Starting a Business in Sweden: Enskild Firma and F-skatt

Starting a business in Sweden is mostly a tax registration, not a company formation. Here is who runs what, which form to pick, what F-skatt means for your clients, and what changes if you are an EU citizen, a non-EU citizen or not resident here.

When you need this

You are about to invoice Swedish clients as a freelancer or consultant, and one of them has just asked “do you have F-skatt?” You are an EU citizen moving here to work for yourself, or a non-EU citizen weighing the self-employment permit. Or you sell crafts or services and wonder when a hobby becomes a business that Skatteverket expects you to register.

Two agencies, one portal

Sweden splits the job between two agencies, and the joint portal verksamt.se lets you deal with both:

The surprise for most newcomers: an enskild firma (sole proprietorship, formally enskild näringsverksamhet) usually never touches Bolagsverket. The law says a sole trader may be entered in the trade register, and only one obliged to prepare an annual report under the Bookkeeping Act must be. In practice that means only large businesses. For everyone else, registering there is voluntary and mainly buys protection of your business name in one county.

So if a website offers to “register your F-tax” for a fee, skip it. Skatteverket registration is free.

Choosing a business form

Before choosing, check it is a business at all. Skatteverket’s test is that the activity is run independently, on a professional basis and with a profit motive, and the profit motive is what mainly separates a business from a hobby.

An enskild firma is not a separate legal person, so its debts are your debts. An aktiebolag shields your private assets but comes with residence rules: at least half of the board, and the managing director, must live in the EEA unless Bolagsverket grants an exemption. If no representative lives in Sweden, the board must appoint someone resident here to receive legal documents. A kommanditbolag is a variant of the handelsbolag.

F-skatt explained

F-skatt (F-tax approval) is the core of being self-employed in Sweden. It means you pay your own preliminary tax and social contributions (egenavgifter) during the year, instead of your client withholding them.

That matters to clients because of the alternative. If you hold F-skatt when the fee is agreed or paid, a client withholds nothing. If you don’t, a client paying you for work must withhold preliminary tax, often 30% where the work is not your main income, and may owe employer contributions. Unsurprisingly, Swedish businesses prefer contractors with F-skatt.

The law tells Skatteverket to approve anyone who says they run, or intend to run, business activity in Sweden, unless an obstacle applies. Obstacles include a trading ban, bankruptcy, unreported taxes beyond a minor extent, ignored orders to file, and unpaid taxes sent for collection.

Changed in 2025: older guides may still describe the previous rules. Since 1 January 2025 you can ask for a time-limited approval, and Skatteverket can attach a condition that it may only be used in your business. Since 1 November 2025 unpaid foreign taxes and ignored orders to file also block approval or lead to revocation, and misuse bars a new approval for two years.

Two variants to know:

• FA-skatt is for people with both a business and a salary. Plain F-skatt may not be used in employment.
• Debt-free certificates from abroad: if you have lived in Sweden for less than two years, you must attach documents from the countries where you lived showing you owe no taxes there. They may be no more than three months old.

VAT and the SEK 120,000 limit

Sales are exempt from VAT (moms) if your annual domestic turnover does not exceed SEK 120,000 in the current year or either of the two previous years. Below the limit you need do nothing if you are not VAT-registered; the exemption applies automatically. Once you pass SEK 120,000 during a year, the exemption ends from that moment.

The limit was raised from SEK 80,000 in 2025, and many guides still give the old figure. Two catches: a business established outside the EU cannot use the exemption at all, and an already VAT-registered business has to apply for it. The standard VAT rate is 25%.

What foreigners need

The non-EU self-employment permit asks a lot: you must own at least 51% of the business and run it yourself, have experience in the industry and in running a business, a credible budget, customer contacts and at least SEK 200,000 of your own money. The first permit lasts at most two years. First-time applicants normally apply from outside Sweden, with exceptions for some people already here on work, study or research permits (see work permits for non-EU citizens). EU citizens should read EU citizens’ right of residence.

Logging in is the other hurdle. Residents use their personnummer and e-ID. Non-residents use a coordination number, confirmed at an identity check, and can then log in with Freja+, or use Skatteverket’s English e-service for foreign companies, which needs no Swedish e-ID (see coordination numbers and bank accounts).

