Application for advance ruling

This guidance is for both individual and corporate taxpayers.

You can request an advance ruling on a tax matter from the Tax Administration:

  • An advance ruling is a binding decision on how the Tax Administration will resolve a specific tax matter. 
  • The decision is subject to a charge, see the price list for advance rulings (available in Finnish and Swedish).
  • You can request an advance ruling only in a matter that concerns your own tax assessment. Binding advance rulings are not issued on tax matters of a general nature.

In the case of value added taxation, you can also request written guidance. Written guidance is free of charge.

When can an advance ruling be requested?

If your application for advance ruling concerns income taxes, submit the application before the due date of the tax return. Even if the Tax Administration has granted you an extension for filing your tax return, you must submit your application for advance ruling by the original due date.

If your application concerns other than income taxes, request an advance ruling before you must file or pay the tax or before you must withhold tax.

An advance ruling on gift tax can be issued only if the gift has not yet been given. An advance ruling on inheritance tax cannot be requested until after the person leaving the inheritance has died. Further, it must be requested before the assessment of inheritance tax.

In what role are you requesting an advance ruling?

Submit the application in MyTax if possible. In MyTax, you can also follow how the processing of your application progresses.

If you cannot submit the application in MyTax:

Submit a free-form written application. You can find more detailed instructions on the application’s content on this page.

Keep the document simple, avoid special formatting. Save the file preferably as a text file in doc or docx format. Avoid files containing documents scanned in image format. If needed, you can also save the file in any of the following formats: pdf. rtf, jpeg, jpg, tiff and png. The file cannot be more than 30 megabytes (MB).

Send the completed file to the person responsible for submitting it in MyTax. 

In addition to filing the attachment, the taxpayer must also enter the following information in MyTax:

  • what tax type and tax year the application for advance ruling concerns
  • contact details of the person providing further information
  • web invoice address if the taxpayer wants to receive a web invoice.

You can submit the application in MyTax if you have been granted a Suomi.fi authorisation for handling tax matters of a person or company.

If you do not have a Suomi.fi authorisation, you can submit an application for advance ruling on paper. Do as follows:

How to request an advance ruling

1

File the application

File an application in MyTax. Please describe in detail the tax or business related matter on which you are requesting an advance ruling. The application must contain all the relevant information and clarifications with any attachments needed. If the subject of your application is how a matter related to a contract or another document is interpreted in taxation, attach a copy of the document.

File the application in MyTax

  1. Select the Tax matters tab.
  2. Under Applications, select All.
  3. Click the link Advance ruling.

If you cannot submit the application in MyTax or if the application includes inside information, make a free-form written application. Attach a separate cover page to the application: Cover page for advance ruling, special permit or guidance application (7300e). 

Note! The application can be made in Finnish or Swedish. The application cannot be made in English.

2

PROCESSING OF THE APPLICATION

The Tax Administration will process the application as soon as possible after receiving all the clarifications and documents needed. If you include all the necessary clarifications in your application, it will speed up the processing.

If necessary, you can supplement the application later. The Tax Administration may also ask you to supplement the application.

During the processing, the applicant can cancel the application in writing. In that case, the Tax Administration will issue a written decision on the cancellation. The decision is subject to a processing fee.

You can follow the processing of your application for advance ruling in MyTax: Go to the Tax matters tab, select Status of returns and requests and then View the processing status. You can also check the general estimated processing times

3

YOU RECEIVE A DECISION AND AN INVOICE

When we have processed your application, we will send you a written decision.

The decision is sent to the address you have indicated in the application, or to your or your company’s address that you have given to the Tax Administration earlier. You can also find the decision in MyTax.

You will receive an invoice for the advance ruling separately. The invoice will not be visible in MyTax. See the price list for advance rulings (available in Finnish and Swedish).

4

REQUEST COMPLIANCE WITH THE RULING

After receiving the decision, you must still separately request that the Tax Administration should comply with the advance ruling issued to you. There are no format requirements: you can write the request on your tax return, for example, or attach the advance ruling to your tax return.

If the advance ruling concerns excise taxation, the ruling will be applied without a separate request.

Note the decision’s period of validity.

5

DECISION’S PERIOD OF VALIDITY

An advance ruling on income tax is issued for a fixed period. The maximum period of validity is up until the end of the calendar year following the year when the decision was issued.

If the advance ruling concerns other than income taxes, the period of validity may be different.

If the advance ruling concerns reimbursement of expenses or valuation of fringe benefits, the decision is always for the current year.

Charges for advance rulings

A decision issued on an application for advance ruling is always subject to a charge. You may be asked to pay a decision fee, a processing fee, or both.

If more than one advance ruling regarding the same tax matter is issued in response to your application, each of the rulings is subject to 50% of the fee indicated on the price list. If you submit an application requesting an advance ruling that concerns several applicants, each applicant’s tax assessment will be considered separately.

A processing fee is also collected when

  • the Tax Administration decides not to issue an advance ruling
  • the matter is not examined
  • the taxpayer cancels the application
  • the question made in the application is of a general nature, and so a binding advance ruling cannot be issued
  • the application is so defective that the Tax Administration has to request more than some additional information.

