Sweden

Expert tax relief

Foreign experts and key personnel employed by a Swedish company or a non-Swedish company with a PE in Sweden may apply for  'expert tax relief'. The employment and stay in Sweden must be limited in time, and the employee must be a non-Swedish national and must not have been a Swedish tax resident at any point during the five calendar years prior to the year the employment in Sweden starts.

Under an alternative rule, the expert tax relief will be granted if the recurring income paid on a monthly basis exceeds two times the Swedish price base amount for the year the job in Sweden starts. For 2024, this corresponds to a monthly income exceeding SEK 114,600.

To qualify, the employee must apply for a ruling from the Taxation of Research Workers Board (Forskarskattenämnden). The application must be filed within three months of the day the employee started working in Sweden.

If the tax relief is granted, it applies to all taxable compensation paid by the Swedish resident employer, including base salary, annual cash bonuses, equity compensation, and benefits in kind.

The tax relief means that 25% of the compensation will be exempt from Swedish tax and social security charges during a five-year period. Some benefits (e.g. school fees, moving allowances, and home travel allowances twice per year) are tax free and exempt from Swedish social security charges.

On 1 January 2024, the rules changed, and the period for which tax relief was granted was extended from five to seven years. Transitional rules apply. 

Credit for losses

If the total of investment income and capital gains/losses is negative, a tax credit of 30% of the net deficit not exceeding SEK 100,000 and 21% of the net deficit exceeding SEK 100,000 is granted against certain other taxes. The tax credit may not be carried forward.