Kvarskatt (residual tax)
Kvarskatt is tax you owe once your tax return has been assessed: your final tax turned out higher than the preliminary tax withheld during the year. The difference has to be paid in. The opposite, when you have paid too much, is a tax refund (skatteåterbäring).
Why it happens
Your employer withholds preliminary tax each month from a tax table. The table only knows your salary, not your other income or deductions. If you had capital gains, rental income, or several employers that each withheld too little, your final tax comes out higher than what was withheld, and the shortfall is kvarskatt. The reverse, deductions the table did not know about, instead produces a refund.
The interest on kvarskatt
Kvarskatt costs interest once it exceeds 30 000 kr. On that part a low cost interest (2.5%) starts running from mid-February of the year after the income year. The amount below 30 000 kr runs interest-free until early May. If the tax is not paid on time the rate rises to a high level (17.5%). The interest is not deductible.
How to avoid it
If you expect kvarskatt you can make a top-up payment (fyllnadsinbetalning): pay the amount straight into your tax account before the interest starts, and you avoid the cost interest entirely. To avoid the surprise altogether you can ask your employer to withhold more, or apply for an adjustment (jamkning). If you just want an estimate in advance, the tax-return tool works out whether you are likely to get a refund or owe kvarskatt from your income and deductions.
A common source of unexpected kvarskatt is the ROT, RUT and green-technology reductions. They are paid out in advance through the invoice model, but if your tax is not enough for the full reduction you have to pay the shortfall back as kvarskatt. An unused reduction cannot be carried to next year.
Where it shows up
- Tax return