Recipient of new construction by assignment – do the following
It may be that you buy new property, as defined in tax rules, from a seller who had bought it when the residential building is being built or before. The seller sells it to you when the building is still under construction and before the seller receives the legal right of its ownership. A contract of assignment is made on this sale.
Exemptions from transfer tax may apply if you are a first-time homebuyer, and if certain requirements are met. However, even in that case, you must file the return.
File the return
File a transfer tax return in 2 months from the date of transfer of ownership to you. Do this even if a realtor assisted you when you bought the property.
If you buy together with a co-buyer – typically your spouse – both of you must submit a transfer tax return.
- Fill in the “Your share of the transaction price” field with both the price you paid to the seller, combined with the price instalments you paid to the builder-developer.
- Fill in the space for the part of housing-company loan as appropriate.
- However, you generally do not have to add very many enclosures. In MyTax, a window will appear that tells you whether an additional enclosure must be attached or whether it is enough if you just complete the tax return.
How to file a transfer tax return in MyTax
The paper-printed form can be used by individual taxpayers, general partnerships and limited partnerships. Enclose the following documents with the signed return form on paper:
- A photocopy of the signed transfer agreement
- A receipt proving that the final instalment of the selling price is paid, or a photocopy of the letter by the developer, addressed to buyers, containing information on moving in to the flat.
Pay the tax
Pay the tax in 2 months from the date when ownership was transferred to you. Do this even if a realtor assisted you when you bought the property.
- If you use MyTax to send the payment, reference numbers and other bank details are automatically transferred to the template for processing by your e-banking service. MyTax calculates the amount of transfer tax.
- If you pay via your personal e-bank instead, you need the bank account number for the Tax Administration and the bank reference number for transfer tax. To get the bank account and reference numbers, you can:
- Check them in MyTax: Click the Your tax types tab on the home page. Go to Payment status and click Paying taxes and payment details.
- Call the service telephone number +35829 497 026 (Payment transactions, limited service available in English, standard call rates)
The amount of tax to pay must have 2 decimal points. After you have made the necessary calculations to arrive at the right tax, round it out to the nearest cent as usual. Example: your calculation result is €345.67890. You must round out the result in order to pay €345.68 as your tax.
If there is more than one buyer – two spouses, for example – each must pay their own share of the transfer tax on a separate bank transfer and enter their personal reference numbers. The amount will be displayed as a paid tax in MyTax on the following business day or the day after that.
You receive a certificate of transfer tax
You will receive a certificate on filed and paid transfer tax in MyTax or by post. Normally, after you have filed and paid, the certificate will appear in MyTax in 2 days. Finding the certificate in MyTax.
If you file your return on paper, wait for the certificate of transfer tax to become available in MyTax a little later.
Make sure that the transfer of title is recorded in your name
If you find out that the housing company uses the new Property Information System, you must submit an application to the National Land Survey of Finland to have your ownership recorded in the register. See guidance for registration.
If the housing company where your apartment is has not entered into the new Property Information System, you must present your transfer-tax certificate to the manager of the housing company (isännöitsijä; disponent). After that, you can have your name on the housing company’s list of shareholders. We will send you a certificate proving your payment of transfer tax as soon as the tax return and the payment are both recorded in the Tax Administration’s data system. This means that you will not receive the certificate immediately. After you pay the tax, the certificate will be available in MyTax 2 days later. We will also send it to you by letter.
Ask the manager about any other documentation they might require for having your name entered in the list of shareholders.
Amount of transfer tax – recipient of a contract on assignment
The tax is 1,5% of the total sum that includes:
- The purchase price you paid to the seller
- The instalments of the price you paid to the builder-developer
- The part of housing-company loan allocated to your shares.
The tax is 2% if the contract – or other binding agreement of transfer – was signed before 12 October 2023. The date when the buyer and seller of immovable property sign their binding contract determines the rate of applicable transfer tax. When new flats, units or apartments in housing companies are sold to buyers before the building is fully constructed, the date when ownership gets transferred from one party to the other is not important.
You can use the transfer tax calculator to help with your calculations.
Read more about the transfer agreement of a new home (only in Finnish and Swedish)