Country guide
Buying property in Finland as a foreigner
Rules last checked 30 October 2026 · 6 official sources · Education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice.
A citizen of a state outside the EU and the EEA, or an entity based outside them, needs a Ministry of Defence permit to buy real estate in Finland, unless they hold a permanent residence permit. Citizens of EU and EEA states do not need the permit.
What are you doing with Finland?
Returns after tax, what is withheld, and the way out.
Finland's transfer tax is 3 percent on real estate and buildings and 1.5 percent on shares in a housing company or real estate company. Details
Finland's municipal real estate tax for 2026 is 0.41 to 1.00 percent for a permanent residential building and 0.93 to 2.00 percent for other residential buildings, set by each municipality. Details
Questions people in this position often miss
- Will I be taxed twice?Depends on your country
The country of the property and the country where the owner lives can each tax the same rent or gain.
- Can I borrow locally?Not confirmed yet
Lending to a buyer living abroad is limited in many countries and the loan to value limit can be lower.
- Can I move the money out of my own country?Depends on your country
Some countries cap or review money sent abroad to buy a home, and banks ask where the money came from.
- What do I report at home?Depends on your country
Foreign property, foreign accounts and foreign rent can each carry a form in the owner's own country.
- What is changing soon?Not confirmed yet
Bans, tax schedules and visa routes carry end dates, and a purchase often takes months to complete.
Whether a purchase gives a right to live there, and what living there costs in tax.
A citizen of a state outside the EU and the EEA, or an entity based outside them, needs a Ministry of Defence permit to buy real estate in Finland, unless they hold a permanent residence permit. Details
Finland's transfer tax is 3 percent on real estate and buildings and 1.5 percent on shares in a housing company or real estate company. Details
Finland's municipal real estate tax for 2026 is 0.41 to 1.00 percent for a permanent residential building and 0.93 to 2.00 percent for other residential buildings, set by each municipality. Details
Questions people in this position often miss
- Does buying give me the right to live there?Not confirmed yet
Several well known property routes to residence have closed or changed, and others need more than a purchase.
- What happens if I die, or the family inherits?Not confirmed yet
Inheritance tax, and who may inherit, can differ for heirs who live elsewhere.
- Can I move the money out of my own country?Depends on your country
Some countries cap or review money sent abroad to buy a home, and banks ask where the money came from.
- Will I be taxed twice?Depends on your country
The country of the property and the country where the owner lives can each tax the same rent or gain.
- What is changing soon?Not confirmed yet
Bans, tax schedules and visa routes carry end dates, and a purchase often takes months to complete.
Part year stays, the yearly bill, and what the family inherits.
A citizen of a state outside the EU and the EEA, or an entity based outside them, needs a Ministry of Defence permit to buy real estate in Finland, unless they hold a permanent residence permit. Details
Finland's municipal real estate tax for 2026 is 0.41 to 1.00 percent for a permanent residential building and 0.93 to 2.00 percent for other residential buildings, set by each municipality. Details
Finland's transfer tax is 3 percent on real estate and buildings and 1.5 percent on shares in a housing company or real estate company. Details
Questions people in this position often miss
- Does buying give me the right to live there?Not confirmed yet
Several well known property routes to residence have closed or changed, and others need more than a purchase.
- What happens if I die, or the family inherits?Not confirmed yet
Inheritance tax, and who may inherit, can differ for heirs who live elsewhere.
- What is owed every year, even if the home sits empty?Answered below
Finland's municipal real estate tax for 2026 is 0.41 to 1.00 percent for a permanent residential building and 0.93 to 2.00 percent for other residential buildings, set by each municipality.
- Will I be taxed twice?Depends on your country
The country of the property and the country where the owner lives can each tax the same rent or gain.
- Can I move the money out of my own country?Depends on your country
Some countries cap or review money sent abroad to buy a home, and banks ask where the money came from.
What is owed each year, on rent and on a sale, and what the heirs face.
Finland's municipal real estate tax for 2026 is 0.41 to 1.00 percent for a permanent residential building and 0.93 to 2.00 percent for other residential buildings, set by each municipality. Details
Finland's transfer tax is 3 percent on real estate and buildings and 1.5 percent on shares in a housing company or real estate company. Details
Questions people in this position often miss
- What do I report at home?Depends on your country
Foreign property, foreign accounts and foreign rent can each carry a form in the owner's own country.
