Scam messages have been sent out in the Tax Administration’s name. Read more about scams.

Tax-exempt allowances in 2022 for business travel

Date of issue
11/25/2021
Record no.
VH/5752/00.01.00/2021
Validity
1/1/2022 - Until further notice

Decision of the Tax Administration on tax-exempt allowances for travel expenses in 2022

— English translation —

Under § 73 and § 75.2 of Income Tax Act (tuloverolaki) of 30 Dec 1992 (1535/1992), including the amendments by Act no 504/2010 and by Act no 1246/2013, the Finnish Tax Administration has set out the following:

§ 1

The criteria for and amounts of allowances for travel expenses, to be considered exempt from tax in the 2022 taxation, shall be as prescribed in this decision below.

§ 2

Travel expenses are the costs arising from a taxpayer's business travel in the territory of Finland or other countries.

§ 3

Business trips mean any short-term trips by an employee in performing his duties to a place where he temporarily performs working tasks or conducts business, distinct from his regular place of work. If, because of the nature of his work, the employee has no regular place of work, any short trip by employee from home to a temporary place of employment is a business trip.

Furthermore, trips under the following circumstances are also regarded as business trips:

  1. Location of the workplace is elsewhere than inside the facilities or establishments that belong to the employer or to a closely related corporate entity within the employer’s sphere of interest;
  2. Work falls into the definition of temporary work under § 72 a, Income Tax Act (tuloverolaki);
  3. Location is at a distance exceeding 100 kilometres from the taxpayer’s home;
  4. Taxpayer has stayed overnight, due to the trip to the workplace, in temporary quarters, which are necessary because of the distant location of the workplace.

Nevertheless, travelling or commuting between home and regular place of work is not considered a 'business trip' or 'travelling in business'. This also concerns weekend travel or other similar travel between home and a temporary place of employment, during a longer work assignment spanning several work weeks.

If it is typical for the line of work that the location of employment changes frequently because of the short-term nature of work in the particular sector, daily travel from home to a temporary 2 location will only make the employee eligible to receive allowances for 'travel expenses proper' referred to in §7, §8 and §9 below, if the employee has no main or regular place of work. The employee shall, however, also be entitled to meal money (§14) if he has no opportunity to benefit from meal services arranged by his employer on the temporary location or in its immediate vicinity.

§ 4

Travel made otherwise than as referred to in section 3, paragraphs 1 and 2, by an employee to his secondary workplace, only makes the employee eligible to receive allowance for 'travel expenses proper' (see §7, §8 and §9), and to receive allowance for accommodation (see §16). Secondary workplace means such ordinary establishment of the employer, or another corporation within the same sphere of interests with the employer, which is situated in another area, or another state, than the employee’s primary, main or regular place of work.

Travelling to and from an employee’s separate accommodation and his secondary workplace does not entitle the employee to receive allowance for 'travel expenses proper' when the separate accommodation is necessary because of the location of the secondary workplace.

§ 5

The main or regular place of work is the employee’s permanent place of employment. If, owing to the itinerant nature of his work, the employee has no permanent place of employment, the main or regular place of work is considered the place where he receives his assignments and keeps the clothes, tools or materials that he uses in his work, or any other location with a similar function in respect of the performance of his duties.

§ 6

A day of travel means a period of no more than 24 hours beginning from the time that the employee sets out on a business trip from his workplace or home. A day of travel ends when the employee returns from a business trip to his workplace or home.

§ 7

Allowance for travel expenses proper to be paid for business travel means reimbursement for tickets for travel, seats or sleeping car berths and other comparable expenses directly related to travel.

Allowance for travel expenses proper also includes costs for the transport of tools and other such
equipment that the employee must take with him.

§ 8

The maximum allowance for travel expenses, payable for the business travel of the employee using
transport other than a motor vehicle owned or held by him is the amount spent on travel expenses proper, demonstrated with tickets provided by the transport company or other reliable proof.

§ 9

The maximum allowance for an employee’s business travel using a means of transport owned or held by him shall be:

Table of maximum allowance for an employee’s business travel
Vehicle (means of transport) Maximum allowance amounts per Km
Passenger car 46 cents, raised by:
  • 8 cents for towing a trailer.
  • 12 cents, if performance of the duties-at-hand requires towing a caravan attached to the car.
  • 23 cents, if performance of duties requires towing a mobile canteen or other comparable heavy load attached to the car.
  • 3 cents for transporting machinery or other items in the car; weighing over 80 kilograms, or of large size.
  • 3 cents, if performance of duties requires the employee to transport a dog in the car
  • 10 cents for actual kilometers driven on forest roads or road construction sites closed to other traffic if performance of duties so requires.
Motorboat, up to 50 hp 80 cents
Motorboat, more than 50 hp 116 cents
Snowmobile 110 cents
All-terrain quadbike 104 cents
Motorcycle 35 cents
Moped 19 cents
Other means of transport 11 cents.

If other persons, for whose transport the employer is responsible, travel in a vehicle owned or held by the employee, the maximum allowance referred to in paragraph 1 is raised by 3 cents per Km and passenger.

