If you keep your home abroad and earn money in Sweden for a few months, or draw a Swedish pension from another country, SINK is probably your tax. It is simple once you have a decision. Without one, you overpay.
When you need this
- You have a job in Sweden for a few weeks or months and keep your home abroad: a seasonal or ski-season job, a short contract or a posting.
- Your first Swedish payslip shows 30% or more tax, and a colleague says “apply for SINK”.
- You live abroad and receive a Swedish state or occupational pension.
- You sit on the board of a Swedish company but live elsewhere.
- You come back every season and want to know whether the 2027 rules will catch you.
What SINK is
SINK stands for särskild inkomstskatt för utomlands bosatta, special income tax for non-residents. It replaces Sweden’s ordinary income tax for people who are begränsat skattskyldig (limited tax liable): they live abroad and have Swedish income. It is a state tax at one national rate, so it doesn’t matter which town you work in.
The statute lists what it covers:
| Income | Covered by SINK? |
|---|---|
| Pay for work done in Sweden | Yes |
| Pay from the Swedish state, a municipality or a region, wherever earned | Yes |
| Board fees from a Swedish company | Yes |
| Swedish public and occupational pensions | Yes, above a monthly allowance for social-insurance pension |
| Swedish unemployment and other social-insurance benefits | Yes |
| Employer-paid travel, lodging and extra living costs on a temporary job | No, within the act’s conditions |
| Income a tax treaty gives to your home country | No |
Your employer or pension payer deducts the tax before paying you, and that is the end of it: with a SINK decision there is no Swedish tax return for that income. The trade-off is that you get no Swedish deductions and no basic allowance either.
The rate: 25% is out of date
For years SINK was 25%, and most pages online still say so. Even Skatteverket’s English SINK page, the Swedish Tax Agency’s own guidance, keeps a 25% sentence next to the news of the cut. The statute is clear:
- 22.5% on income received after 31 December 2025
- 20% on income received after 31 December 2026
The detail that catches people is the word received. The rate follows the date the money reaches you, not the date you did the work. December 2026 pay that lands in January 2027 is taxed at 20%.
Two groups have their own rate. Seafarers on Swedish merchant ships pay 15% under the same act. Artists and athletes performing in Sweden fall under a separate act, A-SINK, also at 15%; they apply on paper and need a coordination number first.
Who qualifies
SINK is for people with limited tax liability. In practice that means you live abroad and stay in Sweden at most six months, counting the nights you sleep here. Short trips home do not break a stay. Stay six months in a row and Skatteverket treats you as fully taxable (obegränsat skattskyldig) on your income from every country, and SINK no longer fits.
Others who can apply:
- Daily commuters from neighbouring countries, and people under the cross-border commuter rules
- Pensioners living abroad with a Swedish pension
- Non-resident board members of Swedish companies
One group may owe nothing at all. Under the 183-day rule, pay from an employer with no Swedish base is tax-free in Sweden if you stay here 183 days or fewer in any twelve months and the pay isn’t charged to a Swedish permanent establishment. The rule doesn’t cover staff hired out to a Swedish client, apart from short stints of up to 15 days in a row and 45 in a year. Even inside the rule, the foreign employer must withhold 30% on Swedish workdays unless Skatteverket decides otherwise. Remote workers should read working remotely from Sweden for a foreign employer.
How to apply
- Apply before the first pay day. Skatteverket’s e-service needs only an email address, with no Swedish e-ID. The paper alternative is form SKV 4350, but the e-service is faster. You or your employer can apply.
- Answer any request for a coordination number. If you have no Swedish identity number, Skatteverket asks you to apply for a samordningsnummer and book an identity check at a service office. Our guide to coordination numbers and bank accounts covers that check.
- Hand the decision to your employer or pension payer. They may deduct SINK only once a decision exists.
- Check the payslip: 22.5% on pay received in 2026, 20% from January 2027.
- Reapply every income year for work income. Skatteverket starts handling next year’s applications in December at the earliest.
No decision yet?
Then your employer must deduct ordinary preliminary tax (preliminärskatt), which is usually higher than SINK. That’s why so many short-term workers see a shock on their first payslip. It isn’t lost: once the decision exists, ask Skatteverket to repay the excess. The refund can only go through after your employer has filed its monthly PAYE return covering that pay, and not if you owe other Swedish tax.
The same trap returns every January. A decision for work income covers one income year, so without a new one your January pay is taxed at ordinary rates.
SINK or ordinary tax?
You don’t have to take SINK. Anyone can ask to be taxed under the ordinary Income Tax Act instead, for a whole income year. The comparison looks like this:
| SINK | Ordinary taxation | |
|---|---|---|
| Rate | Flat 22.5% (2026), 20% (2027) | Municipal tax, plus state tax on high incomes |
| Deductions | None | Personal deductions |
| Basic allowance (grundavdrag) | No | Yes, if at least 90% of your earned income is taxed in Sweden |
| Swedish tax return | No | Yes |
| Scope | Per income type | All your Swedish pension and work income that year |
Which is cheaper depends on your income and municipality, so we don’t publish a worked comparison. Pick the box in the e-service, or write it under “Additional information” on SKV 4350. If you get it wrong, Skatteverket can review the decision afterwards. Its English page gives six years and its Swedish pension page five, so act early rather than relying on either. If you go ordinary, our guide to filing a Swedish tax return as a newcomer explains the return.
