Bottle return, natural berries and handicrafts – should I report the income?
In general, you must pay tax on income unless it is exempted from tax. There are no special provisions on small-scale income in taxation or tax legislation: all income is taxable and deductions are made in line with general rules.
Bottle deposits
If you collect empty bottles or cans and receive income, the income is subject to tax. Add together the income you have received during the year and file it on your tax return.
There is an exception, however: empty bottles of beverages you have bought yourself. You do not need to file the income generated from their deposits, and the income is not subject to tax. You have paid a deposit for the bottles you have bought, and the deposits are refunded to you when you return the bottles.
Berries, mushrooms and other natural products
Income you earn from berries, mushrooms and other natural products you pick or collect yourself is exempt from tax, so you do not need to file it on the tax return. Income from natural tree cones or from collecting plants for human food or used as medication is also exempt from tax.
Tax exemption concerns products sold as such, without any processing. Note that cleaning products and packing them in boxes is not regarded as processing.
Read more in the Tax Administration’s detailed guidance on the taxation of income from natural products (available in Finnish and Swedish, link to Finnish)
Handicrafts
If you make handicrafts and sell them at a bazaar, in online shops or in a bring-and-buy sale, for example, the income you receive is subject to tax. Add the income together and file it on your tax return.
Childcare, dog walking, lawn mowing
In general, income from various small-scale jobs is subject to tax unless it has been specifically exempted from tax. Income you earn from jobs such as childcare, dog walking and lawn mowing is subject to tax. Add all such income together and file it on your tax return.
How to file income in MyTax
Every spring, the Tax Administration sends you a pre-completed tax return with information on your taxation from the previous year. Complete your pre-completed tax return in MyTax.
Select Other income and enter the income under Other earned income.
You can deduct the expenses incurred to you from acquiring or maintaining the income. Such expenses include your costs for acquiring materials for making handicrafts, for example. However, you can deduct only that part of the expenses that is directly linked to the production of income. The amount of expenses you report cannot be higher than the amount of income you have received. If the income does not need to be filed on the tax return, i.e. it is exempt from tax, you cannot deduct the expenses, either.
To report your expenses for the production of income on the tax return, go to Other deductions, select Expenses for the production of income, and then Expenses for the production of other income than wage income.
Further information:
- Pre-completed tax return – Information on when you receive the pre-completed tax return and by when you must file any changes needed.
- Examples of tax rates on income – Your tax rate indicates how much tax you pay on the income you earn.
The Tax Administration oversees the filing of income in varioius ways. If you fail to file income you receive, the Tax Administration can impose a late-filing penalty or a punitive tax increase on you.