Sweden doesn’t tax inheritances, but it does decide who gets them. Here’s how the Inheritance Code works, what a will can and can’t change, what the estate inventory involves, and which country’s law applies if you’re a foreigner.
When you need this
A relative or partner has died in Sweden and your name is on the estate paperwork. A Swedish bank won’t release money until it sees a “registered bouppteckning”. You live here, or own a summer house, and want to write a will. Or you’re one of the many unmarried couples who’ve heard that a sambo (cohabiting partner) doesn’t inherit, and want to know if that’s true. (It is.)
No inheritance tax, but one catch
Sweden abolished inheritance and gift tax. The old 1941 act was repealed from 1 January 2005, and a separate 2005 law removed the tax for deaths and gifts from 17 December 2004 as well. Nobody receiving an inheritance from a death since then owes the Swedish state anything for it.
Note on the date: many pages say the tax ended “in 2005”. The repeal took effect on 1 January 2005, but a 2005 law made deaths and gifts from 17 December 2004 tax-free too. Older sources that give only 2005 are therefore imprecise.
The catch is capital gains. Under the Income Tax Act, someone who gets an asset by inheritance, will or gift steps into the previous owner’s tax position. If you inherit a house your mother bought decades ago and sell it, the gain is measured from her purchase price, not from its value when she died. Skatteverket advises listing such coming taxes among the estate’s debts in the inventory. For how the gain then shows up on a return, see filing a Swedish tax return.
Two more limits on “tax-free”:
- Sweden not taxing you doesn’t stop your home country from doing so. An heir living abroad may owe inheritance tax where they live.
- Sweden’s broader tax mix, and why it has no inheritance or wealth tax, is covered in why Swedes pay high taxes.
Who inherits when there’s no will
The Ärvdabalken (Inheritance Code, 1958) sets three classes of blood relatives. You go down the list only if nobody in the class above is alive. Foreign citizens inherit on equal terms with Swedes.
| Class | Who | How it’s split |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Children (and their descendants) | Equal shares; a dead child’s children take that child’s share |
| 2 | Parents, then siblings | Parents half each; a dead parent’s half goes to the siblings or their children |
| 3 | Grandparents, then aunts and uncles | Equal shares; a dead grandparent’s share passes to their children |
| None | Cousins and anyone further out | Do not inherit |
| No heirs | Allmänna arvsfonden (General Inheritance Fund) | Takes the whole estate |
So cousins never inherit by law, however close they were. If there’s nobody in the three classes and no will, the estate goes to the fund.
Spouses, children and the sambo gap
Married: the spouse inherits first
If the deceased was married, the first step is a bodelning, the division of matrimonial property under the Marriage Code. Then the surviving spouse inherits the deceased’s estate, ahead of the couple’s shared children.
The shared children aren’t cut out. They inherit later, when the second parent dies (efterarv). The first spouse’s heirs then take a share of the survivor’s estate, normally half, and the survivor can’t will that part away.
Children from another relationship (särkullbarn) are different. They can take their share straight away, or choose to wait and inherit from the surviving spouse later. A married couple where either partner has children from before should plan for this explicitly.
The surviving spouse is always guaranteed property worth four prisbasbelopp (price base amounts), counting what they got in the division, and no will can reduce it. For deaths in 2026 that is 236,800 kronor (see the table below). The rights don’t apply if divorce proceedings were under way at the death.
Sambo: not an heir
Swedish inheritance law gives rights to spouses and blood relatives only. A surviving sambo can ask for a division of the couple’s joint home and household goods, with a guaranteed minimum of two price base amounts from that property. Everything else goes to the deceased’s children, parents or siblings.
Warning: for unmarried couples, a will is the only way to inherit from each other. Without one, the survivor may have to share the home with the partner’s family. The details of the sambo split are in sambo law, and what marriage changes is in getting married in Sweden.
Laglott and wills: what a will can’t do
Half of a child’s legal share is their laglott (reserved share). A parent can will away the other half, but not the laglott. Gifts made during the parent’s lifetime normally count as an advance on the child’s inheritance, unless something else was stated or clearly intended; ordinary presents and the cost of bringing a child up don’t count.