Pensions paid abroad
Most Swedish pensions paid to people living abroad are taxed through SINK. Social-insurance pension (except children’s pension) is taxed only on the part above a monthly allowance: 3,799 kr a month in 2026. A tax treaty may give your home country the right to tax some pensions instead, and income a treaty assigns there is exempt from SINK.
Two things change the picture. Keeping a home in Sweden fit for year-round use can make you fully taxable anyway, even if you live elsewhere. And if you choose ordinary taxation, it covers all your Swedish pension and work income for the year. How the pension itself is built is in the orange envelope: how Swedish pensions work.
The 2027 night count
Today the residence line is Skatteverket’s “six months in a row”; the statute itself has no definition of a permanent stay. That may change. Prop. 2025/26:306, a government bill sent to the Riksdag on 1 September 2026, would define a permanent stay (stadigvarande vistelse) as:
- more than 160 nights in Sweden in a calendar year, or
- more than 120 nights if the previous year also passed 120.
Only days with a night’s rest (dygnsvila) in Sweden count. It is proposed to take effect on 1 January 2027. When we checked in mid-October 2026 the Riksdag had not yet decided.
For SINK this matters because only non-residents can use it. A five-month season would still fit under 160 nights. But someone who returns every year for seasons of four and a half months would pass 120 nights two years running, and could be taxed as a resident from the second year. If that’s you, count your nights from day one. We’ll update this page when the Riksdag decides.
Practical information
| Item | Amount or rule |
|---|---|
| SINK rate, income received in 2026 | 22.5% |
| SINK rate, income received from 1 January 2027 | 20% |
| Seafarers on Swedish merchant ships | 15% |
| A-SINK (artists and athletes) | 15% |
| Monthly allowance on social-insurance pension, 2026 | 3,799 kr |
| Foreign employer withholding without a decision | 30% |
| Maximum stay for SINK today | Six months, counted in nights |
| Proposed residence test from 2027 | More than 160 nights a year, or 120 two years running |
| Application | E-service (email only) or form SKV 4350; new decision each income year |
FAQ
What is SINK tax in Sweden?
SINK is a flat special income tax for people who live abroad and have Swedish income: pay for work in Sweden, Swedish pensions, board fees and some benefits. The payer deducts it at source and it is final, so you file no Swedish tax return. The rate is 22.5% on income received in 2026 and 20% from 1 January 2027.
Who can apply for SINK?
People with limited tax liability in Sweden: they live abroad and stay in Sweden at most six months, counting the nights they sleep here. That covers short contracts, seasonal jobs and postings, daily commuters from neighbouring countries, and pensioners abroad with a Swedish pension. Stay six months in a row or more and you are taxed as a resident instead.
What is the SINK rate in 2026 and 2027?
22.5% on income received after 31 December 2025, and 20% on income received after 31 December 2026, under Lag 2025:1355 and 2025:1356. The earlier rate was 25%, and many pages still quote it. Seafarers pay 15%, and artists and athletes pay 15% under the separate A-SINK act. The date you receive the money decides the rate.
How do I apply for SINK?
Use Skatteverket’s e-service, which needs only an email address and no Swedish e-ID, or paper form SKV 4350. You or your employer can apply, ideally before the first pay day. Hand the decision to the employer, who may deduct SINK only once it exists. For work income you need a new decision for every income year.
Do I need to file a Swedish tax return if I pay SINK?
No. SINK is a final tax, so income covered by a SINK decision needs no Swedish income tax return. The exception is if you chose ordinary taxation under the Income Tax Act instead; then you file a return and may claim deductions. Your home country may still want the income declared there under its own rules.
Is SINK or ordinary Swedish tax better for me?
It depends on how much of your income is Swedish. SINK is a flat rate with no deductions. Ordinary taxation means municipal tax, perhaps state tax and a return, but if at least 90% of your earned income is taxed in Sweden you get the basic allowance and other personal deductions. The choice covers all your Swedish income for that year.
Do I pay SINK on a Swedish pension if I live abroad?
Usually yes, if you have limited tax liability. Social-insurance pension is taxed only above a monthly allowance of 3,799 kr in 2026, and a tax treaty may give your home country the right to tax some pensions instead. You can choose ordinary Swedish taxation, but keeping a year-round home in Sweden can make you fully taxable anyway.
Will the six-month rule change in 2027?
It may. Prop. 2025/26:306, sent to the Riksdag in September 2026, would define a permanent stay as more than 160 nights in a calendar year, or more than 120 if the previous year also passed 120. It is proposed to take effect on 1 January 2027. Seasonal workers who return every year should count their nights.
Related guides
- Seasonal jobs in Sweden — permits, pay rules and where SINK fits a summer or ski season.
- Moving to Sweden for work — staying longer: registration, ID card and resident tax.
- The orange envelope: how Swedish pensions work — the pension a SINK pensioner receives.
- Filing a Swedish tax return as a newcomer — the return you file if you choose ordinary taxation.
- Sweden for digital nomads — tax residence and the foreign-employer rules for remote workers.
Facts verified 2026-10-15. Sources: Sveriges riksdag (Lag 1991:586, Lag 1991:591), Skatteverket, Regeringen (Prop. 2025/26:306) — full register in this topic’s source file. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.