Tax on subletting — Complete guide

Basic rule: 30% capital tax

All rental income from private subletting is taxed as capital income at a rate of 30%. The tax is only paid on the portion of income that exceeds your deductions — that is, your taxable income.

This guide covers the tax on rental income. To see what is left of your salary after tax instead, you can work it out with the salary after tax calculator on lonen.se(opens in a new tab).

Standard deduction: 40,000 SEK per tax year

Regardless of housing type, you are entitled to a standard deduction of 40,000 SEK per property per tax year. If you own the property jointly with someone else and you both report the rental income, the standard deduction is split between you.

The standard deduction is a fixed amount and requires no receipts or documentation. It is subtracted from gross income before the tax is calculated.

One exception: if you let the home to your own or a relative’s employer, or to a trading partnership (handelsbolag) in which you or a relative is a partner, you get neither the standard deduction nor the deduction for the monthly fee or first-hand rent. Only the actual additional cost the letting causes — electricity, water and heating, for instance — is deductible. The calculator does not model this exception, so if it applies to you the tax it shows will be too low. Check with Skatteverket.

Different deduction rules per housing type

Rental and co-op apartments

In addition to the standard deduction, you may deduct your own costs for the property during the rental period, for the part that is let. For rental apartments, this means your primary rent. For co-op apartments, this means the monthly fee to the housing association — excluding any part that is a capital contribution (kapitaltillskott) — plus the association’s subletting fee. Spaces you share with the tenant, such as the kitchen and bathroom, do not count as the let part.

Houses and townhouses

Different rules apply when renting out a house — or an ägarlägenhet. Instead of deducting your own costs, you are entitled to an extra deduction of 20% of the gross rental income. This deduction replaces the deduction for own costs — you cannot claim both deductions.

Tax return

Rental income must be reported in your income tax return. You report the surplus at item 7.3 (surplus from renting out a private residence) on Inkomstdeklaration 1. Skatteverket's help form SKV 2199 can be used to calculate the surplus — it is not submitted, but kept as documentation. Remember to save documentation and receipts if you deduct your own costs. The standard deduction and the percentage deduction for houses do not require receipts.

Common mistakes

• Forgetting to declare: All rental income must be declared, even if it is below the standard deduction. The Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) receives information about rentals from multiple sources.
• Mixing up deduction rules: Houses use the 20% deduction, not actual costs. Rental and co-op apartments use actual costs, not the percentage deduction.
• Wrong calculation period: Tax is calculated per calendar year. If your rental spans a year-end, you need to allocate income and deductions to the correct year.