Social Security Agreement

If you are employed by a non-Swedish employer without a permanent establishment in Sweden, you can sign a social security agreement with your employer. The same rules apply if you are a contractor working for a client without a permanent establishment in Sweden.

Your employer is obliged to deduct preliminary tax from employees’ salaries and other compensation for work carried out in Sweden, and to declare these deductions – even if you have entered into a social security agreement. Your employer must therefore register as an employer with the Swedish Tax Agency, and declare deducted preliminary tax by filing in and filing a PAYE return every month. Your employer must also submit a statement of earnings and deductions to us once a year. More detailed in-depth information in Swedish about social security agreements and foreign employers is available in our legal guidance section:

• Social Security Agreements and foreign employers (Legal guidance, in Swedish) External link.
• Permanent establishment

What does your employer have to do?

Your employer’s obligations can vary depending on whether you carry out your work in Sweden or abroad.

If you carry out work in Sweden

Your employer must register as an employer with the Swedish Tax Agency, file PAYE returns and submit income statements if you carry out work in Sweden.

Registration for non-Swedish employers

Your non-Swedish employer must register as an employer with the Swedish Tax Agency. We will then assign them a Swedish corporate identity number. Your employer can register via our e-service “Registration of Foreign Companies” in Sweden or by submitting form SKV 4632b: “Tax application for foreign entrepreneurs” and stating under “Other information” that a social security agreement has been signed.

• Tax application for foreign entrepreneurs (SKV 4632b)

Filing PAYE tax return

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

A PAYE return comprises two different items: a main statement; and an individual statement. (Your employer must file a separate PAYE return 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 the employer has social security agreements with several employees, they 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)

Your employer must pay the deducted preliminary tax that they have declared into their tax account by the PAYE tax return filing deadline at the latest.

Statement of earnings and deductions

Your employer must declare your total gross compensation (including any compensation for employer contributions) by submitting a statement of earnings and deductions every year. They must submit the statement of earnings and deductions by 31 January the following year at the latest.

The entire amount paid must be entered, (i.e. both salary and any payment for employer contributions) in box 011. Your employer must also declare the value of any benefits you have received. Your employer must put an x in box 093 “Social security agreement exists”.

If you have received compensation both with and without a social security agreement, your employer 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 for you as an 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 you carry out work outside Sweden

If you are covered by the Swedish social security system, your non-Swedish employer is not obliged to deduct tax from compensation they pay you. Your employer should not therefore submit a monthly PAYE tax return. However, they must declare the gross compensation they have paid you in a statement of earnings and deductions every year.

Registration for non-Swedish employers

Your non-Swedish employer must register as an employer with the Swedish Tax Agency. We will then assign them a Swedish corporate identity number. Your employer can register via our e-service “Registration of Foreign Companies” in Sweden or by submitting form SKV 4632b: “Tax application for foreign entrepreneurs” and stating under “Other information” that a social security agreement has been signed, and that the work is carried out outside Sweden.

• Tax application for foreign entrepreneurs (SKV 4632b)

Statement of earnings and deductions

Your employer must declare your total gross compensation (including any compensation for employer contributions) by submitting a statement of earnings and deductions every year. They must submit each statement of earnings and deductions by 31 January the following year at the latest.

The entire amount paid must be entered (i.e. both salary and any payment for employer contributions) in box 011. Your employer must also declare the value of any benefits you have received. Your employer must put an x in box 093 “Social security agreement exists”.

If you have received compensation both with and without a social security agreement, your employer 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 for you as an 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 do you have to do as an employee?

As an employee, you must register as an employer, file a PAYE tax return, and pay employer contributions in Sweden.

You, the employee, must register as an employer

When you sign a social security agreement with your non-Swedish employer, you must register with the Swedish Tax Agency as an employer within two weeks of signing the agreement.

You register by filling in form SKV 4738. You can down load the form, which is in Swedish, via the link below:

• Application for responsibility to declare and pay employer contributions on own salary (SKV 4738, in Swedish) (“Anmälan om skyldighet att redovisa och betala arbetsgivaravgifter på egen lön”)

You will be assigned a specific registration number to use when declaring and paying employer contributions. The number begins with 66 and should only be used in connection with employer contributions. You will also be assigned a specific tax account to which you must make these payments. Remember that you must not use your personal identity number (“personnummer”) or your personal tax account when you declare and pay employer contributions in connection with your social security agreement.

A social security agreement does not mean that your employer is free from responsibilities. You are simply agreeing to declare and pay employer contributions on your employer’s behalf. If you do not declare and pay the employer contributions, the Swedish Tax Agency may require your employer to do so instead.

Filling a PAYE tax return

You file a PAYE tax return every month to declare employer contributions. A non-Swedish employer without a permanent establishment in Sweden 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 those born in 1958 or later.

There are three different ways of filing A PAYE tax return.

Via our e-service

You can use our PAYE tax return e-service (“Lämna arbetsgivardeklaration”) when you log into “My Pages” (“Mina Sidor”) on our website. In order to be able to submit a PAYE tax return via “My pages” (“Mina sidor”), you need to be registered as an authorised representative. You register by filling in the 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

You can also file a PAYE tax return using a printed form.

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

Via a representative using our e-service

If you would like someone else to file your PAYE tax return, you can appoint a tax return representative. Use the form “Application e-services tax return representative” (SKV 4809, in Swedish) to apply for registration of your PAYE tax return representative.

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

Payment to your tax account

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

How to fill in the PAYE tax return, social security agreement

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.

Income tax returns, pensionable income and final tax statements

When the Swedish Tax Agency prefills an income tax return for you as an employee, we access details of your salary payments from the statement of earnings and deductions submitted by your employer, and the employer contributions you have declared during the year. You pay tax on your net income (compensation and benefits with deducted employer contributions), which serves as a basis for your pensionable income. It is therefore important for your employer to submit a statement of earnings and deductions.

Your final tax and pensionable income will be specified on your final tax statement. Since your pensionable income serves as a basis for calculating your pension, it is important to check that we have calculated it correctly.

• Pensionable income (in Swedish)

If the social security agreement no longer applies

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

Notify us by using the same form as when applying for registration (SKV 4738) and submit the relevant information in the ‘Övriga upplysningar’ section. Remember that you must continue to submit PAYE tax returns until you have received confirmation of your deregistration from the Swedish Tax Agency.

• Application for responsibility to declare and pay employer contributions on own salary (SKV 4738), "Anmälan om skyldighet att redovisa och betala arbetsgivaravgifter på egen lön", in Swedish