Deductions for the residents of Åland
According to the Act on the Autonomy of Åland, Åland decides on its municipal income tax independently. For that reason, Åland has its own provisions on the amount of municipal income tax and the deductions available in municipal taxation.
In mainland Finland, deductions granted in state taxation and municipal taxation are equal in amount and they are based on the same grounds. In Åland, the Åland Parliament decides what deductions are granted in munical taxation and how big the deductions are. On account of the Act on the Autonymy of Åland, deductions available in Åland may differ from the deductions available elsewhere in Finland.
The official language of Åland is Swedish. Because of this, the Finnish Tax Administration sends all tax mail – such as tax cards, pre-completed tax returns and tax decisions – in Swedish to all those whose home municipality is in the Åland Islands.
Claim these deductions yourself
How to file Åland deductions in MyTax
Go to Other deductions. Select Yes in the Deductions for the Åland Islands section and report details on the deductions that concern you.
Rental expenses for second home for work
If you need to rent an apartment in the area where you work due to traffic connections, you are entitled to a deduction for the expenses. You qualify for the deduction if the round-trip between your home and place of work takes more than 3 hours and you must use a ferry boat. Another condition for the deduction is that the rental apartment is located in an Åland municipality and that your employer is in the same municipality.
The deduction can be granted based on the actual expenses, but the maximum deduction is €6.90/m2/month for no more than 30 m2.
Note: Report the rental expenses for your second home for work in the Åland Islands when you file travel expenses in MyTax, at “Rental expenses for second home for work, residents of the Åland Islands”.
Travel expenses
If you travel between home and work in your own car, the maximum amount of deductible expenses is €6,000. The personal liability threshold is first subtracted from the expenses. The liability threshold is €750 in municipal taxation and €900 in state taxation. The deduction is granted only for the part of expenses that exceeds the liability threshold. Always report the total amount of travel expenses: do not subtract the personal liability threshold yourself.
The kilometre allowance for travelling in one’s own car is €0.27/km in 2024. On the 2025 tax card, the deduction is €0.27/km.
If more than half of your travel expenses are attributable to using public transport, you do not have a personal liability threshold. If you have been unemployed or on family leave for part of the year, the personal liability threshold is reduced by €80 per month of allowance received, but it is always at least €160.
Deduction for students
Åland students apply for the financial aid for students and for the government guarantee for a student loan from the Åland Authority for Labour Market and Student Services (AMS).
If your home municipality is in Åland and you have received comprehensive school level education or you have been a full-time student in a university or other educational institution in Finland or abroad, you may qualify for a deduction of €340 per term. When you request the deduction, you must specify your place and period of study. The deduction can also be granted if you have been a full-time remote student.
Student loan credit
Did you start studying before 1 August 2005 and are you repaying your student loan? If so, you can claim a student loan credit. Your student loan must have a government guarantee, or a government guarantee and interest subsidy granted by the Government of Åland or the Student Financial Aid Committee appointed by it.
The credit can be granted for the year when your interest subsidy ends and for following years during which you repay your loan. The maximum amount of credit is €500 a year. The credit is granted for no more 5 years and only for acquiring one education.
If you have started studying after 1 August 2005, you must apply for the student loan credit from Kela, which grants the credit for persons whose home municipality is in the Åland Islands.
If you have started studying on or after 1 August 2014, the student loan credit granted by Kela is not available to persons who have received student financial aid from AMS.
Deduction based on medical expenses
The deduction for medical expenses was removed on 1 January 2025; it is available for the last time for tax year 2024.
You can claim the deduction for your own and your family members’ medical expenses insofar as you have not been compensated for them by Kela or based on an insurance policy or in another similar way.
Deductible medical expenses include, for example, expenses attributable to health care, doctor’s appointments, dental care, pharmacy purchases subject to 10% VAT, physiotherapy by doctor’s referral, glasses and lenses, and medical pedicure. As regards other medical expenses, the deduction may be granted based on means testing and doctor’s orders.
However, expenses for veterinary drugs subject to 10% VAT, natural food products, and pharmacy purchases subject to 14% VAT are not tax deductible.
In addition, you can deduct 25% of the expenses for institutional care or intensive service housing. To qualify for the deduction, however, you must have a medical certificate stating that you need the care due to illness.
Sailors working on a road ferry
If your home municipality is in the Åland Islands and you work on a road ferry, you cannot claim a deduction for seafarer’s income in municipal taxation. But as you do not qualify for the deduction for seafarer's income, you can deduct travel expenses, trade union membership fees and expenses for the production of income in municipal taxation.
Disability credit
If your home municipality is in the Åland Islands, you can claim a disability credit in municipality taxation, even though people residing in mainland Finland have not been entitled to the disability credit as of tax year 2023.
The disability credit is granted to a person whose permanent degree of disability due to illness, defect or injury is at least 30%. The maximum credit is €440.
If you have not been granted a disability credit previously or if your degree of disability has changed, report it on Form 17 (enclosure for Åland). Enclose a medical certificate or other such account of your degree of disability. This information cannot be filed in MyTax.