Social security agreement for you as an employer

A social security agreement does not mean that you – as an employer – are completely exempted from your responsibility. Your employee only takes on the responsibility of declaring and paying employer contributions on your behalf. If your employee does not declare and pay employer contributions, the Swedish Tax Agency may ask you to declare and pay them.

You are obliged to deduct preliminary tax from your employee’s salary and other compensation for work carried out in Sweden – even if you have a social security agreement with them. You must therefore register as an employer with the Swedish Tax Agency, and declare deducted preliminary tax by filing a PAYE tax return every month.

The same rules apply to employers established outside Sweden, and without a permanent establishment here, if they hire somebody to carry out an assignment for them in Sweden.

• Social security agreement and foreign employers (Legal guidance, in Swedish) External link.

What do you have to do as an employer?

Your obligations can vary depending on whether your employee carries out work in Sweden or abroad.

If your employee carries out work in Sweden

You must register as an employer with the Swedish Tax Agency, file PAYE tax returns and submit statements of earnings and deductions to us.

Registering as an employer

You need to register with the Swedish Tax Agency as an employer so we can issue you with a corporate identity number. You will then be able to declare deducted preliminary tax by filing a PAYE tax return every month, and submit statements of earnings and deductions to us for compensation you pay your employee. You can register via our e-service “Registration of foreign companies in Sweden”. Alternatively, you can fill in form SKV 4632 “Tax application for foreign entrepreneurs”. If you have a social security agreement with your employee, you must indicate this when you register.

• Tax application for foreign entrepreneurs (SKV 4632)

Filing a PAYE tax return

You must deduct preliminary tax at the rate of 30% from compensation you pay an employee for work carried out in Sweden – unless the Swedish Tax Agency has notified your employee that we have reached another decision. You must declare deducted preliminary tax in a PAYE tax return once a month, and declare the gross compensation payments you have made by submitting a statement of earnings and deductions once a year.

A PAYE tax return has two parts: a main statement and an individual statement. (You must file a separate individual statement for each employee.) Deducted preliminary tax must be declared in both the main statement and the individual statement in the following boxes:

• Box 497 for deducted tax on the main statement form (SKV 4786). If you have a social security agreement with several employees, you must declare the total amount of deducted preliminary tax in box 497.
  
• Box 001 for deducted tax on the individual statement form (SKV 4788).
  

• PAYE-tax return, main statement form (SKV 4786)
• PAYE-tax return, individual statement form (SKV 4788)

As an employer, you must pay the deducted preliminary tax that you have declared into your tax account by the PAYE tax return filing deadline at the latest.

Statement of earnings and deductions

You must declare the total gross compensation (including any compensation for employer contributions) you have paid by submitting an annual statement of earnings and deductions for each employee. You must submit each statement of earnings and deductions by 31 January the following year at the latest.

You must declare the total gross compensation paid in box 011 of your statement of earnings and deductions. You must also declare the value of any benefits paid. It is also important to place an “x” in box 093 if you have a social security agreement with an employee.

If you have paid out compensation both with and without a social security agreement, you must submit the following:

• an annual statement of earnings and deductions for the period during which you had a social security agreement:
• a monthly PAYE tax return including details for each individual employee for the period during which you did not have a social security agreement

• Form KU10 – Income statement from employers etc. (SKV 2300)
• Summary – Income statements (SKV 2304)
  

If your employee carries out work outside Sweden

If your employee does not carry out work in Sweden but is covered by the Swedish social security system, you are obliged to deduct preliminary tax from compensation you pay them. You should not therefore submit a monthly PAYE tax return. However, you must declare the gross compensation you have paid in an annual statement of earnings and deductions.

Registration for non-Swedish employers

You need a Swedish corporate identity number in order to submit a statement of earnings and deductions to us. You can register via our e-service “Registration of foreign companies in Sweden”. Alternatively, you can fill in form SKV 4632 “Tax application for foreign entrepreneurs”. When you register, you should inform us that you need a corporate identity number due to the fact that you have a social security agreement with your employee, and they carry out their work outside Sweden.

