Taxes in Sweden
Here's your quick guide to the Swedish tax system, five pointers.
Tax rates for individuals
In Sweden, most people pay only local tax on their annual income. This tax varies depending on municipality and ranges from 28.98 per cent to 35.15 per cent. Sweden's average local tax rate is 32.34 per cent.
Earners above a certain income threshold set by the Tax Agency (link in Swedish) also pay 20 per cent state tax.
The Swedish tax system includes a so-called basic deduction, a sum that is exempt from the taxable income. The sum differs depending on whether a person is under or over 65, see link above.
For capital gains, the tax rate is generally around 30 per cent. If you make a profit on your property sale, the profit is taxed 22 per cent.
Since 2005, there is no inheritance tax in Sweden, and since 2007, there is no wealth tax.
Corporate tax
Sweden currently levies a corporate income tax of 20.6 per cent. The country has gradually lowered its corporate tax since 2009, when it was at 28 per cent, to today’s rate. These steps have been taken both by centre–right and centre–left governments.
VAT
Value-added tax (VAT) in Swedish translates as mervärdesskatt, but is usually called moms.
The standard VAT rate for goods and services in Sweden is 25 per cent, but there are also certain reduced rates of 12 per cent (e.g. foodstuffs) and 6 percent (e.g. books, newspapers, passenger transport within Sweden).
The Swedish Tax Agency's website has an overview of which VAT rates apply to which goods and services.
A tax-financed infrastructure
In 2021, 42.9 per cent of Sweden’s GDP went to taxes. The Swedish welfare system is based on the general principle that everyone contributes, and everyone gets equal access to the same safety net and public services.
The Swedish Tax Agency
Should you move to Sweden, your everyday life here will involve the Swedish Tax Agency at some point. It is not only the government agency in charge of collecting taxes, it also manages civil registration of private individuals in Sweden.
Sweden has around 8 million taxable people, and a majority of these submit their annual tax return electronically. In 2022, more than 6.7 million did (link in Swedish).