Step by step

1. Check you may work here: EU status, or a permit that covers running a business.
2. Get an identity number and a login: personnummer and e-ID, or a confirmed coordination number with Freja+.
3. Check it is a business, with a real profit motive.
4. Choose the form: enskild firma, handelsbolag or aktiebolag.
5. Register a company with Bolagsverket first if you chose an AB or HB.
6. Apply to Skatteverket for F-skatt (or FA-skatt), VAT and employer registration in one go on verksamt.se, or on form SKV 4620. Foreign businesses use the English e-service or form SKV 4632.
7. Attach debt-free certificates from abroad if you have lived here under two years.
8. File a preliminary income return so Skatteverket can set your monthly preliminary tax, paid to your tax account.
9. Wait for the decision, then state your F-skatt approval on quotes and invoices.
10. Declare the result each year on the NE schedule of your tax return (see filing a Swedish tax return).

Warning: Invoicing as if approved before the decision arrives puts the withholding risk on your client and can count as misuse, with revocation and a two-year bar as the consequence.

Budgeting for egenavgifter

Your profit carries income tax plus egenavgifter, the self-employed person’s social contributions, made up of components such as old-age pension, sickness insurance and a general payroll levy (see why Swedes pay high taxes). You can choose your number of sickness waiting days (karensdagar); a longer wait lowers your contributions. People 67 or over at the start of the year, or born 1938–1958, pay a much lower rate. Free start-up advice is available from Nyföretagarcentrum and Arbetsförmedlingen.

Practical information

FAQ

Can a foreigner start a business in Sweden?

Yes. EU and EEA citizens can register and run a business on the same terms as Swedes, without a permit. Non-EU citizens who want to live here and run it need a residence permit as self-employed, which requires owning at least 51%, experience and SEK 200,000 of own funds. Non-residents can still apply for F-skatt with a coordination number or as a foreign business.

What is F-skatt and do I need it?

F-skatt is Skatteverket’s approval that you pay your own preliminary tax and social contributions. Without it, a Swedish business client must withhold tax from what it pays you and may owe employer contributions, so most clients insist on it. If you invoice for work as a sole trader you should normally have it. With a salary as well, apply for FA-skatt.

Do I have to register an enskild firma with Bolagsverket?

Usually not. A sole trader must register in the trade register only if obliged to prepare an annual report, which affects only large businesses. Registration is voluntary and gives name protection in one county, for a fee of SEK 1,800 by e-service as of October 2026. The registration that matters is the free one with Skatteverket for F-skatt.

When do I need to register for VAT in Sweden?

When your annual domestic sales exceed SEK 120,000, or you want to reclaim VAT. Below that limit, sales are exempt automatically if you are not registered. The exemption ends the moment you pass SEK 120,000 in a year. Businesses established outside the EU cannot use the exemption. The standard rate is 25%, with lower rates for some goods and services.

Enskild firma or aktiebolag: which should I choose?

An enskild firma is free to set up with Skatteverket, but you are personally liable for its debts. An aktiebolag needs SEK 25,000 share capital and Bolagsverket registration, but shareholders are not liable for company debts. It also requires at least half the board and the managing director to live in the EEA, unless Bolagsverket grants an exemption.

How much tax does a sole trader pay in Sweden?

You pay income tax on the profit, and on top come egenavgifter, social contributions of 28.97% of the base in 2026 for people born 1959 or later, with a 25% standard deduction. You pay monthly preliminary tax on your estimate and settle the rest through your annual tax return.

Can a tourist do freelance work in Sweden?

No. A non-EU visitor may not work in Sweden on a tourist stay or visitor’s permit, and starting a business here requires a self-employment permit first. EU and EEA citizens can work freely. Remote work for clients abroad during a holiday is a separate question covered in our digital-nomads guide.

Related guides

• Filing a Swedish tax return as a newcomer — where your business result is declared each spring
• Coordination numbers and Swedish bank accounts — the identity number non-residents need first
• Sweden for digital nomads — why remote work on a visit is a different question
• Moving to Sweden for work — registration and the first month
• The personnummer explained — why residents’ logins run on it

Facts verified 2026-10-14. Sources: Sveriges riksdag (Skatteförfarandelag 2011:1244, Mervärdesskattelag 2023:200, Handelsregisterlag 1974:157, Lag 1980:1102, Aktiebolagslag 2005:551), Skatteverket, verksamt.se and Migrationsverket — full register in this topic’s source file. This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Found something outdated? Tell us and we’ll fix it.