Understanding Your Swedish Payslip (Lönespecifikation) Line by Line

Your first Swedish payslip can be confusing. What are all these deductions? Why is so much taken for taxes? What's this "semesterersättning"? This guide explains every line on a typical Swedish payslip.

Swedish Payslip Basics

A Swedish payslip is called lönespecifikation or lönebesked. You'll receive it monthly, either digitally (most common now) or by mail. It details your earnings, deductions, and what actually lands in your bank account.

Key terms you'll see:

• Bruttolön = Gross salary (before tax)
• Nettolön = Net salary (what you receive)
• Skatt = Tax
• Avdrag = Deduction

Sample Payslip Walkthrough

Let's walk through a typical payslip for someone earning 45,000 SEK per month in Stockholm:

---

Header Section

LÖNESPECIFIKATION
Period: 2026-01
Utbetalningsdag: 2026-01-25

Anställd: Anna Andersson
Personnummer: 850315-1234
Anställningsnr: 12345
Avdelning: IT

What it means:

• Period - The month this salary covers (January 2026)
• Utbetalningsdag - Payday (January 25th)
• Anställningsnr - Your employee number
• Avdelning - Department

---

Earnings Section (Inkomster)

Löneart	Antal	Á-pris	Belopp
Månadslön	1	45,000.00	45,000.00
Summa bruttolön			45,000.00

Line by line:

Månadslön (Monthly Salary) - Your base monthly salary. This is your agreed gross salary.

Summa bruttolön (Total Gross Salary) - Sum of all earnings before any deductions. This is the number in your employment contract.

---

Additional Earnings You Might See

Your payslip might include various additional earnings:

Swedish Term	English	Explanation
Övertid	Overtime	Extra hours worked beyond normal
OB-tillägg	Unsocial hours supplement	Extra pay for evenings/weekends
Bonus	Bonus	Performance or company bonuses
Provision	Commission	Sales commission
Semestertillägg	Vacation supplement	Extra 0.43% added during vacation
Semesterersättning	Vacation payout	Unused vacation days paid out
Resersättning	Travel reimbursement	Work travel compensation
Traktamente	Per diem	Daily allowance for business travel
Sjuklön	Sick pay	Pay during sick leave
Föräldralön	Parental pay	Company top-up during parental leave

---

Deductions Section (Avdrag)

Typ	Belopp
Preliminär skatt	12,050.00
Fackavgift	350.00
Summa avdrag	12,400.00

Line by line:

Preliminär skatt (Preliminary Tax) - Income tax withheld by your employer. This includes:

• Municipal tax (kommunalskatt) ~29-35%
• Possibly state tax (statlig skatt) if you earn over 660,400 SEK/year

The 12,050 SEK deducted is based on your tax table (skattetabell), which considers:

• Your municipality's tax rate
• Your projected annual income
• Basic deduction (grundavdrag)
• Work tax credit (jobbskatteavdrag)

Fackavgift (Union Dues) - If you're a union member and pay through salary. Common unions:

• Unionen (white collar)
• IF Metall (industrial)
• Kommunal (municipal workers)
• ST (government workers)

Other Deductions You Might See

Swedish Term	English	Explanation
Bruttolöneavdrag	Gross salary deduction	Deducted before tax (pension, etc.)
Nettolöneavdrag	Net salary deduction	Deducted after tax
Bensinförmån	Fuel benefit	If you have a company car
Bilförmån	Car benefit	Taxable benefit for company car
Parkeringsavdrag	Parking deduction	Workplace parking fees
Lunchavdrag	Lunch deduction	If employer provides subsidized lunch

---

Net Salary (Nettolön)

Bruttolön:                  45,000.00
- Avdrag:                   12,400.00
= NETTOLÖN:                 32,600.00

Nettolön is what actually arrives in your bank account. This is your "take-home pay."

---

Employer Costs Section (Arbetsgivaravgifter)

Many Swedish payslips show what your employer pays on top of your salary:

Typ	Procent	Belopp
Arbetsgivaravgift	31.42%	14,139.00
Tjänstepension	4.5%	2,025.00
Total lönekostnad		61,164.00

Arbetsgivaravgift (Employer Social Contributions) - 31.42% of your gross salary that your employer pays to the state. This funds:

• Retirement pension (ålderspension)
• Survivor's pension (efterlevandepension)
• Health insurance (sjukförsäkring)
• Parental insurance (föräldraförsäkring)
• Unemployment insurance
• Work injury insurance

You don't see this money, but it's part of your total compensation.

Tjänstepension (Occupational Pension) - Your employer's contribution to your private pension. Typically 4.5-6% of salary. This is yours but locked until retirement.

Total lönekostnad - Total cost to employ you. Good to know during salary negotiations!

