Travelling within special sectors of work

Special sectors include construction, earthmoving and forestry. In these sectors, you often work in different places. If your employer does not reimburse your expenses for travelling to a special place of work, you can claim the expenses in taxation.

Sector is determined based on the working conditions

Whether or not you work in a special sector depends on your working conditions, not on your job title. For example, electricians and plumbers may be considered either special-sector workers or itinerant workers. If you do itinerant work, your job location changes more often than in a special sector, typically on a daily or weekly basis. In that case, you will be regarded as an itinerant worker even if you work in construction, earthmoving or forestry. As different rules apply to special sectors and to itinerant work, it is important to distinguish between special-sector work and itinerant work.

Primary place of work

A primary place of work is the location where the employee works on a permanent basis. In general, an employee working in a special sector does not have a primary place of work. However, they may have a primary place of work in two circumstances:

a)    The employee works at the employer’s place of business.

Example 1: A construction supervisor works at the construction company’s office one day a week and at different construction sites on other days. Their primary place of work is the construction company’s office.

b)    An employee works at the same job location for more than three years.

Occasional visits to the employer’s place of business or depot do not form a primary place of work for the employee.

Example 2: A construction worker drives to the construction site every day, stopping at the depot to collect supplies. The depot is not the construction worker’s primary place of work because they do not work there.

Everyday commuting

Trips from home or from an apartment in the area where you work to varying job locations

You can claim your travel expenses from home or from an apartment in the area where you work to your special place of work as expenses for the production of income if your employer does not pay you a tax-exempt compensation for the expenses. You can claim the expenses according to the means of transport you have used.

Report the expenses at Travel expenses — Travel in special sectors.

How to file commuting expenses within special sectors of work in MyTax

Example 3: Antti is a carpenter. He drives from his home directly to the construction site and from there back home again in his own car. His job locations and driving distances vary. Antti may claim the travel expenses as expenses for the production of income, provided that the employer does not reimburse him for the expenses. Antti can claim the expenses according to the cost of driving one’s own car, i.e. €0.27/km (in 2024).

If you have a primary place of work, you can claim expenses for travelling from home to the primary place of work according to the least expensive means of transport. If you also make business trips to special places of work (work sites), you can claim the travel expenses as expenses for the production of income. In that case, the requirement of the least expensive means of transport does not apply. 

Example 4:  Pekka is a construction foreman. He goes to the construction company’s office in the morning. During the day, he visits a construction site and returns to the office. Pekka drives in his own car. When the working day is over, he drives back home. The trip from home to office is a commute, and Pekka can claim the expenses according to the least expensive means of transport if the expenses exceed the personal liability threshold of €900 a year (in 2024). Because Pekka could take a bus from home to office (the least expensive means of transport), he can claim the expenses for the commute only based on the cost of the bus fare.

However, the trips between the construction site and the office are business trips. Pekka can claim the travel expenses as expenses for the production of income, provided that the employer does not reimburse him for them. These expenses Pekka can claim based on the cost of driving one’s own car. The deduction is €0.27/km (in 2024).

Upon request, you must provide the following details on your everyday trips:

• points of departure and destination
• distances travelled (in kilometres)
• how often you went to each place.

Going home for the weekend

Going home for the weekend refers to the employee’s trips from home to their place of work at the beginning of the working week and from the place of work to home at the end of the working week. Other trips comparable to going home for the weekend include leisure trips made during the working week.

Going home during an ongoing job assignment

You can claim the expenses for going home for the weekend during a job assignment as commuting expenses according to the least expensive means of transport. If you can go home and back during the weekend by using public transport, then public transport is your least expensive means of transport.

If your employer reimburses any of the expenses, then the reimbursement you receive is regarded as pay. In this case, you can claim the expenses for travelling home for the weekend according to the least expensive means of transport.

Report the trips home at Travel expenses – Commuting expenses.

Going home when a job assignment is interrupted

A job assignment may be interrupted due to a holiday or sick leave, for example, or if the employer does not provide accommodation for the weekend.

If your job assignment is interrupted, you can claim the expenses for travelling home as expenses for the production of income, provided that the employer does not reimburse you for the expenses. You can claim the expenses according to the means of transport you used.

Report these trips at Travel expenses – Other than commute – Going home for the weekend.

Secondary home

If you live in the same apartment or in apartments in the same district (provided either by the employer or by yourself) in the area where you work for more than three years, the apartment will be regarded as your secondary home. In that case, you can claim expenses for going home for the weekend only if you have a family. The expenses can be deducted according to the least expensive means of transport. For tax purposes, you will be treated as having a family if you are married or in a registered partnership or if you have a partner with whom you have or have had a child.

Report the expenses for going home for the weekend at Travel expenses – Going home for the weekend.

If you do not have a family but you have a secondary home, you cannot claim expenses for going home for the weekend.

Read more about a secondary home (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish) 

Increased living expenses due to business trips

If you work in a special sector, you may be entitled to receive a tax deduction based on increased living expenses, such as the cost of additional meals. Answer questions to see whether you are entitled to the deduction (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish). File the deduction as an expense for the production of income on your tax return.