My option expired, was closed or exercised — what happens to the premium, and in which year?

What this guide covers

Only individuals taxed under the Income Tax Act (TVL) and exchange-traded options. Everything below is based on the Finnish Tax Administration’s detailed guide Johdannaisten verotus (VH/3412/00.01.00/2022, in Finnish; a Swedish version exists, an English one does not). Under section 2.4, the capital gains rules apply to options.

The general part — how options and derivatives are taxed, the rates, a worked put example — is in our article on options and derivatives taxation. Here we look at what happens to the premium in each of six scenarios and which year it belongs to.

If you are taxed under the Business Income Tax Act (EVL), the rules differ: per section 2.4, the writer’s premium is then, under certain conditions, taxable only in the year the option is closed, exercised or lapses. That case is not covered here.

You bought an option

• It expired. You lose the premium you paid (section 2.3). The lapse of a derivative traded on a regulated market is treated as a capital loss (section 2.5, TVL section 50). The same applies to non-EEA markets equivalent to regulated markets, including the US national securities exchanges registered with the SEC. Per section 2.5, the option ceases to exist on its expiry date. The guide does not separately state the tax year of the loss; PnlTrack books it in the year of expiry.
• You sold it before expiry. The result is the difference between the premium received and the premium paid (sections 2.2 and 2.4). It is a capital gain or loss of the year the sale was made (chapter 6 of Omaisuuden luovutusvoitot ja -tappiot; TVL section 110 a).
• You exercised it. Bought call: the premium plus trading costs becomes part of the shares’ acquisition price (section 2.4, KHO 2012:69). Tax follows when you sell the shares. Bought put: from the sale price at the strike you deduct the asset’s acquisition cost and the premium paid, or alternatively the deemed acquisition cost (same section). Cash-settled index option: the gain is income of the settlement year (same section).

You sold (wrote) an option

The main rule in section 2.4: the premium received by the writer is taxable income for the tax year in which the premium was available to them (Finnish: nostettavissa). It counts as income from a disposal of property, and the deemed acquisition cost may be deducted from it (KHO 9.9.1999 no. 2410).

• It expired. Under section 2.4 the premium remains income of the year it was received. The guide mentions the year of lapse only for taxpayers under EVL.
• You bought it back. The result is the premium received minus the premium paid (section 2.4). If the sale and buyback are in the same year, that is it. If they are in different years, the guide does not say how to split the result (see “Where the guide is silent”).
• It was assigned. If shares are acquired under the option, the premium received plus trading costs is part of their acquisition price (section 2.4, KHO 2012:69): for a sold put, the shares’ acquisition price is the strike minus the premium. For a sold call, where you deliver shares, the guide says nothing directly.

Example by year: premium in 2025, expiry in 2026

In November 2025 you sell a put and receive a premium of 300 €. It expires in January 2026. Three ways it can go:

• It expires. 300 € is income for 2025 (section 2.4). No new income in 2026.
• You buy it back in January 2026 for 100 €. The trade’s result is +200 €. How it splits between 2025 and 2026, the guide does not say directly.
• It is assigned in January 2026. You buy the shares at the strike, and the premium reduces their acquisition price (KHO 2012:69). Tax follows when you sell the shares. How this fits with the year-of-receipt rule when the assignment falls in the following year, the guide does not discuss.

Dashed cells mark where the source gives no direct answer.

Where the guide is silent — and how PnlTrack calculates

• Buyback in the following year. There is no direct statement. PnlTrack books the whole result (premium minus buyback price) in the year of the buyback and shows a warning with both years and amounts, so you can decide or check with the Tax Administration.
• Assignment in the following year. PnlTrack reduces the shares’ acquisition price by the premium (KHO 2012:69) and does not show it as separate income in the year the option was sold.
• A sold call is assigned. The guide does not describe this case directly. PnlTrack adds the premium to the sale price of the delivered shares — that is our interpretation, not confirmed by the source.
• Trade date versus “available”. The guide refers to the year the premium was available. PnlTrack uses the trade date of the option sale. For a trade in the last days of December that settles in January, these can be different years. The guide does not cover this.

What to report

• Type of income. Under section 2.4 the capital gains rules apply to options, so this is capital income.
• Where. vero.fi has filing instructions for profits from selling securities; on paper, sales of securities are reported on form 9A. The page does not discuss options separately, so we do not name a specific field for options here.
• Losses. A capital loss is deducted from capital gains in the same year and the following five years (section 2.5). A loss on an OTC derivative or on a market not equivalent to a regulated one is not deductible (section 7). More: capital loss deduction.
• Currency. Premiums in dollars are converted to euros. How the rate affects the result: up in dollars, down in euros.