Taxes in Sweden: how much, on what and why?
Short answer: Taxes and social security contributions amounted to 41.4 per cent of GDP in Sweden in 2024. That is slightly above the EU average, 40.2 per cent, and well above the OECD average, 34.1 per cent. The peak came in 2000 at 50 per cent, and taxes have been cut in several rounds since then. Most of it is levied on work: income tax and contributions on wages together make up about 60 per cent of all taxes. On a salary of 35,000 kronor a month, roughly 46 per cent of what the employer pays goes to taxes and contributions, counting the VAT paid when the salary is spent. The municipal tax differs by almost 7 percentage points between the lowest and the highest municipality.
More on the site: State budget shows what the state takes in and spends and has a salary calculator, Municipal finances shows the tax municipality by municipality and Our economic model explains why the welfare state counts on growth. How wealth is distributed is on Wealth, and the church fee and the burial fee on Religion and faith communities.
Taxes as a share of GDP, Sweden against the EU and the OECD since 1965.
All taxes and social security contributions to the state, municipalities, regions and the pension system, as a percentage of GDP. Sweden and the OECD from OECD Revenue Statistics, where the OECD is an unweighted average of the member countries. The EU from Eurostat, all 27 countries together, from 1995. Countries do not count in exactly the same way: in Sweden pensions and most benefits are taxed, while in several other countries they are tax free, which makes the Swedish tax burden look somewhat higher in the comparison.
The tax burden says how large a share of the economy passes through the public sector, but not what the money is used for. In Sweden pensions, health care, schools and childcare are largely paid for with taxes, while households in many other countries pay more themselves, through private insurance and fees. A large part of the taxes also returns to households as pensions and benefits. Comparing tax burdens is therefore not the same as comparing how much households have left.
The tax burden rose from about 30 per cent in the mid 1960s to nearly 50 per cent at the end of the 1980s, as the public sector was built out. It fell after the tax reform and during the crisis of the 1990s, rose again to the peak in 2000 and has fallen since, mainly through the earned income tax credits, lower employer contributions and a lower corporate tax. What the tax wedge on a salary looks like in other countries is shown in the state budget comparison.
Where the money goes on a salary of 35,000 kronor a month.
| Kronor a month, 2026 | Amount | Share of what the employer pays |
|---|---|---|
| The employer pays | 45,997 | 100 % |
| Employer contributions | 10,997 | 24 % |
| Municipal and regional tax, after the earned income tax credit | 6,891 | 15 % |
| State income tax | 0 | 0 % |
| Public service fee | 99 | 0.2 % |
| VAT when the salary is spent | 3,087 | 7 % |
| Left after tax and VAT | 24,923 | 54 % |
Rules for 2026 from the Swedish Tax Agency's amounts and rates for people under 66, with the average municipal tax of 32.38 per cent. The earned income tax credit lowers the tax by 3,848 kronor a month. VAT is calculated on an average basket of goods, where about 11 per cent of the price is VAT. The general pension contribution of 7 per cent is not counted, since it is paid back through a tax reduction. The same calculation for other salaries is in the state budget salary calculator.
A salary of 35,000 kronor is below the threshold for state income tax, which in 2026 is at roughly 55,000 kronor a month. Anyone earning less pays only municipal and regional tax on the salary. The largest single item is instead the employer contributions, which do not show on the payslip. About a third of them is the general payroll tax, a pure tax. The rest are contributions to the pension system and social insurance.
What companies pay in corporate tax, industry by industry, is in the state budget's section on taxes. How taxes are distributed between high and low income households is shown in the distribution section.
What taxes are levied on: work, consumption, companies and property.
Percentage of GDP, from OECD Revenue Statistics. Income tax is the tax on households' wages, pensions and capital income, both municipal and state. Contributions on wages are employer contributions, self-employment contributions, the general pension contribution and the special payroll tax. Goods and services are VAT, excise duties such as energy and tobacco tax, and customs duties. Property is the municipal property fee, property tax, stamp duty and, before 2007, the wealth tax.
