New 3:12 rules in Sweden 2026: SEK 322,400 basic amount for dividends
From 2026 a Swedish closely held company gets a basic amount of SEK 322,400 (SEK 333,600 for 2027) that you can take out as a dividend at 20% tax. The simplification rule, the 4% requirement and the salary requirement are gone. How to work out your dividend allowance, with an example.
- Category
- Taxes
- Updated
- Author
- Norman
In Sweden a closely held limited company (fåmansaktiebolag) gets a basic amount (grundbelopp) of SEK 322,400 from 2026, and dividends up to your dividend allowance (gränsbelopp) are taxed at 20%. If you own all the shares, you can take out SEK 322,400 as a dividend for 2026 and SEK 333,600 for 2027 at 20% tax, plus a salary-based allowance if the company paid salary the year before.
Legal position on 11 November 2026
The new 3:12 rules are law (SFS 2025:1361, government bill prop. 2025/26:1, committee report bet. 2025/26:FiU1) and apply from 1 January 2026. Dividends you receive in 2026 already follow the new rules and are reported on form K10 in the 2027 tax return. There is no option to use the old rules.
The dividend allowance for 2026 and 2027 in one table
The gränsbelopp is the amount you can take out as a dividend at 20% tax. It has four parts (chapter 57, sections 10–11 of the Income Tax Act, inkomstskattelagen, IL).
| Part | Income year 2026 | Income year 2027 | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic amount (grundbelopp), 4 income base amounts per company | SEK 322,400 | SEK 333,600 | ch. 57 s. 11 IL |
| Salary-based allowance (lönebaserat utrymme) | 50% of your share of the wage base above 8 income base amounts (SEK 644,800) | Based on the salaries paid in 2026 | ch. 57 s. 16–17 IL |
| Interest on the share cost base above SEK 100,000 | 11.55% (government borrowing rate 2.55% plus 9 points) | Not published yet | ch. 57 s. 11, second paragraph IL |
| Saved allowance (sparat utdelningsutrymme) | Carried forward, no interest uplift | Carried forward, no interest uplift | ch. 57 s. 13 IL |
| Tax on dividends within the allowance | 20% | 20% | ch. 57 s. 20 IL |
| Dividends above the allowance | Employment income, up to the cap of SEK 7,506,000 | Cap not published yet | ch. 57 s. 20, 20 a IL |
Amounts from Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency ("Belopp och procentsatser för fåmansföretag"), checked on 11 November 2026.
What changed in 2026
- One calculation rule. The simplification rule (förenklingsregeln) is gone. Everyone calculates the same way: basic amount plus salary-based allowance plus interest plus saved allowance.
- The basic amount is four income base amounts. It uses the income base amount (inkomstbasbelopp) of the year before: 4 × SEK 80,600 = SEK 322,400 for 2026 and 4 × SEK 83,400 = SEK 333,600 for 2027.
- No ownership or minimum-salary requirement. The requirement to own at least 4% of the capital and the salary requirement (lönekravet) are gone.
- Salary-based allowance with a cap. The salary-based allowance cannot exceed 50 times the cash salary you or a related person received from the company the year before (ch. 57 s. 16 IL). Without salary the year before, there is no salary-based allowance.
- Interest only above SEK 100,000. Interest on the share cost base (omkostnadsbelopp) only counts on the part above SEK 100,000. With SEK 25,000 of share capital there is no interest.
- No uplift on saved allowance. Saved allowance is carried forward as before, but no longer grows with interest from the 2027 tax return.
- Shorter waiting period. The waiting period (karens) falls from five to four years when a company stops being a closely held company (from income year 2026); the qualification and outsider rules follow from income year 2027.
How to work out your allowance for 2026
- Check ownership on 1 January 2026. The allowance is calculated at the start of the year and goes to whoever owns the shares then (ch. 57 s. 11 IL). If you bought the shares during 2026, you get no allowance for them for 2026, unless you received them by inheritance, will, gift or division of property.
- Work out your share of the basic amount. The basic amount of SEK 322,400 is split equally across all shares in the company. If you own half the shares, you get SEK 161,200. If you own shares in several companies, you get at most one basic amount in total, split by the size of your holdings (ch. 57 s. 11 a IL).
- Work out the salary-based allowance. Take the cash salary the company and its subsidiaries paid to employees in 2025, without benefits. Take your share of it, deduct SEK 644,800 and take half. Check the cap: 50 times the cash salary you or a related person received from the company in 2025.
