Housing allowance and your income
Income enters Kela’s housing allowance through one number, the basic deductible (perusomavastuu).
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Calculation method
Each extra €100 of gross monthly income cuts Kela’s general housing allowance (yleinen asumistuki) by €35 once you are above the full-allowance threshold, which for a single person is €761 a month in 2026. That threshold is €667 plus €94 per adult and €296 per child. Half of whatever you earn above it becomes your basic deductible (perusomavastuu), which is subtracted from your accepted housing costs, and Kela pays 70% of what remains. Kela always uses gross income, including holiday bonus, overtime, shift premiums, general support and earnings-related unemployment allowance. The allowance stops once it would fall below €15: for a single person the cut-off is €1,844 in the capital region, €1,612 in group II towns and €1,506 in the rest of the mainland. Savings count too: net assets above €10,000 for one adult, or €20,000 for more, add 20% of the excess to yearly income, and €50,000 or more rules you out. Kela must hear from you when household income goes up by €400 or down by €200 a month.
Income and housing allowance
Allowance for a single person
€89.25
| Basic deductible | €319.50 |
| Income limit | €1,612 |
| €100 more income cuts the allowance by | €35.00 |
The formula
Kela’s calculation is allowance = 0.7 × (accepted housing costs − basic deductible). The deductible is 0.5 × [T − (667 + 94 × A + 296 × L)], where T is the household’s gross monthly income, A the number of adults and L the number of children. The amounts are tied to the national pension index and are at 2026 level. Kela always counts at least one adult, and ignores a deductible below €10.
Two consequences follow. A single person can earn €761 a month without losing a cent of allowance. Above that, every euro of income costs 35 cents of allowance, whether it is salary, unemployment benefit or pension.
| Gross income/month | Basic deductible | Allowance |
|---|---|---|
| €800 | €19.50 | €299.25 |
| €1,000 | €119.50 | €229.25 |
| €1,200 | €219.50 | €159.25 |
| €1,400 | €319.50 | €89.25 |
| €1,600 | €419.50 | €19.25 |
Each €200 step in the table removes the same €70. Rent does not change the rate, because Tampere accepts only €447 for one person either way.
Kela’s 2026 income limits
The income limit is the gross income at which the allowance drops below €15, assuming housing costs at the cap for your town. Our engine reproduces Kela’s published table to the euro:
| Household | Group I (Helsinki) | Group II (Tampere) | Group III (Pori) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 adult + 0 children | €1,844 | €1,612 | €1,506 |
| 1 adult + 1 child | €2,630 | €2,318 | €2,162 |
| 1 adult + 2 children | €3,348 | €2,966 | €2,778 |
| 2 adults + 0 children | €2,428 | €2,116 | €1,960 |
| 2 adults + 1 child | €3,146 | €2,764 | €2,576 |
| 2 adults + 2 children | €3,780 | €3,366 | €3,154 |
| 3 adults + 0 children | €2,944 | €2,562 | €2,374 |
If your rent is below the cap, the allowance runs out sooner, because the deductible eats through smaller costs faster.
What Kela counts
Income is always gross. It includes wages with taxable benefits, overtime, shift premiums and holiday bonus, general support and the earnings-related unemployment allowance, and most other benefits. Interest and dividends count above €12.02 a month. Child benefit, social assistance, child maintenance allowance, student loans and the student housing supplement do not count.
If your income has been steady for three months, Kela uses that monthly figure. If it varies, Kela adds up the income expected over the next 12 months and divides by 12. Gig and seasonal workers should therefore estimate the whole year, not just the month they apply.
Couples lose it faster
In Kela’s own example, Eino and Elisa live in Turku on €1,800 of combined gross income, with €950 of housing costs. Their full-allowance threshold is €855, the deductible is €472.50, the cap is €652 and the allowance is €125.65 a month. The second adult raises the threshold by only €94, so moving in together usually cuts the allowance well below what two single people would get.
Savings and other assets
Assets are counted net of debts, and €2,000 per person is deducted from deposits as everyday money. Above €10,000 for one adult or €20,000 for more, 20% of the excess per year is added to income. A single person with €17,000 in the bank has €15,000 of counted assets, adding €83.33 a month to income. In Tampere, on €1,200 income and €600 rent, that takes the allowance from €159.25 to €130.20. At €50,000 of net assets there is no allowance.
Out of work
Unemployment often brings income close to the full-allowance level. A single person in Helsinki living on general support of €800.02 a month with €700 rent receives €380.45 of housing allowance, since the deductible is only €19.50. Report the fall in income straight away: Kela pays back no more than 1 month.
Students usually get the student housing supplement instead, and Kela excludes students who moved to Finland for their studies from housing allowance households altogether. For a low salary in context, see net pay on €2,000. Try your own figures in the housing allowance calculator, or check your town’s cap under maximum housing costs.
Sources: Kela, how income and costs affect the allowance and Kela, general housing allowance.