Tax

The tax you pay during the year is preliminary. If you're employed, your employer takes it from your pay every month. If you run your own business, you pay it yourself. The year after, you file a tax return (deklaration) and Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, works out your final tax. Then you get money back or pay what's missing. Choose how you work to see your steps. Skatteverket always decides on your tax.

• Skatteverket hasn't published the dates for the 2027 tax return yet. The dates shown here applied in 2026.
• Skatteverket never asks for your bank account number by email or text message, and never asks for passwords or card details. Don't click links in such messages.

1. Make sure your employer takes the right tax

   As an employee you have A-tax (A-skatt). Your employer takes tax according to your tax table before paying your salary. If you're registered in the Population Register (folkbokförd), you don't need to report anything. If your employer wants to see your table, you can get your A-tax certificate (A-skattsedel) in Skatteverket's e-service.

   Do you only have a coordination number (samordningsnummer)? If you'll work here for six months or more without being folkbokförd, you file a preliminary A-tax notification (anmälan om preliminär A-skatt) yourself. You do this every calendar year. The e-service is in Swedish and English. You don't need a Swedish e-ID, just an email address.

   You can start working before you get the decision. Until then, your employer takes extra tax: the table plus 10 per cent. Show the decision to your employer as soon as you get it.

   Working here next year too?

   If you're not folkbokförd, you can send the A-tax notification for next year from 1 November. Decisions are sent out from December.

   Skatteverket: new in Sweden and employed Skatteverket: A-tax certificate and tax tables The Personnummer tool
2. Check the tax on your payslip

   Your tax table depends on where you were folkbokförd on 1 November the year before. The table includes municipal tax, state tax and the basic allowance (grundavdrag), among other things. If you're not sure you're paying the right tax, you can work it out in Skatteverket's e-service Räkna ut din skatt (calculate your tax).

   Your employer reports your pay and tax to Skatteverket every month. Your employer must also tell you what it reports, for example on your payslip. In the e-service Mina inkomstuppgifter (my income details) you can see what has been reported. If something is wrong, contact your employer.

   With several jobs, only the one that pays you the most (the main payer) takes tax by the table. The others take 30 per cent. Your tax can then be too low, and you may have to pay residual tax (kvarskatt). You can ask an employer to take more tax.

   Skatteverket: your income details (in Swedish) Skatteverket: calculate your tax (in Swedish)
3. Adjust your tax if it's wrong If needed

   With an adjustment (jämkning), Skatteverket changes how much tax is taken from your pay. It can help if you've only worked part of the year, have several employers, or have deductions, for example for travel to work.

   Apply in the e-service Jämkning or on form SKV 4302. Fill in all the income and deductions you expect for the whole year. You usually get the decision within two weeks. Give it to your employer. The decision only applies for one calendar year.

   For this year you can apply until 30 November. For next year you can apply from 1 October. If the decision should apply from January, apply by 8 November.

   Skatteverket: jämkning (in Swedish)
4. Register your bank account

   If you've paid too much tax, Skatteverket pays the money into your bank account, if you've registered it. The account must be your own. With a Swedish e-ID, register it in the e-service Skattekonto (tax account). Without one, you can register a Swedish account on Bankgirot's website.

   You register a foreign account by post. Send a signed notification with your name, your personnummer or coordination number, the IBAN and the BIC, and a certificate from your bank in original. The certificate may be at most six months old.

   Register the account at the latest three weeks after the decision on your final tax. Otherwise you have to ask for the money to be paid out yourself.

   Skatteverket: receiving a tax refund How to get BankID
5. Get your first tax return

   The tax return for a year arrives in March or April the year after. If you have a digital mailbox (digital brevlåda), it goes there. Otherwise it comes by post to your registered address. It's also a PDF on Mina sidor (My pages).

   You must file a return if you've received one. You must also file if you lived in Sweden for only part of the year and had income of SEK 100 or more. If you moved here during the year, this applies to you. If you lived here all of 2025, you had to file if you earned SEK 24,873 or more.

