Marginal tax (marginalskatt)
Marginalskatt is the tax on your next krona of income, not the average across everything you earn. It is the number that tells you what you would actually keep from a raise, a bonus, or an extra shift.
Marginal vs average
These two are easy to confuse and they answer different questions. Your average tax is what you pay across your whole income. Your marginal tax is what the next krona costs. Someone can pay under a third of their salary in tax on average, yet face over half on the next krona once they are above the state-tax threshold. When you weigh up a raise, the marginal rate is the one that matters.
What pushes it up
Your municipal tax is the base layer. The jobbskatteavdrag pulls the effective rate down at lower incomes. Then, once your taxable income passes the skiktgräns (643 000 kr for 2026), an extra 20% state tax lands on the part above it. Together these decide your marginal rate, and the jump at the skiktgräns is the sharpest step in the whole system.
Where it shows up
- Net salary
- IBB thresholds
- Salary sacrifice
A high marginal rate is precisely when pension contributions and löneväxling pay off most. Each krona you set aside was going to be taxed at your top rate, so moving it into pension keeps far more of it working for you.