Taxation · Checklist
How to save on tax – a gig worker's checklist for expenses and receipts
· Keikkalasku · About 4 min read
We've put together which costs are worth keeping track of, so that everything deductible is ready for your tax return in the spring.
Travel expenses tax-free, straight away
Let’s start with the most effective tip. Keikkalasku can pay your travel expenses tax-free along with your wages. You can invoice travel from the client separately or include it in your total fee. Either way, the travel allowance part is paid to you without tax.
Example: a 500 euro invoice, 200 km of driving and one full daily allowance
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Invoice | 500 € |
| Mileage allowance 200 km × 0.55 € (tax-free) | 110 € |
| Full daily allowance (tax-free) | 54 € |
| Taxable wages | 336 € |
That’s 164 € tax-free in total. With a 20 per cent tax rate you save 32.80 euros on a single gig. Over ten gigs the saving is already 328 euros.
Tax-free allowances 2026
- Mileage allowance
- 0.55 €/km
- Extra passenger or equipment over 80 kg
- +0.04 €/km
- Trailer
- +0.09 €/km
- Full daily allowance
- 54 €
- Partial daily allowance
- 25 €
- Meal allowance
- 13.50 €
A tax-free travel allowance beats a deduction claimed afterwards: you get the money straight away, and there is no deductible.
Remember that travel expenses also include accommodation, parking fees and fares, such as train, bus, taxi and flights.
Equipment purchases and other expenses
An invoicing service can only pay travel expenses tax-free. Supplies and tools are always deducted in your own taxation, so keep your receipts.
The Tax Administration automatically gives you a 750 euro deduction for the expenses of producing income. So it’s worth reporting your own expenses when they add up to more than 750 euros a year. Your actual expenses are then deducted instead of the automatic deduction.
Example: A photographer buys a lens for 600 €, a software licence for 240 € and pays 150 € for a course. The 990 € of expenses exceeds the threshold, so the deduction grows by 240 euros.
These expenses count
- Tools and supplies. Instruments, cameras, tools and materials. A tool costing up to 1 200 euros is deducted in full in the year of purchase; more expensive ones as depreciation of up to 25 % a year. If the device is also used privately, only the share of work use is deducted.
- Professional literature and work clothing. Books, magazines, sheet music, practice software and recordings in your field. Work clothing can be deducted when it can’t be worn in your free time, such as overalls, safety shoes, a chef’s jacket or a work shirt printed with a logo.
- Computer, software, phone and internet. The share of work use is deductible. Estimate the share realistically and keep a note of what you use the device for. The same goes for, say, a musician’s Spotify subscription when it’s used to rehearse a gig set list.
- Workspace outside the home. A rented workroom, rehearsal space or storage unit. The actual rent and heating costs of the space are deductible when you use it for work. A workspace at home no longer earns a deduction.
- Training. Courses, online training and industry events that support your current work. Training aimed at an entirely new profession is not deductible.
- YEL contributions. If you pay self-employed pension insurance, your YEL contributions are deducted in full in your taxation.
- Instruments
- Cameras
- Software
- Sheet music
- Courses
- Work clothing
Bonus: the household deduction
This has nothing to do with gigs, but many people forget it. Cleaning, care, renovation or IT support at home qualifies for the household deduction. The government has proposed raising the deduction for 2026–2027. If parliament approves the proposal, the increase applies to costs from 1 January 2026.
| Deduction | Now | Proposed |
|---|---|---|
| Work bought from a company | 35 % | 40 % |
| Wages of a worker you employ yourself | 13 % | 15 % |
| Maximum per person | 1 600 € | 2 100 € |
| Deductible | 150 € | 150 € |
What changed in 2026?
The standard home office deduction for wage income was abolished on 1 January 2026. Home office costs, such as furniture, can no longer be deducted. The share of work use of a computer, phone and internet is still deductible. So are the actual costs of a workspace outside the home, such as a rehearsal space.
A checklist for the year
| When | What to do |
|---|---|
| When you buy | Take a photo of the receipt and keep it in one folder on your phone. Note which job the purchase was for. |
| After every gig | Report your travel expenses when you invoice, so their share is paid to you tax-free. |
| Household work | Keep cleaning, renovation and care receipts for the household deduction. |
| In the spring | Report your expenses in MyTax along with your pre-completed tax return. |
Also remember
- Report on your tax return any travel expenses that weren't paid to you tax-free.
- Receipts aren't attached to your tax return, but they are kept for six years from the end of the tax year. Receipts from 2026 until the end of 2032.
- Report your expenses itemised to avoid requests for further information from the Tax Administration.
- Check the return date on your pre-completed tax return. It can be as early as the beginning of May.
Every euro you deduct cuts your tax by your own tax rate, but only if you’ve kept the receipt. Save this list and come back to it in the spring.
And finally, the best part: Keikkalasku's fixed pricing will probably bring you the biggest saving. On top of that, service fees are already treated as tax-free.
Create a free accountThis article is general information, not personal tax advice. Check your own situation with the Tax Administration.