   Haven't received a return but need to file? File with a Swedish e-ID in the e-service Inkomstdeklaration 1, or order a paper form. The e-service only works if you're registered for tax in Sweden.

   The 2026 dates (for income year 2025)

   • 2–6 March: the return arrived in digital mailboxes, if you had set one up by 1 March.
   • 6 March: the return was available as a PDF on Mina sidor.
   • 17 March: the e-service opened.
   • 17 March–15 April: the paper return came by post. You had to be registered at the right address by 25 February.
   • 4 May: the last day to file without an extension.

   Skatteverket: do I need to file? Skatteverket: tax return dates (in Swedish)
6. Check it and add what's missing

   Most of it is already filled in, such as your salary and payments from Försäkringskassan. Check that the details match the papers you got from your employer, your bank and Försäkringskassan.

   Did you move here during the year? The basic allowance is then only counted for the months you were folkbokförd. If you lived here all year without being folkbokförd, or you declare at least 90 per cent of your income in Sweden, you can get the full basic allowance. You must then ask for it yourself under Övriga upplysningar (other information).

   Do you have income from abroad? If you live in Sweden, you must declare all your income, including income from abroad. This also applies to income that isn't taxed here. Convert the amounts to Swedish kronor. If you paid tax on the income in another country, you may be entitled to a credit for that tax (avräkning).

   If you change or add anything, you can't get your money as early as April. Keep your documents for six years.

   Deduction for travel to work

   For income year 2026 you can deduct the part of your costs above SEK 15,000. For 2025 the limit was SEK 11,000. There are more conditions, for example about the distance to work.

   Skatteverket: basic allowance Skatteverket: foreign income Skatteverket: common deductions
7. File by the last day

   If you only need to approve your return, you can do it in the e-service Inkomstdeklaration 1, by text message or by phone. Without a Swedish e-ID, you use the codes in the specification that came with your return. If you need to change or add anything, you need a Swedish e-ID. You can also sign the paper return and post it. Skatteverket's app no longer exists, and the e-service is only in Swedish.

   The last day is 2 May. If that's a public holiday or weekend day, it moves to the next weekday: in 2026 it was 4 May. A paper return must have reached Skatteverket by that day, so post it in good time.

   Running late? Apply for an extension (anstånd) on Mina sidor, or call Skatteupplysningen (the tax information line) on 0771-567 567, by the last filing day. If you file late without an extension, you may have to pay a late filing fee of SEK 1,250. There can be up to three fees.

   Approving by text message or phone

   Text your personnummer and your signature code (kod för underskrift) to 71144, with a space between them. From abroad you need a Swedish mobile subscription. You can also call 020-567 100, from abroad +46 8 764 92 40, and follow the recorded instructions. They're also available in English. You get a confirmation.

   Need help? You can apply for someone you trust to become your tax return representative (deklarationsombud) and file digitally for you. You're still responsible for the details.

   Skatteverket: how to file your tax return Skatteverket: if you can't file on time
8. Get money back or pay residual tax

   When Skatteverket is done, you get a final tax decision (besked om slutlig skatt). If you've paid too much, you get a tax refund (skatteåterbäring). If you've paid too little, you have residual tax (kvarskatt), which you pay into your tax account.

   When the money comes depends on when and how you filed. In 2026 the dates were:

   • 7–10 April, if you approved digitally by 31 March without changing anything
   • 9–12 June, if you filed by 4 May
   • 4–7 August, for example if you had an extension
   • 8–11 December, if you hadn't had a decision before or aren't registered for tax in Sweden

   Residual tax must be paid about 90 days after the decision. The date is in the decision. Pay by Swish or to Skatteverket's bankgiro 5050-1055 with your OCR number. You can split the payment, but you can't pay in cash.

   Pay on time. Otherwise you pay more interest, and the debt can end up with Kronofogden (the Enforcement Authority). If you expect large residual tax, you can pay in advance to avoid interest.

   Residual tax from the 2026 tax return

   • Decision in August 2026: pay by 12 November 2026.
   • Decision in December 2026: pay by 12 March 2027.