---

Accumulated Totals (Ackumulerat)

	Denna månad	Hittills i år
Bruttolön	45,000.00	45,000.00
Skatt	12,050.00	12,050.00
Nettolön	32,600.00	32,600.00

Hittills i år (Year to Date) - Running totals for the tax year. Useful for:

• Tracking your annual income
• Estimating tax returns
• Ensuring deductions are correct

---

Vacation Information (Semester)

Semesteruppgifter:
Betalda dagar intjänade:    25
Betalda dagar uttagna:       0
Betalda dagar kvar:         25
Sparade dagar:               5

Term	Meaning
Betalda dagar intjänade	Paid vacation days earned
Betalda dagar uttagna	Paid vacation days used
Betalda dagar kvar	Paid vacation days remaining
Sparade dagar	Saved days (from previous years)

Swedish vacation basics:

• Legal minimum: 25 paid days per year
• Earned April-March, used April-March next year
• Can save up to 5 days per year (maximum 30 saved)
• New employees may take "advance vacation" (förskottssemester)

---

Flex Time / Hours Worked (Arbetstid)

Arbetad tid:
Ordinarie tid:         168 timmar
Övertid:                 5 timmar
Flex saldo:            +12 timmar

Term	Meaning
Ordinarie tid	Regular hours worked
Övertid	Overtime hours
Flex saldo	Flex time balance

---

Understanding Swedish Tax Tables

Your preliminary tax is calculated using skattetabeller (tax tables). The table used depends on:

1. Your municipality - Each of Sweden's 290 municipalities has different rates
2. Column - Based on your expected annual income
3. Church membership - Adds ~1% if you're a member of Svenska kyrkan

Example Tax Calculation

For 45,000 SEK/month in Stockholm municipality (Stockholms kommun):

• Municipal tax rate: 29.32%
• No state tax (under threshold)
• After grundavdrag and jobbskatteavdrag: ~12,000 SEK withheld

Tax table to request: Your employer asks which table to use. If you don't specify, they'll use the standard table based on your registered municipality.

---

Common Payslip Scenarios

First Month at a New Job

Your first payslip might look different:

• Pro-rated salary if you didn't work the full month
• No vacation days earned yet (unless carried over)
• Higher tax if tax table wasn't set up correctly

Vacation Month (July)

During vacation, you'll see:

• Semestertillägg - Extra 0.43% of monthly salary per vacation day
• Regular salary continues (you're paid during vacation)

Sick Leave

• Days 1 - Karensdag (waiting day), no pay
• Days 2-14 - 80% pay from employer (sjuklön)
• Day 15+ - Försäkringskassan takes over (sjukpenning)

Parental Leave

• Base pay from Försäkringskassan
• Many employers top up with föräldralön (typically 10% of salary for 6 months)

---

Payslip Red Flags to Watch

Check your payslip monthly for these issues:

Wrong Tax Rate

• Compare your deducted tax to expected
• Use our Salary Calculator to verify
• Contact HR if it's significantly off

Missing Overtime

• Track your hours separately
• Verify OB-tillägg for unsocial hours
• Follow up immediately if missing

Incorrect Vacation Days

• Keep your own vacation records
• Verify the count each month
• Errors are common when switching jobs

Unexpected Deductions

• Ask HR about anything unfamiliar
• Verify union dues match your membership
• Check for unauthorized salary sacrifices

---

Swedish Payslip Glossary

Swedish	English	Notes
Löneart	Pay type	Category of payment/deduction
Antal	Quantity	Number of hours/days/units
À-pris	Unit price	Rate per hour/day/unit
Belopp	Amount	Total sum
Innevarande period	Current period	This month
Föregående period	Previous period	Last month
Ackumulerat	Accumulated	Year to date
Skatteavdrag	Tax deduction	Tax withheld
Skattetabell	Tax table	Which tax calculation to use
Tabellnummer	Table number	Specific tax table reference
Kolumn	Column	Income bracket in tax table
Grundavdrag	Basic deduction	Tax-free amount
Jobbskatteavdrag	Work tax credit	Tax reduction for workers
Brytpunkt	Breaking point	Threshold for state tax
Pensionsgrundande inkomst	Pensionable income	Income that counts toward pension
Förmånsvärde	Benefit value	Taxable value of benefits
Lönebyte	Salary exchange	Gross salary sacrifice (often for pension)

---

Digital Payslip Access

Most Swedish companies now use digital payslips:

Common Systems

• Visma - Log in via BankID
• Hogia - Company portal
• Flex HRM - Via employer's system
• Personec - Government employees

How to Access

1. Ask HR for your payslip portal
2. Log in with BankID
3. Download PDFs for your records
4. Set up email notifications

Keep Records

• Save payslips for at least 7 years
• Needed for tax returns if corrections needed
• Required for mortgage applications
• Helpful for visa renewals

---

Tax Return Connection

Your payslip information flows to Skatteverket automatically. Each year:

1. January-February - Employer submits annual income report (kontrolluppgift)
2. March - You receive pre-filled tax return (deklaration)
3. April-May - Verify and submit declaration
4. August-December - Receive refund or pay additional tax

Your payslips should match your tax return. If they don't, you'll need to investigate.

---

Summary

Your Swedish payslip contains:

• Gross salary (bruttolön) - Your agreed salary before deductions
• Tax (skatt) - Preliminary income tax, typically 25-35%
• Other deductions - Union dues, benefits, salary sacrifice
• Net salary (nettolön) - What reaches your bank account
• Employer costs - Social contributions and pension (not from your salary)
• Vacation tracking - Days earned and remaining
• Year-to-date totals - Accumulated figures for the tax year

Key action items:

1. Verify your payslip matches your contract
2. Check that tax deductions seem reasonable
3. Track vacation days independently
4. Save digital copies for your records
5. Report errors to HR promptly

---

Want to calculate your expected take-home pay before starting a new job? Use our Swedish Salary Calculator with all 290 municipality tax rates.