What the invoice must show
Compare your draft with this checklist. What applies depends on the parties, the transaction, your tax status and the document type.
- Issue date and a unique serial number from one or more numbering series. A credit note must refer to the original invoice and its serial number.
- Seller's name and address together with the seller's Swedish VAT registration number (momsregistreringsnummer). The same content rules apply to electronic and paper invoices.
- Buyer's name and address. Where the buyer must account for the VAT itself (reverse charge), the buyer's VAT registration number is also required.
- Quantity and type of goods, or the scope and type of services, plus the supply or completion date if it differs from the issue date.
- Taxable amount for each VAT rate or exemption, unit price excluding VAT and any discount not already in the unit price, the VAT rate applied and the VAT amount payable. The VAT amount may be omitted only under the margin scheme.
Key numbers
- Simplified invoice limit
- SEK 4,000 incl. VATSource ↗Simplified invoices may be used up to this total, but the buyer cannot deduct input VAT on a simplified invoice above it.
- Food VAT cut
- 6% from 1 April 2026Source ↗Temporary reduction of food VAT from 12% to 6%; restaurant dine-in stays at 12%. Check Skatteverket for the end date.
- Bookkeeping retention
- 7 yearsSource ↗Bookkeeping material, including electronically recorded data, must be kept for at least seven years in an orderly and secure way within Sweden.
Tax notes
Issue invoices within the time set by good business practice. Construction services must be invoiced by the end of the second month after the supply, intra-EU goods by the 15th of the month after delivery, and intra-EU services by the 15th of the month after the service.
Where a sale is exempt or reverse-charged, the invoice must name the rule relied on; Skatteverket treats a bare 'VAT-free' statement as insufficient. Exempt small businesses must state 'undantagen från momsplikt' (exempt from VAT liability) and must not charge VAT.
Simplified invoices (förenklad faktura) are allowed up to SEK 4,000 including VAT. They need the issue date, seller identification, type of goods or services, and the VAT amount or the data to calculate it.
Electronic invoicing
Sweden has no general B2B e-invoicing mandate, so invoices to private buyers may be paper or PDF, though electronic transfer requires the recipient's consent. Suppliers to public bodies must send e-invoices in Peppol BIS Billing 3 under procurements started on or after 1 April 2019, and state authorities receive e-invoices through Peppol.
Late payment
Under the Interest Act (räntelagen) 6 §, late B2B payment interest is the Riksbank reference rate plus 8 percentage points; the rate is set by the Riksbank for each half-year, and the reference rate in force for 1 July to 31 December 2026 is 2.00%, so the late-payment rate is 10.00% for that half-year. A fixed SEK 450 late-payment compensation (förseningsersättning) is also due for late commercial payments. Parties cannot agree a lower rate than reference rate plus 8 points.
Record keeping
Bookkeeping material, including invoices and electronically stored data, must be kept for at least seven years, archived in an orderly way and securely within Sweden. Electronic invoices must stay readable and unchanged throughout the storage period.
Watch out for
- The 6% food rate is temporary; check Skatteverket’s rate list for when it ends.
- The SEK 120,000 exemption is tested on the calendar year and the two preceding years, and the exemption ends once the limit is exceeded, so VAT must be charged from the sale that caused the excess.
Official links & tools
Go straight to the source for the latest rules, rates and registers. Non-English pages are tagged with their language.
Invoice rules1
Registration2
Explains when a small business does not need to register for VAT, including the SEK 120,000 limit and its conditions.
Verksamt: the official business guideJoint government portal for starting and running a company in Sweden, covering registration, VAT and employer duties.
Number & company lookup1
Tax rates2
E-invoicing2
Sources for this guide
Reviewed against these references on . Rules change, so check the current text before relying on it.