Read more about the charges for the Tax Administration’s services 

Corporate entities can request a pre-emptive discussion

In some cases, corporate entities can contact the Tax Administration for a pre-emptive discussion instead of submitting an application for advance ruling. Read more about the situations where a pre-emptive discussion is recommended.

Read more about requesting an advance ruling regarding

You can request an advance ruling on how the act on car tax (Autoverolaki 777/2020) is applied in the taxation of your vehicle. You can request an advance ruling on matters such as:

  • a vehicle’s taxable value
  • the amount of car tax.

Make a specific question

In the application, make a specific question about car tax and give an account of the vehicle that the question concerns. The Tax Administration does not issue advance rulings on queries of a general nature.


WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD THE APPLICATION FOR ADVANCE RULING INCLUDE?

If you are requesting an advance ruling on the taxable value of your vehicle, state the following:

  • that you are requesting an advance ruling on the vehicle’s taxable value
  • vehicle category
  • make, model and technical details (cylinder capacity, body style, transmission type, drive type, engine power, driving power and number of doors)
  • odometer reading
  • whether the vehicle is new or used; if the vehicle is used, also state the date of first use
  • vehicle identification number (if known)
  • variant and version (if known)
  • other relevant information.

If you are requesting an advance ruling on the amount of car tax, also state the following:

  • that you are requesting an advance ruling on the amount of car tax
  • basis of the vehicle’s CO2 value
  • vehicle’s CO2 value or total mass.

An advance ruling is in force for a limited period of time and no longer than up until the end of the calendar year following the year when the decision was issued. However, an advance ruling on the taxable value or amount of car tax is in force for no more than 3 months.

The Tax Administration must comply with a legally valid advance ruling if the party who requested the ruling so requires. The actual circumstances must match the situation described in the application.

If a car tax return has already been filed on the vehicle, no advance ruling will be issued.

An advance ruling on gift tax can be requested either by the donor or by the gift recipient.

However, the gift recipient cannot request an advance ruling on whether they must pay tax on capital gain. Such a ruling may be requested only by the donor.

MAKE A SPECIFIC QUESTION IN THE APPLICATION

Make a specific question about gift tax in the application. Also give clarifications needed to resolve the matter. Attach a draft of the deed of gift and other relevant documents.

A specific question is not a question about the fair market value of the assets, for example. However, if the value of the assets is relevant to taxation:

  • State the factors that affect the value of the assets.
  • State your personal view of the value of the assets and justify your view.
  • If you have a valuation statement, attach it to the application.

If you are requesting an advance ruling regarding the transfer of assets to the next generation:

  • Be specific in your question about gift tax.
  • Read through the guidance on the transfer of assets to the next generation on tax.fi before submitting the application.
  • Clarify how the preconditions for potential tax relief for the transfer of assets to the next generation are fulfilled in your situation.

Read more

You can request an advance ruling on how a certain action would affect inheritance tax. Examples of such actions include renunciation of inheritance or will, partition, and distribution of inheritance. However, you cannot request an advance ruling on the amount of inheritance tax.

An advance ruling can be requested by a party to the estate, a beneficiary of a special will, and a surviving spouse. A request cannot be made until after the person leaving an inheritance has died. However, it must be made before the Tax Administration finishes the assessment of inheritance tax.

Add copies of existing documents, such as

  • a deed of estate inventory
  • a will
  • a deed of partition, and a deed of estate distribution
  • an estimate statement of the property’s fair market value, if such a statement exists.

You can request an advance ruling on the excise duty payable on a product or on the taxability of business activities. An advance ruling can be issued only to an applicant that files and pays excise duties. In other words, no advance ruling will be issued to a product’s end user that has paid the excise duty included in the product’s purchase price and is then requesting a refund. You can also request an advance ruling on excise taxation when the tax assessment is carried out in line with the provisions relating to customs. In that case, however, the application must be addressed to Customs.

In the application, give a comprehensive account of the facts relating to your tax question. The Tax Administration will resolve the matter on the basis of the legislation in force and of any other legal sources.


MAKE A SPECIFIC QUESTION IN THE APPLICATION

Enter an exact question in the application, i.e. the tax matter on which you are requesting an advance ruling. The question must concern the applicant's own taxation, and the ruling must have a direct effect on the tax imposed on the applicant. Example of a specific question:

  • Is the merger subject to the provisions of § 52 a and 52 b of the act on the taxation of business income (Laki elinkeinotulon verottamisesta 360/1968)?
  • Is the demerger subject to the provisions of § 52 c of the act on the taxation of business income?
  • When a company transfers a business entity as described below to a limited liability company to be established via contribution in kind and receives new shares issued by the receiving company as consideration, are the provisions of section 52 d of the act on the taxation of business income applied to the transfer?
  • If the applicant transfers more than half of the shares of the company they own by share exchange to a limited liability company established before the share exchange and receives new shares issued by the receiving company as consideration, are the provisions on share exchange laid down in section 52 f of the act on the taxation of business income applied to the transfer, in which case profit generated from the share transfer would not be regarded as the applicant's taxable income in accordance with section 45, subsection 5 of the income tax act and loss would not be regarded as deductible expenses?

