Finnish Government pays you to have children. The amount increases the more children you have. This is to support the cost of rising children. The Government also hopes to increase the birth rate that has been declining for many years. You are entitled to this tax-free money, regardless of your income. The payments continue until your child turns 17. You can also deduct certain amount /child from your taxes. This is tied to your income, the less you make, the bigger the deduction. This law was established in 1948.
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| Dad with a Child in Forest |
# of Children
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The amount in € / $ per month
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First Child
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95,75 €/ $ 111.60
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Second Child
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105,80 €/ $123.30
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Third Child
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135,01 €/ $157.36
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Fourth Child
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154,64 €/ $180.24
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Additional Children
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174,27€/ $203.20
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If you are a single parent, you get extra money/month
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48,55€/ $56.59 /child
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Every mother gets total of 4 months of maternity leave. It starts 5-8 weeks before the birth of a child. The mother has an option to start the leave at any time she thinks it’s best for the baby. You get paid for total 105 weekdays, depending on your income. You have to apply this money 2 months before the due date. If your employer pays your income, then the company gets reimbursement from the government. If not, then the government pays you directly. For the first 59 days, the pay is 90 % of your salary, after that it’s 70%.
Family leave follows the maternity leave. The couple can choose who wants to be on a leave. Only one person can be on a leave at one time. Government pays 158 days or about 6 more months of family leave. When the child turns 9 months the “leave money” stops. The pay is about 70 % of your income.
Dads get paternity leave for 9 weeks. Dad can be home with the mom at the same time for up to 18 days. Rest of the paternity leave can be taken after family leave ends.
The paternity leave days must be spent before the child turns 2 years of age.
If the family wants to take care of the baby at home instead of sending to day care, they will get home care support, until the child turns 3 years. This is 338,34 €/month. For other siblings, 101,29 €/month/child under the age of 3 and 65,09 €/month/child of school age.
If there are other children at school, they will also get support until the youngest child turns 3. The support includes care allowance regardless of income, additional care that depends on the income, and possibly municipal supplement, depending where you live. This amounts to 181,07 €/month, only for one child.
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| Maternity Package |
Motherhood support also includes maternity package or 140 € cash. The maternity package includes everything you need for the baby’s first year. In order to receive this benefit, the mother has to participate in pre-natal care.
