F-tax in Sweden (F-skatt) 2026

F-tax, FA-tax and A-tax

Taxes and contributions for sole traders 2026

What is F-tax?

F-tax (F-skatt) is an approval from the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) showing that you run a business and pay your own tax and self-employment contributions. Anyone who buys a service from you then does not deduct tax or pay employer contributions on what they pay you. That is why almost all business customers require you to be approved for F-tax before they hire you.

The business must be independent, run for profit and be lasting. If you only sell goods the customer has no tax responsibility, but in practice most people who run a business still need F-tax.

F-tax or FA-tax?

If you are employed alongside your business, you should have FA-tax. You keep A-tax on your salary and F-tax applies to the assignments in your business. With FA-tax you must refer to your F-tax in writing in each assignment – otherwise the customer must treat the payment as salary. Limited companies and other legal entities can only have F-tax.

How to apply for F-tax

You apply in the e-service Skatte- och avgiftsanmälan at Verksamt.se, where you can also register for VAT and as an employer. Without a Swedish e-ID you use the form Företagsregistrering (SKV 4620). You describe the business and estimate this year’s profit – the figure is used to calculate your preliminary tax.

The Swedish Tax Agency will not approve F-tax if you have, to more than a minor extent, failed to report or pay taxes and contributions, have a trading ban, are bankrupt, have misused an earlier approval or have unpaid recovery claims for ROT, RUT or green technology. If you have lived in Sweden for less than two years, you may also need to show that you have no tax debts in previous countries.

Preliminary tax – how much you pay

With F-tax you receive a decision on preliminary tax (debiterad preliminärskatt), which is paid to your tax account each month. For a sole trader it covers both income tax and self-employment contributions. Self-employment contributions are 28.97% of profit after a standard deduction of 25%. For a limited company the preliminary tax corresponds to the corporate tax of 20.6% of the estimated profit.

If your profit turns out higher or lower than expected, file a new preliminary income tax return (preliminär inkomstdeklaration). That way you avoid residual tax and interest – or paying too much in advance.

Write "Godkänd för F-skatt" on your invoices

State "Godkänd för F-skatt" (approved for F-tax) on your invoices, quotes and contracts. The customer can check it in the Swedish Tax Agency’s e-service Hämta företagsinformation. If a customer pays for work to someone who is not approved for F-tax, the customer must deduct tax and, for individuals, also pay employer contributions. An approval received after the payment was agreed does not apply to that assignment.

Booking the F-tax

In a sole trader business, the preliminary tax is booked as a private withdrawal when it is drawn from the tax account: debit 2012 and credit 1630 Skattekonto. In a limited company it is booked as debit 2518 Betald F-skatt and credit 1630. At year-end the tax paid is reconciled against the calculated tax for the year.

Newly started? Get it right from the start

Once your F-tax is in place you need bookkeeping software, invoices with the right details and control of VAT. In UNIKBOK, businesses registered within the last six months get six months free – with bookkeeping, invoicing and payroll, available in English while following Swedish rules.