Preschool in Sweden: Maxtaxa Fees and the Right to a Place

Swedish preschool is a legal right with a national price cap, and both changed in ways older guides miss. Here is who gets a place, how fast, what the July 2026 fee cut means for your invoice, and what visiting families can use instead.

When you need this

You’re moving to Sweden with a child aged one to five and want to know when they can start. A preschool invoice has arrived and you want to check the sum. A letter from the municipality offers your three-year-old a place you never asked for. You’re on parental leave with a new baby and wonder whether your older child keeps their place. Or you’re visiting for a few weeks and wonder whether your toddler can join a local preschool.

How Swedish preschool works

Förskola (preschool) is Sweden’s childcare for ages one to five. It’s run by the municipality (kommun) or by approved independent providers, and it sits inside the education system under the Education Act (skollagen). It’s voluntary: no child has to go. But the municipality has a duty to offer it, and that duty is what makes it so universal.

The system rests on two separate rules, and it helps to keep them apart:

The fee cap isn’t strictly law for municipalities. It’s a condition for money: a municipality that keeps fees at or below the cap receives a state grant. Skolverket, the National Agency for Education, says every municipality uses it, and the cap applies to municipal and independent preschools alike.

Who has the right to a place

The law gives the right to children bosatta i Sverige, resident in Sweden. In the Education Act that means:

• Children who are, or should be, registered in the population register (folkbokföring). For newcomers that normally means an expected stay of a year or more (see folkbokföring).
• Some groups who are not registered, including asylum seekers and children with rights under EU, EEA or Swiss free-movement rules.

Two groups count as resident only for compulsory school, not preschool: children of diplomats and undocumented children. Tourists and short-term visitors aren’t resident at all.

What a resident child gets depends on age and on the parents’ situation:

The municipality doesn’t have to offer care in the evenings, at night, at weekends or over major holidays. It must only “strive” to arrange care at unsocial hours (omsorg på obekväm tid) where parents’ jobs require it, so night care is not a right.

Newcomer families get one more rule. From the autumn a child turns three, the municipality must offer a place without any application if the child was born abroad and has lived in Sweden five years or less, or if the resident parents were born abroad and have lived here five years or less. The offer comes at least three months ahead and is repeated every autumn until the year the child turns five. That explains the unexpected letter. It’s an offer, not an order. This active offer, and the municipality’s duty to contact families of three-year-olds without a place, apply only to registered children.

Getting a place, step by step

1. Register where you live. The right follows residence, which normally means registering with Skatteverket.
2. Apply through your municipality’s e-service or form. Some municipalities accept an application once you’ve decided to move, but count your queue date from the day you’re registered there.
3. Apply at least four months before you need the place. Once you’ve asked, the municipality must offer one within four months, as close to your home as possible, with reasonable regard to your wishes.
4. Name a second choice. The offer may be a different preschool from the one you want.
5. Report your household income when the place starts. Without it you’re billed the maximum. Forms in some municipalities accept a date of birth if your child has no personnummer.
6. Plan one to two weeks of settling-in (inskolning). A parent stays with the child for the first days.
7. Report income and household changes promptly. Municipalities check against tax data afterwards.

Common mistake: arriving and expecting a place next week. The guarantee is four months from the application, so apply as soon as you know your move date.

What preschool costs: maxtaxa

The fee is a share of your household’s gross monthly income: salary before tax, other taxable employment income and business profit. A household is a single parent, or a married or cohabiting couple at the same address. The youngest child counts as the first child and pays the highest rate.

The July 2026 change. Since 1 July 2026 the first 10,000 kr of monthly household income is ignored when the fee is calculated. Households earning 10,000 kr a month or less pay nothing, and every other household pays less than before. The government paid for this with an extra billion kronor to municipalities for 2026. Pages written before July 2026 show a higher maximum fee, so don’t budget from them.

The formula is: (household gross monthly income − 10,000 kr) × the percentage for that child, up to a ceiling. Since 1 July 2026 the ceiling is reached at 61,560 kr gross a month. A worked example as of October 2026: a household earning 40,000 kr a month before tax pays 3% of 30,000 kr, which is 900 kr a month for its youngest child in preschool. The current maximum for each child is in the table under Practical information.