Laglott isn’t automatic, and the deadlines are short:
| Situation | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Claim your laglott against a will | Six months after being formally served with the will |
| Challenge a will as invalid | Six months after being served with it |
| Claw back lifetime gifts meant to work like a will | Sue within one year after the estate inventory was completed |
Miss the six months and a disinherited child gets only what the will gives.
Making a valid Swedish will
- Age: 18 or over; from 16, only over property you control yourself.
- Form: in writing, signed (or acknowledged) by you in the simultaneous presence of two witnesses, who sign and know it’s a will. They don’t need to know what it says.
- Who can’t witness: anyone under 15, your spouse or sambo, your parents, children, siblings and in-laws, or anyone benefiting from the will or related to a beneficiary.
- Emergencies: if illness prevents a proper will, an oral will before two witnesses or a handwritten signed one is valid, but it lapses if you later have three months to make a proper one.
Sweden has no state will register yet, so keep the original somewhere your family knows about; the estate inventory needs the original or a certified copy.
Reform watch: a government inquiry, SOU 2025:91 (August 2025), proposes a public will register, stronger protection for surviving sambos and a limited right to restrict laglott in certain situations. As of October 2026 none of it is law.
The estate inventory: bouppteckning
Every Swedish-resident death goes through a bouppteckning (estate inventory). It records the deceased’s assets, debts and heirs, and once Skatteverket has registered it, it becomes the estate’s ID document: banks need it to close accounts and the land registry needs it for title.
- Get the paperwork. Order a death certificate with family tree (dödsfallsintyg med släktutredning) from Skatteverket; it’s usually needed. Skatteverket’s own letter with a case number comes at the earliest three weeks after the death.
- Invite everyone. All estate parties must be invited in good time, and the surviving spouse or sambo always. For anyone without a Swedish personal or coordination number, the date of birth goes on the form instead.
- Pick two independent officials. Two förrättningspersoner, who are not heirs or beneficiaries, certify the inventory and the valuation. You can do it yourselves, or use a funeral firm or lawyer.
- Hold it within three months of the death. If you need more time, ask Skatteverket within those three months.
- File it within one month after it was drawn up, with any will attached. Skatteverket sums this up as four months after the death.
Until the estate is divided, the spouse or sambo, heirs and any universal beneficiaries manage it jointly. Debts are paid from the estate: the estate may not be divided over anyone’s objection before the inventory is done and known debts are paid or secured, and dividing too early can make the parties liable for the debts.
If the assets only cover the funeral and related costs and include no real property, the municipality’s social welfare board can file a simpler dödsboanmälan (estate notification) instead. Funeral costs and the burial fee are covered in funerals in Sweden.
What changed on 1 July 2026: the law now allows inventories to be filed electronically, drops the duty to file certified copies of the inventory, and renames the officials förrättningspersoner (formerly gode män). Skatteverket says its digital service is still being built, so paper filing continues for now.
Skatteverket registers the inventory but doesn’t advise on how an inheritance is divided. For the arvskifte (division between heirs), ask a lawyer or funeral firm.
Foreigners and the EU Succession Regulation
For deaths on or after 17 August 2015, the EU Succession Regulation decides which country’s law applies. The default is the law of the country where the person habitually lived at death, so a foreigner living in Sweden is normally inherited from under Swedish law, laglott included. A will can choose the law of the person’s nationality instead. Denmark and Ireland don’t apply the regulation.
| Situation | What happens |
|---|---|
| Foreigner living in Sweden dies | Swedish law by default; a Swedish estate inventory is made |
| Deceased lived abroad | Normally no Swedish estate inventory |
| Estate handled in Denmark, Finland, Iceland or Norway | Skatteverket appoints someone to inventory the Swedish assets on request |
| Swedish courts not competent, but property is here | The social welfare board takes care of it and hands it on |
| Proof of heirship across EU borders | Skatteverket issues the European Certificate of Succession |
| Swedish property, no heir under the applicable law | Goes to Allmänna arvsfonden; a foreign state is not an heir |
A will made abroad is valid in form in Sweden if it meets the law of the place it was made, or of the testator’s residence or nationality, and for real property also the law where the property lies.
