How parental income affects student financial aid in higher education
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Because you are enrolled in higher education, your parents’ income cannot reduce the size of your study grant (opintoraha) or prevent you from getting it. Your parents’ income also does not affect the guarantee you can get for your student loan or the housing supplement for students.
However, how much study grant you can get depends on if you live independently or with your parent(s). If you live with your parent(s), you get a smaller study grant than you would if you lived independently. However, you can be paid the study grant at an increased rate if you live with your parent(s) and their income does not exceed EUR 41,100 per year in total.
Read more about the amount of the study grant.
Estimate how much you can get
Use our calculator to check how much study grant, housing supplement and loan guarantee you might get. The result is an estimate.
Whose income affects your student financial aid?
Your parents’ income affects how much student financial aid you can get. The income of foster parents or grandparents does not affect financial aid.
If your parents are divorced and you live with one of your parents, we will take into account the income of the parent you live with.
What types of income affect financial aid?
Financial aid is affected by your parents'
- taxable earned income and capital income. Taxable income usually refers to gross income. This means income from which no deductions have been made. If one or both of your parents are paid a study grant, it will count as parental income that affects your student financial aid. Read more about what types of income are taken into account in the annual income check.
- income from abroad that would be taxable in Finland. Report the income your parents have been paid from abroad in your application for financial aid or notification of changes (OmaKela e-service).
More information on taxable income is available on the Tax Administration’s website (vero.fi).
Reporting income
Neither you nor your parents need to report your income to us. We get information about your parents’ income from the Tax Administration. We will take your parents’ income into account based on their latest final tax decision. For example, Kela will take your parents’ income in 2023 into account when we carry out the annual income check in 2025.
We will automatically adjust the amount of student financial aid you will be paid each year based on tax information. Tax information is updated at the beginning of each year. For example, information for tax year 2024 will be used starting from January 2026.
If your parents’ combined income has decreased, you can apply for student financial aid based on your parents’ current, lower income. Their income must be at least 20% smaller than in their latest final tax decision.
Do as follows
- State the reason why your parents’ income has decreased in your application for financial aid (OmaKela e-service) or notification of changes, such as your parent becoming unemployed or being laid off. Tell us about both parents’ current situation.
- We usually check income for the coming 12 months. We get information on salary and benefit payments from the Incomes Register. We will use this information when we process your application, and we will ask you for more information if necessary.
- If your parent is insured under the Self-Employed Persons' Pensions Act (YEL) or the Farmers' Pensions Act (MYEL), no documentation is needed about their current income from self-employment. In such case, we will use the reported YEL or MYEL income.
If your parents’ income is now higher than it was before, you do not have to report it to Kela.