As a non-EU resident you can claim a tax refund of up to 18 % on all purchases made at shops affiliated with Global Refund Sverige of 200 SEK and over. When you make your purchase show your passport and ask for a Global Refund Cheque. Your bought items will then be sealed and must not be opened until you have received an export validation. You must be leaving the country with the goods within the next three months to qualify. To get your tax refund present your sealed purchases and your Global Refund Cheques at your point of departure, or from the last country you visit within the EU. Refund Offices in Sweden, Finland, Norway and at Copenhagen Airport are authorized to validate exports, if you leave the EU from another country you must present your goods and documents at Customs.

If you are intending to stay and work in Sweden for any length of time you must register at the local Tax Office in person. They will issue you with a civic identity number. If you plan to stay for a year or more then you’ll get a personal identity number (personnummer). This process is called folkbokföring. Alternatively, if you will be working in Sweden but staying for less than a year, then you will be issued with a co-ordination number or samordningsnummer. The personnummer is necessary for access to services and for all kinds of transactions during your stay in Sweden. The samordningsnummer is basically the same as the personnummer but a bit more limited. Please click on “Folkbokföring” on the following site for addresses and contact details of local offices and for further information:

• http://www.skatteverket.se

People living and working in Sweden for less than 6 months can pay a special voluntary income tax of 25%, those who stay longer must follow the normal tax rules. Unless you’re an unusually complicated case regarding income tax, making your tax declaration in Sweden in generally very straightforward because everyone is taxed at the source. So when it comes to completing your tax return you basically just have to confirm the details which have been pre-prepared by the authorities according to the information provided by your personal identification number. You can confirm these details quickly and easily by telephone, internet, and even by SMS. It’s up to you to declare any investments you have that are liable to taxation by the Swedish authorities. In Sweden tax deductions do not take into account your marital status or whether or not you have children.

Income tax deduction includes social insurance contributions and comprises municipal tax, which varies between municipalities, but is 31% on average, and ate tax, which is only deducted on the part of your income which exceeds SEK 328,600 per annum. If your gross annual earnings are between SEK 328,600 and SEK 488,600 you’ll be taxed at a rate of 20%, if you earn more than SEK 488,600 the annual rate of tax is 25%. Once again you can consult www.skatteverket.se for more information about the Swedish tax system, for declaration forms and addresses for local offices.