Sweden
Sweden: 5 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment, and what it is known for.
Forming a company
Company types in Sweden
The 5 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
What it is known for
Where Sweden is in the world’s top 10 on a measure anyone can check, the best rank first. Only the top is shown; a low rank is never stated.
- World’s2ndWorld-leading exports Sawn wood (over 6 mm)Wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mmUS$3.7 bn · 9.8% of world exports of 168 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s2ndWorld-leading exports Fresh or chilled fish, wholeFish, fresh or chilled, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304US$3.1 bn · 11.8% of world exports of 163 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s3rdWorld-leading exports Coated paper and paperboardPaper and paperboard, coated on one or both sides with kaolin (China clay) or other inorganic substances, with or without a binder, and with no other coating, whether or not surface-coloured, surface-decorated or printed, in rolls or rectangular (including square) sheets, of any sizeUS$3.5 bn · 13.2% of world exports of 159 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s3rdResearch and technology Research and development spending3.60% of GDP of 78 economies · 2023 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 10
- World’s joint7thLogistics and freight Logistics Performance Index4.0 of 5 of 138 economies · 2022 World Bank, World Development Indicators See the top 12
A rank is among everything the source reports for that year, so it moves when the source adds or drops economies. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Doing business here
Business accounts
Providers whose own published list of countries names Sweden. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.
Not in our records No provider's country list has been read for Sweden.
EU listings
Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.
- EU high-risk third countries (AML)
- Not listed
- EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- Not listedOfficial EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17
Official sites
The authorities’ own sites for Sweden: where to register, file and check.
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Sweden belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.
- European Union: internal market and customs union
- Single market · since 1995
Covers goods, services, establishment, capital, movement of people, a common external tariff.
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EU Member State since 1995, Schengen area member since 2001 and more about Sweden’s participation in the EU.
- European Union: VAT territory
- Inside it
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‘Community’ and ‘territory of the Community’ mean the territories of the Member States as defined in point (2);
- Schengen area
- Free movement area · since 25 March 2001
Covers movement of people.
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As from 25 March 2001, and subject to Article 3(2):
- European Economic Area
- Single market · since 1 January 1994
Covers goods, movement of people, services, establishment, capital.
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which now covers the EU and its 27 Member States, and three of the four EFTA members: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.
Tax
Company tax
Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.
- Corporate income tax
- 20.6%
- Distributions
- Not in our records
- Audit
- An aktiebolag has at least one auditor, but a private one may state in its articles that it has none, unless it exceeds more than one of three conditions (more than 3 employees; balance sheet total over SEK 1.5 million; net turnover over SEK 3 million) in each of the last two financial years (ABL 9 kap. 1 §).Official The registry or ministry page as of 2026-10-10
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I bolagsordningen för ett privat aktiebolag får det anges att bolaget inte ska ha någon revisor.
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Not in our records
- Annual registry fee
- Free
VAT
The tax on what the company sells in Sweden, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- Standard rate
- 25%Official European Commission, Taxes in Europe Database situation on 2026/07/01
- Other rates
- 12% Restaurant services, hotel accommodation and camping, and works of art
- 6% Food, including takeaway food, from 1 April 2026
- 6% Admission to theatre, opera, ballet and similar performances, and dance events from 1 July 2026
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Det är 25 procent moms på nästan alla varor och tjänster, men i vissa fall är det 12 procent eller 6 procent som gäller.
- Registration threshold
- SEK 120,000 · about €10,813
annual turnover; the exemption applies only to a business based in Sweden and only if turnover did not exceed the limit in either of the previous two calendar years; calendar year
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Ditt företag har en årsomsättning på mer än 120 000 kronor under det aktuella kalenderåret.
- Voluntary registration
- Yes
A business with annual turnover of SEK 120,000 or less may choose to register for VAT voluntarily; the registration is subject to application and a delay rule before it can be withdrawn.
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Du kan välja att registrera ditt företag för moms även om företagets årsomsättning är 120 000 kronor eller lägre
- A foreign company
- Registers from its first taxable supply
The SEK 120,000 low-turnover exemption is limited to a business based in Sweden, so a non-established business registers from its first taxable supply. The Tax Agency's guidance names no fiscal representative requirement.
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If your business’s annual turnover in Sweden does not exceed SEK 120,000, and your business is based in this country, you generally do not need to register it for VAT.
- Returns filed
- Depends on the business
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Du kan vara registrerad för att lämna momsdeklaration en gång per år, varje kvartal eller varje månad.
- Tax authority
- Registration page read 2026-10-22
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Sweden, tax year 2025, as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- 1 August · each year
a limited company with a calendar fiscal year files its income tax return by 1 August of the following year. For other fiscal year ends the deadline follows a table (January–April: 1 December; May–June: 15 January; July–August: 1 April; September–December: 2 August of the following year). Where the date is a weekend or public holiday it moves to the next weekday.
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Ett aktiebolag har ett räkenskapsår som slutar 31 december. Det innebär att de ska deklarera senast 1 augusti året efter.
- Corporate tax, final payment
- 90 days after the end of the assessment notice · each year
where the final tax exceeds the preliminary tax, the difference (kvarskatt) must be on the tax account by the due date in the notice of final tax, which falls about 90 days after Skatteverket's decision. The rule is anchored to the assessment notice, not a fixed date.
