Retain your receipts!
If you request a deduction in the tax return, you must be able to prove that you have actually had these expenses. Private living expenses may never be deducted. You may only claim deductions for expenses which have a direct connection to your work.
You may only make deductions for journeys between your home and your place of work for that part of your expenses which exceeds SEK 11,000.
If you travel by public transport, you have the right to make deductions for these expenses if the distance is at least 2 km.
If you have used a car or motorcycle, you have the right to make deductions for expenses if the distance is at least 5 km. Furthermore, the time saved on your return journey must be at least two hours per day, compared with if you had used public transport.
You also have the right to make deductions for cars or motorcycles if there is no public transport service and if the distance is at least 2 km.
Have you used your car for work journeys on at least 60 days during the income year and also driven at least 3,000 km in your work? You may then make deductions for journeys between home and work for the days you have used your car for work journeys.
Have you used your car for work journeys on at least 160 days during the income year and also driven at least 3,000 km in your work? You may then make deductions for all the days you have used the car for journeys between your home and your place of work.
Tax return 2023 (income year 2022)
Tax return 2024 (income year 2023)
If you are eligible to make deductions for cars, you may deduct congestion charges.
If, due to old age, illness or disability, you are forced to go by car, you may include the actual expenses for journeys to and from work. For journeys with your own car, deductions of at the most SEK 37 per 10 km should be approved. For journeys with an employer-provided car, deductions of, at the most, SEK 13 per 10 km for diesel and SEK 19 per 10 km for other fuels should be approved. In this case also, you may only make deductions for that part of the expenses which exceeds SEK 11,000.
When you travel by car for work, your employer may pay you a tax-free car allowance of
If you have not received remuneration from your employer for your business trip, you may deduct
Have you made a business trip by car and paid congestion charges? If you have been remunerated for the congestion charge, you should not pay tax on that remuneration. Nor may you make any deduction. If, on the other hand, you have not been remunerated by your employer, you may make a deduction for the congestion charge.
You must have spent the night in another location during your business trip in order to make deductions for increased living expenses (meals and petty expenses). Furthermore, it is required that you have travelled to a place more than 50 km away from your ordinary place of work and more than 50 km away from your home.
If you have received a per diem in accordance with a standard allowance, you do not need to declare the compensation and you may not, of course, make a deduction for these expenses. If you have not received a per diem and can show that you have had increased expenses for meals and petty expenses, you may still make deductions. You will either receive a standard allowance deduction or a deduction of the actual increase in expenses.
The standard deductions for meals and petty expenses for business trips within Sweden are:
Tax return 2023 (income year 2022)
The standard deductions for meals and petty expenses for business trips in another country are:
You may deduct what you have paid for accommodation. If you have had such expenses but are unable to prove the amount you may deduct:
In order to even make a deduction, it is required that you spend the night where the place of work is located and that the distance between the place of residence and the place of work is longer than 50 km .
If you have a temporary employment in a location other than the place you live you may make deductions for increased costs of living on your tax return. You may do so in the following cases:
In order to make deductions, you must keep a residence where you live and
Note that you may only make deductions for meals and petty expenses for the first month of your stay at the location of work. However, this time limitation does not apply to deductions for accommodation costs.
During the first month in your new place of work you may deduct either the actual increase in expenses for meals and petty expenses or a standard amount. The standard amounts are as follows:
You may deduct what you have paid for accommodation where you work. If you are unable to show what you have paid for your accommodation but are able to prove that you have spent the night where your place of work is located, you may deduct:
You are not entitled to make any deductions for increased accommodation costs if your old residence has been rented out.
If you have dual residence, you may make deductions on your tax return for increased costs of living. Dual residence is when you have moved to a new place of residence due to a new employment but still keep your residence in the old location.
In order to make a deduction, you are required to
You may only make deductions for dual residence during a limited period of time. Please note that there are different time limits for deductions for meals and petty expenses and for your accommodation.
During the first month in your new place of work you may deduct either the actual increase in expenses for meals and petty expenses or a standard amount. The standard amounts are as follows:
You may make deductions for the cost of accommodation in your new place of work. You may make deductions for no longer than two years. Married and co-habiting persons may make deductions after this time if dual residence is due to the spouse’s or co-habitant’s gainful employment. In such cases you may make deductions for no more than five years in total.
If your family residence has moved to the location where you work, you may instead make deductions for your accommodation at the old place of residence.
You are not entitled to make any deductions for increased accommodation costs if your old residence has been rented out.
If, due to work, you are staying at a location other than your place of residence, you may make deductions for expenses in connection with journeys home.
You may make deductions for journeys home if the distance between your residence and the location where you work is longer than 50 km and you stay the night where your work is.
You may deduct for no more than one journey home per week and only for travel within the EU/EEA area. According to the Supreme Administrative Court´s (Högsta förvaltningsdomstolen) decision 2014-05-28 deduction can also be made for journeys to Switzerland.
Normally you are allowed to make deductions for the cheapest means of transportation. However, you may deduct reasonable expenses for air travel or the cost of train rides (including first class and “high speed trains”) even if these means of transportation are not the cheapest. If there is no public transportation, you may deduct:
Tax return 2023 (income year 2022)
The employer-provided car may belong to you or to a person in your family.
You may make deductions even if your employer has reimbursed your travel. In such cases, the reimbursement is counted as salary.
You may only make deductions for that part of your expenses which exceeds SEK 5,000.
Clothes you use in your work count as private living expenses and you may not make deductions for them. You may, however, make deductions for protective equipment and protective clothing.
If you are unemployed and have received unemployment benefit from the unemployment benefit fund, you have the right to make deductions for expenses for journeys in connection with visits to the Employment Service. You also have the right to make deductions for expenses for journeys and other expenses you have had in connection with applying for suitable jobs within Sweden.
In order for you to make deductions for a private office, it is necessary that your employer does not provide you with an office. If the private office is in your home, you may only receive deductions in exceptional cases. It is not sufficient that you sometimes work from home to make a deduction for a private office.
Some occupational categories may in certain cases make deductions for books and newspapers. This requires that your employer does not provide this literature.
Expenses for computers are, in most cases, counted as a private living expense and you may not make deductions for these.
See "Books and newspapers".
You may not make deductions for nursery school fees.
You may not make deductions for regular life, accident or medical insurance or for endowment policies.
Telephone calls in your work may be deducted, but not the cost of purchasing the mobile phone or the subscription.
Expenses for health care and medicines may not be deducted.
In order to make deductions for study costs, it is required that the training is necessary in order to retain your current employment. However, if you are studying in order to apply for a new job, you may not make deductions for these costs.
If you use your own telephone for work-related calls, you may make deductions. You may deduct the cost of the calls, but not the cost of the subscription.
See "Journeys to and from work" and "Business trips",
If you have yourself purchased tools or instruments which are necessary for work, you may make a deduction for these expenses.
Interest and indexation adjustments on student loans may not be deducted.