Conditions for claiming the credit for household expenses
You can claim the credit for household expenses if you have work such as cleaning, child care or renovation done at your home. You can also claim the credit for work done at a holiday home you own. The following conditions must be met:
-
What kind of work entitles you to the credit for household expenses?
You can claim the credit for household expenses if you order the following types of work from a third party:
- renovations at your home or holiday home
- cleaning and other household work
- nursing and care, such as child care or elderly care.
Please note: if you did the work yourself, or if the person who did the work lives in the same household as you, you cannot get the credit.
See what types of work give you the right to claim the credit for household expenses
-
Where is the work done?
In order to qualify for the credit, the work must be done
- in your home – the home may be owned or rented by you or your spouse
- in your holiday home
- in your parents’ or grandparents’ home.
Parents cannot claim the credit for work done in their children’s home.
Landlords cannot claim the credit for household expenses for renovations conducted at a property they have rented out. Housing companies cannot claim the tax credit, either.
An estate of a deceased person can claim the credit for the year in which the person died.
-
Is the company in the prepayment register?
When you order work from a company, make sure that the company is in the prepayment register. If the company is not in the register, you cannot claim the credit for household expenses for the work done by the company.
Check the registration before making the contract. If the company is in the register when the contract is made, you can claim the credit for household expenses even if the company is later removed from the register.
You can also claim the credit if the work was done by a non-profit organisation. In this case, the party that carried out the work does not need to be in the prepayment register.
As of 2024, you can also claim the credit for physical or occupational therapy given in your home. If you do, you must make sure that the company is in the prepayment register as well as confirm that they have the right to offer these services and that the person providing the treatment is a certified physical or occupational therapist.
-
Have you received financial support for the work?
You cannot claim the tax credit for household expenses if you have received the following social benefits:
- informal caregiver’s support, child home care allowance, private day care allowance
- financial support for renovations from State funds or from funds of another public body
- voucher for social and health care services granted by your wellbeing services county or by the city of Helsinki
- pay subsidy for wage payments made by a household
- energy subsidy from the Housing Finance and Development Centre ARA in 2020–2023 (subsidy no longer available)
- subsidy for replacing oil heating from the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment.
If you have received a voucher for the work in question from your wellbeing services county or from the city of Helsinki, you cannot claim the credit for household expenses for this work, not even if you have paid a part of the expenses yourself. Having a voucher prevents you from claiming the credit even if you did not actually use the voucher.
If you have applied for financial support (e.g. from the Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment, or ELY Centre), wait until you receive the decision on the application before you claim the credit for household expenses. If you are granted financial support and you accept it, you cannot claim the credit.
-
Other reasons preventing the credit
In general, you cannot get the credit for household expenses for services provided by a municipality. You cannot get the credit if your payment goes to the municipality or city, even if the work itself was done by a company or another third party, such as a sheltered housing community.
You cannot claim the credit for health care and medical services that are not subject to VAT. However, there are some exceptions: you can claim the credit for social services, such as meal services or cleaning, if you purchase the service from a private-sector service provider and not from the municipality. You can also claim the credit for physical therapy provided by a certified physical therapist and for occupational therapy provided by a certified occupational therapist.
You cannot get the credit for expenses that are covered by your insurance company.