How net pay is calculated in Sweden
Swedish employees pay income tax and a single 7% contribution out of their salary, and the employer withholds everything with Skatteverket’s tax table (skattetabell). Social insurance is otherwise funded by the employer. For a monthly salary of 40,000 kr in an average municipality (no church membership, under 66), the payslip net in 2026 is about 31,800 kr a month. After the annual tax return it comes to about 32,050 kr, because the table withholds a little too much.
| 40,000 kr a month, national average, 2026 | Per year |
|---|---|
| Gross (12 × 40,000 + holiday supplement 4,300) | 484,300 kr |
| Municipal income tax 32.38% on 466,900 kr | 151,181 kr |
| In-work tax credit (jobbskatteavdrag) | −52,390 kr |
| Earned-income tax reduction | −1,500 kr |
| Pension contribution 7% (fully offset by a tax reduction) | 33,900 − 33,900 kr |
| Burial fee and public service fee | 2,397 kr |
| Net after the tax return | 384,612 kr (payslip: 382,024 kr) |
- Municipal income tax (kommunalskatt) is the municipal rate plus the regional rate: from 28.93% in Österåker to 35.65% in Dorotea, with a national average of 32.38% (Stockholm 30.55%, Göteborg 32.60%, Malmö 32.42%). It is charged on taxable income, which is your earned income minus the basic allowance (grundavdrag) of 17,400–45,600 kr. People aged 66 or over get a much higher allowance.
- State income tax of 20% applies only to taxable income above 643,000 kr. That means gross pay above 660,400 kr a year (about 55,000 kr a month), or 760,500 kr for those aged 66 or over.
- General pension contribution (allmän pensionsavgift) is 7% of pay, up to 47,100 kr. It is fully offset by a tax reduction, so it costs nothing in net terms.
- Tax credits: the in-work tax credit (jobbskatteavdrag) is worth up to about 52,400 kr a year at the average municipal rate. On top of that comes a reduction for earned income of up to 1,500 kr. Both reduce only the municipal tax.
- Fees: everyone pays the burial fee (begravningsavgift) of 0.292% (0.07% in Stockholm and 0.285% in Tranås) and the public service fee of 1%, capped at 1,184 kr. Members of the Church of Sweden also pay the church fee (kyrkoavgift), which is 0.67–1.85% depending on the parish.
Tax table, column and final tax
Your tax table is your total rate (municipal + regional + burial fee, plus the church fee if you are a member) rounded to a whole number, with .50 rounding down. Column 1 applies to employees under 66 and column 3 to those who were 66 or over on 1 January. In Stockholm the rate is 30.62%, so the employer uses table 31 and withholds 7,900 kr from 40,000 kr. The table assumes a burial and church fee of 1.16 percentage points and uses a rounded rate, so employees who are not church members usually have about 2,000–3,000 kr too much withheld each year. The money is refunded with the final tax assessment (slutskattebesked) the following year. The calculator shows payslip net pay and lists the difference as its own line. The Swedish tax return comes pre-filled, and most employees only need to approve it.
Holiday pay and hourly wages
Every employee is entitled to 25 days of paid holiday (semesterlagen). Monthly-paid staff keep their salary while on holiday and also get a holiday supplement (semestertillägg). By law this is 0.43% of the monthly salary per holiday day, which adds up to 10.75% of one month’s salary. Many collective agreements, such as Unionen’s white-collar agreements, pay 0.8%. Hourly-paid workers are not paid during their holiday weeks. Instead they get 12% holiday pay on everything they earn. The calculator converts as follows:
- Monthly salary: monthly = hourly rate × weekly hours × 52 ÷ 12 (173.33 hours at 40 hours a week). Annual gross = 12 × monthly + semestertillägg, so 40,000 kr a month gives 484,300 kr a year.
- Hourly wage: annual wages = hourly rate × weekly hours × 47 working weeks, plus 12%. At 200 kr an hour and 40 hours a week, that is 376,000 kr + 45,120 kr = 421,120 kr.
Overtime
Swedish law sets no overtime premium. The working-hours act (arbetstidslagen) only limits general overtime to 200 hours a year. The premium comes from your collective agreement. For example, the Unionen–Almega white-collar agreements pay the monthly salary ÷ 94 per hour on weekdays and ÷ 72 at other times. Many salaried staff have overtime included in their salary. Overtime pay is taxed like ordinary salary, and under the holiday act it earns another 12% holiday pay.
Expert tax relief (expertskatt)
Foreign experts, researchers and key people can have 25% of their pay exempted from income tax and employer contributions for up to seven years. The conditions are:
- You are not a Swedish citizen.
- You have not lived in Sweden in the five calendar years before you start.
- You plan to stay for at most seven years.
- The application reaches Forskarskattenämnden within three months of your start date.
The quickest route is the salary criterion: a fixed monthly salary above 1.5 price base amounts, which is at least 88,801 kr in 2026. At 100,000 kr a month, payslip net pay rises from about 63,400 kr to 76,600 kr. The exempt quarter does not count towards the Swedish public pension.
Employer costs
Employers pay contributions (arbetsgivaravgifter) of 31.42% on top of gross pay. The rate is 10.21% for employees born 1938–1958. For employees born 2003–2007, it is temporarily 20.81% on pay up to 25,000 kr a month, from April 2026 to September 2027. With a collective agreement, the employer also pays the occupational pension (ITP 1 or SAF-LO): about 4.5% of pay up to 625,500 kr a year and 30% above that, plus 24.26% special payroll tax on it. None of this reduces your net pay.
Glossary for your payslip
| Swedish term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Skattetabell, kolumn | Tax table (your rounded total rate) and column (1 = under 66, 3 = 66 or over) |
| Preliminärskatt / A-skatt | Tax withheld from each salary payment |
| Slutskattebesked | Final tax assessment: refund (skatteåterbäring) or back tax (kvarskatt) |
| Kommunalskatt, regionskatt | Municipal and regional income tax |
| Statlig inkomstskatt | State income tax of 20% above the threshold (skiktgräns) |
| Grundavdrag | Basic tax-free allowance |
| Jobbskatteavdrag | In-work tax credit |
| Allmän pensionsavgift | 7% public pension contribution, offset by a tax reduction |
| Begravningsavgift, kyrkoavgift | Burial fee (everyone) and church fee (members) |
| Semesterlön, semestertillägg, semesterersättning | Holiday pay, holiday supplement, holiday pay paid out in cash |
| Arbetsgivaravgifter | Employer social contributions |
| Folkbokförd | Registered as resident. Your municipality on 1 November decides next year’s rate |
Not included: deductions claimed in the tax return (travel to work, interest, ROT/RUT), capital income, and fees to other faith communities. Union and unemployment-fund (a-kassa) fees are not deductible in Sweden. The figures follow Skatteverket’s 2026 tax tables and Forskarskattenämnden.