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Tax-free employee benefits in Finland 2026: limits and rules

Karma Accounts · Published 2 November 2026

In 2026 a Finnish employer can give each employee, tax-free, a sport and culture benefit of up to 540 euros a year (raised from 400 euros in October 2026, for the whole year), a commuter ticket of up to 3 400 euros, occupational health care, a non-cash gift on a 50th birthday or similar anniversary, small gifts of up to 100 euros a year, and reasonable staff parties. Except for the commuter ticket, each benefit must be offered to the whole staff. A new employee bicycle is taxable from 1 January 2026; only bikes agreed and ordered by 23 April 2025 keep the old exemption.

Tax-free benefits at a glance

Taxable benefits such as a car, phone, meals and housing: see fringe benefits in 2026.

The key rule: the whole staff

Under section 69 of the Income Tax Act (tuloverolaki), these benefits are tax-free only when customary and reasonable and offered to the whole staff (koko henkilökunta). Part-time and fixed-term employees must get the chance too; those who decline do not matter. For tax, a benefit still counts as collective if a part-timer's share is scaled to their hours or short-term temps, people on trial or on family leave are left out, but that is only the tax test, not an employment-law permission. A benefit only one person can realistically use is pay. Each type is judged separately, so you can combine them.

A staff benefit cannot replace salary: if the employee may choose cash instead, it is pay, and a pay cut in exchange points the same way.

The owner of a one-person Oy

An owner who actually works in their own Oy is staff even without a salary, so even a one-person Oy can give its owner the 540-euro sport and culture benefit. Three limits apply:

• Reasonableness depends on headcount: a party budget fine for twenty can be too much for one.
• No tax-free anniversary gift when only the owner works there, as they would choose their own present.
• Hidden dividend: a benefit given only for owning shares can be taxed as one.

A sole trader (toiminimi) cannot be their own employee, so benefits for themselves are not deductible, except their own occupational health care; joining their staff at a staff event is not a taxable benefit.

Sport and culture benefit 2026: 540 euros

The cap for the employee's own sport and culture (liikunta- ja kulttuurietu) rose from 400 to 540 euros a year. The amendment came into force on 13 October 2026 and applies to all of 2026, so you can still top up this year's benefit. Exercise now also covers physically active nature hobbies and equipment rental; culture includes, for example, museums, theatre, concerts and sports events.

You must provide it, through a card, voucher, a contract with a provider or payment straight to the provider; paying the employee back against receipts is salary. It must be personal: if family can use it, all of it is salary. Track it per employee: only the excess over 540 euros is salary, income type 315. Joint exercise for everyone does not count towards it.

Commuter ticket: up to 3 400 euros

A personal public transport ticket between home and work (työsuhdematkalippu) is tax-free up to 3 400 euros a year. As a fringe benefit it can be agreed with one employee, a working Oy owner included. You must buy the ticket or give a commuter voucher; paying back the employee's own ticket, or one paid with the company card, is salary. Above 900 euros you must check the actual home–work travel cost. Always report it: income type 341, or 342 for any taxable part.

The ticket may also replace part of the salary by agreement. Tax is then calculated on the lower salary, but pension, unemployment and accident insurance contributions on the salary before the cut, flagged on income type 341. A grandfathered tax-free bike shares the 3 400-euro limit: with a 1 200-euro bike, at most 2 200 euros of ticket is tax-free.

Employee bicycle: taxable from 2026

The exemption for an employer-provided bike was repealed from 1 January 2026. The old rule survives only if, by 23 April 2025, employer and employee had agreed on the benefit and one of them had signed an order for the bike (an employee's order through a bike-benefit provider counts even if the employer approved it later). Such a benefit stays tax-free up to 1 200 euros a year until its lease or agreed term ends, at most five years from the start, reported as income type 363. Any other bike benefit, including a voluntary bike swap, is taxable at fair value, income type 364.

Occupational health care

Every employer must arrange preventive occupational health care (työterveyshuolto) for all employees. Medical care on top is tax-free when it is in the action plan and offered to everyone. Paying an employee's own doctor's bills is normally salary, unless location, a business trip or illness kept them from the care you arranged. An owner without employees need not arrange it, but medical care is tax-free for them only on top of the statutory part.

