Children and young people who have their own income or wealth
Here you’ll find information about the tax deduction card, the tax return, and when you must pay tax.
Does this apply to me?
This applies to:
- children over the age of 13 with their own employment income
- children and young people who've received compensation or insurance payments
- children and young people who receive children's pension
- parents and guardians
What you need to do
- If you’re over 13 and you have your own employment income, you pay your own tax. You need a tax deduction card or exemption card, and you’ll receive a tax return. You must check that the numbers in the tax deduction card and tax return are correct.
- If you have interest income, children's pension, and wealth, this will be specified in your parents’ tax deduction card and tax return until the income year when you turn 17. This means it’s your parents' responsibility to check that the numbers are correct.
- From and including the income year in which you turn 17, you’re responsible for your own tax on both income and wealth. This means that you must check the information in your tax deduction card and tax return.
Who’s taxed for what and why
If a child’s younger than 17 and lives with their parents, the child’s interest income, children's pension, and wealth will be specified in the parents’ tax deduction card and tax return. The child’s wealth and other income should therefore not appear in the child’s tax deduction card and tax return.
If the child is older than 13 and has their own employment income, this must be stated in their tax deduction card and tax return.
Parents are taxed half each for the child’s income and wealth. This applies regardless of whether you're spouses or cohabiting partners. You have access to change the division in the tax deduction card and tax return.
The parent the child is registered as living with on 31 December of the income year in the National Population Register is taxed for the child’s income and wealth.
If the child lives with you and you’re married to someone other than the child's other parent, both you and your spouse are taxed with half of the child’s income and wealth each. You can change the division so that only the actual parent of the child is taxed for the child’s entire income and wealth. You can do this in your tax deduction card and in the tax return.
Check the tax return you’ll receive in March
From and including the income year in which you turn 17, you’re responsible for your own tax. This means that you must check that the information in your tax deduction card and tax return is correct.
Specific information if you have
There are specific tax rules for children and young people who receive payments from compensation or insurance because of personal injury or loss of provider.
Children's pensions are taxable, but tax is not deducted automatically unless you apply for this. Who’s going to pay tax on children's pension depends on whether:
If you’re 16 or younger, your surviving parent or guardian must pay tax on the children's pension.
In the income year when you turn 17, you must pay tax on the children’s pension yourself and update your tax deduction card.
The parent or guardian must enter the children’s pension in the tax deduction card and apply for voluntary deduction for tax.
From and including the income year in which you turn 17, you must pay tax on the children’s pension yourself.
The surviving parent or guardian is the recipient of the children's pension payments until you turn 18. This applies regardless of whether you have your own income. You must then check yourself that the children's pension is specified in your tax deduction card and enter the amount for the children's pension if it’s missing.
After you’ve turned 18, the payment of the children’s pension is made to you. You must then remember to check that the children's pension is specified in your tax deduction card and enter the amount if it’s missing.
Voluntary deduction for tax by Nav
To apply for voluntary deduction for tax by Nav, you must be of legal age. This is why the surviving parent or guardian must apply to Nav for voluntary deduction for tax until you turn 18.
After you’ve turned 18, the payment of the children’s pension is made to you. You must then remember to check that the children's pension is specified in your tax deduction card and enter the amount if it’s missing.
If you’ve turned 18 in the income year, you’re responsible for checking that both the tax deduction card and the tax return are correct.
How to pay tax on the children's pension
You can ask Nav to include voluntary deduction for tax from the children's pension when you complete their application form for children's pension. If you did not tick the box for deduction for tax in your application, you should:
- enter the children's pension in the tax deduction card and tick “I have asked the payer to deduct tax from the children’s pension”. Then you’ll see how much you should ask Nav to deduct in voluntary deduction for tax.
- ask Nav to include voluntary deduction for taxfrom the children’s pension.
If you’re receiving children's pension from other payers than Nav, you should contact them to agree on voluntary deduction of tax.
The payer does not upload your tax deduction card automatically even if you include children's pension. If you have not applied for voluntary deduction for tax, you may get underpaid tax because the payer cannot deduct tax from the children’s pension without an agreement.