Tips for sole proprietors filing their tax return
The tax return arrives in your digital mailbox in the spring. If you run a sole proprietorship, there are a few things you need to keep in mind. Here, we summarise the most important points to help make your tax return as smooth as possible.
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Complete your annual accounts
Start by preparing the annual accounts for the past year. All sole proprietors must prepare annual accounts, which form the basis of the tax return. If your business has a turnover of less than three million SEK, you can use the Swedish Tax Agency’s “Simplified Annual Accounts” service. You will then report the information from your accounts in the NE form.
The annual accounts are not submitted to the Tax Agency but must be saved for seven years.
Annual accounts for sole traders at verksamt.se
Fill in the NE form
You report your business results for 2025 in the NE form. You submit it together with your personal income tax return. The NE form contains general information, balance sheet and income statement, tax adjustments, and other details.
You can complete the NE form directly in the Tax Agency’s e-service or import information from your accounting software. Even if you closed your sole proprietorship in 2025, you still need to submit the NE form when filing your tax return.
How to fill the NE appendix at the Swedish Tax Agency
Check which deductions you can make
As a sole proprietor, you may deduct expenses for purchases and other costs that are necessary for generating income in your business. However, you can never deduct private living expenses. A common mistake is deducting private purchases such as clothing, furniture, or courses.
Always remember to save receipts or invoices and record your expenses continuously.
Deduction of costs in sole trader businesses at verksamt.se
Deduction dictionary at the Swedish Tax Agency (in Swedish)
Tax adjustments
You first report your accounting profit, calculated according to accounting rules. To determine the profit on which your tax will be calculated, the accounting profit often needs to be adjusted according to tax rules. In the NE form, this is called making tax adjustments.
These adjustments affect the final result that is transferred to your income tax return.
Examples of tax adjustments:
- R20 Share to assisting spouse
If your spouse has helped in the business and been taxed on part of the surplus, you should deduct that amount in the tax adjustment section. - R32 Reversal of tax allocation reserve
An allocation made to a tax allocation reserve must be reversed and taxed no later than six years after the year the allocation was made. - R38 Deduction for pension savings
You may deduct pension savings under certain conditions—for example, only for premiums on pension insurance you own yourself or deposits into your own pension savings account.
Tax adjustments at the Swedish Tax Agency
Tax reduction for living in sparsely populated areas
New this year: If you run a business and live in a sparsely populated area (a support area), you can receive a tax reduction for your housing by submitting your NACE code in the tax return. The NACE code is the EU’s statistical classification of business activities and is similar to the Swedish SNI codes. If the code is not already pre-filled, you must enter it yourself. You can find your NACE code on the Tax Agency’s website.
NACE code for growth support and income tax return at the Swedish Tax Agency (in Swedish)
Tax reductions at the Swedish Tax Agency (in Swedish)
Owner’s withdrawals are not salary
In a sole proprietorship, you are not considered an employee. This means that the money you take out of the business is not salary—it is called an “owner’s withdrawal”.
Owner’s withdrawals do not affect your business result in the NE form, and you do not pay tax on the withdrawals. Instead, you pay tax on the business surplus. You record owner’s withdrawals under “Owner’s Equity,” which adjusts the business’s debt to you in the balance sheet. When you record the withdrawal, the business’s debt to you decreases by the same amount.
Salary and own withdrawals at the Swedish Tax Agency (in Swedish)
If you can’t meet the deadline
If you have special reasons for not being able to submit your tax return by 4 May, you can apply for an extension. This may be due to illness or missing information required for filing. You apply via “Mina sidor” or by contacting the Tax Agency. Apply no later than 4 May.
If you are unable to file your tax return on time at the Swedish Tax Agency
File by 4 May
If you have not been granted an extension, the final date for submitting your tax return is Monday, 4 May. You file digitally using the “Income Tax Return 1” e-service. If you need to send your return by post, it must arrive no later than 4 May. Late submissions may result in one or more late filing fees.
Remember to sign and approve your return. Even if your accounting firm prepares and submits your tax return digitally, you must log in at skatteverket.se to approve it.
I need a deferral from filing my tax return, what do I do? at the Swedish Tax Agency (in Swedish)
If you are unable to file your tax return on time at the Swedish Tax Agency (in Swedish)
Paying or receiving a tax refund?
How much preliminary tax you have paid determines whether you will receive a refund or need to pay additional tax. As a business owner, you pay tax continuously during the year based on your preliminary income declaration. This is based on an estimate of your annual result and determines your monthly tax payments.
If you paid too little during the year, you must pay the remaining amount afterwards. If you paid too much, you will receive a tax refund.
You can adjust your preliminary tax with the Tax Agency at any time during the year—and as many times as needed.
Preliminary income tax for businesses and associations at the Swedish Tax Agency