SINK Tax

SINK stands for särskild inkomstskatt för utomlands bosatta, the special income tax for people resident abroad. It is a flat, final tax on your Swedish income: charged on the gross amount with no basic allowance (grundavdrag) and no deductions.

Your employer or payer withholds it before paying you, and because it is final you file no Swedish tax return for that income. That simplicity is the point, and the trade-off is that you give up the allowances and deductions that ordinary taxation offers.

It depends on your income. SINK is a flat 22.5% on gross with no deductions and no return to file. Ordinary taxation gives you grundavdrag, jobbskatteavdrag and deductions, but you pay municipal tax (and state tax above the skiktgräns, 643 000 kr) and you must file a return.

SINK usually wins at higher incomes, where the ordinary progressive rate climbs above 22.5%. Ordinary taxation usually wins at lower incomes, where grundavdrag and jobbskatteavdrag pull your effective rate below 22.5%. The calculator above shows the break-even for your exact salary and municipality.