What should I invoice to take home a certain salary?
The rule of thumb
Expect to invoice roughly twice the net salary you want. About half of the invoice amount goes to the service fee, employer contributions and preliminary tax. What remains is your net salary.
How much you need to invoice
The table shows what you need to invoice for different net salaries. Calculated for someone aged 23 to 66, with 31.42 per cent employer contributions and a 30 per cent tax deduction.
| Desired net salary | Invoice excl. VAT | Incl. VAT (25 %) | Service fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEK 10,000 | SEK 19,721 | SEK 24,651 | 4.8 % |
| SEK 15,000 | SEK 29,213 | SEK 36,516 | 3.6 % |
| SEK 20,000 | SEK 38,951 | SEK 48,689 | 3.6 % |
| SEK 25,000 | SEK 48,689 | SEK 60,861 | 3.6 % |
| SEK 30,000 | SEK 58,005 | SEK 72,506 | 2.9 % |
| SEK 40,000 | SEK 77,340 | SEK 96,675 | 2.9 % |
| SEK 50,000 | SEK 96,675 | SEK 120,844 | 2.9 % |
Your first invoice carries no service fee, so you need to invoice slightly less for the same salary.
Why roughly double
The service fee is taken from the invoice amount excluding VAT. Employer contributions are then deducted, normally 31.42 per cent, which any employer always pays and which you would have paid yourself through your own company. Finally, 30 per cent is deducted as preliminary tax under the Swedish Tax Agency's rules for salary paid at irregular intervals. What remains is your net salary.
VAT does not affect your salary. It is added on top of the invoice, paid by your client and passed on to the Swedish Tax Agency. Always work backwards from the amount excluding VAT.
Working backwards in the calculator
Paidin's salary calculator works in both directions. Enter the amount you want in the net salary field and the invoice amount fills in automatically. You can also change age, VAT rate and tax rate to see how the outcome changes. No registration is required.
Working backwards while creating the invoice
When you are logged in, the answer uses your own terms. Open Löneuträkning while creating an invoice and enter the amount you want paid out. The calculation uses your tax rate, your age and your settings for occupational pension and holiday pay, so the figure matches your actual invoice. One click then sets the amount on the invoice.
The tiers: larger invoices carry a lower fee
The service fee follows a tiered model. It is 4.8 per cent below SEK 20,000, 3.6 per cent between SEK 20,000 and SEK 49,999, and 2.9 per cent from SEK 50,000. The whole invoice amount gets the rate that applies to that amount.
This means a slightly higher invoice amount sometimes leaves you with more. If you are just below a threshold, you may gain from landing exactly on it instead. The calculator tells you when that happens.
30 per cent and tax adjustment
Paidin deducts 30 per cent in tax rather than following your tax table. This is the Swedish Tax Agency's standard rate for irregular payments. If 30 per cent is too high or too low compared with your expected annual income, you can apply for a tax adjustment (jämkning). The Tax Agency then issues a decision that Paidin applies directly, which changes the amount you need to invoice.
When starting your own company pays off
At a very high turnover, typically above one million Swedish kronor per year, your own limited company can be more advantageous for tax reasons thanks to the 3:12 rules. For occasional assignments, a side income or a steady freelance income below one million, umbrella employment is usually more favourable once administration is taken into account.