Tax-exempt vehicle use by a person permanently residing abroad 

If your permanent residence is another country (not Finland), you can drive your motor vehicle in Finland exempt from tax when certain preconditions are satisfied. For example, you may arrive in Finland for a vacation and road trip. In this case, you can drive your car exempt from tax during the trip.

Information in Ukrainian. Iнформація укр. | Information in Russian (Pусский)

Requirements of tax-exempt use

You can operate a vehicle in Finland exempt from tax if the following conditions are met:

• The country where you are a permanent resident is a another country, not Finland.
• The vehicle’s country of registration is another country, not Finland.
• The vehicle’s liability insurance is in force during the entire period when you drive it in Finland.

If all of the above requirements for tax exemption are not met, your driving the vehicle is subject to car tax. If you do not submit the declaration of tax-exempt use on time, you must pay car tax and interest for late payment on top of that. Read the instructions for importing a motor vehicle for taxable operation.

Your permanent residence determines whether you have the right to use the motor vehicle exempt from tax. Sometimes an individual’s country of permanent residence may be unclear because of various issues open to interpretation, especially when he or she has a temporary job and accommodation. In case of difficulty, you can submit an application for a decision of the Tax Administration to determine your place of residence. Decisions are issued free of charge. Read more about the permanent place of residence.

Read specific instructions for people who work in Finland and for students:

• if you live in another country and come to Finland to work
• if you live in another country but are a student in Finland.

Operating the vehicle no longer than 6 months

You do not have to submit a declaration of use to the Tax Administration if the conditions for tax-exempt use are met, and the maximum length of time that you drive the vehicle in Finland is 6 months during a period of 12 months.

Operating the vehicle for a longer time than 6 months

If you are present in Finland for longer than 6 months but your permanent residence is still another country, you can submit a request for extension of the time limit for tax-exempt use. No more than one year can be granted.

Submit the request well in advance, i.e. in good time before the 6-month deadline.

Please note that you cannot submit 2 requests for the extension one after another. The first time when you can begin operating the vehicle exempt from tax again is when 6 months have elapsed since the end date of the extension period that had been granted.

Request for extension of the time limit for tax-exempt use

You can submit the request either in MyTax or on paper. MyTax opens on the Your tax types tab. Go to the Tax matters tab and then click the Activities relating to car tax link under Car tax. Then click the link for Extension of time limit for tax-exempt use.

Log in to MyTax to submit a request for extension of the time limit

If you cannot use MyTax to submit the request for extension, you can submit Form 1260e (Application for extension of temporary tax-exempt vehicle use) on paper.