The Finnish commuting deduction
Travel between home and work is tax deductible in Finland once it costs more than a fixed own share each year.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Calculation method
In Finland you can deduct the cost of travel between home and work (matkakulut) above an own share (omavastuu) of €900 a year, up to a maximum deduction of €7,000, in your 2026 taxes. Costs are counted for the cheapest means of transport available; where driving your own car is accepted, Vero uses €0.27 per kilometre. A 25 km commute each way on 220 working days comes to €2,970 a year by car, so €2,070 is deductible. On a €42,000 salary in Helsinki that cuts your taxes by €800. The saving is larger than your municipal tax rate suggests, because the deduction reduces net earned income and with it state tax, the health care contribution and Yle tax. If you take the bus in a city, a season ticket often stays under the own share and gives nothing. The government has proposed lowering the own share to €800, but that is not law yet, so figures here use €900.
Commuting deduction and tax effect
Tax saved
€800
| Costs by own car (€0.27/km) | €2,970 |
| Deduction after own share | €2,070 |
| Own share | €900 |
Three numbers
The deduction rests on three figures confirmed in Vero’s 2026 withholding decision. The own share is €900 a year and stays at your own cost. The deduction is capped at €7,000 after that. When using your own car is justified, costs are counted at €0.27 per kilometre, whatever your fuel bill and whether or not the car is electric. The own share is per person per year, not per job.
| One-way distance | Costs per year | Deduction | Tax saved |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 km | €1,188 | €288 | €111 |
| 25 km | €2,970 | €2,070 | €800 |
| 40 km | €4,752 | €3,852 | €1,489 |
| 60 km | €7,128 | €6,228 | €2,251 |
| 80 km | €9,504 | €7,000 | €2,448 |
Up to about 7.6 km each way the own share swallows everything. Beyond about 66 km the cap bites and extra distance brings nothing. In between, each kilometre adds to the deduction at the same rate.
The cheapest means of transport
Vero counts the cheapest means of transport you could reasonably use, not the one you choose. Where a bus or train serves your route at sensible times, your deduction is based on ticket prices even if you drive. That is why many city dwellers with long commutes never get anything: annual public transport costs rarely exceed €900. Your own car is accepted when there is no public transport, when it does not fit your working hours, or when getting to a stop and changing would take unreasonable time. Combined trips count too, for example driving to a station and taking the train. Trips in a company car use a different basis and the €0.27 rate does not apply.
Why the saving beats your municipal tax rate
Commuting costs come off net earned income, before municipal tax, state tax, the health care contribution and Yle tax are calculated, so every deducted euro reduces all of them. On €42,000, a €2,070 deduction saves €800, which is 39 % of the deduction. Part of that comes from the earned income credit: above €35,000 the credit shrinks as income rises, so lowering net income gives some of it back. In our example the credit rises from €3,305 to €3,346. On €25,000 the same commute saves only €465; on €60,000 it saves €893. Try your own figures in the tax calculator.
Hybrid work
Remote work has quietly shrunk many commuting deductions. Three office days a week means roughly 132 commuting days a year instead of 220. On the same 25 km drive, costs fall to €1,782, the deduction to €882 and the tax saving to €341, against €800 with a full office week. The own share does not scale with your days, so a drop in office days cuts the deduction proportionally more than it cuts your costs. On a short commute it can disappear altogether.
The proposed lower own share
The government has proposed cutting the own share from €900 to €800, announced in a Vero press release together with a higher household tax credit. It was not law when this page was last updated, so all figures here use €900. If adopted, every commute above the threshold would gain €100 of extra deduction, about €39 of tax in our 25 km example.
How to claim it
You can claim on your tax card, by entering estimated annual commuting costs when you revise it in MyTax (OmaVero), or afterwards in the pre-filled tax return, in which case the value comes back as a tax refund. Count real commuting days only. Keep a note of distance and office days, because Vero may ask you to explain why the car rather than public transport was necessary.