Europe
Sweden tax rates 2026
A high-tax Nordic welfare state, with steep progressive income tax and 25% VAT. Still, it offers a competitive 20.6% corporate rate and no wealth or inheritance tax. That rate applies to an aktiebolag (AB), the usual vehicle for company formation in Sweden.
The taxes
| Personal income (top) | 52.38%Progressive. Municipal tax averages 32.38% in 2026, plus 20% national tax on taxable earned income above SEK 643,000 (SEK 660,400 before the basic allowance). |
|---|---|
| Corporate income | 20.6% |
| Capital gains | A flat 30% on investment income. |
| VAT / Moms (VAT) | 25% |
| Dividends (WHT) | 30% |
| Interest (WHT) | 0% |
| Royalties (WHT) | 0%, taxed instead as business income. |
| Social security (employee) | 7% general pension fee, capped at SEK 47,100, fully offset by a tax reduction. |
| Social security (employer) | 31.42% |
| Wealth tax | None. Abolished in 2007. |
| Inheritance / estate | None. Abolished in 2005. |
| Property tax | A municipal property fee of 0.75% of assessed value, capped at SEK 10,425 for 2026. |
| Other | A church fee of ~1% for members. |
Sweden income tax brackets 2026
Taxable earned income of residents under 66 after the basic allowance, tax year 2026
| Up to SEK 643,000 | 32.38%Average municipal tax; each municipality sets its own rate |
|---|---|
| Over SEK 643,000 | 52.38%Average municipal tax plus 20% national tax |
Before the basic allowance the 20% national tax starts at SEK 660,400 of earned income, or SEK 760,500 from age 66. The basic allowance of SEK 17,400 to 45,600 comes off first, and the earned income tax credit then cuts the bill further.
Who is a tax resident in Sweden
Sweden taxes the worldwide income of anyone who lives in the country, stays there regularly, or keeps an essential connection after leaving. A stay of six consecutive months or more counts as regular, and short trips home do not break it. Meeting any one of the three tests makes a person fully taxable, with everything declared to the Swedish Tax Agency, Skatteverket.
Leaving is harder than arriving. Swedish citizens, and anyone who has lived in Sweden for ten years or more, must prove they no longer have essential ties for five years after departure. A home, family or major assets left behind keep them fully taxable in Sweden, and the burden of proof stays with the person who moved.
Tax year, return and payment dates in Sweden
The tax year is the calendar year. The agency sends a pre-filled return in spring, and the deadline is early May: 4 May in 2026 for 2025 income, 1 June for filers with an extension and 15 June for those filing through an accounting firm with an extension. Non-residents who file by 1 June pay no late-filing fee.
Employers withhold preliminary tax every month. Adults who owe residual tax receive their final tax decision in August and pay the balance by 12 November. Interest starts earlier: from 13 February on the part of residual tax above SEK 30,000 and from 5 May on smaller balances, so a top-up payment by 12 February avoids it.
How non-residents are taxed in Sweden
Non-residents pay Swedish tax only on Swedish income. Pay and Swedish pensions fall under SINK, the special income tax for non-residents: a flat final tax of 22.5% in 2026, down from 25%, and 20% from 1 January 2027. SINK covers people who live abroad and work in Sweden for six months or less, daily cross-border commuters and recipients of Swedish pensions.
A non-resident can apply each year for ordinary taxation instead. That means the average municipal rate plus national tax, and when at least 90% of total earned income comes from Sweden the person also gets the basic allowance and the earned income tax credit. Dividends from Swedish companies carry a 30% coupon tax withheld at payment, which most tax treaties reduce.
Dividends, interest and capital gains in Sweden
Capital income has its own flat rate of 30%, covering interest, dividends and gains on listed shares and funds. A gain on a private home is taxed on 22/30 of the gain, an effective 22%, and half of a loss is deductible. A net capital loss of up to SEK 100,000 reduces other tax by 30%, and by 21% on the part above that.
Most savers hold shares and funds in an investment savings account, the ISK, taxed on a notional return instead of actual gains and dividends. For 2026 the first SEK 300,000 across ISK accounts, endowment insurance and PEPP products is tax free. Above that the tax is 1.065% of the capital: the government borrowing rate of 2.55% on 30 November 2025 plus one point, taxed at 30%.
Social security contributions in Sweden
Employers pay 31.42% on top of salary for staff born 1959 to 2002, and 10.21% for staff born 1938 to 1958. From 1 April 2026 to 30 September 2027 the rate for workers born 2003 to 2007 drops to 20.81% on pay up to SEK 25,000. Employees pay a 7% general pension fee, capped at SEK 47,100 a year and fully offset by an equal tax reduction.
The self-employed pay their own contributions, egenavgifter, of 28.97% on business profit, with a standard 25% deduction for the fees in the year's accounts. Every earner also pays a public service fee of 1% of taxable earned income, at most SEK 1,184 a year, collected with income tax.
What changes in 2026 and 2027
The national tax threshold rose to SEK 643,000 of taxable income, from SEK 625,800 in 2025, and the earned income tax credit grew for workers earning more than about SEK 192,000 a year. The tax-free ISK allowance rose to SEK 300,000. The ROT deduction for home repair labour returned to 30%, and the threshold for deducting commuting costs rose from SEK 11,000 to SEK 15,000.
The expert tax relief, which exempts 25% of pay, has required monthly pay above 1.5 price base amounts since 2025: at least SEK 88,801 for work starting in 2026 and SEK 89,401 in 2027. Applicants must not have lived in Sweden in the previous five calendar years and must apply within three months of starting work. From income year 2026, owners of closely held companies use a single rule to calculate their dividend allowance.
How the system works
- Tax system
- Worldwide (residence-based)
- Foreign income
- Taxed (worldwide)
- Taxes by citizenship
- No
- Exit tax
- No
- CFC rules
- Yes
- CRS
- Participating
A special regime for new arrivals
Expert tax relief, known as expertskatt: 25% of income is tax-free for 7 years.
Rates, brackets and rules checked November 2026.
Frequently asked
How much income is tax free in Sweden?
SEK 25,041 of annual income is tax free in 2026, and anyone earning more must file a return. Taxpayers aged 66 or over get an enhanced basic allowance of up to SEK 179,100.
Does Sweden tax worldwide income?
Every resident's income from anywhere in the world is taxable in Sweden and must be declared. Income that a tax treaty or a domestic exemption removes from the Swedish bill still goes on the return.
Does Sweden tax unrealized gains?
Gains are taxed when an asset is sold. The exception is the investment savings account, taxed every year on its value whether or not anything is sold.
How does Sweden tax capital gains of foreigners?
A non-resident who sells or lets Swedish property declares the income in Sweden under a special registration number, the GD number. A former resident who sells shares can also be taxed in Sweden under the ten-year rule.
What tax rate do foreigners pay in Sweden?
Foreign residents pay exactly the same municipal and national rates as Swedish citizens. Nationality matters only for the expert tax relief, which Swedish citizens cannot claim.
How much property tax in Sweden?
0.75% of assessed value is the municipal property fee on a house, capped at SEK 10,425 for 2026. Houses and owner apartments built in 2012 or later pay no fee for their first 15 years.
When is the Sweden tax refund 2026 paid?
7 to 10 April for returns approved digitally by 31 March without changes, 9 to 12 June for returns filed by 4 May, and 4 to 7 August for the rest once Skatteverket has approved them.
Ways to relocate to Sweden
The residency and citizenship routes that lead here, weighed against the tax picture above.