Deducted preliminary tax
Here you can find out more about deducted preliminary tax and preliminary income tax returns – including when, how and why you should pay preliminary tax.
Answers to frequently asked questions
Here you can find answers to frequently asked questions about deducted preliminary tax and preliminary income tax returns. The responses are aimed at those who already pay preliminary tax. You can find out, for example, when, how and why you should pay deducted preliminary tax.
If you close down your business
Here you can find information about preliminary tax which is aimed at those who have recently closed down a business or are planning to do so.
- Deducted preliminary tax when you close down a company
When you start a business
- Deducted preliminary tax when you start a business
Use our e-service
Adjusting deducted preliminary tax if your company is financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic
As a business owner, you have the possibility to adjust your preliminary tax if your company is financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many companies have already concluded that their results for this year will be worse than expected. If you think your company will be affected, it is important to adjust the preliminary tax you pay each month so that it is in line with the result you now anticipate. For example, if you expect to make a loss this year, your preliminary tax for the year will be reduced to zero and the amount you have already paid this year will be refunded.
If you are a sole trader or a part-owner in a Swedish partnership, there is an additional reason to adjust your preliminary tax: the reduction introduced for employer contributions also applies to self-employed contributions (the equivalent of employer contributions for sole traders). When you submit a new preliminary income tax return, your recalculation will take into account the reduced self-employed contributions.
You adjust your preliminary tax by filing a new preliminary income tax return. You can do this up to six months after the end of the income year. You do not need to note under “Further information” that your application relates to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Deduction periods/payment dates for deducted preliminary tax
Deducted preliminary tax should be paid from the second month of the tax year up to and including the month following the end of the tax year.
There are four deduction periods for preliminary tax:
- 1 January to 31 December
- 1 May to 30 April
- 1 July to 30 June
- 1 September to 31 August
If you represent a legal entity, such as a limited company, with a financial year ending at a time that does not correspond to the periods above, you should choose the deduction period that is closest to the end of the company’s actual financial year.
Table: Deduction periods and payment periods for preliminary tax
Financial year/ | Approved tax year/ | Payment period* |
|---|---|---|
1 Feb - 31 Jan | 1 May - 30 April | 12 June - 12 May |
1 June - 31 May | 1 July - 30 June | 17 Aug - 12 July |
1 Aug - 31 July | 1 Sep - 31 Aug | 12 Oct - 12 Sep |
1 Oct - 30 Sep | 1 Jan - 31 Dec | 12 Feb - 17 Jan |
* The due date for payment of deducted preliminary tax is the 17th of January and August and the 12th of all other months.
If you report VAT and have an annual turnover exceeding SEK 40 million, the due date in August is also the 12th.
If the normal due date falls on a public holiday, payment must be received on the next business day.
Answers to frequently asked questions
Why do I need to pay deducted preliminary tax?
If you receive a salary or pension from an employer or pension payer, they will deduct your preliminary tax (A-tax) from this income. If you are registered for F-tax (for example, if you are a sole trader or have a limited company) or SA-tax (for example, if you are a part-owner in a partnership), you must pay your own preliminary tax. If you are registered for FA tax (for example, if you run a sole trader business and are also employed), your employer will deduct preliminary tax from your salary, but you are responsible for paying preliminary tax on earnings from your own business.
If you are registered for F-tax or FA-tax, you must pay deducted preliminary tax on your earnings from your business. This means that you pay the same amount each month in the same year as you earn the income (i.e. the tax year), usually on the 12th of each month. The preliminary tax you pay should be as close as possible to the expected final tax amount.
- Approval for F-tax
- SA-skatt
How much deducted preliminary tax should I pay?
At the start of the tax year, the Swedish Tax Agency will notify you of how much to pay. You can see how your preliminary tax is calculated on the front page of your decision notification, under the heading Motivation (“Motivering”). If you have registered a digital mailbox, we will send the decision notification there. Otherwise, you will receive it by post. You can also log into the “Preliminary income tax return” e-service to view your decision notification. You can view, save and print your last eight decisions via the e-service.
Digital mailboxes
Register a digital mailbox to receive mail from the Swedish Tax Agency and other government agencies digitally instead of on paper.
When do I need to pay deducted preliminary tax?
You must pay the same amount of deducted preliminary tax each month during the tax year, usually on the 12th of each month. If the 12th falls on a weekend or public holiday, the next business day applies. You can see the exact payment dates and amounts in the decision notification the Swedish Tax Agency sends you at the start of the tax year. If you have registered a digital mailbox, we will send the decision notification there. Otherwise, you will receive it by post. You can also log into the “Preliminary income tax return” e-service to view your decision notification. You can view, save and print your last eight decisions via the e-service.
