Register your business for VAT
When you start, run or take over a business, you might need to register it for VAT.
VAT-liable and VAT-exempt business activities
Most business activities are VAT-liable, but certain types are VAT-exempt – for example, healthcare, social care, banking and insurance. If you carry out VAT-liable business activities, you might need to register your business for VAT.
This is when you need to register your business for VAT
You must register your business for VAT if both of the following circumstances apply to you:
- You carry out – or intend to carry out – economic activities involving the sale of VAT-liable goods or services.
- Your business’s annual turnover for the calendar year in question exceeds SEK 120,000.
A business that has a maximum annual turnover of SEK 120,000 can generally be exempt from VAT liability.
In certain cases, you do not need to register your business for VAT
A business that has a VAT exemption due to low annual turnover might still need to be registered for VAT if it purchases construction services with reverse-charge liability.
If you trade with other countries, you need to register your business for VAT if you:
- sell services to other EU countries and are required to submit an EC sales list (recapitulative statement)
- have purchased goods (other than new means of transport or goods subject to excise duty) from other EU countries for more than SEK 90,000 in one year
You also need to register your business for VAT if you have purchased services from a taxable person (such as a business) in another country. This rule applies provided that you have VAT liability and the service(s) in question are subject to VAT in Sweden.
Who must be registered? (Legal guidance, in Swedish)
You must be able to provide proof that you intend to carry out VAT-liable business activities
In order to register your business for VAT, you must be able to provide proof that you intend to carry out economic activities. You must provide objective evidence, which you might need to support by means of contracts, invoices or floorplans of your business premises.
Here are some examples of objective evidence:
- You sell goods or services on an ongoing basis.
- You have purchased assets that you can only use for economic activities.
- You actively promote your business in an appropriate manner.
- Your business premises are specially adapted to economic activities.
Here’s what constitutes an economic activity (Legal guidance, in Swedish)
You can choose to register your business for VAT even if its annual turnover is SEK 120,000 or less.
If your business’s annual turnover is SEK 120,000 or less, you can still choose to register it for VAT voluntarily. You will then need to apply to the Swedish Tax Agency. We will send you a decision notice if you meet our VAT registration requirements. Your VAT liability and deduction entitlement might apply retroactively, but the start date cannot be before 1 January the year before you submit your application.
Example: Applying for VAT registration from an earlier date
In March 2025, you submit a VAT registration application. You want to register your business from an earlier date. The earliest possible date from which you can be liable for VAT is 1 January 2024.
When you receive a decision notice regarding voluntary VAT registration, it will be a while before you can be granted a VAT exemption again. You must then apply for VAT deregistration. VAT deregistration is only possible from 1 January three calendar years after the year that the Swedish Tax Agency reached a decision regarding VAT registration. This is known as “the delay rule” (“fördröjningsregeln”).
Example: The delay rule
You have started a business and expect your annual turnover to be SEK 95,000. You have chosen to register your business for VAT voluntarily. The Swedish Tax Agency has reached the decision to register the business for VAT from 21 March 2025. This means that the earliest possible date on which your business can be granted a VAT exemption is 1 January 2028.
You need to choose a VAT reporting period and reporting method
Before registering your business for VAT, you need to consider which reporting method you are going to use, and how often you are going to report VAT. You can find out more about the different reporting methods and possible reporting periods on our Swedish webpage about starting a business, “För dig som vill starta företag”. On our Swedish webpage “När ska jag deklarera moms?” you can find more information about how often you must report VAT.
Choose a VAT reporting method (in Swedish)
Dates for declaring and paying VAT (in Swedish)
Here is how to register your business for VAT
The easiest way to register your business for VAT is to use our e-service on Verksamt.se.
If you use this e-service, you can check that we have received your notification, and track the progress of your case under “My pages” on verksamt.se. Our registration processing times are normally shorter if you use the e-service.
Use our e-service
You can log in to “My pages” on verksamt.se.
If you are not able to use the e-service, you can fill in and submit a business registration form on paper.
Business registration (SKV 4620, in Swedish)
When we have registered your business, we will send you a registration certificate
When the Swedish Tax Agency has registered your business for VAT, we will send you a registration certificate on which your VAT registration number will be stated. If you have a digital mailbox, we will send your registration certificate there. If not, we will send it by post to the business’s address. You can also check your registration certificate by logging in to “My pages” (“Mina sidor”) on skatteverket.se.
Your registration certificate will include details of your business’s VAT reporting period and registered accounting method.
Registration certificates (in Swedish)
Non-Swedish business owners who must register for VAT
If you are a non-Swedish business owner, you should register via our e-service “Registration of foreign companies in Sweden (RUFS)”. Alternatively, you can register by filling in and submitting tax application form SKV 4632 for those with limited tax liability in Sweden (“Tax application – limited tax liability in Sweden”).
Non-Swedish businesses with operations in Sweden
Register a non-Swedish business
Tax application – limited tax liability in Sweden (SKV 4632, in Swedish)