- Add interest if your cost base is high. If you paid more than SEK 100,000 for the shares, or contributed capital, you get 11.55% on the part above SEK 100,000.
- Add saved allowance. What you did not use in earlier years carries forward, without uplift.
- Decide the dividend at the general meeting. Dividends are decided by the shareholders' general meeting (bolagsstämma; ch. 18 s. 1 of the Companies Act, aktiebolagslagen, ABL), and only if the company's restricted equity is fully covered after the payment (ch. 17 s. 3 ABL).
- Report on K10. You report the dividend on form K10 together with your personal income tax return (inkomstdeklaration 1). What you do not pay out becomes saved allowance for next year (ch. 57 s. 13 IL).
Worked example: sole owner with salary
Lina has owned all the shares in her limited company since 2024. The share capital is SEK 25,000. In 2025 the company paid SEK 700,000 in cash salary, all of it to Lina. She has no saved allowance.
| Step | Calculation | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Basic amount 2026, all shares | 4 × SEK 80,600 | SEK 322,400 |
| Salary-based allowance | (700,000 − 644,800) × 50% | SEK 27,600 |
| Cap on the salary-based allowance | 50 × SEK 700,000 | SEK 35,000,000, not reached |
| Interest on the cost base | SEK 25,000 is below SEK 100,000 | SEK 0 |
| Allowance 2026 | 322,400 + 27,600 + 0 | SEK 350,000 |
| Tax on a SEK 350,000 dividend | 350,000 × 2/3 × 30% | SEK 70,000 |
| Left for Lina | 350,000 − 70,000 | SEK 280,000 |
If Lina only takes out SEK 200,000 in 2026, SEK 150,000 is saved for 2027. Her 2027 allowance is then the basic amount of SEK 333,600, plus SEK 150,000 of saved allowance, plus a salary-based allowance based on the salary she receives in 2026.
If she pays out more than SEK 350,000, the excess is taxed as employment income, with the same tax as salary.
Salary in 2026 sets the dividend in 2027
The salary-based allowance for 2027 is based on the cash salary the company pays during 2026. If you want a salary-based allowance in 2027, the salary has to be paid before the year ends. Two things decide how large it gets:
- The wage base. Only the part of your share above 8 income base amounts counts, and you get half of it. In a company where only the owner draws salary, it takes a high salary before the salary-based allowance becomes large.
- The cap. The allowance can never exceed 50 times your own or a related person's cash salary from the company in the same year.
Whether salary or dividends pay off depends on your other income and your municipal tax. The comparison between a sole trader business and a limited company, with a worked example for the whole profit, is in the guide Sole trader or limited company in Sweden.
Differences from Germany
If you come from Germany: there are no 3:12 rules and no dividend allowance there. In Sweden the allowance decides whether a dividend is taxed at 20% or as salary, and it applies to owners of closely held companies (fåmansföretag), where four or fewer owners hold more than half of the votes (ch. 56 s. 2 IL).
Norman in Sweden
Norman is an AI bookkeeping app for the self-employed and small companies: bookkeeping, invoicing and taxes in one app. You review and approve. Norman is live in Germany and Poland today. For Sweden, Norman is in preparation. Until then, you find free guides and tools for businesses in Sweden here on norman.finance/se.
Frequently asked questions
How much dividend can I take out of my Swedish company in 2026?
If you own all the shares, at least the basic amount of SEK 322,400 at 20% tax. On top of that comes a salary-based allowance if the company paid cash salary in 2025, interest on a share cost base above SEK 100,000, and saved allowance from earlier years.
What is the 3:12 basic amount for 2027?
SEK 333,600, four income base amounts of SEK 83,400. It is split equally across the company's shares, so two owners with half each get SEK 166,800 each.
Do I have to pay myself a salary to take dividends?
No. The salary requirement is gone from 2026, and you get the basic amount without salary. But without cash salary the year before, you get no salary-based allowance, because it is capped at 50 times your salary.
Does the simplification rule still apply?
No. The simplification rule (förenklingsregeln) is gone, and dividends received in 2026 already follow the new rules. Everyone uses the basic amount.
What happens to my saved dividend allowance?
It carries forward to the next year and can be used for dividends at 20% tax. From the 2027 tax return it no longer grows with interest.