France teacher pay exemption ends 31 December under new treaty

Teachers and researchers who arrive in Finland from France lose a treaty-based pay exemption at the turn of the year. The 1970 Finland–France tax treaty applies until 31 December 2026.Vero The new treaty was signed in 2023 and entered into force on 28 August 2026Finlex, and it applies from 1 January 2027Vero. It has no special tax exemption covering the salaries of teachers and researchersVero, so a teacher or researcher arriving from France pays tax to Finland on that salary under the provisions on salary incomeVero.

Under the 1970 treaty, a teacher or researcher arriving from France pays no Finnish tax on salary from teaching or research work for the first two yearsVero, even if the stay in Finland runs longer. The person must have been resident in France in the treaty sense when the stay in Finland began, and the teaching or research must serve the public interest rather than principally private benefit. Income exempted from Finnish tax under the French treaty may still be taken into account in the rate applied to other taxable earned income in Finland.

A transitional provision protects people already covered when the new treaty took effect.Vero Anyone who held the treaty-based exemption right on 28 August 2026 keeps it for the remainder of the two-year periodVero, on condition that they arrived in Finland for teaching or research work no later than 27 August 2026Vero.

France no longer appears in the general list of countries whose teachers and researchers are exempt from Finnish tax on their salariesVero; Egypt, Japan, the United Kingdom and Morocco remain, each with its own two-year limit and invitation or residence-certificate conditions. Anyone claiming an exemption needs the entry marked on the tax card: apply for a source tax card on form 5057 for stays of up to six months, or a tax card on form 5042 for longer stays. Anyone staying over six months must file a Finnish tax return and claim the exemption in the OmaVero service or on paper form 50A by ticking the box for relief under a treaty student, teacher or researcher article. Treaty exemptions never cover health insurance contributions: anyone covered by Finnish health insurance on the basis of work or residence pays the healthcare and daily allowance contributions on salary even when exempt from income tax.

Legal basis: the 1970 Finland–France tax treaty, the new Finland–France tax treaty (Valtioneuvoston asetus 34/26) applied from 1 January 2027, and Vero guidance Ulkomaalainen tutkija tai opettaja – näin hoidat veroasiat Suomessa and Opettajan ja tutkijan verotus kansainvälisissä tilanteissa.