DESCRIBE THE BUSINESS REORGANISATION PLAN

Describe the business reorganisation plan in the application. The account you give must include the following information:

  • parties involved (companies and their shareholders)
  • group and ownership structure before and after the planned business reorganisation
  • account of the consideration and its basis of determination
  • economic reasons for the business reorganisation
  • account of the company's or companies' activities before and after the business reorganisation
  • if the business reorganisation is part of several consecutive business reorganisations or legal acts, an account of the actions preceding and following the business reorganisation, regardless of whether they have already been implemented or are still being planned
  • as regards total demerger, an account of how the assets and liabilities of the demerging company are divided between the receiving companies
  • as regards business transfer and partial demerger, an account of the business entity transferred and the business entity remaining in the transferring company, including
    • information on the assets, liabilities and reserves of the transferring business entity and of the business entity transferred
    • information on the transfer of employees and contracts to the receiving company or their stay in the demerging company
    • an account stating that the transferred business entity forms an independent economic unit and is able to conduct business independently
  • as regards share exchange, an account of how the share value of the company that the share exchange concerns has been determined.

ADD THE REQUIRED ATTACHMENTS TO THE APPLICATION

At least the following attachments are usually needed to resolve the matter, so make sure you add them to your application:

  • a copy of the most recent financial statements
  • a copy of the merger plan or demerger plan, if one has been drafted
  • a copy of the auditor’s statement regarding the merger plan or demerger plan, if one has been drafted
  • other agreements and draft agreements relevant to the arrangement.

You are expected to provide the Tax Administration with a comprehensive account of the facts relating to your question. When resolving the matter in advance, we will refer to the legislation in force and to other legal sources.

YOUR APPLICATION SHOULD POSE A QUESTION

Your application letter should contain an exact individualised question to be answered, i.e. the fiscal or tax-related question you are submitting the application for. The question must concern the applicant's own taxes, and the ruling’s impact should concern the taxes directly. The following examples illustrate individualised questions:

  • Will the tax authority regard the business development described in our application letter as an R&D activity within the meaning of the Act concerning additional deductions based on R&D expenses (Laki tutkimus- ja kehittämistoiminnan menoihin perustuvista lisävähennyksistä verotuksessa (1298/2022))?
  • Does the development activity described in our application fulfil the requirements set out by the provisions of § 3, subsections 1 and 2 of the Act concerning additional deductions based on R&D expenses, and will Company A be entitled to claim the general additional deduction for the costs caused by the described activity?
  • Does the development activity described in our application fulfil the requirements set out by the provisions of § 3, subsection 4 of the Act concerning additional deductions based on R&D expenses, and will Company A be entitled to claim an extra additional deduction for the costs, assuming a growth in the costs for the second year of activity?

GIVE FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

Please include a written account on the research and development activity being pursued. Each one of the R&D projects should be separately described. The written account is expected to cover at least the following items:

  1. What are the grounds for your company or organisation to believe that the activity should be deemed to constitute R&D within the meaning of the Act?
    • What is the planned end result of the activity, having a specific purpose or a specific usefulness?
    • What kind of problems are addressed through the pursuit of the activity, and what kind of innovative solutions are being searched? What kind of hypothetical scenarios serve as a base for your activity, and how do you plan to test the hypotheses?
    • What are the grounds that make the searched new solutions or results essentially new?  What are the items concretely describable, that make the searched new solutions and innovations different from currently existing information, products, services or processes?
    • What makes the activity that the additional deduction is claimed for different from your corporate entity’s basic operation of business, and from its usual activities that aim for improvement and development such as your general, regular product development and releases of improved products and services?
    • What kind of R&D tasks are included in the activity that the additional deduction is claimed for, and what are the objectives of these R&D tasks? 
    • What kind of risks are associated with the pursued activity? What kind of scientific or technological dimensions are associated that are unknown?
    • On what grounds are the activities considered systematic?
      • Is there a pre-defined goal? 
      • Prior to the start of your activities, were they backed with financing and resources in advance? 
      • In what way are your activities subjected to follow-up and control?
      • Had there been a project plan laid out beforehand?
    • On what grounds are the activities transferrable or repeatable? 
      • What kind of results are being searched, which will have repeatability? 
      • How can the results of your activity become helpful or useful in the operation of your entity’s business at present, and in the future? 
      • Will your entity be the future owner of the immaterial rights, possibly connected to the new products being researched and developed?
  2. How is the R&D activity associated with your main operation of business or agriculture?
  3. Written account outlining any direct financial support from the state of Finland, or other public financial support, which your entity has received for the R&D activity. Is the financial support characterised as a general financial aid or is it expressly directed towards wage expenses and purchased services?

Add the required attachments to the application

Your application should contain a project plan concerning the R&D activity. Please include it as an enclosed document if available.

Read more: The combined deduction for research and development

Detailed guidance


Page last updated 4/7/2025