The cap also protects you from extras. Once a household pays the maximum fee, nothing more may be charged, and meals are always included. Diapers are a grey zone: Skolverket notes a 2019 appeal court ruling that they are covered by the fee, but the ruling isn’t binding precedent, and some municipalities still ask parents to bring them.

Warning: the bill runs 12 months a year in most municipalities, including the summer when your child is off, and through the notice period when you leave. If you skip the income report you pay the maximum, and under-reported income is billed back after the annual tax check.

Beyond the national cap, municipalities set their own details. Stockholm moves children aged three to five who attend more than 15 hours a week to a lower part-time rate. Kalix instead cuts the fee by 30%. Your municipality’s fee page is the authority for your invoice.

The free 525 hours (allmän förskola)

Allmän förskola (universal preschool) is the free part of the system. From the autumn term of the year a child turns three, every resident child is offered at least 525 hours a year without a fee. The law counts hours a year, not a week; 525 hours works out at roughly 15 hours a week over a school year, which is why it’s often called “15 hours”.

Some municipalities follow the school calendar for the free hours, so a child on the free hours only is off during school holidays. Check your municipality’s rules if you rely on them.

Is preschool about to become compulsory? Not under current law. In September 2026 the government launched an inquiry into mandatory language-development preschool for children who don’t meet Swedish at home. Its report is due in September 2027, and nothing has been enacted.

Visiting families

A holiday doesn’t give your child a right to a preschool place, and a four-month deadline makes short stays impractical anyway. What visitors can use is öppen förskola (open preschool): a drop-in for small children where the parent stays and plays alongside. Municipalities may run them as they choose; Malmö’s, for example, are free with no sign-up. Ask the local municipality whether visitors are welcome. For other ideas, see Sweden with kids.

Practical information

FAQ

Can my child go to preschool in Sweden from age 1?

Yes, if your child is resident in Sweden. The Education Act says children must be offered preschool from age one as far as the parents’ work or studies require, or because of the child’s own needs. If a parent is unemployed or on parental leave with a younger sibling, the child still gets at least 15 hours a week. Apply through your municipality.

How long is the wait for a preschool place in Sweden?

At most four months. Once you have asked your municipality for a place, it must offer one within four months, as close to your home as possible. It may not be your first choice, so name a second. Some municipalities count the queue date from your registration date if you apply before moving, so apply early.

How much does preschool cost in Sweden in 2026?

Since 1 July 2026 the fee is at most 3% of household gross income above 10,000 kr a month for the youngest child, capped at 1,547 kr a month. The second child costs at most 2% (1,031 kr), the third 1% (516 kr), and the fourth nothing. Households earning 10,000 kr a month or less pay nothing.

What does allmän förskola mean, and is it really free?

Allmän förskola (universal preschool) is the free part: from the autumn term of the year a child turns three, every resident child is offered at least 525 hours a year, roughly 15 hours a week over a school year, without a fee. Hours beyond that cost a fee within the cap. Some municipalities follow the school calendar for the free hours.

Can tourists put their child in a Swedish preschool?

No. The right to a place belongs to children resident in Sweden, which means registered or due to be registered, plus groups such as asylum seekers and children with EU free-movement rights. A holiday does not qualify, and the four-month guarantee makes short stays impractical anyway. Visiting families can use an open preschool, a drop-in where the parent stays.

Is preschool compulsory in Sweden?

No. Preschool is voluntary, though municipalities must contact families of three-year-olds without a place and actively offer places to newcomer children. In September 2026 the government launched an inquiry into mandatory language-development preschool for children who do not meet Swedish at home, with a report due in September 2027. Nothing has been enacted.

Related guides

• Swedish schools for newcomer families — what comes after preschool, from school start to upper secondary
• Parental leave in Sweden — why preschool starts at age one
• VAB: staying home with a sick child — what happens when preschool sends a feverish child home
• Folkbokföring: registering where you live — the registration that unlocks a place
• Fritids: after-school care — the next step under the same fee cap

Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: Sveriges riksdag (Skollag 2010:800, Förordning 2001:160, Folkbokföringslag 1991:481), Skolverket, Regeringskansliet, Stockholms stad, Kalix kommun and Malmö stad — 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.