If you are planning to recruit people and manage payroll in Sweden, an important first step is to register as an employer. It is a legal requirement to do so if your company is accountable for employees in Sweden. Regardless of your form of entity (whether sole trader or company / legal person) this obligation applies. This is because hiring local staff may oblige your company to pay taxes. In addition to employer registration, this brief guide also covers aspects of VAT and company tax registration.

A single, digitized point of contact

On the Swedish Tax Agency’s (Skatteverket) website, an e-service is available for this purpose. Click here to access the website. You will be able to contact the Tax Agency and have a temporary login created.

Through the e-service, depending on your local business activity, you can do the following:

  • Apply for a company registration number (legal person only)
  • Attain approval for Swedish F-tax
  • Register for value added tax (VAT)
  • Register as an employer

Key documentation needed

You will require the following when registering for the above (remember that documents older than three months are usually not accepted):

  • Document proving the existence of your company (this could be excerpt from your home country’s company register, or similar)
  • Documents clearly showing the ownership structure behind your company. (This could for instance be a register showing the distribution of shares, or an organogram)
  • Documentation stating that all owners are free from tax debt. (For purposes of F-tax application only. Typically supplied by your home country’s tax authority.)
  • The so-called A1 or E101 form - a certificate detailing what country the posted employee receives his or her social security from. (A full list of European authorities responsible for the dissemination of information regarding local social security legislation has been assembled by the EU and is available here.)

Account for enough time

You should account for at least one month’s processing time. From time to time, especially in certain peak times of the year, the Tax Agency can be further overburdened with errands, which can cause additional delays. Add to this the time you need to acquire the necessary documents and the associated processing times of your home country’s authorities. In short, plan ahead for your payroll management in Sweden.

Do you want more information or need help with employment and payroll management?

Internago can assist with the local setup cost calculations and full payroll service in Sweden and on most European markets. Please click **here **to find more information, or if you prefer contact us directly at sweden@internago.com

Disclaimer

Please note that this blog post only gives an overview and provides some introductory examples to payroll. In practice, there are more detailed aspects to consider, which is why this blog post should only be seen as a general guide. For a more in-depth discussion, do not hesitate to contact us at info@internago.com