Going home for the weekend
Do you spend nights in another district because of your work? Go home every weekend? Work and stay overnight away from home during the week? The allowed deductions depend on your family situation, and on whether your job is permanent or not.
Whether or not you have a family is a factor that affects the deductions as follows:
You can claim the expenses for going home for the weekend to visit your family
- if you are married or in a registered partnership
- if you live together with a partner with whom you have a child, or have had a child in the past.
If you are a single parent and you live with your children who are under 18, or you have joint custody over children under 18 and they live with you part of the time, you can be treated as having family for purposes of deducting travel expenses.
Permanent job away from home and family
If you have a family and your home is located in a different district where you also spend the nights, you may additionally claim the expenses for going home on days off to see your family once a week. Going home on days off to see your family (normally for the weekend) causes deductible expenses, which you may claim up to the amount it would have cost you by the least expensive means of transportation. If it is possible to make the round trip home on public transport during the weekend, you must report the cost of the tickets as your expense.
File these trips under
- Travel expenses – Going home for the weekend (B).
Example: Maija is married and lives in Mikkeli with her husband. Her job is located in Kuopio. She has made arrangements for a place of accommodation in Kuopio and spends nights there during the week. She goes home to Mikkeli every weekend to be with her husband. She leaves Kuopio Friday night, and comes back Sunday night. She is treated as being a taxpayer with a family. She is entitled to deductions once a week for the commute between Kuopio and Mikkeli, for which she must claim the expenses by the least expensive means of transportation.
Another deduction you can get is the daily local commuting between where you stay and where you work at the location of your permanent job; claim it up to the amount it would have cost you to use the least expensive means of transportation.
File these trips under
- Travel expenses − Commuting expenses (A).
A further scenario: Maija who works in Kuopio during the week is entitled to deductions for the commute between her Kuopio accommodation and job, for which she must claim the expenses by the least expensive means of transportation.
If your spouse's registered municipality of domicile is different from your own, you cannot claim the expenses for weekend trips home.
Permanent job located far away from home — no family
If you are treated as having no family, you cannot get deductions for going home for the weekend.
In this case, you only get a deduction for your trips between where you stay and where you work. You must claim these local commuting expenses by the least expensive means of transportation.
File these trips under
- Travel expenses − Commuting expenses (A).
Example: Minttu and Mauri live together in Turku, but they are not married and have no children. Mauri's job is located in Helsinki. Mauri has made arrangements for a place of accommodation in Helsinki and spends nights there during the week. Mauri goes home to Turku every weekend to be with Minttu. For tax purposes, Mauri is treated as having no family. For this reason, he cannot claim any expenses for going home to Turku for the weekend although they live together.
He is only entitled to claim the commuting between his accommodation and job in Helsinki by the least expensive means of transportation.
The assignment away from home
You work in another locality temporarily, at a so-called specific job site. Under these circumstances, travel expenses for weekend travel to the locality in which your home is located are deductible, regardless of your family relations.
A special place of work is one where an employee works on a temporary basis only.
Maximum duration of temporary work at a single location is 3 years. For purposes of this rule, 'temporary work' is not the same as having an employment contract with an agreed termination date.
Read more about the time limits that define temporary work for purposes of deductions. (only in Finnish and Swedish)
You have your temporary workplace and an accommodation in the district, and you commute between them
Commuting expenses at the location where you work are deductible as expenses for the production of income. You may claim the actual expenses for using the means of transportation you actually used.
File these trips under
- Expenses for the production of income.
Going home during the assignment
You may visit your home during your temporary work assignment or job. You must claim the expenses of your weekend trips home by the least expensive means of transportation, as commuting expenses. If the round trip home on public transport can be done during the weekend, you must report the cost of the tickets as your expense.
If your employer pays any of the expenses for your going home for the weekend, the value of this benefit is treated as part of your taxable pay. In this case, you must report the expenses for these journeys (i.e. the expenses you did not pay yourself) according to the amount it would have cost you by the least expensive transportation.
File these trips under
- Travel expenses – Going home for the weekend (B).
Going home because the assignment is interrupted
Reasons for interruptions include holidays or sick leave, or situations where the employer has not made any arrangements for weekend accommodation.
If your assignment is interrupted and you must go home but your employer does not reimburse you for this, you may claim the expenses as expenses for the production of income. You may claim the real expenses for using the means of transportation you actually used.
File these trips under
- Travel expenses – Going home for the weekend (B).
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