Refund of VAT to foreign businesses established outside the EU
You may be entitled to a refund of VAT paid on purchases in Sweden if your business is not established in Sweden and you are not obliged to be registered for Swedish VAT. Here you can find out about how to apply for a refund, and about the rules that apply to your company.
To apply for a VAT refund for a company established outside the EU, please fill in form SKV 5801 “Application regarding VAT refund”, and send it to the Swedish Tax Agency. Click on the link below for the form and address details. The application must be received by the Swedish Tax Agency no later than 30 June of the following calendar year.
Your VAT refund application should be for a period of at least three consecutive calendar months, but no more than one whole calendar year. However, if your application period ends on the last day of the calendar year, it may cover a period of less than three months.
Information to include in your application
Please fill in form SKV 5801 “Application regarding VAT refund”. You must specify the purchases of goods or services for which you are seeking a VAT refund.
You must send the following documents along with your application:
- original paper invoices, or printouts of electronic invoices, on which VAT is specified (alternatively, customs invoices should be provided if the application relates to VAT on imports)
- a detailed description of the products or services for which you are seeking a VAT refund
- a document issued by an authorised government agency confirming that you are a taxable person (the document must have been issued within the last 12 months)
- any other documents that we have requested in order to assess your right to a VAT refund
In your application you must specify the following separately:
- VAT on tolls for crossing the Öresund (or Øresund) Bridge
- VAT on VAT reverse charge mechanism transactions
- other VAT
All sums of money stated in your application must be in Swedish krona (SEK).
You must provide proof of any resale transactions you have carried out in Sweden when you apply for a refund in connection with the VAT reverse charge mechanism. For example, you can strengthen your application by including copies of resale invoices for transactions made in Sweden.
Time limits for VAT refund applications
The Swedish Tax Agency must receive your application by 30 June of the calendar year following the application period. For example, an application for a period in 2020 must be received by 30 June 2021.
We will notify you of our decision within six months of receiving your complete application, including all supporting documentation.
The Swedish Tax Agency will not provide any repayment supplement in the event of a delayed VAT refund.
Using a representative to apply for a VAT refund
You can appoint a VAT representative to handle applications for Swedish VAT refunds.
Include a power of attorney document with your application
You can give a VAT representative power of attorney to apply for a VAT refund on your behalf. You should draft the power of attorney document yourself, and send it to the Swedish Tax Agency along with your completed form SKV 5801: “Application regarding VAT refund”.
Paying VAT refunds to a VAT representative
The Swedish Tax Agency can pay VAT refunds to a VAT representative. We will make a payment to the bank account or account holder specified in your application form. You must fill in the name of the bank and the relevant account details, including IBAN and BIC.
Non-EU companies’ entitlement to a Swedish VAT refund
You are entitled to a refund of Swedish VAT refund if:
- a product has been delivered to you, or imported to Sweden
- a service has been provided to you
- you have paid in advance for goods or services that you have ordered.
Repayment of Swedish VAT to the United Kingdom
After March 31, 2021, UK-traders with the Country Code GB in their VAT numbers will no longer be able to apply electronically for refund of Swedish VAT. After this date, you’ll need to make your claim using the 13th VAT Directive process for non-EU businesses. The application must be sent in paper to the Swedish Tax Agency. Special rules will apply for Northern Ireland. For VAT that has been paid during 2020 we strongly recommend that you apply electronically for a refund before the above-mentioned deadline.
What can I claim a VAT refund on?
You are entitled to a refund of VAT paid on products and services you have purchased in Sweden if your business is not established in the European Union’s Single VAT Area, and does not have to be registered for Swedish VAT.
For a VAT refund to be payable, the following conditions apply:
- The VAT should relate to the purchase (acquisition) of goods, services or imports for your business activities in countries other than Sweden.
- Your sales (turnover) would have been subject to VAT, or would have implied the right to a VAT refund, if these sales had taken place in Sweden.
- If your sales (turnover) were made in an EU country other than Sweden, they were subject to VAT or implied the right to a VAT refund in that country.
As an owner of a business that is not established in Sweden, you can also apply for a refund of VAT you have paid on products and services that you have sold, or will sell, in Sweden to VAT-registered customers who are liable to pay the VAT on the transactions, by what is known as the VAT reverse charge mechanism.
Your business is also entitled to a refund if you report Swedish VAT through the “union scheme” by using One Stop Shop to report distance sales of goods to non-taxable persons, such as private consumers, in other EU countries.