Warning: choosing your nationality’s law changes the whole succession, and Swedish rules such as the laglott may not apply. Get advice from a lawyer who knows both systems before using it.
Owning a summer house here? See buying a summer house as a foreigner. Foreign heirs who need a Swedish account for the estate’s money can start with coordination numbers and bank accounts.
Practical information
| Item | What to know | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| Inheritance and gift tax | None; abolished for deaths and gifts from 17 December 2004 | 2026-10-14 |
| Registering the estate inventory | No fee mentioned on Skatteverket’s page | 2026-10-14 |
| Prisbasbelopp, deaths in 2026 | 59,200 kr; changes every 1 January | 2026-10-14 |
| Spouse’s guaranteed minimum (4 × prisbasbelopp), deaths in 2026 | 236,800 kr | 2026-10-14 |
| Sambo’s guaranteed minimum (2 × prisbasbelopp), deaths in 2026 | 118,400 kr | 2026-10-14 |
| Help from a lawyer or funeral firm | Prices vary by firm; ask for a quote | 2026-10-14 |
| Inventory deadline | Hold within 3 months, file within 1 month after | 2026-10-14 |
FAQ
Does Sweden have inheritance tax?
No. Sweden repealed its inheritance and gift tax from 1 January 2005, and a follow-up law removed it for deaths and gifts from 17 December 2004 too. Heirs pay nothing to the Swedish state for receiving an inheritance. Tax can still arise later: if you sell an inherited asset, the gain is measured from what the deceased originally paid.
What is laglott in Sweden?
Laglott is a child’s reserved share: half of what the child would inherit with no will. A parent can will away the other half, but not the laglott. It is not automatic, though. The child must demand an adjustment of the will within six months of being formally served with it, or the right is lost.
Does a surviving spouse inherit everything in Sweden?
Usually, yes, ahead of the couple’s shared children, who inherit their part when the second parent dies. Children from other relationships can take their share immediately unless they choose to wait. The surviving spouse is always guaranteed property worth four price base amounts, 236,800 kronor for deaths in 2026, whatever the will says.
Does a sambo inherit in Sweden?
Not without a will. Swedish inheritance law gives rights to spouses and blood relatives only. A surviving sambo can ask for a division of the couple’s joint home and household goods, with a guaranteed minimum of two price base amounts, but everything else goes to the deceased’s relatives. A valid will is the only way for sambos to inherit from each other.
What is a bouppteckning and when is it due?
It is the estate inventory: a record of the deceased’s assets, debts and heirs, certified by two independent officials. It must be held within three months of the death and filed with Skatteverket within a month after that. Once registered it is the estate’s ID document, needed to close bank accounts and transfer property.
Which country’s inheritance law applies to a foreigner who dies in Sweden?
Under the EU Succession Regulation, normally the law of the country where the person habitually lived at death. A foreigner living in Sweden is therefore usually inherited from under Swedish law. A will can instead choose the law of the person’s nationality. Denmark and Ireland do not apply the regulation, and someone resident abroad normally needs no Swedish estate inventory.
Related guides
- Sambo law — what unmarried couples share, and why a will matters
- Funerals in Sweden — what the estate pays and what the burial fee covers
- Getting married in Sweden — marriage turns a partner into an heir
- Buying a summer house as a foreigner — Swedish property that will one day pass on
- Why Swedes pay high taxes — the tax system that dropped inheritance tax
Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: Sveriges riksdag (Ärvdabalken 1958:637 as amended through SFS 2026:251, Lag 2015:417, Lag 2005:194, Lag 1941:416, Inkomstskattelagen 1999:1229, Sambolagen 2003:376, bet. 2025/26:CU21), Skatteverket, the European e-Justice portal, Regeringen and SOU 2025:91 — full register in this topic’s source file. This is general information, not legal advice. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.