Notification of a gift in debt recovery situations

A gift is either fixed or movable property. 

Fixed property always contain land. Fixed property can include a detached house, a summer cottage, forest estates and plots. Do not submit a notification of this type of gift to us, but to the National Land Survey. 

Everything else is movable property on the gifting of which a notification can be submitted to us. Movable property includes vehicles, housing shares, rental rights, movable property in a dwelling, cash, funds, shares and the right to rent a property. 

You do not need to attach a deed of gift to the notification. 

We will not give an opinion on the content or validity of a gift.

There is no limit in euros for the value of the gift, but the significance is influenced by the donor's financial situation. 

You need not submit a notification to us on ordinary gifts that are not disproportionate to the financial situation of the donor. These include small birthday and Christmas presents. A notification for registration need only be submitted for substantial gifts. 

We will not determine or assess the value of the gift.

In this case, your close relatives are: 

• your spouse 
• a person living with you in the same household 
• your child or their spouse
• your grandchild or their spouse
• your parent 
• your grandparent.

The registration of gifts is not mandatory and registration will not affect the validity of the gift.

Registration of a gift may be necessary if the donor and the recipient of the gift want to protect the donor from claims made by the donor’s creditors.

In some situations, a donor's company may have given considerable gifts to their close relatives and the donor has then encountered payment difficulties personally or has later become insolvent. In this case, it is possible that the recipient may have to return the gift or gifts to the bankruptcy estate. 

For more information about the conditions and deadlines for the return of a gift see the Act on the Recovery of Assets to Bankruptcy Estates. 

A gift notification can be drawn up by either the recipient or the donor.

In some cases, the custodian, guardian or deputy guardian may submit a notification on behalf of the recipient. 

Can a gift be given on behalf of a minor? 

No, it cannot. The financial affairs of a minor child are managed by their guardians. The child's guardians are usually the people who have custody of the minor. The guardian may not donate the child's property.

Can a minor give a gift themself?

Yes. 

Minors may  

• give gifts that are normal considering the circumstances and that are of little significance
• gift assets they earned through their own work. 

Yes, but the minor cannot accept the gift themself. Instead, the minor's guardians can accept the gift on their behalf. The child's guardians are usually the people who have custody of the minor. The guardians do not need permission from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency to accept the gift. 

However, sometimes the guardian is disqualified, i.e. they cannot accept a gift on behalf of a minor. 

A person is disqualified from acting as a guardian when, for example,

• they or the other guardian of the minor give the minor a gift 
• the grandparent gifts property to the minor  and the guardian maintains the right of possession for the property. 

A disqualified guardian needs a get a substitute to accept the gift. The guardian can apply for a substitute from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Read more about disqualification and applying for a substitute on our website. 

Please note that notarial gifts (money or securities) are an exception: A notarial gift is received by a bank or investment firm on behalf of the recipient. They can be donated to a minor without the need for a guardian to accept the gift. In this case, there is no problem even if the guardian is disqualified. For example, a guardian can give the child a gift by making a credit transfer.

It may be necessary to submit two different notifications on a gift. Please note that these are two different things and they are entered in two different registers.

A notification to the Register of Donations

The financial affairs of a minor child are managed by their guardians. The child's guardians are usually the people who have custody of the minor. Guardians can report a gift of movable property given to a minor to the Register of Donations. You do not need to notify the register of a gift. It is only a good idea to request registration if you want to ensure that the recipient cannot be required to return the gift if the donor is in bankruptcy or in enforcement. 

We register gift details based on the notification. We do not check the validity of the gift, and registration does not correct any formal errors. Please ensure that the gift is valid and that e.g. the guardians are not disqualified from accepting the gift on behalf of a minor. Read more about disqualification on our website. 

Notification to the Guardianship Service 

Guardians must notify the Digital and Population Data Services Agency if the value of a minor's property exceeds EUR 20,000 without deducting any debts. Report the information for the day when the property has exceeded EUR 20,000. Read more about reporting of property on our website. 

Not necessary, but the notification must include the details of the donation, i.e. the parties to the gift, the item gifted and the date of gifting.

The gift notification submitted to the Tax Administration is related to taxation and a gift tax. 

On the other hand, a gift notified to the Digital and Population Data Services Agency is registered in the Gift Register. Registration allows the recipient of the gift to gain protection from recovery claims by creditors of the donor in a bankruptcy and in enforcement.

No, it cannot, A separate notification must be submitted for each gift.

You can request this by email or by phone.  

A fee will be charged for the extract.  

We only have a deed of gift stored in our register if it has been submitted to us. You can request this by email or by phone. A fee will be charged for the extract. 

Provide the following information in your order:

• client name
• client email address and telephone number 
• who the gift’s donor and recipient are
• when the gift was signed or registered
• where we should deliver the extract and invoice. 

A deed is not usually delivered to us. You can ask the Finnish Tax Administration if they have a deed for the gift. Read more about submitting a request for access to a document on the Finnish Tax Administration website (in Finnish).

Please contact financial and debt counselling to find out. 

It isn't. Registration of a gift notification will only affect enforcement.

No. The registration of gifts is not mandatory and registration will not affect the validity of the gift. 

Registration allows the recipient of the gift to gain protection from recovery claims by creditors of the donor in a bankruptcy and enforcement.

The Digital and Population Data Services Agency will not check the family relation between the parties to the gift or the item gifted. The Digital and Population Data Services Agency registers all gift notifications containing the information necessary for the register.