Sweden taxes work heavily and property lightly. Property taxes bring in less than one per cent of GDP, about half the OECD average, and since the wealth tax and inheritance tax were abolished there is practically no tax on wealth left. The tax on consumption is somewhat above the OECD average. What the tax mix looks like in neighbouring countries is shown in the state budget comparison, and what the wealth tax raised and what it would raise today is in the section on the wealth tax.
The big changes since 1990, and what the evaluations say.
The tax reform of 1990 and 1991
The Social Democrats and the Liberals rebuilt the whole income tax. The top marginal rate was cut from over 70 per cent to about 51 per cent, and most people would pay only municipal tax. State tax of 20 per cent was levied above a threshold. Capital income got its own tax of 30 per cent, corporate tax was cut from 52 to 30 per cent, and there were fewer deductions. VAT was broadened to more services to pay for part of the cuts. The evaluation from 1995 found that the tax system became simpler and tax planning decreased, but that the reform was not fully financed and that it contributed to the crisis in the early 1990s, since interest deductions lost value just as property prices fell.
Agell, Englund and Södersten, SOU 1995:104, the evaluation of the tax reform
Inheritance tax, wealth tax and property tax
Inheritance and gift tax was abolished in 2005 with broad agreement in parliament. It raised little money and was criticised for hitting family businesses and estates. The wealth tax was removed in 2007. It was criticised because the largest fortunes were often exempt or moved abroad, so that it mainly hit medium sized fortunes. The state property tax on homes was replaced in 2008 by a municipal property fee with a cap, which raises less money and weighs less on expensive houses.
Swedish Tax Agency; what the taxes raised and a simulator in the state budget's section on the wealth tax
The earned income tax credit
Since 2007 people who work get a tax credit that those on pensions, sickness benefit or unemployment benefit do not get. It was extended in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2014 and has been strengthened several times since. The aim was that more people would work, since moving from benefits to a job pays more. An evaluation from IFAU could not show a clear effect on employment, since the credit applies to everyone at once and there is no group to compare with. The Ministry of Finance's estimates, based on models rather than outcomes, give a larger long run effect. The credit widened the tax gap between wage earners and pensioners, which has since been narrowed with special cuts for pensioners.
Edmark, Liang, Mörk and Selin 2012, IFAU, evaluation of the earned income tax credit
Corporate tax and the top bracket surcharge
Corporate tax has been cut in steps from 30 per cent in 1991 to 20.6 per cent since 2021, as other countries cut theirs. The surcharge, an extra state tax of 5 per cent on the highest incomes, was introduced in 1995 as temporary and removed in 2020. How much corporate tax companies actually pay in different industries is shown in the state budget's deep dive.
Swedish Tax Agency, amounts and rates
Where the tax is lowest and highest.
| Lowest tax | Percent |
|---|
| Highest tax | Percent |
|---|
The municipal and regional tax rate combined, from Kolada. The church fee and the burial fee are not included; they are on Religion and faith communities.
On a salary of 35,000 kronor a month, the difference between the lowest and the highest tax is about 1,400 kronor a month, after the earned income tax credit. Municipalities set their own tax, but the differences depend mostly on other things than how frugally they are run. Municipalities with many elderly, long distances and few inhabitants have more expensive schools and care per inhabitant, and equalisation between municipalities does not cover everything. The lowest taxes are in affluent municipalities around Stockholm and Malmö, most of the highest in sparsely populated municipalities in the inland of Norrland.
The tax in every municipality, how it has changed and what equalisation means is shown in Municipal finances.
Where the figures come from.
- OECD Revenue Statistics (CC BY 4.0): taxes and social security contributions as a percentage of GDP by type of tax, Sweden and the OECD since 1965.
- Eurostat gov_10a_taxag (CC BY 4.0): taxes and social security contributions as a percentage of GDP, the EU since 1995.
- Kolada, indicator N00900: the municipal and regional tax rate.
- Swedish Tax Agency, amounts and rates for income year 2026: the salary of 35,000 kronor.
- The evaluations: those linked at each reform above.
The series come from the OECD and Eurostat.