   Skatteverket: receiving a tax refund Skatteverket: paying kvarskatt (in Swedish)

1. Check that it counts as a business

   For your activity to be a business (näringsverksamhet), it must be independent, aim to make a profit and be ongoing. If one of these is missing, it's usually employment income or a hobby. Just a few one-off assignments don't count as a business. Skatteverket assesses this.

   Skatteverket: what is a business? (in Swedish)
2. Register your business and apply for F-tax

   You register a sole trader business only with Skatteverket. The easiest way is Skatteverket's e-service on verksamt.se, where the agencies gather services for business owners. There you also apply for F-tax (F-skatt), which means you pay your own tax. Without a Swedish e-ID, use the form Företagsregistrering (SKV 4620). It's free.

   If you're also employed, you apply for FA-tax. Your employer then takes tax from your salary as usual, and you pay the tax for your business yourself.

   If you have neither a personnummer nor a coordination number, you can get a coordination number when you apply for F-tax. You then need an identity check at one of Skatteverket's service offices.

   It can take up to six weeks before your business is registered. You get a registration extract (registerutdrag) when it's done.

   Verksamt.se: start a sole trader business (in Swedish) Skatteverket: approval for F-tax
3. Show you have no tax debts abroad If you've lived here less than two years

   If you've lived in Sweden for less than two years, you must send documents showing that you have no tax debts in the countries you've lived in during the last two years. You order them from that country's authority, for example its tax agency.

   The documents may be at most three months old when you apply for F-tax. Order them when you apply, so you get an answer faster.

   Skatteverket: F-tax requirements
4. Pay preliminary tax every month

   When you register your business, you file a preliminary tax return (preliminär inkomstdeklaration) with the profit you expect. Skatteverket then works out your preliminary tax, called debiterad preliminärskatt. It also includes your self-employed contributions (egenavgifter), which match what an employer would pay.

   You pay the same amount every month into your tax account. You don't get an invoice.

   The money must be in your tax account on the due date, usually the 12th of every month. If business goes better or worse than you expected, file a new preliminary tax return.

   Can I wait with the first payments?

   As a new business owner, you can get a deferral (uppskov) of the preliminary tax for the first three months. You pay the same total, but over fewer months. You apply when you register the business. It doesn't apply if you took over the business from someone else, run another business or extended your first financial year.

   Skatteverket: preliminary tax for businesses
5. Write that you have F-tax

   Write “Godkänd för F-skatt” (approved for F-tax) on every invoice, and preferably in quotes and contracts. Your client then shouldn't take tax from what you're paid for your work.

   With FA-tax, you must refer to your F-tax in writing in every assignment. Otherwise your A-tax applies, and the client must take tax.

   You may not use your F-tax when you work as an employee.

6. VAT and bookkeeping

   If you sell goods or services subject to VAT (moms) and your turnover is more than SEK 120,000 in a calendar year, you must register your business for VAT. With a lower turnover you may be exempt in some cases.

   As a sole trader you must keep accounts of all business transactions and keep them for seven years. Skatteverket advises you to have a separate bank account for the business.

   Skatteverket: register for VAT Skatteverket: starting a business (in Swedish)
7. File with the NE annex

   After each year you close your books (årsbokslut). You declare the result in an NE annex (NE-bilaga), which you file with your ordinary tax return (Inkomstdeklaration 1). With a Swedish e-ID you do it in the e-service. Otherwise you file the NE annex on paper.

   If your turnover is at most SEK 3 million, you can use the e-service Förenklat årsbokslut (simplified year-end accounts). You don't send in the accounts, but you must sign them and keep them for seven years.

   The last filing day is the same as for everyone: in 2026 it was 4 May. If you report VAT once a year, the last day for the VAT return was 12 May 2026. An extension for your tax return doesn't cover VAT.

   Skatteverket: filing as a sole trader (in Swedish)
8. Keep an eye on your tax account

   Your tax account (skattekonto) shows your payments, your preliminary tax and your final tax. After you file, you get a final tax decision. Then you get money back or pay residual tax.