Kela reimburses 60 % of approved preventive costs and 50 % of medical care, within caps, if you apply within six months of the financial year end: by 30 June 2027 for 2026.

Gifts, parties and discounts

Anniversary gifts (merkkipäivälahja) are tax-free on 40th, 50th and 60th birthdays, a wedding, 10+ years of service and retirement, not a 65th birthday: up to one to two weeks' gross pay, chosen by you, under a practice covering everyone. Cash or a gift card for a shop's whole range is salary.

Small gifts, such as a Christmas present for the whole staff, are tax-free up to 100 euros a year in total. A gift card must be personal, cannot be exchanged for cash, and must in practice buy only the product or service you chose from a named place.

Staff parties and recreation (virkistystoiminta), such as Christmas parties, recreation days and coffee at work, are tax-free when you decide what is done and where. There is no euro limit; the Tax Administration looks at the year's cost per employee. Snacks that replace lunch are a taxable meal benefit. For deducting the cost and VAT of parties, see entertainment expenses and staff parties.

Staff discounts on goods or services you sell are tax-free up to the discount resellers or your best customer get; without such a comparison, not below cost price (damaged goods excepted). Fixed assets, such as a used company car, are not covered.

How to book them

Tax-free staff benefits carry no withholding and no employer's health insurance contribution; a taxable excess of a benefit given to everyone is withheld on, but still carries no health insurance contribution. For an Oy the costs are deductible. In our chart of accounts:

Worked example: a four-person Oy

An Oy has a working owner and three employees, with the calendar year as its financial year:

On top, two employees get a 720-euro annual commuter ticket (1 440 euros), and one of them turns 50 and gets a 600-euro watch. On 3 000 euros a month, one week's gross pay is 3 000 × 12 / 52 = 692.31 euros, so the gift is within the limit.

The company spends 6 440 + 1 440 + 600 = 8 480 euros. Tax-free, the owner and the fourth person each receive 1 610 euros, the first commuter 2 330 euros and the commuter turning 50 2 930 euros: 1 610 + 1 610 + 2 330 + 2 930 = 8 480. Only the two tickets go to the Incomes Register. Kela's reimbursement for the employees' occupational health care lowers the net cost. As salary, the same money would be taxed and carry employer contributions.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the sport and culture benefit in 2026?

540 euros per employee for all of 2026, up from 400. Some Tax Administration pages still show 400 euros.

Is the employee bike benefit still tax-free in 2026?

Not for new bikes. Only a benefit agreed and ordered by 23 April 2025 stays tax-free, up to 1 200 euros a year until the contract ends, at most five years.

Can I give myself tax-free benefits from my own Oy?

Yes, if you work in it, but no tax-free anniversary gift if you are the only one working there.

Are tax-free benefits reported to the Incomes Register?

Staff benefits such as the sport and culture benefit, gifts and parties are not. The commuter ticket (341) and a grandfathered tax-free bike (363) are fringe benefits and always reported. Taxable parts are reported as pay.

What we do

Karma Accounts runs payroll for small employers in English: we check benefits against the conditions, book them, report what goes to the Incomes Register and track the limits. Owners should also read salary or dividends. Tell us about your team through our quote request form.

Sources

• Finlex: Income Tax Act 1535/1992, sections 64 and 69, with amendments 1141/2025 and 873/2026 (in Finnish)
• Tax Administration: staff benefits in taxation, VH/7540/00.01.00/2024 (in Finnish)
• Tax Administration: fringe benefits in taxation, VH/6801/00.01.00/2025, chapters 9 and 11 (in Finnish)
• Incomes Register: reporting fringe benefits and reimbursements, 2026 version (in Finnish)
• Incomes Register: reporting fringe benefits and reimbursements, version from 2027 (in Finnish)
• Incomes Register: employee rewards and other special situations, section 1.5 (in Finnish)
• Kela: applying for occupational health care reimbursement (in Finnish)
• Finlex: Business Income Tax Act 360/1968, section 7 (in Finnish)

Please note: this is general information about Finnish rules, not advice for your own situation, and the rules change. Ask us before you act on it.

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