Accounting for construction companies

Reverse charge construction VAT: how it works

Reverse charge construction VAT, or reverse charge liability in the construction sector, means that the buyer, not you as the seller, accounts for the VAT. The rules apply to construction services relating to property, for example groundwork and foundation work, building and civil engineering work, building installations and the finishing of buildings, but also construction cleaning and hiring out staff for such work. The buyer must itself sell such services on a more than occasional basis, or buy the service in order to sell it on to someone who does. The Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) has a list of the services covered.

What should the invoice say?

You do not charge any VAT. Instead, the invoice must include the buyer's VAT registration number and the statement "omvänd betalningsskyldighet" (reverse charge). In the VAT return you report the sale in box 41. If you sell to a private individual, reverse charge construction VAT does not apply, and you charge VAT as normal.

Staff register in construction: who is responsible for what?

The client (byggherre) must notify the Tax Agency of the construction site before construction work begins and make sure there is equipment for an electronic staff register. Every company carrying out construction work at the site, including subcontractors, then records itself and its workers in the register. The client can agree in writing that a contractor who is independently responsible for the work takes over the client's obligations. The equipment requirement does not apply to a private individual building outside a business, and does not apply until the construction cost at the site can be expected to exceed four price base amounts (prisbasbelopp). Read more at the Tax Agency.

Control fees for shortcomings

• SEK 12 500 per inspection, plus SEK 2 500 for each worker who is not recorded
• SEK 25 000 instead of SEK 12 500 if a new shortcoming is found within one year of a previous decision
• SEK 25 000 if the client has not notified when and where the construction work will be carried out

ROT deduction: invoicing and claiming payment

With ROT, the customer pays the labour cost minus the tax reduction, and you claim the rest from the Tax Agency in the e-service Rot och rut för företag. In 2026 the ROT deduction is 30 per cent of the labour cost, up to a maximum of SEK 50 000 per person per year. You must be approved for F-tax (F-skatt) and the customer must pay electronically. The claim can only be made once the work has been carried out and paid for, and must be submitted by 31 January of the year after payment. The invoice must separate labour, materials and other costs and state the property designation (fastighetsbeteckning) or the housing cooperative's organisation number and the flat number. More in our guide to ROT and RUT deductions.

Change and additional work (ÄTA) and project accounting

Changes and additional work that are not captured in time are rarely invoiced. We set up projects in Fortnox so that time, materials, subcontractors and ÄTA work end up on the right project and you can see the result for each job. In the year-end closing we value work in progress according to the framework, K2 or K3, that the company follows.

Fixed price for construction companies

• Ongoing bookkeeping with reverse charge construction VAT and ROT
• Payroll and employer declarations, see payroll
• Year-end closing, annual report and tax return
• Routines for the staff register and ROT claims

You pay a fixed monthly price based on the number of vouchers (verifikat) and employees, with no lock-in period and three months' notice. See prices or read more about bookkeeping in Gothenburg.