Frequently Asked Questions

F-skatt (F-tax) is a tax approval issued by Skatteverket that confirms you are self-employed and responsible for paying your own taxes. Without it, your Swedish clients are legally required to withhold 30% from every invoice. As a freelancer or sole trader, you almost always need F-skatt. Applying is free and straightforward — expatas handles the application as part of onboarding.

An enskild firma is the Swedish equivalent of a sole trader or self-employed business. It is the simplest business structure in Sweden — no share capital required, and you register directly with Skatteverket and Bolagsverket. As an expat, you can register as long as you have a Swedish personal identity number (personnummer). Enskild firma is ideal for freelancers, consultants, and independent service providers.

Fortnox is Sweden's leading cloud accounting platform, used by over 450,000 businesses. It handles invoicing, bookkeeping, VAT reporting, and payroll in one place. expatas uses Fortnox because it integrates directly with Swedish banks and Skatteverket, making monthly bookkeeping fast and accurate. We help you set up Fortnox during onboarding and manage everything from there.

For an enskild firma, yes — a personnummer is required to register with Skatteverket. For a limited company (AB), it is possible to register without one, though the process is more complex. If you are still waiting for your personnummer, contact us — we can advise on your options and prepare everything so you can register as soon as it arrives.

Swedish VAT (moms) is 25% for most services. If your annual turnover exceeds 80,000 SEK, you must register for VAT with Skatteverket and file quarterly or monthly returns. Once registered, you charge VAT on your invoices and report the difference between VAT collected and VAT paid on business expenses. expatas handles VAT registration, filing, and reconciliation for you.

It depends on whether your clients are businesses or consumers, and where they are located. Sales of services to VAT-registered businesses in other EU countries are generally zero-rated (reverse charge). Sales to non-EU clients are typically outside the scope of Swedish VAT. The rules can be complex — expatas reviews your specific client situation and makes sure your invoices are structured correctly.

A bokslut is the annual closing of your accounts — it summarises your revenues, expenses, assets, and liabilities for the financial year. For enskild firma, it must be completed within 6 months of the financial year end. It forms the basis for your income tax return. expatas prepares the bokslut, files the NE annex, and ensures everything is submitted on time.

The key deadlines are: VAT returns on the 26th of the month following each quarter (or monthly for high turnover); the annual income tax return (INK1 + NE annex) by 2 May; and the employer declaration (AGI) by the 12th of each month if you pay yourself a salary. expatas tracks all deadlines for every client and sends reminders well in advance.

F-skatt applies to self-employed individuals who pay their own tax. A-skatt applies to employees whose employer withholds tax on their behalf. If you run your own business and invoice clients, you need F-skatt. Some people hold both (FA-skatt), for example if they have a part-time employment alongside freelance work. Skatteverket decides which type applies based on your situation.

The Basic plan includes monthly categorisation of all transactions, receipt management, bank reconciliation, and a monthly summary report. The Full Service plan adds quarterly VAT filing, year-end closing, and annual tax return. Both plans include direct communication in English or German with your accountant. There are no hidden fees — everything is covered by the fixed monthly price.

You upload receipts and invoices directly in Fortnox — either via the mobile app (photo) or by forwarding supplier emails. We take it from there: categorising, reconciling, and filing. Most clients spend less than 30 minutes per month on their accounting once the workflow is set up.

Yes, and it is usually straightforward. We request your historical bookkeeping data and Fortnox access from your previous accountant, review the existing records, and take over from a clean starting point. If your records need tidying up first, we offer a Cleanup & Setup package. Most transitions are completed within two weeks.

Yes. We work with both enskild firma and small limited companies (aktiebolag / AB). For AB clients, the scope includes monthly bookkeeping, VAT, payroll if applicable, and the annual report (årsredovisning). Contact us to discuss your specific setup — pricing for AB companies is quoted individually based on complexity.