• Tax application for foreign entrepreneurs (SKV 4632)

Statement of earnings and deductions

As an employer, you must declare the total gross compensation (including any compensation for employer contributions) you have paid by submitting an annual statement of earnings and deductions. You must submit each statement of earnings and deductions by 31 January the following year at the latest.

You must declare the total gross compensation paid in box 011 of your statement of earnings and deductions. You must also declare the value of any benefits paid. It is also important to place an “x” in box 093 if you have a social security agreement with an employee.

If you have paid out compensation both with and without a social security agreement, you must submit the following:

• an annual statement of earnings and deductions for the period during which you had a social security agreement:
• a monthly PAYE tax return including details for each individual employee for the period during which you did not have a social security agreement

• Form KU10 – Income statement from employers etc. (SKV 2300)
• Summary – Income statements (SKV 2304)

What does your employee have to do?

Your employee must register as an employer, file PAYE tax returns and pay employer contributions.

Your employee must register as an employer

Your employee must register as an employer with the Swedish Tax Agency within two weeks of signing a social security agreement with you. Your employee registers by filling in form SKV 4738.

• Application for responsibility to declare and pay employer contributions on own salary (SKV 4738), in Swedish

We will then issue your employee with a special registration number which they must use to declare and pay employer contributions. The special registration number, which begins with the digits 66, must only be used when declaring and paying employer contributions. We will also assign a tax account to this “66” number, to which your employee must make their payments. Your employee must not use their personal identity number or their own tax account when declaring and paying employer contributions because of a social security agreement.

Filing a PAYE tax return

Your employee files a PAYE tax return every month to declare employer contributions. An employer based outside Sweden and without a permanent establishment here, pays employer contributions at a lower rate than a Swedish employer. The lower rate (exclusive of general payroll tax) for 2024 is 19.80% for employees born in 1958 or later.

There are three different ways of filing a PAYE tax return:

Via our e-service

Your employee can use our PAYE tax return e-service (“Lämna arbetsgivardeklaration”) when they log into “My pages” (“Mina sidor”) on our website. In order to file PAYE tax returns when logged into “My pages” (“Mina sidor”) on our website, your employee needs to register with us as an authorised representative. They can register by filling in form SKV 4801 Anmälan e-tjänster – Behörigheten “firmatecknare” eller “ombud” (Registration for e-services – authorisation as signatory or representative).

• Registration for e-services – authorisation as signatory or representative (SKV 4801), in Swedish

On a printed form

It is also possible to file a PAYE tax return using a printed form.

• PAYE tax return, social security agreement (SKV 4787), in Swedish
  

Via a representative using our e-service

Your employee can appoint a tax return representative to file their PAYE tax returns via our e-service. To apply to register a tax return representative, they should fill in and submit form SKV 4809: Application, e-services – Tax return representative.

• Application, e-services – Tax return representative (SKV 4809), in Swedish

Paying into a tax account

Your employee must pay the employer contributions declared in their PAYE tax return by the PAYE tax return filing deadline at the latest. Keep in mind that your employee must pay the money into the tax account that is connected with their special registration number beginning with the digits 66.

How to fill in a PAYE tax return: social security agreements

Here’s how your employee should fill in their PAYE tax return: social security agreements – box by box.

Please fill in your contact details

You do not have to provide contact information, but it will help us to get in touch with you more quickly if necessary.

If the social security agreement no longer applies

If you and your employee no longer have a social security agreement, your employee must notify the Swedish Tax Agency so that we can deregister them as an employer. Your social security agreement may no longer be applicable if you – as an employer – now have a permanent establishment in Sweden, or if your employee’s period of employment ends.

Your employee must notify us by using the same form as when applying for registration (SKV 4738), and submit the relevant information in the “Other information” section (“Övriga upplysningar”). Your employee must continue to submit PAYE tax returns until we notify them that they have been deregistered.

• Application for responsibility to declare and pay employer contributions on own salary (SKV 4738) in Swedish
  

If your employees employment ends and you no longer have any obligation to deduct preliminary tax and file a PAYE tax return or submit statement of earnings and deductions in Sweden you can submit the form SKV 4632 “Tax application for foreign entrepreneurs” to be deregistered as an employer.

• Tax application for foreign entrepreneurs (SKV 4632)