Taxes in Sweden: how much you pay and when

On wages you pay municipal income tax, on average 32.38 per cent in 2026, and 20 per cent state income tax on the part of your taxable income above SEK 643,000, according to Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency. If you earn less than SEK 25,042 in the whole year, you pay no tax. Tax is deducted from your pay every month and settled in the tax return the following year. This is general information, not personal tax advice.

How income tax is built up

Tax on wages and pensions has two parts: a municipal tax that almost everyone pays and a state tax charged only on higher incomes. Your employer deducts preliminary tax (preliminärskatt) from your pay every month and sends it to Skatteverket.

Municipal tax

Municipal tax (kommunalskatt) goes to your municipality and your region, and the rate differs from one municipality to another. According to Skatteverket, the average municipal tax rate for 2026 is 32.38 per cent. Which tax table your employer uses depends on where you were registered on 1 November of the year before the income year.

State tax

You pay state income tax (statlig inkomstskatt) only on the part of your taxable income above a threshold called skiktgräns. For 2026 the skiktgräns is SEK 643,000 and the tax is 20 per cent of what lies above it, according to Skatteverket.

What is deducted automatically

Before the tax is worked out, your income is reduced by a basic allowance (grundavdrag). If you had not turned 66 at the start of the year, the allowance for 2026 is at least SEK 17,400 and at most SEK 45,600, depending on your income. If you had turned 66, it is higher. On earned income you also get jobbskatteavdrag, a tax credit that is also applied automatically.

The figures for income year 2026

These figures apply to income you earn in 2026 and declare in spring 2027. They come from Skatteverket's page Belopp och procent for income year 2026.

Skiktgräns and brytpunkt are not the same thing

The skiktgräns is measured on income after the basic allowance. The brytpunkt is the same limit expressed as income before the allowance, so it is the number to compare with your annual salary. If your annual income is below the brytpunkt, you pay no state income tax.

When you pay no tax at all

If you earn less than SEK 25,042 in the whole of 2026, you do not have to pay tax, according to Skatteverket. If you have a summer job, for example, you can give your employer a certificate so that no tax is deducted.

Work out your own tax in Skatteverket's e-service

For your own figure, the safest way is Skatteverket's e-service Räkna ut din skatt, which means calculate your tax. You enter how much you have earned and how much preliminary tax has been deducted, and you get a calculation for the income year.

Have this at hand

• Your latest payslip, with pay before tax and tax deducted so far this year
• The municipality where you are registered as resident
• Other income during the year, such as a pension or sickness benefit
• Interest on loans and other deductions you plan to claim
• Invoices for rot or rut work, if you have bought any

How to do it

• Step 1: Open the e-service Räkna ut din skatt on skatteverket.se.
• Step 2: Enter your income for the whole year, including the months that remain.
• Step 3: Enter how much preliminary tax has been deducted and will be deducted.
• Step 4: Add what applies to you: deductions, the sale of a home, rot or rut work.
• Step 5: Read the result and see whether the tax being deducted is enough.

If the calculation points to tax left to pay, you can ask your employer to deduct more tax or apply for an adjustment (jämkning) in Skatteverket's e-service Jämkning. It suits you if, for instance, you have several employers, work only part of the year or have interest to deduct.

The tax return: timing and deadline

The tax return (deklaration) always covers the year before. Income from 2025 was declared in spring 2026, and the last day was 4 May 2026, according to Skatteverket. Income from 2026 is declared in spring 2027.

The timetable in 2026

• 2–6 March: the return was sent to people with a digital mailbox (digital brevlåda)
• 17 March: the e-service for filing opened
• 31 March: last day to approve digitally without changes for a refund in April
• 4 May: last day to file

The tax return in 2027

On 6 October 2026 Skatteverket had not yet published the dates for the 2027 tax return. What is settled is the figures for income year 2026 in the table above, and that you must file if you earned SEK 25,042 or more in 2026. Skatteverket has also announced that in the 2027 return the deduction for travel to and from work applies to the part of your costs above SEK 15,000. The new dates will appear on skatteverket.se, where you also find Datum för deklarationen 2026.

Tax refund: when the money arrives

If you have paid too much tax, you get the money back as a tax refund (skatteåterbäring) once Skatteverket has decided your final tax. Refunds for income year 2025 are paid in 2026 as follows, according to Skatteverket:

The last payment of the year is therefore 8–11 December 2026. For the money to arrive automatically, you must have registered a bank account with Skatteverket no later than three weeks after the decision on your final tax. Amounts under SEK 100 are not paid out. The conditions are on the page Få skatteåterbäring.

Restskatt: when you have to pay

Restskatt and kvarskatt mean the same thing, tax left to pay, and Skatteverket uses the word kvarskatt. You get it when the tax deducted during the year is not enough. You have about 90 days to pay from the day Skatteverket decides your final tax.

The dates apply to the 2026 tax return, that is income year 2025, and come from Skatteverket's page Betala kvarskatt.

Interest on kvarskatt

Interest starts to run before the due date. For income year 2025, interest is charged on the part of the kvarskatt above SEK 30,000 from 13 February 2026, and on kvarskatt up to SEK 30,000 from 5 May 2026. If you expect a large amount, you can therefore make an extra payment in advance. On 6 October 2026 Skatteverket had not published the corresponding dates for 2027.

How to pay

You pay into your tax account (skattekonto) by Swish or bankgiro. The money must be booked at Skatteverket on the due date, so pay a few days ahead. Unpaid amounts can be handed over to Kronofogden, the Enforcement Authority.

Rot and rut deductions in brief

Rot and rut lower your tax when you buy certain services for your home. The company deducts the amount directly on the invoice.

• Rot: at most 30 per cent of the labour cost for repairs, maintenance, conversion and extension. The rot deduction returned to 30 per cent at the turn of 2025/2026.
• Rut: at most 50 per cent of the labour cost for household services such as cleaning and gardening.
• Ceiling: rot and rut together are at most SEK 75,000 per person per year, of which at most SEK 50,000 may be rot.

Only the labour cost qualifies. The deduction is a tax reduction, so you need enough tax to set it against. The rules are on Skatteverket's page Så fungerar rotavdraget.

Congestion tax: a tax outside the tax return

Congestion tax (trängselskatt) is a tax on vehicles that pass the charging points in Stockholm and Gothenburg on weekdays. It does not appear in your tax return. Transportstyrelsen, the Swedish Transport Agency, sends a payment notice to the vehicle owner at the end of each month. In Stockholm the highest amount per day and vehicle is SEK 135 in high season and SEK 105 in low season, in Gothenburg SEK 60, according to Transportstyrelsen. The tax is not charged on public holidays or in July, except for the first five weekdays of July in Stockholm. More on zones and payment is in our article Congestion tax basics.

Sources

• Skatteverket: Belopp och procent, income year 2026
• Skatteverket: Räkna ut din skatt (tax calculator)
• Skatteverket: Datum för deklarationen 2026 (tax return dates)
• Skatteverket: Betala kvarskatt (paying tax arrears)
• Skatteverket: Få skatteåterbäring (tax refund)
• Skatteverket: Så fungerar rotavdraget (rot deduction)
• Transportstyrelsen: Trängselskatt i Stockholm (congestion tax)
• Transportstyrelsen: Trängselskatt i Göteborg (congestion tax)

The facts were checked on 6 October 2026.