Temporary tax-payment respite

Companies that have been affected financially by the COVID-19 pandemic can apply for temporary payment respite in connection with employer contributions, deducted tax and VAT. Payment respite is granted for one year from the date of the Swedish Tax Agency’s decision notification. Payment respite can also be granted for annual VAT (one period) reported between 27 December 2019 and 17 January 2022. It is possible to apply for a one-year extension of the respite period when it ends.

Use our e-services

Apply directly for temporary payment respite via “My pages” (“Mina sidor”) to receive a decision notification as quickly as possible.

Öppettider: 00-24

If your company is having cashflow problems as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, you can apply for temporary payment respite. This means that you defer the payment of tax until a later date. You will then have to pay interest on the tax due, as well as a payment respite fee.

You can get temporary payment respite for up to one year from the date that your application is approved by the Swedish Tax Agency. There is no closing date for applications for temporary payment respite, but the respite period for employer contributions, deducted tax and VAT reported on a monthly and quarterly basis ends on 12 February 2022. The maximum respite period for VAT paid on an annual basis is up to and including 17 January 2023. All payment respite periods granted will end on these dates. It is possible to apply for a one-year extension of the respite period when it ends.

If you are registered as an employer, or for VAT (value added tax), you can apply for temporary payment respite. You are entitled to payment respite on the following taxes and contributions:

employer contributions and deducted tax
VAT

Apply for temporary payment respite

For faster processing, apply directly for temporary payment respite via “My pages” (“Mina sidor”). Both business owners and representatives can also apply via “My pages”.

You must provide authorisation if you are applying on behalf of someone else. This could be a continuing power of attorney, power of attorney as a relative, or a specific power of attorney for the assignment in question. This also applies if you are an approved tax return representative. Registered authorisation is not required, but you must be able to provide confirmation of your eligibility to apply – either verbally or in writing – if the Swedish Tax Agency asks for this.

We recommend that you apply via “My pages”. You can also apply by filling in a form, but this will delay the application process.

Payment respite was available prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, and you can still apply under the pre-existing regulations. These differ from the current rules regarding temporary payment respite. You can apply for this type of payment respite if you:

wish to be granted payment respite for taxes or contributions that are not covered by the regulations regarding temporary payment respite
wish to be granted payment respite for a period that is not covered by the regulations regarding temporary payment respite

Apply for payment respite

VAT – up to nine reporting periods: January 2020 to January 2021 and October to December 2021

You can be granted payment respite in connection with taxes and contributions declared during any accounting or reporting period between January 2020 and January 2021 and between October and December 2021. January 2020 is the first month for which you can be granted payment respite, and this applies to VAT reported by 12 March 2020 at the latest (if you report VAT on a monthly basis), or employer contributions/deducted tax declared in February 2020. Note that eligibility for payment respite is determined by the month in which the taxes or contributions were incurred, not the due date for payment.

Employer contributions and deducted tax – up to nine reporting periods: January 2020 to January 2021 and October to December 2021

You can be granted temporary payment respite for the reporting periods January 2020 to January 2021 and October to December 2021. This applies to taxes and other charges that you declare for these months. The first month for which temporary payment respite can be granted is January 2020. This relates to the employer contributions or deducted tax that you declared in February 2020. It is therefore not the month in which taxes and other charges are due to be paid that determines whether you can be granted temporary payment respite, but rather the month in which they were incurred.

The number of reporting periods can vary depending on the length of your reporting period. The table shows the number of reporting periods for which you can be granted temporary payment respite.

The number of accounting or reporting periods for which you can be granted payment respite is determined by the length of your accounting or reporting period, as shown in the table below.

Tax	Your accounting/reporting period	How many accounting/reporting periods can I get payment respite for?
Employer contributions and deducted tax	Calendar month	Nine
VAT	Calendar month	Nine
VAT	Calendar quarter (three months)	Three
VAT	Calendar year	Two

Interest on tax due and payment respite fee

You pay interest on the tax due when you are granted payment respite, as well as a payment respite fee. The level of interest and the fee are set by the Swedish National Debt Office (“Riksgälden”).

Interest

The current rate is 1.25 %. Interest is added to the amount for which you are granted respite. When you pay your taxes and contributions, you also pay the interest on them.

Payment respite fee

After six months, a payment respite fee also becomes payable. This is calculated as 0.2% of the payment respite amount per calendar month from the seventh month after respite is granted until the deferred payment is due.

For applications made on 5 February 2021 or later, a payment respite fee of 0,1% is charged on a calendar monthly basis from the month after payment respite is granted until the month when your deferred payment is due.

You pay the total interest and final payment respite fee at the same time as you pay the tax or contributions on which you have deferred payment.

Payment respite is registered on your tax account with the Swedish Tax Agency

You can see the amount for which you have been granted payment respite on your tax account the day after respite is granted.

If you have not paid the tax for which you have been granted respite

If you have not paid the tax for which you have applied for payment respite, the outstanding amount can be viewed on your tax account. However, this amount cannot be paid out to you.

If you have already paid the tax

If you are granted respite, and you have already paid in the tax for the period, there may be a surplus on your tax account that you can request to be paid out to you. However, if you have any unpaid taxes or contributions, or debts to the Swedish Enforcement Authority (Kronofogden), these will be deducted from the surplus first.

You will receive payments faster if you register a bank account with the Swedish Tax Agency in advance.

How long can my respite period be?

Temporary payment respite can be granted in three stages. Initially, you can be granted temporary payment respite for up to 12 months from the date on which the Swedish Tax Agency grants the respite, but not beyond 12 February 2023 (17 January 2024 if you report VAT per full year). You can then apply for an extension for a further 12 months. This means that the respite period varies, depending on when you apply. For example, you can be granted temporary payment respite for a maximum of five months at the first stage if your respite is granted on 12 September 2022.

When your first-stage respite period comes to an end, you can apply for an extension of up to 12 months. The payment deadline will then be 12 February 2024 (17 January 2025 if you report VAT per full year). Again, the length of the respite period varies, depending on when you apply.

If you have been granted temporary tax-payment respite for a period of 24 months

At the end of the maximum 24-month temporary payment respite period for taxes and other charges (the period may be shorter, depending on your application date), you can apply for a further extension of up to 36 months. This is subject to the condition that a payment plan is in place in connection with the temporary payment respite. You can apply for an extension six weeks before the end of the respite period at the earliest, and no later than the last day of the respite period.

How much can I be granted payment respite for?

You can be granted payment respite for up to the whole amount that you have reported in your PAYE return or VAT return, for the period to which your application refers.

You cannot be granted respite for more tax than you are due to pay. If a change in your situation leads to a reduction in the amount of tax for which you have been granted respite, the respite amount will be reduced by the same amount. The Swedish Tax Agency can block payments from your tax account to prevent excessive deferral payments being made to you.

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