relating to real estate and other property (read more in the instructions for section 3.2). First, fill in section 3.2 'Calculation of depreciation' and then transfer the total amount of depreciation for the tax year to this section's line 'Depreciation for the tax year'.
• Calculate and report the net taxable rental income or taxable loss from rental operations (the difference between income and expenses without interest). Enter the positive difference on the line marked with a plus sign and the negative difference on the line marked with a minus sign.
• If you have paid taxes on the rental income abroad, report the amount on the line 'Tax paid abroad'. Report tax paid abroad only if the other country is entitled to tax rental income under a tax treaty.
• If you have taken out a loan for the purpose of acquiring income relating to an asset which you have rented out in a foreign country, report the amount of interest payments on the line 'Amount of interest payments relating to the rental income'.

3.2 Calculation of depreciation (real estate, other property)

Regarding the taxation of rental income, depreciation refers to the deduction and deferral of the acquisition costs of buildings rented out, long-term expenses, fixtures, appliances and other movable property (e.g. a boat).

• Check either the box for real estate or for other property.
• If you checked the box for real estate, report the total acquisition price of the real estate unit. If you checked the box for other property, leave this line empty.
• Enter the depreciation rate you have used (for example, the maximum depreciation rate for a residential building rented out is 4% of the building's undepreciated acquisition cost):
  • The maximum depreciation rate for movable property (both within real estate and for other property) is 25%.
  • The maximum depreciation rate for a store, warehouse, factory or workshop is 7%.
  • The maximum depreciation rate for a residential or office building is 4%.
• For a building rented out, report the building or property's share of the total acquisition price of the real estate unit, in euros. If you checked the box for other property, leave this line empty.
• Report the undepreciated acquisition cost at the start of the tax year. Also fill in this line for other types of property.
• Report the additions made to the acquisition cost of the property and the undepreciated acquisition cost after the additions. If you have not made any additions, on the line 'Undepreciated acquisition cost after the additions' enter the same amount as you reported on the line 'Undepreciated acquisition cost at the start of the tax year'.
• Calculate the amount of depreciation (the share of the undepreciated acquisition cost based on the depreciation rate you used) and enter it on the line 'Depreciation for the tax year'. Add together the amounts of depreciation reported in all the columns, on the line 'Depreciation for the tax year' and transfer the total amount to section 3.1, line 'Depreciation for the tax year'.
• Subtract the amount on the line 'Depreciation for the tax year' from the amount on the line 'Undepreciated acquisition cost after the additions' and enter the difference on the line 'Undepreciated acquisition cost at the end of the tax year'.

4 Foreign capital gains or losses

This section is for reporting your capital gains or losses from abroad.

If you only owned part of the asset that was sold or transferred, report the share of the selling price, acquisition cost and selling costs of your co-owned part of the asset, as well as the corresponding amount of capital gains or losses.

Please note that you must submit a special report on any capital gains and losses received from abroad for publicly traded corporate stocks and book-entries, as well as on any capital refunds taxed as capital gains. To do that, you can log in to MyTax or submit the paper form: Capital gains and capital losses from trading with securities (Form 9A).

This section is also for giving details on any sales for which you have received non-taxable gains for which you have suffered losses that are non-tax-deductible.

Household assets

The gains derived from selling household assets are not taxable income if the total gains for the tax year are a maximum of EUR 5,000. Household assets do not include cars, boats, valuable jewellery, works of art or other investment property.

Small-scale selling

The gains derived from selling assets is not taxable income if the total selling prices of the assets sold during the tax year are a maximum of EUR 1,000. The losses incurred from selling assets is non-deductible if the total acquisition costs of the assets sold during the tax year are a maximum of EUR 1,000 and the corresponding total selling prices are also a maximum of EUR 1,000.

In the capital gains or losses, do not include the selling of assets for which gains have been separately deemed tax-exempt by law, or the selling of household assets or other comparable assets intended for personal use.

Selling your home

Instructions on the sale of your permanent home are provided in section 4.2.

4.1 Property sold

• Report the country in which the sold property is located.
• Check the box for the type of property in question: real estate, shares in a housing company or real estate company, or shares in a non-publicly traded (non-listed) company. Report the name and code (if any) of the sold property. If you checked the box for other property, specify what type of property you have sold.
• Report the selling date and acquisition date, as well as the ownership interest sold, either fractional (½) or percentage share (50%).
• Report the personal identity code, Business ID or TIN (Tax Identification Number) and the name of the buyer or other recipient.
• Check one of the boxes if the sold property was received as a gift or inheritance. Report the name and the personal identity code, Business ID or TIN of the decedent or donor.

4.2 Sale of permanent home

The capital gains derived from selling are not taxable income if you sell an apartment or a house that you have owned for at least two years and have used as your own or your family's permanent home during your ownership, for an uninterrupted period of at least two years before the sale.

The capital gains on the land associated with the sold property are also tax-exempt if the land area is 10,000 square metres or less, or if the land is located in a planning area and does not exceed the master plan's maximum limit for a plot or building site.

This section is for reporting the length of the period during which you or your family used the sold house or apartment as a permanent home.

Also report the total area of the building or apartment and the part used as a permanent home by you or your family.

If you are reporting the selling of a building, also report the area of land on which the sold building is located.

The section for calculating capital gain or capital loss does not have to be filled in concerning the tax-exempt sale of a permanent home.

4.3 Calculation of capital gain or capital loss

A capital gain or capital loss can be calculated by using the actual costs (in the column on the left) or the deemed acquisition cost based on holding time (in the column on the right). Only report the information relating to your ownership share.

