Tax rules for temporary work in Sweden

• On this page, we bring together essential information about the 45-day rule and how it affects you as a construction worker.

The changes made to SKU5 in 2020 include
those working temporarily in Sweden, such as foreign construction workers, are taxed in Sweden. The aim is to make labour market laws more competition-neutral.

The economic employer concept means that the company that pays the employee’s salary is not necessarily considered the employer. Rather, what determines whether and where the employee is taxed is for whom the person performs the work.

In practice, these rules mean that many foreign workers who temporarily work in Sweden become taxable in Sweden. This means that an employee who is hired out or made available to work in a business in Sweden becomes liable for tax in Sweden from his or her first day of work. Exceptions apply to staff who are hired out to work for a maximum of 15 consecutive days and if the working days in Sweden do not exceed a total of 45 days in a calendar year.

It is the employer’s responsibility to introduce the economic employer concept, which in practice will place greater demands on employers to identify which employees
who are in Sweden and how much time they spend in the country.

In Sweden, the following factors are looked at to assess whether the person is considered to have an economic employer in Sweden:

• Control and management
• Who provides the tools and materials?
• Who decides on the work schedule and holidays?
• If the cost of the employee’s salary is invoiced from the formal employer to the employer in Sweden where the work is performed.

Download our PDF for detailed information on what applies.