Who can get it

You apply to Kronofogden, and to qualify you must be registered as living in Sweden and be so heavily indebted that you cannot pay within the foreseeable future, a state the law calls qualified insolvency. Kronofogden assesses your income, assets and the size of your debts. It is meant for people whose situation will not resolve on its own, not for a temporary cash squeeze.

How the payment plan works

The plan normally runs for five years. During it you live on an existensminimum, an amount set aside for necessary living costs, and everything above that goes to your creditors on a schedule. Special reasons can make it shorter, and it can be extended up to seven years. When the plan ends you are free of the debts it covered, even the part that was never paid.

F-skuldsanering and the trade-offs

Entrepreneurs have a parallel route, F-skuldsanering, for those who run or have run a business. Its plan is shorter, normally three years instead of five, though it does not offer the payment-free months ordinary skuldsanering can. Either way it is a serious step: it shows in the credit registers and makes new credit hard to get for years. Before applying, use the free budget- och skuldrådgivning your kommun must provide, it can sometimes find another way through.

Simplified example

Total debts 800,000 kr. Net income after tax 22,000 kr a month. Kronofogden sets a living allowance (förbehållsbelopp) for your necessary costs; suppose 14,000 kr is reserved. The remainder, 8,000 kr a month, goes to creditors for five years: 8,000 × 60 = 480,000 kr repaid. The remaining 320,000 kr is written off when the plan ends. The mark sits in the credit registers throughout and for some time after.

Read further

• Financial decision tree: where debt management fits in the bigger picture
• Credit traps guide: how to avoid falling in
• Betalningsanmärkning: the credit mark that follows

Related terms