If an employee, enjoying the company car benefit known as the limited benefit (käyttöetu; förmån att använda bil), referred to in the official decision of the Tax Administration on benefits-in-kind, uses the company car for business travel and pays for the energy to run the vehicle, he is entitled to a kilometer allowance of no more than 10 cents per Km.

§ 10

Per diem, i.e. daily allowance means coverage for a reasonable increase in meal expenses and other living expenses incurred by the employee during business travel. Thus, per diem does not include allowance for travel expenses proper or accommodation expenses.

§ 11

Per diem is payable only for such a day when the temporary place of employment is located more than 15 Kms away from either the employee’s main or regular workplace or his home, depending on where the travel begins. Moreover, the temporary place of employment should be more than 5 Kms away both from the main or regular workplace and from home.

§ 12

Depending on the duration of a business trip, the maximum per diem amounts are the following

Table of maximum per diem amounts
Duration of trip Maximum per diem
More than 6 hours (partial amount) €20.00
More than 10 hours (full amount) €45.00
and, if travel time exceeds the last full day of travel:
- by at least 2 hours
€20.00

- by more than 6 hours

€45.00

For any day of travel, when the employee receives free meals, or meals included with the travel ticket, the maximum per diem is half the amount specified in paragraph 1. Free meals comprise two free meals in the case of full per diem, and one free meal in the case of partial per diem.

§ 13

The maximum per diems payable for business travel outside Finland are as follows:

Table of maximum per diems payable for business travel outside Finland
Country or region Maximum per diem €
Afghanistan   47.00
Albania    67.00
Algeria 60.00
Andorra 59.00
Angola 57.00
Antiqua and Barbuda 78.00
Argentina 37.00
Armenia 54.00
Aruba 60.00
Australia 69.00
Austria 68.00
Azerbaidzhan 54.00
Azores 61.00
Bahamas 76.00
Bahrain 73.00
Bangladesh 66.00
Barbados 73.00
Belarus 51.00
Belgium 67.00
Belize 46.00
Benin 43.00
Bermuda 75.00
Bhutan 44.00
Bolivia 41.00
Bosnia and Hercegovina 51.00
Botswana 43.00
Brazil 59.00
Brunei 40.00
Bulgaria 57.00
Burkina Faso 38.00
Burundi 43.00
Cambodia 59.00
Cameroon 54.00
Canada 71.00
Canary Islands 63.00
Cape Verde 43.00
Central African Republic 92.00
Chad 56.00
Chile 48.00
China 73.00
-Hong Kong 76.00
Colombia 48.00
Comoros 33.00
Congo (Congo-Brazzaville) 61.00
Congo, Democratic Republic of
(Congo-Kinshasa)
40.00
Cook Islands 68.00
Costa Rica 49.00
Côte d’Ivoire, Ivory Coast 73.00
Croatia 63.00
Cuba 44.00
Curaçao 50.00
Cyprus 61.00
Czech Republic 68.00
Denmark 71.00
Djibouti 71.00
Dominica 54.00
Dominican Republic 53.00
East Timor 46.00
Ecuador 55.00
Egypt 72.00
El Salvador 48.00
Eritrea 77.00
Estonia 58.00
Ethiopia 41.00
Faroe Islands 55.00
Fiji 50.00
France 70.00
Gabon 87.00
Gambia 43.00
Georgia 42.00
Germany 66.00
Ghana 52.00
Greece 59.00
Greenland 56.00
Grenada 64.00
Guadeloupe 51.00
Guatemala 64.00
Guinea 69.00
Guinea-Bissau 37.00
Guyana 43.00
Haiti 48.00
Honduras 48.00
Hungary 56.00
Iceland 75.00
India 56.00
Indonesia 51.00
Iran 80.00
Iraq 51.00
Ireland 67.00
Israel 87.00
Italy 66.00
Ivory Coast, Côte d’Ivoire 73.00
Jamaica 51.00
Japan 76.00
Jordania 80.00
Kazakhstan 45.00
Kenya 74.00
Korea, Democratic People's
Republic (North Korea)
63.00
Korea,
Republic of (South Korea)
81.00
Kosovo 50.00
Kuwait 72.00
Kyrgystan 39.00
Laos 47.00
Latvia 57.00
Lebanon 92.00
Lesotho 36.00
Liberia 53.00
Libya 47.00
Liechtenstein 66.00
Lithuania 55.00
Luxembourg 69.00
Macedonia 54.00
Madagascar 40.00
Madeira 60.00
Malawi 68.00
Malaysia 49.00
Maldives 60.00
Mali 41.00
Malta 66.00
Marshall Islands 55.00
Martinique 53.00
Mauritania 46.00
Mauritius 45.00
Mexico 55.00
Micronesia 50.00
Moldova 56.00
Monaco 92.00
Mongolia 39.00
Montenegro 59.00
Morocco 69.00
Mozambique 45.00
Myanmar (formerly Burma) 57.00
Namibia 39.00
Nepal 47.00
Netherlands 72.00
New Zealand 72.00
Nicaragua 42.00
Niger 46.00
Nigeria 76.00
Norway 71.00
Oman 66.00
Pakistan 33.00
Palau 77.00
Palestinian territory 77.00
Panama 54.00
Papua New Guinea 64.00
Paraguay 32.00
Peru 49.00
Philippines 65.00
Poland 57.00
Portugal 62.00
Puerto Rico 57.00
Qatar 67.00
Romania 59.00
Russian Federation 56.00
-Moscow 70.00
-St. Petersburg 64.00
Rwanda 36.00
Saint Kitts and Nevis 59.00
Saint Lucia 71.00
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 71.00
Samoa 53.00
San Marino 61.00
Sao Tome and Principe 85.00
Saudi Arabia 68.00
Senegal 53.00
Serbia 63.00
Seychelles 74.00
Sierra Leone 57.00
Singapore 68.00
Slovakia 64.00
Slovenia 61.00
Solomon Islands 53.00
Somalia 67.00
South Africa 53.00
South Sudan 92.00
Spain 65.00
Sri Lanka 39.00
Sudan 25.00
Suriname 72.00
Swaziland 41.00
Sweden 63.00
Switzerland 78.00
Syria 84.00
Tadzhikistan 35.00
Taiwan 67.00
Tanzania 49.00
Thailand 60.00
Togo 52.00
Tonga 53.00
Trinidad and Tobago 70.00
Tunisia 54.00
Turkey 37.00
-Istanbul 39.00
Turkmenistan 80.00
Uganda 43.00
Ukraine 70.00
United Arab Emirates 73.00
United Kingdom 68.00
-London and Edinburgh 72.00
United States 72.00
-New York, Los Angeles, Washington 78.00
Uruguay 51.00
Uzbekistan 31.00
Vanuatu 60.00
Venezuela 85.00
Viet Nam 64.00
Virgin Islands (USA) 51.00
Yemen 92.00
Zimbabwe 51.00
Zambia 58.00
Any other country, not specified above 46.00