If you are a business owner, you can view all important dates under “Key dates” (“Viktiga datum”).
Digital mailboxes
Register a digital mailbox to receive notifications about deducted preliminary tax digitally instead of on paper.
How do I pay my deducted preliminary tax?
The decision notification the Swedish Tax Agency sends you at the start of the tax year tells you how much you have to pay each month and the dates by which payments must be made. It’s important that you remember to pay the correct amount by each due date – you will not receive an invoice for the payments. You should make your payments to the Swedish Tax Agency’s Bankgiro number. You can pay via your online banking service, via Bankgirot’s service “Supplier payments” (“Leverantörsbetalningar”), or using a payment slip.
What happens if I don’t pay my deducted preliminary tax?
If you don’t pay your preliminary tax on time, you may end up with a deficit on your tax account and be charged interest on this debt. Tax arrears may also be handed over to the Swedish Enforcement Agency (“Kronofogden”) for collection. In addition, unpaid taxes can also result in your F-tax certification being revoked, which could affect your ability to continue running your business.
The amount of tax seems wrong. How do I change it?
You can adjust your preliminary tax by filing a new preliminary income tax return.
File a new return using our e-service
- Log into the e-service “Preliminary income tax return”
- Fill in the updated details for this tax year
- File your preliminary income tax return
- Continue to make payments in accordance with the original decision notification until you receive a new one.
Filing a new return using a paper form
If you don’t have a Swedish e-identification, you can file a new preliminary tax return using the relevant paper form (in Swedish).
How do I know how much I will earn?
It can be difficult to predict your results. To help you, we have added a calculation tool to the “Preliminary income tax return” e-service. The e-service can also help you calculate your deducted preliminary tax based on the information you fill in. You can submit a new preliminary income tax return as many times as you wish during the year. Doing this helps to ensure that you pay the right amount of preliminary tax.
How do I get money back if I’ve paid too much?
In the year that follows the end of tax year, you declare your income in an income tax return, and the Swedish Tax Agency calculates your final tax. The final tax will be compared with the preliminary tax you have paid, and the Swedish Tax Agency will then send you a final tax statement. If you have paid too little preliminary tax, you will have additional tax to pay. If you have paid too much preliminary tax, you will receive a tax refund.
If you notice that you have paid too much preliminary tax before you receive your final tax statement, you can submit a new preliminary income tax return. The Swedish Tax Agency can then refund the excess amount to your tax account. You can submit a preliminary income tax return up to six months after the end of the tax year.
Which information should I include in my preliminary income tax return?
Your debited preliminary tax must be as close as possible to your final tax amount. You should not pay either too much or too little preliminary tax. For the Swedish Tax Agency to calculate your deducted preliminary tax correctly, you must provide information about everything that is relevant to you. The preliminary income tax return can be seen as an early income tax return. If, in addition to profit from business activities, you have income such as salary from an employer or interest payments, you must also include this in your preliminary income tax return.
Do I still have to pay if I no longer run a business?
If you deregister your company, your deducted preliminary tax will not be adjusted automatically. You must decide yourself whether it needs to be adjusted. If so, you should file a new preliminary income tax return. In this return, you must provide an estimate of the profit you expect to make in your final tax year, and any other relevant information to enable the Swedish Tax Agency to calculate your deducted preliminary tax correctly. Write under “Other information” that the business has ceased operations or will do so. Please note that when the business is deregistered, you will need to pay tax on any funds that were deposited in tax allocation reserves (“periodiseringsfonder”).
You can deregister your company online at verksamt.se, or by filling in the Swedish Tax Agency form SKV 4639 (“Ändringsanmälan”, in Swedish).
How is preliminary tax administered when someone dies?
If the deceased was a partner in a company or a sole trader, his or her next of kin can choose to continue the business or close it down. If the deceased was a sole trader and the business is continued, the estate must pay special payroll tax at 24.26% instead of self-employed contributions and general payroll tax on income from active business operations. If the deceased paid self-employed contributions at 10.21%, the level of taxation will now be higher. In this case, it may be necessary to file a preliminary income tax return if the sole trader business is to be continued.
Digital mailboxes
If you select a digital mailbox, you will receive your notifications about deducted preliminary tax digitally instead of on paper.- Digital mailboxes for companies
How to adjust your deducted preliminary tax
To adjust your deducted preliminary tax, you need to submit a new preliminary income tax return.
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