AB Details
Your Dividend Allowance
Tax on Dividend
Salary vs Dividend
Understanding 3:12
What are the 3:12 rules?
The 3:12 rules (fåmansföretagsreglerna) determine how dividends and capital gains from closely-held companies (fåmansföretag) are taxed in Sweden. The name comes from the original placement in 3 § 12 mom. SIL (now IL chapter 56-57).
Without these rules, company owners could convert highly-taxed employment income into low-taxed capital income simply by taking dividends instead of salary. The rules set a gränsbelopp, the amount that can be taxed at the favourable 20% rate. Above that, it's taxed as employment income.
What changed in 2026?
The 2026 reform is the biggest overhaul of the 3:12 rules in decades. Key changes:
Single formula: The old two-method system (förenklingsregeln vs huvudregeln) is abolished. One unified gränsbelopp formula for everyone.
Grundbelopp: Fixed at 4 × IBB (322 400 kr for 2026), distributed by ownership share. Replaces the old 2.75 IBB förenklingsbelopp.
Löneavdrag: 8 IBB (644 800 kr) per owner deducted from the payroll base before the 50% wage allocation. The old löneuttagskrav (minimum salary requirement) is abolished.
No uplift: Saved dividend space no longer gets the statslåneränta + 3% annual uplift.
50× cap: Lönebaserat utrymme cannot exceed 50 times the owner's own salary from the company.
Should I take salary or dividend?
Within your gränsbelopp, dividend is almost always cheaper. The total tax (bolagsskatt + dividend tax) is about 36.5%, compared to 50-65% for salary (arbetsgivaravgift + income tax).
However, salary has benefits that dividends don't:
Pension rights: Salary generates allmän pension and qualifies for ITP/occupational pension. Dividends don't.
SGI (sjukpenninggrundande inkomst): Your salary level determines benefits if you get sick or become a parent. Dividends don't count.
Löneunderlag: Your own salary contributes to the payroll base that increases next year's gränsbelopp.
Most advisors recommend taking enough salary to cover pension ceiling (56 087 kr/month) and SGI needs, then taking the rest as dividend within gränsbelopp.
What about IBB, which year applies?
The 3:12 rules use the preceding year's IBB (inkomstbasbelopp). For tax year 2026, this is 80 600 kr (the 2025 value), not the current year's 83 400 kr.
This applies to all 3:12 thresholds: grundbelopp (4 × IBB), löneavdrag (8 × IBB), and takbelopp (90/100 × IBB). The tool uses the correct preceding-year IBB automatically.
What replaced the old schablonregel in the 2026 reform?
Before 2026, owners could choose between two methods: the förenklingsregel (simplified rule, fixed at 2.75 IBB) or the huvudregel (main rule, based on capital base and payroll). You picked whichever gave the higher gränsbelopp.
The 2026 reform abolished both and replaced them with a single unified formula. The closest equivalent to the old förenklingsregel is now the grundbelopp: a fixed 4 × IBB distributed by ownership share. For a sole owner this means a guaranteed minimum gränsbelopp each year regardless of capital or payroll.
The new base is slightly more generous than the old förenklingsregel (4 IBB vs 2.75 IBB), but removes the annual statslåneränta uplift on saved dividend space. For companies with significant payroll, lönebaserat utrymme still adds substantially on top.
How does my own salary affect next year's gränsbelopp?
Lönebaserat utrymme is calculated as 50% of (total company payroll minus 8 IBB per owner). Your own salary is part of the total payroll, so paying yourself more salary directly increases next year's gränsbelopp.
There is also a personal cap: lönebaserat utrymme cannot exceed 50 times your own salary from the company. If you pay yourself very little but the company has many employees, this cap limits how much payroll base you can convert into dividend space.
The trade-off: higher salary means more income tax and arbetsgivaravgift now, but builds a larger dividend space for future years and generates pension rights and SGI. The löneväxling calculator can help model the cost of different salary levels.
What if my dividend exceeds the gränsbelopp?
Any dividend above your gränsbelopp is taxed as inkomst av tjänst (employment income) rather than at the flat 20% dividend rate. Depending on your total income, this means kommunalskatt (~30%) plus potentially statlig skatt (20% above 643 000 kr), resulting in an effective rate of 30–50%.
Unused gränsbelopp rolls forward and can be used in future years. Under the 2026 rules, saved utrymme no longer receives the annual statslåneränta + 3% uplift, but it still accumulates without expiry – making it worthwhile to bank space in low-income years for a larger payout later.
Do I pay employer contributions on my own salary as a company owner?
Yes. If you own a limited company (AB) and pay yourself a salary, the company pays arbetsgivaravgift of 31.42% on top of gross salary. For every 100 kr of gross salary, the company's total cost is around 131 kr.
The contributions fund your allmän pension, parental insurance, and sick pay, and your salary establishes your SGI. Compare this with the dividend route: dividends within gränsbelopp face only bolagsskatt (20.6%) plus 20% dividend tax, totalling around 36.5%. The salary calculator shows your exact net pay at any gross level, including how arbetsgivaravgift affects the company's total cost.