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CALCULATOR: How much will you gain from the boost to Sweden’s employment tax credit

Sweden's government has announced plans to increase the employment tax credit, a rebate given to everyone who has a job. Here's how much you stand to gain.

CALCULATOR: How much will you gain from the boost to Sweden's employment tax credit
A pile of Swedish kronor notes and coins. Photo: Fredrik Sandberg/TT

If you have a job in Sweden and do not depend on benefits for your income, you qualify for the jobbskatteavdraget, or employment tax credit, a tax reduction brought in by the government led by the Moderate leader Fredrik Reinfeldt in 2007 to reward those in work. 

The tax was a key part of that government’s focus on the arbetslinje, or work line, the idea behind which is that people should always be better off if they have a job than if they live on benefits. 

As a percentage of income, those on the lowest salaries get the biggest tax reduction, with the maximum tax reduction next year set at 10,633 kronor. 

The government broke down how people in different income brackets will be affected by the increase in jobbskatteavdrag in a document posted alongside the press release.  

The column on the impact of “indexation” or indexeringen, includes the impact of three other tax reductions or thresholds which are adjusted each year in line with developments in salaries and inflation. These include a rise in the so-called skiktgräns, the point at which earnings qualify for state income tax, increases to the so-called grundavdrag, another tax reduction, and also the indexation of the employment tax reduction itself.

In 2024, the government paused the rise in the skiktgräns, but in 2025 it will once again rise with the consumer price index, with the government expecting the threshold to rise from 51,275 kronor a month to 53,590 kronor a month. 

So how much do you stand to get? 

  • Unemployed. If you have had no income from employment at all you are not eligible for the jobbskatteavdrag, and would have received no tax reduction in either 2024 or 2025.
  • Low income. People on incomes of 200,000 kronor a year will see the increase in the tax credit alone reduce their tax by 106 kronor a year compared to what they paid in 2024, and their tax reduced by 716 kronor once indexation is included. 
  • Median and average. People earning the median salary of 462,000 per year will see their tax bill decline by 3,671 kronor, 3,049 kronor of which will come as a result of the increase in the employment tax reduction alone. People earning the average salary of 517,200 kronor will see their tax bill fall by 4,464 kronor compared to what they paid in 2024, with 3,198 kronor coming from the increased employment tax reduction. 
  • High incomes. The biggest increase in the tax reduction will go to those earning between 1 million and 1.5 million kronor a year, with their taxes reducing by 10,633 kronor, the lion’s share of which is coming from the impact of indexation, with only 3,197 kronor coming from the increased employment tax reduction.  

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PROPERTY

NEW FIGURES: Swedish property prices dropped in August

The price of Swedish properties, which has been going up in recent months, stagnated in August. Prices on apartments and detached houses also dipped, according to new figures.

NEW FIGURES: Swedish property prices dropped in August

The price of apartments dropped by 0.6 percent in August, while detached houses saw a drop of 0.2 percent, according to figures from the property statistics provider Svensk Mäklarstatistik.

At the same time, the number of homes on offer was high, with 11 percent more properties selling in August than during the same time last year.

“That’s also a factor affecting prices,” Fredrik Kullman, CEO of estate agency Bjurfors Sverige, wrote in a press statement. “Usually we see prices rise in August, but we’re seeing now that the market hasn’t really gotten itself out of its hammock. The reason for this is obviously the high number of properties on offer,” he continued.

According to Kullman, many properties were taken off the market in the spring due to interest rates being at such a high level, which were then put back on the market in August instead.

The central bank is also expected to cut interest rates again in a few weeks, which would mean a key interest rate of 3.25 percent, if it makes a 25 percentage point cut as expected.

Experts are divided on how prices are likely to change during the autumn. 

“We think prices are going to remain relatively still, considering the number of properties on offer and the state of the economy,” CEO of Svensk Fastighetsförmedling, Erik Wikander, wrote in a press statement.

Marcus Svenberg, CEO of Länsförsäkringar Fastighetsförmedling, expects instead to see prices rise by a few percent during the autumn.

“At the same time, there are some risk factors, like geopolitical unrest, developments in American and European interest rates, and the record-high number of properties on offer,” he said.

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