Cleaning · case study

Kotitalousvähennys 2026: what applies and how to show it to clients

The Finnish household tax deduction — kotitalousvähennys, claimed by clients for work done in their own home — currently stands at 35% of the labour portion of an invoice, capped at €1,600 a year, with a €150 own-risk per person. In June 2026 the government proposed lifting the cap to €2,100 and the rate to 40%, temporarily for 2026 and 2027, retroactive to the start of the year if parliament approves.

If you sell cleaning, home care or renovation in Finland, this figure moves your sales more than your price list does. It changes what the client actually pays, and most clients cannot work it out on their own.

Checked 6 August 2026 against public sources from vero.fi and the Finnish Government. The proposal was still in process when those sources were published — confirm the current status on vero.fi before you publish a figure on your own site.

What applies right now

Period Rate (work bought from a company) Cap Own-risk
Before 202540%€2,250€150
From 1 Jan 2025 (in force)35%€1,600€150
Proposed for 2026–202740%€2,100€150

For wages paid to a directly hired worker, the proposal raises the rate from 13% to 15%. For most service businesses that row does not matter, because the client buys work from a company rather than employing anyone.

The cap and the own-risk are personal. Two adults living in the same household can each claim against their own costs, which doubles the household’s maximum benefit in practice. That is the detail clients do not know, and the one worth telling them.

Why the web shows three different numbers

This confusion is a sales obstacle, and it helps to understand where it comes from.

The figure has changed twice in three years. Before 2025 the cap was €2,250 and the rate 40%. Both fell at the start of 2025. In June 2026 an increase back toward the old level was proposed.

Websites do not update at the same pace. A blog post from 2023 still says €2,250, a price list from 2025 says €1,600, and a June news item says €2,100. All three still turn up in Google, and nothing on the page tells a client which one is current.

The practical effect is that clients arrive unsure. If your page carries a clear, dated figure and a link to vero.fi, you look more reliable than a competitor still showing a three-year-old number.

What the deduction covers — and what it does not

The deduction is calculated on the labour portion only. Materials, equipment and travel costs do not qualify.

That creates a practical duty: itemise the labour on the invoice as its own line. If the invoice reads “move-out cleaning €380” as a single line, the client cannot show the tax office which part was labour. They then lose the deduction even on the part that would have qualified — and next time they order from someone whose invoice is clearer.

Second condition: the company must be entered in the ennakkoperintärekisteri, Finland’s prepayment register. Only then can a client claim for work bought from that company. Some clients check before ordering, so say it plainly on your site.

Qualifying work covers ordinary household work, care and nursing work, and the maintenance and renovation of a home. The work has to happen in the client’s home or holiday home. That rules out a fair number of services: massage at a practice, a haircut in a salon or a studio photo session do not qualify.

A worked example

Take a cleaning company in Hämeenlinna and a client who books a home clean once a month at €100, all of it labour.

That is €1,200 a year.

  • At the 35% in force: 1,200 × 0.35 = €420, less the €150 own-risk → €270 deducted
  • At the proposed 40%: 1,200 × 0.40 = €480, less €150 → €330 deducted

A €60 difference over a year. Not dramatic, but concrete for the client.

On larger jobs the gap widens. A renovation with a €5,000 labour portion:

  • At 35%: €1,750, but the €1,600 cap bites → 1,600 − 150 = €1,450
  • At 40%: €2,000, and the €2,100 cap does not bite → 2,000 − 150 = €1,850

A €400 difference. And if a couple splits the costs, both figures double.

Which is why on bigger jobs the deduction belongs in the quote, not just on the final invoice.

How to show it

Three things that work:

Show both prices. “Move-out cleaning €380 — around €247 after the household deduction.” The client will not do this arithmetic. If they have to, they won’t.

Itemise the labour. In the price list and on the invoice. Not a formality — it is the condition for the deduction existing at all.

Date the figure. “Calculated at 35%, checked 6 August 2026.” A dated number tells the client you follow this. An undated one tells them the opposite.

What not to do: write the amount into ten different places on your site. The figure has moved twice in two years, and when it moves again you will find those ten places badly. Keep the value in one place and refer to it from everywhere else.

This is why we build cleaning company sites with a calculator that reads the deduction rate from a single setting. When the law changes, one value changes instead of the whole site. The same principle works on a hand-built page, as long as you decide it up front.

Who can ignore this

If you work in your own premises — a therapist at a practice, a barber in a shop, a photographer in a studio — the household deduction does not touch your sales at all, and it does not belong on your site. Mentioned in the wrong place, it confuses clients and costs you credibility.

The same goes for business clients. This is a deduction for households. In office cleaning it is not an argument.

If you work in the client’s home and sell to consumers, though, it is probably the most important content on your site after price.

All our cleaning-sector material sits in the cleaning section, and we broke down site prices in the cost guide.

Want a site that calculates the deduction for the client automatically? See what it costs.

Frequently asked questions

How much is the Finnish household tax deduction in 2026?

Under the Tax Administration's guidance in force, the deduction is 35% of the labour portion of the invoice, capped at €1,600 per year, with a €150 own-risk per person. In June 2026 the government proposed raising the cap to €2,100 and the rate to 40%, temporarily for 2026 and 2027. If parliament approves, the increase applies retroactively to costs paid from 1 January 2026. Check the current status on vero.fi.

Why does the web show three different figures for this deduction?

Because the figure has changed twice in a short period. Before 2025 the cap was €2,250 and the rate 40%. From the start of 2025 both dropped, to €1,600 and 35%. In June 2026 an increase back to €2,100 and 40% was proposed. Old pages do not update, so all three numbers are still findable.

Is the deduction calculated on the whole invoice or only the labour?

Only the labour. Materials, travel costs and equipment do not qualify. This is why the labour portion has to appear as its own line on the invoice — otherwise the client cannot claim a deduction even for the part that would qualify.

Does the company need to be in the prepayment register?

Yes. A client can only claim the deduction for work bought from a company if that company is entered in the ennakkoperintärekisteri, the prepayment register. Worth stating on your website, since some clients check before ordering.

Can a couple claim the deduction twice?

The cap and the own-risk are per person, so two adults in the same household can each claim against their own costs. In practice this doubles the household's maximum benefit. Tell clients about it — few work it out themselves.

Should I put the deduction amount directly on my website?

Not as a fixed number scattered across ten pages. The figure has changed twice in two years, and a stale amount on your site is worse than no amount at all. Keep the value in one place, date it, and link to vero.fi.

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The same article in other languages: suomeksi · по-русски

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