Household tax credit in Finland, made simple.

First: a tax credit, not a checkout discount

You pay the full cleaning invoice. The household tax credit is then handled through taxation and reduces tax payable. It is not a discount that the cleaner takes off your bill, and it is not an unconditional cash refund.

You can report expenses during the year for your tax card or later on your tax return. If the credit is larger than your tax payable, Vero may transfer an eligible excess to your spouse. An amount left unused cannot be carried into the following year.

Who can claim it, and where?

The work can be done in your own home or a home you rent, your holiday home, or your parents' or grandparents' home. The general conditions still apply, including who paid and where the work took place.

When buying from a company, check its prepayment registration in YTJ before making the contract. For an ongoing cleaning agreement, Vero recommends checking registration again at least annually. Save the order or contract date with your invoices.

Work you do yourself, or work by someone living in your household, does not qualify. Certain public support and service vouchers also prevent the credit for the same work. A landlord's investment-property expense is not the same as work in the landlord's own home.

Which part of the cleaning bill counts?

The eligible labour amount shown on your invoice is the starting point. Cleaning in the home qualifies under the general conditions. Vero also lists cleaning of the old and new home when moving. Packing, removals and transport are different services and do not qualify as cleaning.

Materials, supplies and travel costs are excluded. Use the itemised labour amount on the invoice rather than assuming the whole total qualifies. If the invoice does not separate the eligible work clearly, ask the provider for clarification.

The wider household credit also covers certain domestic work, care and home renovation. Those expenses share the ordinary annual limit with cleaning. Oil-heating replacement has separate rules, and hiring an employee uses a different calculation. This guide's figures are for ordinary eligible work purchased from a company.

The annual limit and personal liability

The ordinary company-work rate shown above applies to eligible labour. Vero subtracts the annual personal liability and then applies the personal maximum. The liability is deducted once for the year, not once per cleaning visit.

Add up your qualifying household work for the same payment year. Cleaning and other ordinary qualifying work draw from the same allowance. When checking an estimate, remember any credit you have already used, and that sufficient tax payable is needed to use it.

Sharing the credit with a spouse

Spouses can use their separate personal limits. If just one spouse claims an amount within their limit, only that person's liability is deducted. If both use the credit, each has their own annual liability.

Vero can transfer amounts exceeding a spouse's personal maximum or tax payable to the other spouse. An unmarried partner can claim their own qualifying costs, but automatic transfer applies only when you count as spouses for tax purposes. Check Vero's definition before planning around a transfer.

Use the year you paid

For an ordinary cleaning invoice, the payment year determines the tax year. If a clean happens in December and you pay in January, the expense belongs to the new year. Keep the payment dates, not just the service date.

Use the rules for that payment year when reporting older expenses. Your tax return has its own deadline, visible in OmaVero. If you missed a claim after taxation finished, check Vero's instructions for a claim for adjustment.

How to claim in OmaVero (MyTax)

Have the invoice and payment details beside you. Coffee is optional. The correct labour amount is less optional.

1. 1

   Choose the payment year

   Sign in through Vero's official MyTax link. Choose the household tax-credit section for the year you paid, or open that year's tax return.

2. 2

   Add the expense

   Select work bought from a company. Identify the type of work, where it was done, the company and the contract or order date.

3. 3

   Enter the invoice details

   Enter the invoice total and eligible labour, along with the payment dates. If sharing expenses, report your share in the field provided.

4. 4

   Let Vero do the deduction

   Do not subtract the personal liability yourself from the labour you report. Check the information and submit. If changing your tax card, update the income details too.

You can report during the year with or without requesting a changed tax card. On the tax return, check pre-filled information and add anything missing. Do not assume the company has reported it for you.