• Selling price: Report the actual selling price.
• Acquisition price or undepreciated acquisition cost, or taxable value used for the purposes of inheritance and gift tax: If you have applied depreciation to the acquisition cost based on the holding time, report the acquisition price to which the depreciation was applied in the tax assessment.
  If the sold property was received as an inheritance or as a gift, report the taxation value established for inheritance tax or gift tax purposes. Notwithstanding the above, if the property was received as a gift and less than a year has passed between the date of reception and the selling date, on this line enter the donor's acquisition cost, i.e. the amount which the donor could have claimed as a deduction in their own tax assessment.
• Transfer tax or corresponding tax paid abroad: If you paid a transfer tax or a corresponding tax abroad upon acquiring the property, report this in the calculation.
• Property acquisition costs: Report any other expenses directly related to the acquisition of property, such as the brokerage, audit, appraisal and attorney's feespaid by the buyer.
• Capital improvement costs: In the calculation, report the expenses arising from capital improvements to the sold property during your holding time. Also report any expenses due to annual improvements conducted to prepare the property for selling.
• Selling costs: Report the costs arising from selling the property and other expenses incurred in acquiring or maintaining a profit
• Deemed acquisition cost: If you calculate the amount of capital gains based on the deemed acquisition cost, calculate and report the deemed acquisition cost on the line 'Deemed acquisition cost 20% or 40% of the selling price'.
  • The amount of deemed acquisition cost depends on the holding time of the sold property. Based on a holding time of less than 10 years, the deemed acquisition cost is 20% of the selling price. Based on a holding time of 10 years or more, the deemed acquisition cost is 40% of the selling price.
  • The holding time of property received as a gift begins on the date of reception.
  • If you are also reporting in the calculation items to be added to the selling price, add them to the selling price and calculate the deemed acquisition cost.
• Capital gain or capital loss: Calculate the amount of capital gain or capital loss by subtracting the acquisition price from the selling the price, as well as any costs relating to the acquisition and sale. If you use a deemed acquisition cost, subtract it from the selling price. If you do this, the costs arising from the acquisition or sale of the property can no longer be subtracted.
  • If you are also reporting in the calculation items to be added to the selling price or acquisition price, add them to the acquisition price or selling price and calculate the amount of capital gain or capital loss (see also the section 'Additions' in these instructions).
  • Report the amount of capital gains or capital loss you calculated on the line 'Capital gains' or 'Capital loss' respectively.
• Tax paid abroad: If you have paid taxes abroad for selling property, report the amount of taxes paid. Report tax paid abroad only if the other country is entitled to tax income gained from the selling of assets under a tax treaty.

Additions

• Additions to the selling price: Report items to be added to the selling price if you have received compensation for damage to the sold property during the year of sale or the five previous years. Report the portion of the amount of compensation that was not used to repair or renew the damaged property.
• Additions to the acquisition price: Report any items to be added to the acquisition price. For instance, if a share in a general partnership or limited partnership has been sold, the positive balance of a private account can be reported as an addition to the acquisition price.
• If the property sold was a forest estate, report any items to be added to the capital gain or capital loss. An amount of the forest deduction corresponding to no more than 60% of the acquisition cost of the sold forest estate is added to the capital gain or capital loss derived from selling the forest estate.

5 Other foreign capital income

This section is for other capital income that you have received from foreign countries. The different types of other capital income are:

5.1 Returns from a foreign UCITS
5.2 Interest from another EU Member Country
5.3 Interest from non-EU countries

If you have received income outside of any of the above types of income, the 5.4 Other capital income; please specify field is where you should fill in the amounts. Describe the type of income you have received. For example, report here any foreign-sourced income from a unit-linked insurance or an endowment insurance (such as ‘insurance wrapper’) and profits from contracts for difference (CFDs). Read more about CFDs, contracts for difference.

Foreign-sourced income from timber sales

At 5.4 Other capital income; please specify, also report income from timber sales taxable as capital income, for example when you have sold timber from your leisure property located abroad. Report as income “Income from timber sale”. Read more about foreign-sourced income from timber sales (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish).

Foreign-sourced income from forestry

If you are engaged in sustainable forestry on your foreign property, file a tax return for forestry in MyTax or on a paper form: Tax return for forestry (Form 2C) (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish). If you have paid taxes abroad, also report the income as other foreign-sourced capital income in section 5.4 so that double taxation can be eliminated. Report as income “Income from forestry”. Read more about foreign-sourced income from timber sales (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish)

Data to be reported on other foreign-sourced capital income

Fill in the names of the countries of source, the names of the payors, and the (gross) amount of income. If you have paid taxes on the income abroad, enter the amount of taxes paid under “Tax paid abroad”. Please note that the tax treaties that Finland has signed with other countries often contain maximum tax rates for certain categories of income. The maximum rate defines the ceiling for the tax that can be imposed in the Contracting State from where the amount is paid to you. You are required to report no more than a sum calculated in accordance with the maximum tax rate, as appropriate. The maximum amount that Finland can give credit for is equal to the sum of foreign tax paid in accordance with the maximum tax rate.

Maximum amounts of creditable tax based on a tax treaty, when interest income is received from abroad

You can also use the section 5.4 Other capital income; please specify to report any losses due to your foreign-based holdings in an equity savings account, savings-linked life insurance, capital redemption policy, term life insurance, or any insurance contract subjected to special tax treatment (under §35b as discussed above). If you report these losses, enter the amount under "Amount of income" as a negative figure with a minus sign in front.

Date and sign the form. Give your daytime telephone number.