   Register a bank account for refunds: with a Swedish e-ID in the e-service Skattekonto, or without one on Bankgirot's website.

   If you don't pay your tax on time, you may have to pay interest, and the debt can go to Kronofogden. It can also lead to Skatteverket withdrawing your F-tax.

   Skatteverket: tax account (in Swedish) Skatteverket: registering a bank account

1. Find out if SINK applies to you

   SINK is a special income tax for people who live abroad and work in Sweden for a short time. You can apply for SINK if you'll be in Sweden for less than six months. What counts is where you sleep (your night's rest). Short trips home don't break your stay.

   If you'll be here for six months or more, you pay ordinary tax. You then file a preliminary A-tax notification instead: see Employee. If you'll live here for a year or more, you should usually be folkbokförd.

   Working for a foreign company?

   If your employer has no permanent establishment in Sweden and you're here at most 183 days in a 12-month period, the so-called 183-day rule can mean you don't pay tax here. It doesn't apply if you're hired out to a company in Sweden and work under its direction.

   Skatteverket: SINK (in Swedish)
2. Apply for SINK

   You or your employer applies. The easiest way is Skatteverket's e-service, in Swedish or English. You don't need a Swedish e-ID, just an email address where Skatteverket sends a code. You can also use form SKV 4350, but by post it can take longer.

   You must make a new application for each calendar year, each employer and each period of employment. Skatteverket can handle applications for next year in December at the earliest.

   Skatteverket: new in Sweden and employed
3. Get a coordination number If you don't have one

   If you don't have a coordination number (samordningsnummer), you need to apply for one. Book an identity check at one of Skatteverket's service offices as soon as you can. Bring your passport or ID card, and your residence permit card if you have one. You can hand in your SINK application at the same visit.

   If you have an old coordination number that is dormant (vilande), you apply to renew it the same way.

   Skatteverket: coordination numbers The Personnummer tool
4. Show the decision to your employer

   With a SINK decision, your employer takes 22.5 per cent in tax on pay paid out in 2026. The Riksdag (Swedish parliament) has decided to lower SINK to 20 per cent from 1 January 2027. You don't file a tax return, but you can't make any deductions either.

   Without a decision, your employer takes more: the tax table plus 10 per cent. If you paid more than the SINK tax, you can ask for the difference back. Skatteverket can only handle your request once your employer has reported your pay.

   How to ask for the tax back

   If Skatteverket sees you have tax to get back, you get an annex with the decision that you can use. Otherwise write your name, your personnummer or coordination number, that you're asking for tax back on income to be taxed under SINK, and the reference number of the decision. Send it to the address on the decision. If you haven't registered a bank account, also send your account details and an original certificate from your bank, at most six months old.

   Skatteverket: SINK decision (in Swedish)
5. Choose ordinary tax instead If you want to

   You can choose to pay tax under the ordinary rules (the Income Tax Act) instead of SINK. You choose this in the SINK application, every year. You then get a preliminary A-tax decision.

   You then pay average municipal tax, and state tax at higher incomes. You must file a tax return the year after, but you can make deductions, for example for travel or increased living costs. You can get the basic allowance if at least 90 per cent of your earned income for the year is taxed in Sweden.

   You can change your mind afterwards. You can ask for a review (omprövning) until the end of the sixth year after the tax year.

   Skatteverket: ordinary tax instead of SINK (in Swedish)
6. Apply again if you stay longer If your stay is extended

   If your employment is extended, you or your employer must send a new SINK application. If your stay becomes six months or longer, you file a preliminary A-tax notification instead.

   If you'll be here for at least twelve months, you may need to be folkbokförd and get a personnummer. You then pay ordinary tax for the whole employment and file a tax return the year after.

   Skatteverket: moving to Sweden
7. Keep your SINK statement

   Every year Skatteverket sends you a statement of your income and your SINK tax. If you're also taxed in your home country, you may need to show that the tax in Sweden has been paid. So keep the statement. If you need it earlier, you can order an extract from Skatteverket.

   If you move, report your new contact address to Skatteverket so they can reach you.

   Skatteverket: if you stop working in Sweden