VAT (moms) and invoicing in Sweden (2026)

Swedish VAT is called moms (mervärdesskatt). It is administered by Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, and the rules are in the Mervärdesskattelag (2023:200), the VAT Act that replaced the old 1994 act on 1 July 2023. This guide covers what a small business in Sweden needs to know in 2026: rates, the small-business exemption, filing deadlines, invoice rules, e-invoicing and late payment. Figures are as of October 2026.

Swedish VAT at a glance

The 2026 food cut. From 1 April 2026 to 31 December 2027, VAT on food is halved from 12% to 6%. Takeaway food is food and goes down to 6%; food eaten on site is a restaurant service and stays at 12%; alcoholic drinks stay at 25%. The rate depends on the date of delivery, not the date of the invoice or the payment.

Who must register, and the SEK 120,000 exemption

A business based in Sweden is automatically exempt from VAT if:

• its turnover in Sweden is at most SEK 120,000 in the current calendar year
• it did not exceed SEK 120,000 in either of the two previous calendar years

An exempt business charges no VAT and cannot deduct input VAT, but it still has to issue invoices, stating that the sale is exempt from VAT under chapter 18, section 4 of the VAT Act. Once your sales in a calendar year pass SEK 120,000, the exemption ends: you charge VAT from the sale that took you over the limit and must register with Skatteverket. You can also choose to register voluntarily.

Businesses based in another EU country can use the exemption only through the EU SME scheme, with turnover in Sweden of at most SEK 120,000 and in the EU of at most €100,000. Businesses based outside the EU cannot use it.

When you register, Skatteverket sends you a registration certificate with your VAT registration number (momsregistreringsnummer), which goes on your invoices.

VAT returns and payment

Your reporting period depends on the taxable amount (sales excluding VAT) for the year. The VAT must be paid and booked on your tax account by the same day as the return.

Deadlines:

• Quarterly: the 12th of the second month after the quarter, but the 17th in August. For 2026: 12 May (Q1), 17 August (Q2), 12 November (Q3) and 12 February 2027 (Q4).
• Monthly (up to SEK 40 million): the 12th of the second month after the month, but the 17th in January and August.
• Yearly, sole traders without EU trade: 12 May of the following year (26 June if your accountant has an extension, though interest runs from 12 May).
• Yearly, sole traders with EU trade: 26 February of the following year.
• Yearly, limited companies: linked to the income tax return and the end of the financial year.

A late return normally costs a SEK 625 late-filing fee.

What a Swedish invoice must show

Between businesses, the seller must issue an invoice whatever the amount, including for advance payments. Chapter 17, section 24 of the VAT Act lists the details of a full invoice:

Extra wording. Some sales need a reference explaining why no VAT is charged, in Swedish, English or another EU language: for example “Omvänd betalningsskyldighet” or “Reverse charge” for services to businesses in other EU countries, “Article 138 of the VAT directive” or “Exempt” for intra-EU supplies of goods, and “Självfakturering” when the buyer issues the invoice.

When to issue it. Normally within the time that is good business practice in your sector. Fixed deadlines apply to intra-EU supplies of goods and to services sold to businesses in other EU countries (by the 15th of the following month) and to construction services (by the end of the second month after the work).

Simplified invoices. A simplified invoice is allowed when the total is at most SEK 4,000 including VAT, when it is a credit note or other change to an invoice, when your sector's practice makes a full invoice difficult (petrol pumps, train tickets), or when you are exempt under the SEK 120,000 rule. It shows the date, your VAT number, personal identity number or organisation number, what was sold, and the VAT or the information needed to calculate it. It cannot be used for intra-EU sales where the buyer pays the VAT.

Credit notes. A credit note must refer specifically and unambiguously to the original invoice and its number and state what has changed. If an exempt business charged VAT by mistake and sends a credit note straight away, it does not need to pay the amount to Skatteverket.

Foreign currency. If you invoice in another currency and pay the VAT in Sweden, the VAT must also be shown in Swedish kronor, converted at the European Central Bank's published rate or the Nasdaq Stockholm mid rate, normally the latest rate on the day of supply.

Record keeping. Under the Bookkeeping Act (1999:1078) you keep your accounting records until the end of the seventh year after the calendar year in which the financial year ended.

E-invoicing and reporting

• Public sector: since 1 April 2019, suppliers must send invoices to public contracting authorities as e-invoices that follow the European standard (Act 2018:1277), unless the parties agree another standard.
• Between businesses: there is no e-invoicing mandate. The content requirements are the same whether you send the invoice on paper or electronically.
• New in 2026: from 1 July 2026, new rules against VAT fraud give Skatteverket more powers to refuse or cancel VAT registrations and to mark a VAT number as invalid. Check your customers' VAT numbers before invoicing without VAT.
• EU rules from 2030: under the EU's VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) package, digital reporting based on e-invoices applies to cross-border B2B transactions inside the EU from 1 July 2030.

If you sell to the public sector, you need an e-invoicing provider for that part.

A worked example in Swedish kronor

A café in Gothenburg has these sales in July to September 2026:

Its purchases in the quarter:

VAT to pay: SEK 7,200 − SEK 3,500 = SEK 3,700, due by 12 November 2026.

Late payment between businesses

The Swedish Interest Act (räntelag 1975:635) sets the rules:

• between businesses, payment for goods or services falls due at the latest 30 days after you request payment; a later date applies only if you have expressly accepted it (section 2 a)
• if no due date was set, interest runs from 30 days after you sent the invoice
• late-payment interest is the reference rate plus 8 percentage points (section 6); the Riksbank sets the reference rate for each half-year
• in B2B claims you are also entitled to SEK 450 compensation for late payment (Debt Collection Costs Act, section 4 a)

Our guide to getting paid faster covers the practical side.

Common mistakes

1. 1Charging 6% on food eaten in the restaurant, which stays at 12%.
2. 2Keeping the 12% rate on food delivered after 1 April 2026.
3. 3Charging VAT while exempt under the SEK 120,000 rule, which makes you liable to pay it to Skatteverket.
4. 4Forgetting the exemption wording on invoices from an exempt business.
5. 5Missing the 17 August deadline by assuming the 12th applies every month.
6. 6Showing VAT only in euros or dollars on an invoice where Swedish VAT is due.
7. 7Invoicing an EU customer without VAT without checking that their VAT number is valid.

How Clientlly helps

Clientlly handles the routine parts of Swedish invoicing and VAT:

• sequential invoice numbering per series, with the Swedish rates (25%, 12%, 6%) on every invoice
• credit notes linked to the original invoice
• invoice PDFs in your client's language, multiple currencies and a card payment link on the invoice
• you can see when an invoice was opened, and automatic reminders go out 3, 14 and 30 days after the due date
• recurring invoices, and receipt scanning that reads the VAT automatically
• sales and purchase VAT books per rate, including exports, reverse charge and intra-EU purchases, with VAT reports for you and your accountant and Excel and PDF exports
• imports from Excel or CSV, low-stock notifications and reorder suggestions, and a mobile app

Clientlly does not send e-invoices through public-sector e-invoicing networks; if you supply the public sector, use an e-invoicing provider for those invoices. See the invoicing module and the accounting module.