On November 25, 2020, the tax administration has issued a decision regarding the tax values of the 2021 car benefit. According to the decision, car allowance calculation model remains the same, so optimization based of the basic value of the car is still possible by timing the acquisition moment late in the year and taking advantage of the rounding rules for options with liisari.fi site's lisävarustelaskuri.
There were no changes in the share of the tax value related to operating costs either, as the values have remained at the 2020 level.
With regard to low-emission electric vehicles, there are now three new reductions in taxation, following the adoption of amendments to the Income Tax Act:
- The electric car charger is now considered an accessory for the car when calculating the tax value of the car benefit.
- As a temporary change for the years 2021-2025:
The tax value of the car benefit is deducted by EUR 170 for each month in which the benefit has arisen from the use of a car whose CO2 emissions during driving, referred to in section 10 (1) of the Car Tax Act (777/2020), are 0 grams per kilometer. The provision applies to cars first registered in Finland in 2020 or later.
The taxation of benefits in kind has included the following relief for the operating costs of a fully electric car already for several years, and the following is also valid on 2021:
In the case of a full car benefit, the share of operating costs added to the basic value is reduced by EUR 0.08 per kilometer or EUR 120 per month if the only possible driving force of the car is electricity.
This means that for a fully electric car with a full car-benefit the monthly relief is as much as € 120 + € 170 = € 290 in 2021. For a fully electric car which is be taken as a limited car-benefit, the support only applies to the temporary € 170 / month share for 2021-2025.
- The third change, also temporary for 2021-2025, concerns the charging benefit provided by the employer, where there a the following change:
Taxable income is not generated when the employer pays for the charging of an employee's own car or a limited car-benefit car at the workplace or at a public charging point.
In the past, charging an electric car has been a taxable benefit. More information here can be found on this page .
Finally, here are the tax values for 2021 car-benefits by age group, as a direct quote from the tax administrator's decision:
a) Age group A (cars introduced in 2019-2021)
Full car-benefit:
The value of the benefit per month is 1.4% of the new purchase price of the car plus 270 euros or 18 cents per kilometer.
Limited car-benefit:
The value of the benefit per month is 1.4% of the new purchase price of the car plus 105 euros or 7 cents per kilometer.
b) Age group B (cars introduced in 2016-2018)
Full car benefit:
The value of the benefit per month is 1.2% of the new purchase price of the car plus 285 euros or 19 cents per kilometer.
Limited car-benefit:
The value of the benefit per month is 1.2% of the new purchase price of the car plus 120 euros or 8 cents per kilometer.
c) Age group C (cars introduced before 2016)
Full car benefit:
The value of the benefit per month is 0.9% of the new purchase price of the car plus 300 euros or 20 cents per kilometer.
Limited car-benefit:
The value of the benefit per month is 0.9% of the new purchase price of the car plus 135 euros or 9 cents per kilometer.