Expert Tax in Sweden (Expertskatt) 2026: The 25% Relief, the 3-Month Deadline and the 2027 Proposal

Sweden's expert tax relief (expertskatt) makes 25% of a qualifying foreign employee's pay tax-free. The application has to reach Forskarskattenämnden within three months of the start of work, and a late application is refused.

What the relief gives

• 25% of the pay is exempt from income tax, and employer social security contributions are calculated on the remaining 75%.
• If the employer pays for them, moving to and from Sweden, two home trips a year for the employee and family, and children's school fees for compulsory and upper secondary school are tax-free too.
• The relief lasts for seven years from the start of the stay in Sweden.

Who qualifies

The employee must not be a Swedish citizen and must not have lived or stayed in Sweden for a lasting period (as a rule at least six months) in the five calendar years before the year the work starts. When applying, they must intend to stay in Sweden for no more than seven years, and the employer must be based in Sweden or be a foreign company with a permanent establishment here. They must then qualify in one of two ways:

Route	Requirement (2026)
Salary	Monthly pay of more than 1.5 × the price base amount: more than SEK 88,800 a month for work starting in 2026 (price base amount SEK 59,200)
Expertise	An expert, researcher or other key person. For experts, the work must call for a high or unusual specialisation, and there must be significant difficulty recruiting comparable staff in Sweden. A general shortage in a field is not enough.

The salary threshold uses the price base amount for the year the work starts. For work starting in 2027 it is more than SEK 89,400 (price base amount SEK 59,600).

The three-month deadline

The employee or the employer applies to Forskarskattenämnden (the Taxation of Research Workers Board). The application must reach the board within three months of the start of work in Sweden. Late applications are refused, and the deadline can't be extended. Put the deadline in your onboarding plan the day the contract is signed, not after arrival.

The applicant chooses what to attach, but the board refuses an application its documents don't support. Prepare:

• The employment contract: the board's best evidence of the monthly pay. A statement from the employer alone is in principle not enough.
• For the expertise route: a clear account of the tasks, responsibilities and reporting lines, the position's significance to the company, and why comparable staff are hard to recruit in Sweden
• Where the employee has lived and stayed in the five calendar years before the work starts

Proposed for 2027: 30% and more flexibility

A proposal published for the Council on Legislation in June 2026 would, from 1 January 2027, for work starting after 31 December 2026:

• raise the tax-free share from 25% to 30%
• let the seven years be split across several stays, counted month by month
• open the relief to Swedish citizens and drop the intention to stay no more than seven years
• lengthen the required time outside Sweden from five to seven calendar years
• drop the test of significant difficulty recruiting in Sweden

This was not law when we checked. Plan 2026 hires under today's rules.

SINK: for short assignments

People who are not resident in Sweden and work here for less than six months are generally taxed under SINK, a flat special income tax, instead of normal tax. The SINK rate was lowered to 22.5% from 1 January 2026 (previously 25%), and the decision also lowers it to 20% from 1 January 2027. The employee applies through Skatteverket's e-service or on form SKV 4350, or the employer can apply on their behalf.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the salary threshold for expert tax in Sweden in 2026?

Monthly pay must exceed 1.5 times the price base amount. For work starting in 2026 that means more than SEK 88,800 a month (price base amount SEK 59,200). People below the threshold can still qualify as an expert, researcher or other key person.

What happens if we miss the three-month deadline for expertskatt?

The application is refused. Forskarskattenämnden does not examine late applications, even if the delay was beyond your control.

Is the expert tax relief increasing to 30%?

A government proposal would raise it to 30% from 1 January 2027 and change several other conditions. It was not law when we checked on 22 October 2026.

What is the SINK tax rate in 2026?

22.5% from 1 January 2026, falling to 20% from 1 January 2027. SINK is mainly for people not resident in Sweden who work here for less than six months.

Moving for work? How Settio helps

Settio helps employers and immigration and relocation agencies run the whole move in one place, so the person moving can focus on settling in:

• Before the move: one plan for the permit and the move, with every step and deadline. A partner and children get their own steps in the same household.
• After arrival: the employee portal shows the newcomer their next steps on their phone, in their language, from registering after arrival to help for settling in.
• When the permit runs out: permit monitoring flags the extension in good time.

HR teams and agencies can start for free. Moving yourself? Try our free tools for life in Sweden.

Sources

9 official sources

• Forskarskattenämnden: Remuneration rate
• Forskarskattenämnden: Conditions for tax relief
• Forskarskattenämnden: Tasks and expertise
• Forskarskattenämnden: About tax relief
• Forskarskattenämnden: Apply for tax relief
• Forskarskattenämnden: FAQs
• Skatteverket: Amounts and percentages 2026
• Skatteverket: SINK
• Regeringen: Lagrådsremiss on expert tax (June 2026)