Basic deduction (grundavdrag)
Grundavdrag is the part of your income that Sweden simply does not tax. Everyone who pays income tax gets it automatically, you never have to apply for it. It is the reason the first chunk of what you earn is effectively tax-free.
How it works
Grundavdrag is not a single flat figure. It changes with your income, larger through the low and middle range and tapering off at higher incomes, and its size is set in relation to the prisbasbelopp (PBB, 59 200 kr for 2026). Skatteverket subtracts it before working out your tax, so the tax you actually pay is always calculated on your income after grundavdrag.
Pensioners get a bigger one
From the year after you reach your riktålder (the target retirement age), an enhanced version called förhöjt grundavdrag kicks in. It raises the untaxed slice and noticeably lowers the tax on pension income, which is part of why waiting a little to draw your pension can be worth it.
Where it shows up
- Net salary
- Tax comparison
- Withdrawal strategy
Grundavdrag and jobbskatteavdrag are different tools. Grundavdrag shrinks the income that gets taxed. Jobbskatteavdrag shrinks the tax itself, and only on income from work. You can get both at the same time.