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Din inbetalning av kvarskatten ska vara bokförd på ditt skattekonto senast på förfallodagen som infaller cirka 90 dagar efter att Skatteverket har fattat ett beslut.
- Corporate tax, instalments
- Day 12 of the following month · each month
a company pays debiterad preliminärskatt (charged preliminary tax) every month during the year; it must be on the tax account by the due date, usually the 12th of each month (the 17th in January and August). The rule records the 12th of each month.
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Skatten ska finnas på skattekontot på förfallodagen, vanligtvis den 12:e i varje månad.
- Personal income-tax return
- 2 May · each year
an individual files the income tax return (Inkomstdeklaration 1) by the statutory date, 2 May, unless a deferral has been granted (then 1 June, or 15 June with an agent's deferral); where the date is a weekend or public holiday it moves to the next weekday, so for 2026 the deadline is 4 May.
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Sista dagen att deklarera om du inte har anstånd med att lämna in deklarationen är 4 maj.
- Personal income tax, final payment
- 90 days after the end of the assessment notice · each year
an individual's remaining tax (kvarskatt) must be on the tax account by the due date in the notice of final tax, which falls about 90 days after Skatteverket's decision. The rule is anchored to the assessment notice.
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Din inbetalning av kvarskatten ska vara bokförd på ditt skattekonto senast på förfallodagen som infaller cirka 90 dagar efter att Skatteverket har fattat ett beslut.
- Personal income tax, instalments
- Day 12 of the following month · each month
an individual or sole trader with F-skatt pays debiterad preliminärskatt every month; it must be on the tax account by the due date, usually the 12th of each month (the 17th in January and August). The rule records the 12th of each month.
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Skatten ska finnas på skattekontot på förfallodagen, vanligtvis den 12:e i varje månad.
- VAT return
- 1 month and 12 days after the end of the quarter · each quarter
a business with calendar quarters as its VAT period declares and pays VAT by the 12th of the second month after the period (in August the date is the 17th); businesses with turnover above SEK 40 million report monthly and small businesses (turnover up to SEK 1 million) may report annually. The rule records the standard quarterly case (period end + one month + 12 days).
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Du som har kalenderkvartal som redovisningsperiod ska ha deklarerat och betalat momsen senast den 12:e i den andra månaden efter redovisningsperioden. I augusti är senaste datumet den 17:e.
- Payroll withholding
- Day 12 of the following month · each month
an employer declares employer contributions and withheld tax in the arbetsgivardeklaration for the month after wages are paid, and the most file it on the 12th of each month (the 17th in January and August); the payment is due the same day. The rule records the 12th of the month after the period.
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Du ska alltid deklarera arbetsgivaravgifter och avdragen skatt månaden efter att du har betalat ut lön eller en anställd har fått en förmån.
Running the company
Running a company here
Not in our records The authorities’ pages on running a company have not been read for Sweden yet.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Sweden exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Sweden’s own trade; it does not compare places.
| Product (HS heading) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Value, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motor cars and other motor vehicles principally designed for the transport of persons (other than those of heading 8702), including station wagons and racing cars HS 8703 | 6.2% | 7.8% | 7.8% | US$14.8 bn |
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils HS 2710 | 6.8% | 5.5% | 5.0% | US$9.6 bn |
| Medicaments (excluding goods of heading 3002, 3005 or 3006) consisting of mixed or unmixed products for therapeutic or prophylactic uses, put up in measured doses (including those in the form of transdermal administration systems) or in forms or packings for retail sale HS 3004 | 4.4% | 4.5% | 4.5% | US$8.7 bn |
| Parts and accessories of the motor vehicles of headings 8701 to 8705 HS 8708 | 2.6% | 3.0% | 2.9% | US$5.5 bn |
| Human blood; animal blood prepared for therapeutic, prophylactic or diagnostic uses; antisera, other blood fractions and immunological products, whether or not modified or obtained by means of biotechnological processes; vaccines, toxins, cultures of micro-organisms (excluding yeasts) and similar products; cell cultures, whether or not modified HS 3002 | 2.2% | 3.0% | 2.8% | US$5.3 bn |
| Wood sawn or chipped lengthwise, sliced or peeled, whether or not planed, sanded or end-jointed, of a thickness exceeding 6 mm HS 4407 | 2.5% | 1.9% | 2.0% | US$3.7 bn |
| Motor vehicles for the transport of goods HS 8704 | 1.8% | 2.0% | 2.0% | US$3.7 bn |
| Paper and paperboard, coated on one or both sides with kaolin (China clay) or other inorganic substances, with or without a binder, and with no other coating, whether or not surface-coloured, surface-decorated or printed, in rolls or rectangular (including square) sheets, of any size HS 4810 | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.8% | US$3.5 bn |
| Telephone sets, including smartphones and other telephones for cellular networks or for other wireless networks; other apparatus for the transmission or reception of voice, images or other data, including apparatus for communication in a wired or wireless network (such as a local or wide area network), other than transmission or reception apparatus of heading 8443, 8525, 8527 or 8528 HS 8517 | 1.9% | 1.9% | 1.7% | US$3.3 bn |
| Fish, fresh or chilled, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304 HS 0302 | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.6% | US$3.1 bn |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$191.5 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.