If you move from Sweden to live in another country, your tax situation will depend on several factors, including the duration of your stay and, particularly, whether your stay abroad is temporary or permanent.
If you are a Swedish resident and decide to stay abroad for a short period of time or temporarily, your tax situation in Sweden will normally not be affected. However, if you move from Sweden permanently it is possible that you will still be considered as residing in Sweden – for tax purposes, even if you have left the country.
This concerns not only Swedish citizens but also foreigners who have been residents of Sweden for (at least) ten years. You continue to be considered a resident of Sweden for five years, counting from the day you move abroad, as long as you continue to have close ties to Sweden. If you wish to argue that you have no close ties to Sweden, you must prove that no such ties exist.
Consequently, you will continue to have unlimited tax liability in Sweden and must report all of your world income in your Swedish tax return, as long as your close ties with the country continue to exist.
When determining whether you have close ties to Sweden the Tax Agency take the following circumstances into account:
The above circumstances are only examples of circumstances that may be taken into account to determine whether you, after you move abroad, have unlimited or limited tax liability in Sweden.
Even if you are considered fully taxable in Sweden, certain incomes may be wholly or partially exempted from taxation, if they are taxed in another country. This can happen due to the provisions of tax treaties or to Swedish internal tax law.
Note that even after the five years have elapsed you may continue to be considered a resident of Sweden – for tax purposes – if you maintain close ties to Sweden. However, after five years, you will no longer automatically be considered a resident of Sweden for tax purposes under Swedish internal tax law.
Remember that when you move from Sweden, even if you do not have close ties to the country, you must:
If you are registered in the Swedish Population Register please refer to information about deregistration under Moving from Sweden/Civil de-registration.
If you have been working in Sweden and paying your own taxes in the form of ‘special A-tax’ (SA tax), do not forget to request a cancellation of the tax payments from the Swedish Tax Agency. You may use the form
Preliminär inkomstdeklaration, SKV 4314 (only available in Swedish). The easiest and quickest way to submit a new preliminary income tax return is to use the online service
"Preliminary income tax return”, available if you have a Swedish electronic ID from a Swedish bank or similar institution.
For more information please contact our tax information department (Skatteupplysningen) at Tel. No. (0771) 567 567, and at Tel. No. +46 8 564 851 60 if you are calling from abroad.