Report VAT under the special schemes, One Stop shop (OSS)
VAT deduction restrictions
When applying for a VAT refund, you should only fill in the part of the VAT that you are allowed to deduct. Some purchases are subject to VAT deduction restrictions, so you may not deduct the full amount of VAT for these. Examples include:
- passenger vehicle hire (50%)
- expenses for business representation
Please fill in these details using the VAT refund codes and subcodes.
Goods and services with limitations on the right to a VAT refund
You are not entitled to a VAT refund if deductions are not permitted or are limited according to Swedish VAT regulations. Here are some examples:
- VAT on the purchase of a passenger vehicle or motorcycle is not refunded under normal circumstances.
- VAT on the purchase of permanent residential property is not refunded under normal circumstances.
- VAT on certain goods for sale on board vessels sailing between Sweden and Norway, or Sweden and the Åland Islands, is not refunded.
- VAT on private expenses is not refunded.
- VAT on goods you have purchased or imported and will resell to private individuals in Sweden is not refunded.
- 50% of the VAT on passenger vehicle hire or leasing is normally refunded if the hire or lease agreement period extends to a maximum of 30 days.
- VAT is not refunded on invoices issued to someone other than the applicant.
- VAT is not refunded on goods or services that are not linked to the applicant’s business. If you are acting as a representative or broker for goods or services, you will only be entitled to a refund if the party you represent would also have been entitled to it. If several representatives are involved, a refund will only be granted if all of them would have been entitled to it.
- VAT is not refunded if it is specified incorrectly on an invoice.
- A travel agency applying profit margin taxation (“vinstmarginalbeskattning” or “VMB” in Swedish), is not entitled to a VAT refund on goods and services that the traveller benefits from directly, such as hotel rooms, meal and drinks services, and passenger transport.
- There are limitations on the right to deduct VAT on business representation expenses.
- VAT and deductions for business representation External link. (in Swedish)
- VAT on vehicles (in Swedish)
Rules for a partly exempt business
Selling both VAT-liable and VAT-exempt goods and services is known as a partly exempt business. If you purchase a product or service that is used in both your VAT-liable and VAT-exempt business activities, you must divide up the VAT in proportion to how much the product or service is used in each activity. In your VAT refund application, you must state the percentage of the VAT that relates to the VAT-liable business, for every invoice and import document.
VAT on imports from outside the EU
When you import goods from countries outside the EU, you can apply for a refund of import VAT. The same conditions apply as for Swedish VAT.
What is the minimum VAT refund?
You can apply for a minimum refund of SEK 500 if the application is for a full calendar year or a consecutive period ending on the last day of the year. Otherwise, the minimum amount is SEK 4,000 for a period of at least three calendar months. The money will be refunded in Swedish krona (SEK).
Decisions, notifications and reviews
What happens once I have submitted my application?
The Swedish Tax Agency will contact you by postal letter. We will archive all documents along with your application and our decision notification. We will notify you of our decision regarding your refund application within six months of receiving your completed application form and all the required documentation.
Making corrections to your application
If you wish to correct an application you have sent in, you can do this by writing to the Swedish Tax Agency and providing details of the amendments you would like to make. If there are too many issues with your application, we will reject it and you will need to submit a new one by the original deadline.
If you have provided incorrect information
If you have provided any incorrect information in your application, you may be liable to pay a fee called a tax surcharge.
Requesting a review or appealing a decision
If you are not satisfied with the Swedish Tax Agency’s decision, you can either request for us to carry out a review, or appeal to the Administrative Court. Such requests and appeals must be made in writing, either by post or by email. You will find the relevant addresses in the decision notification.
Whether you wish to request a review or appeal a decision, you must write to the Swedish Tax Agency. An appeal should be written as a letter to the Administrative Court in Falun, but it must be sent to the Swedish Tax Agency.
Your written communication should state:
- details of the decision you would like to be changed (registration number or case identification code)
- whether you are writing to request a review or to appeal against a decision
- how you think the decision should be changed
- the circumstances and evidence you would like to be taken into consideration
- your registration number or customer number
- your postal address, telephone number and email address
The time limit for requesting a review is two years from the end of the calendar year to which the original application relates. The time limit for making an appeal is two months from the date you were notified of the Swedish Tax Agency’s decision on your VAT refund application.
If the Swedish Tax Agency receives a review request that has not been signed, we may require the person who has made the request to sign it. If the request has been made on behalf of a legal entity, it should be signed by an authorised signatory or agent.
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