- Will I be taxed twice?Depends on your country
The country of the property and the country where the owner lives can each tax the same rent or gain.
- What happens if I die, or the family inherits?Not confirmed yet
Inheritance tax, and who may inherit, can differ for heirs who live elsewhere.
- What happens when I sell?Not confirmed yet
Tax on the gain, and sometimes a share of the price held back by the buyer, can apply to an owner living abroad.
- What is changing soon?Not confirmed yet
Bans, tax schedules and visa routes carry end dates, and a purchase often takes months to complete.
Who may buy
Choose a nationality to see the rules that apply to it.
Every rule, for every buyer
| Buyer | Property | Reading | Conditions | Applies |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Everyone else | real estate | Approval needed | A citizen of a state outside the European Union and the European Economic Area, a stateless person, or an entity with its seat outside them, may acquire real estate in Finland only if the Ministry of Defence grants a permit (Act 470/2019, sections 1 and 2). The rule does not apply to a person who holds a permanent residence permit for Finland when the purchase and the permit application are made. | from 1 January 2020. Check it is still current. Based on Act 470/2019 on certain real estate acquisitions needing a permit dated 29 March 2019. |
| Nationals of EU member states and European Economic Area states | real estate | Open | The permit requirement in Act 470/2019 applies to citizens of states outside the EU and the EEA, so a citizen of an EU or EEA state does not need the Ministry of Defence permit. An entity based in the EU or EEA but with at least one tenth of its votes held by a person from outside them is caught. | from 1 January 2020. Check it is still current. Based on Act 470/2019 on certain real estate acquisitions needing a permit dated 29 March 2019. |
| Nationals of EU member states | residential | Conditions apply |
| |
| Citizens of Russia and Belarus | real estate | Not allowed |
| from 15 July 2025. Check it is still current. Based on Act 470/2019 as amended from 15 July 2025 dated 15 July 2025. |
What it costs to buy
Transfer tax (varainsiirtovero)
- Rate
3 percent on real estate and buildings. 1.5 percent on shares in a housing company or real estate company and on other securities.
What an owner pays each year
Municipal real estate tax
- Rate
Set by each municipality within ranges for 2026: 0.41 to 1.00 percent for a permanent residential building, 0.93 to 2.00 percent for other residential buildings such as leisure properties, and a general rate for other buildings. No separate foreign owner rate was found.
Rent from the property
Tax on rent
- Owner living elsewhere
Rental income from Finnish property is taxed as capital income at 30 percent, or 34 percent on the part of capital income above EUR 30,000 (2026).
From your country
The country of the property is only half of it. The country where you live can limit the money you send, tax the same rent and gain again, and ask for forms of its own.
Choose where you live to see what your own country does when you buy in Finland.
Questions people ask
What if I am an EU citizen who wants to buy a home in Finland?
According to the European Commission, an EU citizen has the same rights as a citizen of that country when buying or selling a property, including a main home and a holiday home.
What if I am not an EU citizen?
This guide does not state a verified answer here yet. The Finnish Act text read points to a Ministry of Defence permit for citizens of states outside the EU and EEA, and this is listed as an open point.
What is still open
These points could not be confirmed from an official source yet, so they are not stated as rules.
- Who may buy is verified only for EU citizens. The Finnish statute text read on Finlex points to a Ministry of Defence permit for buyers who are not citizens of an EU or EEA state, and to a ban for nationals of Russia and Belarus from 15 July 2025, but Finlex is not an accepted official host for verified entries, so these rules and the catch all rule for every nationality are not verified.
- The Ministry of Defence website and the Foreign Ministry, Migri and Government websites returned a block (HTTP 403) and could not be read.
- Whether the permit requirement reaches shares in a housing company (flats), as opposed to real estate units, was not confirmed.
- The property rules for Åland, which the Act on permits does not cover, were not researched.
- Transfer tax rates were read on the Tax Administration site, which is not an accepted host, so no figure is given.
- Tax on rent and on gains for a non resident, real estate tax rates, inheritance and gift tax rates, mortgage access, bank accounts, capital controls, anti money laundering and residence rights through property could not be confirmed from an accepted official source.
Sources
See what this does to your own numbers
Add a property in Finland next to everything else you own, and see the income and net worth that follow after tax, year by year.
Free to start. No card. Rules checked 30 October 2026.
This is education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules change and depend on the buyer's own facts. Advice from a licensed professional in the country concerned is what settles a particular purchase.