Tax decision and tax certificate
Most taxpayers will receive tax decision along with the pre-completed tax return during the spring. Your tax decision contains
- the outcome of your tax assessment
- the amount and payment date of your tax refund, if any
- the amount and due dates of your back taxes, if any
- the end date of your tax assessment.
The tax decision will also be available in MyTax, once it has been finalised.
Check your tax decision in MyTax
How to find the tax decision in MyTax
When you receive your tax decision, check that the information is correct.
If you find an obvious error in the tax decision (for instance a miscalculation), call our service number, which can be found on the decision. That way, we can correct the error before your tax assessment ends. You can find the end date of your tax assessment on your tax decision or in MyTax.
For some taxpayers, the pre-completed tax return will include a preliminary tax calculation instead of a tax decision. Read more about the preliminary tax calculation.
The payment date for tax refunds and the due dates for back taxes may change
If you receive a tax refund or must pay back taxes, this is stated on the tax decision. In future, the payment date of tax refunds and the due dates of back taxes will vary between taxpayers. You can find your personal payment date or due dates on the tax decision. The tax refunds will be paid between July and December and the due dates of the back taxes will fall between July and February.
If you make corrections to your tax return, you will get a new tax decision. In that case, the payment date of your tax refund or the due dates of your back taxes will probably be postponed. You can find the new payment or due dates on the new tax decision. If you must pay back taxes, a new set of bank transfer forms will be enclosed with the corrected tax decision.
If you do not make any corrections to your tax return, the tax decision you received in spring as well as the tax certificate and any bank transfer forms for back taxes remain valid. In other words, you will not receive a new tax decision by post unless you make changes to your own or your spouse’s tax information.
Frequently asked questions
You may have received a notice of continued tax assessment for these reasons:
- the Tax Administration has received information from other sources which affects your tax assessment
- tax control measures are ongoing
There is no need for you to contact the Tax Administration.
You will receive a new tax decision by the end of October. The new tax decision will probably affect your tax refund date or due date for back taxes. The final assessment (amount of tax refund or back taxes and related interest) may also change.
Further information: tax refunds and back taxes
You can receive a new tax decision for the following reasons:
- you have made corrections to your tax return
- your spouse has made corrections to their tax return
- the Tax Administration has received information from other sources which affects your tax assessment.
If you receive a new tax decision even if you have not made any corrections yourself, you should compare the new decision with the one from spring.
If you made additions or changes to your tax return, you will receive a new tax decision in the time between May and October.
Activate Suomi.fi messages to receive an e-mail when your tax decision is available in MyTax. Activating Suomi.fi messages also means that you will not receive any more paper mail from us.
Spouses have the same schedules for tax assessment and tax refunds. If one of the spouses makes changes to their tax return, the tax refund date may change for both spouses.
You may not have received a tax decision with the tax return, if some tax information concerning you or your spouse is missing. However, we have sent you a preliminary tax calculation based on the information that was available. The preliminary tax calculation contains an estimate of the tax refund or back taxes at the time when the tax return was created. Please note that the amount may change.
Check the tax return and file any corrections or missing information. You will receive a tax decision once your own and your spouse’s tax returns have been processed.
You may get a preliminary tax calculation for instance if:
- You are an entrepreneur or an agricultural operator and you are filing both a pre-completed tax return and a business or agricultural tax return at the same time.
- You have rental income or capital gains or losses that you must report.
- All your spouse’s tax information is not yet available. We will send you a tax decision once we have processed both your and your spouse’s tax returns.
You will receive a new tax decision if
- you have made corrections to the pre-completed tax return
- your spouse has made corrections to their tax return
- the Tax Administration has received corrections from other sources, for instance your employer.
The new tax decision will arrive by the end of October.
If you do not receive a new tax decision, the tax decision you received in spring as well as the tax certificate and the bank transfer forms for back taxes remain valid.
No, it does not. Due date for tax returns is not the same as the end date of your tax assessment process.
The due date for the tax return means the day when taxpayers can still add information and make corrections to the Pre-completed return that they have received. These dates are 2 April, 7 May, 14 May and 21 May in 2024. The due dates may vary. Please check yours on the Pre-completed tax return’s first page – or log in to MyTax to check it.
The end date of assessment is the day when the Finnish Tax Administration’s taxation process is ended. By that date, the corrections, additions, and other changes to your tax return will all be handled. You can see the end date for your assessment on the “tax decision”, which is in MyTax.
The tax assessment end date has an impact on a number of things, including:
- It determines the date when any tax refunds are paid to you, or it may determine the due date of your back taxes.
- If you check your assessment information but do not notice an error until after the end date, you will be required to make a formal claim for adjustment.
- Certain requests and claims must be submitted before the end date of assessment. If these requests and claims are not submitted in time, no appeals can be filed against the resulting tax assessment based on them. These include requests for income spreading agreements, requests for dividing the credit for household expenses between spouses, and requests for periodized taxation of pension income.
You can find the end date of your tax assessment on the tax decision that is in MyTax. How to find the tax decision in MyTax
The tax decision will also be sent to you by post if you have not enabled electronic communication with authorities, i.e. you have not activated Suomi.fi messages.
See an example of the tax decision (pdf)
Everyone has their own end date for the tax assessment process. The tax assessment process will end between May and October. The tax assessment of spouses always ends at the same time.
The tax decisions for 2018 - 2022 are in MyTax.
The tax decision for 2017 or previous years are not displayed in MyTax. They are only available as a paper document. If you need a new tax decision or tax certificate, call our service number 029 497 002 (Income taxes of individual taxpayers, limited service in English).
- You can print out a tax certificate and a tax decision in MyTax.
- How to find letters, tax decisions and tax certificates in MyTax
- You can also request a certificate by calling our telephone service on 029 497 046 (Tax certificate).
- You can request a certificate that is in English in MyTax or by calling us on 029 497 024 (International income taxation of individuals).
- If you need a certificate of your income for purposes other than taxation, e.g. if your family member is studying abroad or if you are applying for a rental apartment:
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- You can print out a tax certificate and a tax decision in MyTax.
- How to find letters, tax decisions and tax certificates in MyTax
- You can also request a certificate by calling our telephone service on 029 497 046 (Tax certificate).
- If you need the certificate in English, you must have it translated at your own expense. The guidance What does the tax return look like has a link to an example of a tax decision in Finnish that includes English translations of the key terms. The example decision may be of help to you.
Payment information for your back taxes is in MyTax
If you have misplaced the payment slips, you can log in to MyTax to find instructions for payment. You can use MyTax for paying.
If necessary, you can contact our telephone service on 029 497 026 (Payment transactions, limited service available in English, standard call rates) to receive the instructions you need for making the payment.
Keep the tax decision and tax certificate
Your tax decision contains a specification of your tax information. You can for instance check the specification to see who has paid wages to you or what home loan your interest deduction is based on. You may need your tax decision for instance if you apply for a rental apartment or if you are charged day care fees.
Keep the tax decision and tax certificate. You can also print them out in MyTax at a later point. How to find the tax decision and tax certificate in MyTax
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