The 2027 tax return: popular deductions and mistakes to avoid

Every spring, millions of people in Sweden have to go through their income tax return. Many approve it straight away without reading it, and that means you risk missing deductions or not spotting errors that affect both your tax and your refund.

Several rules have changed ahead of the 2027 tax return, which covers the 2026 income year: the threshold for travel deductions is higher, interest on loans without security no longer gives any deduction and the ROT deduction is back at 30 per cent. Here we go through the most common deductions, what is new and which mistakes you should avoid in your tax return.

Key dates for the 2027 tax return

The Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) has not yet published the exact dates for the 2027 tax return. This is how it usually works:

• the tax return arrives in March, first in digital mailboxes and then on My Pages (Mina sidor)
• if you approve the tax return digitally without changes by the end of March, you can get your final tax assessment and any refund as early as April
• the last day to file is in early May, unless you have been granted an extension

Under the Tax Procedure Act (skatteförfarandelagen), private individuals must file by 2 May of the year after the income year. You will find the exact dates for 2027 on the Tax Agency website once they have been published.

Bear in mind that it counts as a change as soon as you add a deduction, correct an item, or submit or remove an attachment. In that case you cannot expect a refund as early as April.

Popular deductions many people miss

The Tax Agency fills in a lot in advance, for example salary, pension and interest expenses reported by banks. Other deductions you have to claim yourself, and they are often forgotten.

Travel deduction

If you travel between your home and your workplace, you may be entitled to a deduction. For the 2026 income year:

• by public transport, the distance must be at least 2 kilometres
• by your own car, the distance must be at least 5 kilometres and you must save at least two hours a day compared with public transport
• your own car is calculated at the standard rate of SEK 25 per mil (10 kilometres)
• you only get a deduction for the part of the costs that exceeds SEK 15 000

The threshold was SEK 11 000 in the 2026 tax return, so the same journeys give a smaller deduction this year. Only count the days you have actually travelled, not days you have worked from home, been ill or been on leave. The Tax Agency has an e-service where you can calculate your travel deduction.

Dual residence

If you have moved for a job and kept your home in your old town, you can deduct increased living costs (dubbel bosättning). The distance between the place of work and your old home town must be more than 50 kilometres, and you must have stayed overnight in the place of work.

• meals and small expenses in the first month: SEK 90 per day at the standard rate for the 2026 income year
• accommodation in the new town: the actual cost, for a maximum of two years
• married and cohabiting couples can get a deduction for a total of five years if the dual residence is due to the partner's work

The full conditions are available from the Tax Agency.

ROT and RUT

ROT and RUT deductions are made directly on the invoice, but it is still worth checking the amounts in your tax return.

• the ROT deduction has been 30 per cent of the labour cost since 1 January 2026
• the RUT deduction is a maximum of 50 per cent of the labour cost
• in total you can get a maximum of SEK 75 000 per person per year, of which a maximum of SEK 50 000 in ROT deductions

The temporary increase of the ROT deduction to 50 per cent only applied to work paid for from 12 May to 31 December 2025. It is the payment date that determines which year the deduction belongs to. You can read more about the rules in our guide to ROT and RUT deductions.

Green technology

If you have installed solar panels, battery storage for self-generated electricity or a charging point for an electric car, you can get a tax reduction for green technology (grön teknik). It is 15 per cent of the cost of labour and materials for solar panels and 50 per cent for storage and charging points, up to a maximum of SEK 50 000 per person per year. Just like ROT and RUT, the deduction is made on the invoice. Read more at the Tax Agency.

Gifts to non-profit organisations

You can get a tax reduction of 25 per cent of the gift amount for cash gifts to organisations approved by the Tax Agency, working in social welfare or scientific research. Each gift must be at least SEK 200 and you must have given at least SEK 2 000 during the year. The tax reduction is a maximum of SEK 3 000, which corresponds to gifts of SEK 12 000.

The gifts will be pre-filled if you have given your personal identity number to the organisation. If a gift is missing, you can request a correction under other information (övriga upplysningar). See the Tax Agency's conditions.

Capital losses and securities

If you have sold shares or funds during the year, the sales must be reported, and losses can reduce your tax.

• a surplus of capital income is taxed at 30 per cent
• a loss on, for example, listed equity funds can be offset against a gain on listed shares
• the loss that cannot be offset can be deducted at 70 per cent
• on a capital deficit you get a tax reduction of 30 per cent up to SEK 100 000 and 21 per cent on the remainder

The Tax Agency handles the offsetting and the 70 per cent reduction (kvittning och kvotering) itself. Your responsibility is to make sure all sales are included, especially if you have held securities with several banks.

Common mistakes in the tax return

Even though a lot is pre-filled, many people make the same mistakes every year. They often:

• approve the tax return without checking the details
• forget to claim deductions that are not pre-filled, such as the travel deduction
• miss incorrect income statements (kontrolluppgifter) from employers, banks or organisations
• go by last year's rules, for example the SEK 11 000 threshold for travel deductions or the deduction for interest on loans without security

So go through all the details before you approve, even if the tax return looks right at first glance. Keep records for your deductions, such as receipts or service records with the car's mileage, so that you can show them if the Tax Agency asks.

Example: how the travel deduction affects your tax

A simplified example for the 2026 income year.

Anna commutes by her own car, 50 kilometres there and back each day, for 200 working days. She meets the requirements for distance and time saved.

• distance driven: 50 km × 200 days = 10 000 km, i.e. 1 000 mil
• cost at the standard rate: 1 000 mil × SEK 25 = SEK 25 000
• deduction: SEK 25 000 minus the SEK 15 000 threshold = SEK 10 000

If the tax on that part of her income is about 30 per cent, her tax is reduced by about SEK 3 000 (10 000 × 30%). If she also pays state income tax, the effect is greater.

With last year's threshold of SEK 11 000, the same journeys would have given a deduction of SEK 14 000. That is why it is important to use the right year's rules.

New for the 2026 income year

These are some of the changes highlighted by the Tax Agency that appear in the 2027 tax return:

• Travel deduction: the threshold is raised from SEK 11 000 to SEK 15 000.
• Interest deduction: interest on loans without security, for example unsecured loans (blancolån), card credit and loans from private individuals, gives no deduction at all. In the 2026 tax return you got a deduction for half the interest. Loans that meet the security requirements still give a deduction for the full interest.
• ROT deduction: back at 30 per cent of the labour cost.
• Earned income tax credit (jobbskatteavdrag): strengthened for earned income above about SEK 192 000 a year. It lowers the tax directly on your salary and is not something you need to claim.
• Solar panels: the tax reduction for micro-production of renewable electricity is abolished for electricity fed into the grid from 1 January 2026.
• Close companies (fåmansföretag): new rules for the threshold amount for dividends, see our article on the 3:12 rules.

Need help with your tax return?

The tax return may seem simple, but the rules on deductions and capital taxation quickly become complicated. Small mistakes can mean that you:

• miss deductions you are entitled to
• pay too much tax
• get questions from the Tax Agency afterwards

At Ekonomico we help business owners and private individuals go through their tax return, find the right deductions and make sure everything is reported correctly. Read more about our tax return help.