The per diem allowance concerns one day of travel i.e. 24 hours from the beginning of a business trip or 24 hours from the end of the preceding day of travel.

The maximum amount of per diem is defined on the basis of the country or region where the day of foreign travel ends. If the day of travel ends on a ship or airplane, the amount should be based on the country from where the ship or airplane last departed or, if leaving Finland, where it will first arrive.

Upon returning to Finland, the employee is entitled to half of the per diem for foreign travel paid for the last completed day of travel if the length of the business trip exceeds, by more than two hours, the last full day of travel that ended in foreign territory or in a ship or airplane departing from such territory.

If the length of a business trip exceeds, by more than ten hours, the last full day of travel, which ended in foreign territory or in a ship or airplane departing from such a territory, the employee is entitled to a per diem for foreign travel for the last full day of travel. The maximum amount payable for a day of travel or part thereof beginning after the employee returns to Finland must be determined as prescribed above in § 12.

For any business trip in foreign countries lasting a minimum of 10 hours, the employee is entitled to the confirmed amount for the relevant country. If the total duration of the trip is shorter than 10 hours the amount should be paid in accordance with the provisions and amounts applicable to domestic travel.

If the employee receives free meals or meals included in the price of a ticket or a hotel room the per diem must be reduced by 50 percent. For the purposes of calculation of per diems for foreign travel, two free meals constitute ‘free meals’.

If a business trip outside Finnish territory is made, the work being done under exceptional circumstances at the request of an employer located in Finland, and if the employee returns to Finnish territory for the night, and no per diem is being paid under § 12 above, the maximum allowance for business travel, by derogation from subparagraph 1 above is €18.00.

§ 14

Meal money can only be paid if no per diem is being paid, and the work assignment prevents the employee from having a meal at his normal eating-place during his meal break. The maximum amount is confirmed as €11.25.

If the employee has to have two meals at a place other than his normal eating-place during a business trip and no per diem is being paid the maximum meal money equals €22.50.

§ 15

The maximum allowance for accommodation payable over and above the per diem is the amount shown on a receipt or other reliable written proof provided by the accommodation establishment.

§ 16

The maximum allowance for accommodation payable, over and above the allowance for travel to the secondary workplace, is the amount shown on a receipt provided by the accommodation establishment, or a reasonable amount shown on other reliable written proof.

§ 17

An allowance for night travel is payable only if at least 4 hours (during a day of travel for which the employee is entitled to a per diem) are between the hours of 09:00 PM and 07:00 AM and if the employer does not arrange any free accommodation for the employee or pay him allowance for accommodation or for a sleeping car berth. The maximum allowance for night travel is €13.00.

§ 18

Seafarers: The foregoing provisions on allowances for travel expenses are applicable to the tax-exempt allowances under the law, payable to taxpayers earning seafarer’s income.

§ 19

This decision comes into force on January 1, 2022 and is applicable to business travel or part thereof taking place in 2022.

Page last updated 11/25/2021