Your details
Your safety net today
How you stand, covered
The income staircase
Your net income month by month while unemployed: a-kassa steps down after day 100 and day 200, the insurance runs out, and finally the days run out. The red area is the gap against your spending, which your buffer has to cover.
Month 1 is lower: the benefit period starts with 2 waiting days. One month consumes 22 benefit days. Tax uses your municipal rate, without jobbskatteavdrag.
How long does the money last?
Each cell is one month. Filled cells are covered by benefit plus buffer; after that the cash is gone. It is the gap between spending and benefit that drains the buffer, not the spending itself.
The benefit’s three phases
Understanding a-kassa
How do the new a-kassa rules work?
On 1 October 2025 the old unemployment insurance was replaced by a new law (2024:506). Three things matter most:
An income condition instead of worked hours. You qualify with at least 120 000 kr of work income over the last 12 months and at least 11 000 kr/month in at least 4 of those months. Incomes are taken from employer declarations at Skatteverket.
Membership length sets the rate. At least 12 months in an a-kassa gives 80%, 6 to 11 months gives 60%, and shorter or no membership gives 50%. The old grundbelopp is gone.
The rate steps down. After 100 benefit days the percentage drops by 10 points, after 200 days by another 5.
How much do I get, and for how long?
The benefit is based on your average monthly income over the last 12 months, up to the cap of 34 000 kr/month. On the 80% tier the maximum is 27 200 kr/month before tax.
The number of days depends on how many of the 12 months you earned at least 11 000 kr: 11 to 12 such months give 300 days, 8 to 10 give 200, and 4 to 7 give 100. One month consumes 22 benefit days, so 300 days last just under 14 months. The period starts with 2 waiting days.
Note that the base is the average itself: months without income count as zeros and drag the average down, even if you qualify.
Why is the net lower than I expected?
A-kassa is taxable earned income: municipal tax and any state tax apply, and you get the ordinary grundavdrag.
But the jobbskatteavdrag only applies to work income, not a-kassa. That makes the tax on 27 200 kr of a-kassa noticeably higher than on 27 200 kr of salary. This calculator does that math for you; many others only show the gross amount.
Do I need income insurance?
The a-kassa cap is 34 000 kr/month. If you earn more, the gap is your own problem, and that is where income insurance comes in: it tops up to the same percentage calculated on your actual salary, up to the insurance’s own salary cap.
Most people get it through their union (Unionen covers salary up to 60 000 kr/month for 150 days, Sveriges Ingenjörer up to 100 000 kr/month, Ledarna up to 80 000 kr/month; terms change, check your union). The requirements are typically 12 months of membership and that a-kassa pays at the 80% tier. Most policies keep their fixed level for the whole payout window (which is how the calculator counts), but some follow the a-kassa step-down; check your terms.
The payout is tax-free, which makes it worth more than the same gross amount. If you earn below the cap, the insurance adds nothing.
What happens when the days run out?
Once the benefit days are used up you can enter a labour-market programme and receive aktivitetsstöd via Försäkringskassan. That is a separate system with lower amounts that keeps stepping down; the calculator does not model it and shows income as zero after the period ends.
This is also why the buffer matters so much: it decides how much time you have to find the next job without drastically cutting your standard of living. See the FIRE calculator for the long view on savings and freedom.
Does the calculation apply to me?
The calculator covers employees whose benefit period is granted after 1 October 2025. It does not cover:
Ongoing periods from before the reform, which follow the old law until the days run out.
Self-employed: you can get a-kassa when the business is made dormant, but the income base is calculated differently and transition rules apply until autumn 2026.
The alternative 66-day rule for those who reach 11 000 kr/month in 4 consecutive months without reaching 120 000 kr in total; it gives a short protection based on a standard amount.
Also note that SGI (sick pay, parental benefit) is a different income base than the a-kassa base; they are affected differently by, for example, salary sacrifice.