Ebba Perman Borg
Partner
Stockholm
Sweden
SIMPLIFIED PROCEDURE FOR WITHHOLDING TAX REPORTING
by Ebba Perman Borg & Victor Elovsson
Published:
On 4 June 2026, the Swedish Ministry of Finance presented its referral to the Swedish Council on Legislation regarding changes to the procedure for Swedish dividend withholding tax (Sw: “kupongskatt”). The formal bill was presented to the Swedish Parliament on 27 August 2026. See the bill here and the referral here.
Withholding tax is levied under the Withholding Tax Act (1970:624) at 30% on dividends from Swedish companies to non-residents, typically reduced under applicable tax treaties. For companies whose shares are not centrally registered with a central securities depositary (Sw: “kupongbolag”), dividend and withholding information for individuals must still be filed with the Tax Agency on paper forms, sorted by the recipient's home municipality.
It is now proposed that coupon companies shall be able to file dividend and withholding information electronically, while paper filing remains available. The requirement to state the recipient’s home municipality and to organise forms by municipality is abolished. The Tax Agency is also given the power to issue information orders and third-party orders as a less intrusive alternative to a tax audit. The purpose is to simplify reporting while improving the Tax Agency’s ability to verify compliance.
The proposal is a procedural modernisation of the current act, not the long-discussed replacement of it. In January 2026, the government appointed a new inquiry on modern withholding tax legislation (dir. 2026:6).
The proposed amendments are set to come into effect on 1 January 2027, subject to the final outcome of the Swedish general election and the new government.
