Sweden VAT invoice requirements

A Swedish faktura follows the VAT Act (mervärdesskattelagen, ML). Sweden is strict about the wording that explains a reverse charge or an exemption, and food has been taxed at 6% since 1 April 2026.

Last checked November 2026Sources

Invoice: faktura
VAT number: SE + 12 digits (organisation number + 01) momsregistreringsnummer [1]
Standard VAT rate: 25% [2]
Simplified invoice: Up to SEK 4,000 incl. VAT [3]
Keep invoices: 7 years [4]
E-invoicing: Public buyers only; B2B under study

What an invoice in Sweden must show

Every EU VAT invoice carries the details of Article 226 of the VAT Directive: number, dates, both parties, VAT numbers, goods or services, taxable amount per rate, rate and VAT. The overview lists them. Sweden adds:

VAT amount in SEK: If you invoice in a foreign currency, pay the VAT in Sweden and keep your accounts in SEK, the VAT amount must also be stated in SEK. [3]
Reverse-charge wording: State "Omvänd betalningsskyldighet" or "Reverse charge" (domestic construction, scrap metal, certain electronics over SEK 100,000, services to businesses in other EU countries, etc.). [3]
Intra-EU supply of goods wording: Refer to "10 kap. 42 § ML" or "Article 138 of the VAT directive", or an equivalent such as "Exempt". [3]
Export wording: Refer to "10 kap. 64 § 1, 2 or 3 ML" depending on who transports the goods (or the matching VAT Directive article). [3]
Other exemptions: For a general VAT exemption it is enough to write "undantag från momsplikt"; the exact legal provision need not be named. Small businesses exempt under the SEK 120,000 threshold must refer to 18 kap. 4 § ML. [3]
Margin scheme wording: E.g. "Vinstmarginalbeskattning för begagnade varor" (second-hand goods) or the matching English wording. [3]

VAT rates in Sweden

Food VAT was cut from 12% to 6% on 1 April 2026; the cut applies until 31 December 2027. Restaurant services stay at 12%; tap water and alcohol stronger than folköl stay at 25%. An invoice shows the taxable amount and the VAT for each rate it uses [2].

VAT rates in Sweden
Rate	Applies to (examples)
25%	Standard rate: everything without a lower rate
12%	Restaurant and catering services (food and coffee served on site), hotel rooms, campsites, sale of works of art by the artist, repair of bicycles, shoes, clothing and household linen
6%	Food (groceries and takeaway food) from 1 April 2026 to 31 December 2027 (12% before); books, newspapers, e-books, sheet music and maps; domestic passenger transport; admission to theatre, concerts, zoos; sports activities

Issuing and keeping invoices

Language: The required special references (reverse charge, exemption, margin scheme) may be written in Swedish, English or any other official EU language. [3]
Currency: Any currency may be used, but the VAT amount must also be shown in SEK when the VAT is paid in Sweden and accounts are kept in SEK. Convert with the ECB rate or the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm fixed mid rate, generally the latest known rate on the day of supply or advance payment. [3]
When to issue: Normally within the time set by good business practice. Intra-EU supplies of goods and main-rule services to EU businesses: by the 15th of the month after the month of supply. Construction services: by the end of the second month after the month of supply. [3]
Simplified invoice (förenklad faktura): Allowed when the total is SEK 4,000 or less including VAT (also for credit notes, and where trade practice makes a full invoice difficult, e.g. fuel machines, train or bus tickets). Not allowed to a buyer in another EU country who must account for the VAT. Must contain: issue date, seller identification (VAT number, personnummer or organisation number), type of goods or services, and the VAT payable or the data to calculate it. [3]
Keeping invoices: Accounting records, including invoices, must be archived in orderly condition and securely within Sweden for at least 7 years. Since 1 July 2024, paper receipts and invoices need not be kept once digitised, if the digital copy cannot be changed or lost. [4]

E-invoicing in Sweden

Sweden requires e-invoices only for sales to public buyers. A government inquiry is looking at domestic B2B e-invoicing and the EU's ViDA rules.

1 April 2019
B2G: suppliers to public buyers, whatever the contract value
Act 2018:1277 on electronic invoices in public procurement; EN 16931, in practice Peppol BIS Billing 3.0 via a four-corner model. [5]
In force
Report due 30 November 2027
B2B domestic e-invoicing and digital reporting
Government inquiry Dir. 2026:9 appointed 5 February 2026 to propose how to implement ViDA and whether to require domestic B2B e-invoicing. [5]
Planned
1 July 2030
Intra-EU B2B digital reporting (ViDA)
EU-wide ViDA requirement for cross-border B2B supplies. [5]
Planned

Good to know for Shopify sellers

Selling into Sweden from another EU country? An invoice follows the rules of the country where the supply takes place. If you report your sales to consumers through the One Stop Shop (OSS), the rules of your OSS country apply instead, and when a business customer pays the VAT under the reverse charge, your own country's rules apply [7].

A buyer may not deduct the VAT on a simplified invoice whose total exceeds SEK 4,000 including VAT, so B2B orders above that need a full invoice. [3]
Food shops: groceries and takeaway food are 6% from 1 April 2026 until 31 December 2027; check that product tax rates were updated. [6]
Electronic invoices follow the same content rules as paper and must stay readable and unchanged for the whole storage period. [3]

Make an invoice for Sweden

For a one-off sale, the free invoice generator lays out seller, buyer, VAT per line and the reverse charge note in your browser and saves a PDF. Add the national details listed above yourself.

For every Shopify order, Paperly: Invoice Order Printer builds the invoice from the order with the totals Shopify recorded, numbers invoices without gaps in your own series, issues a credit note for each refund that refers to the invoice, and keeps issued invoices unchanged for 10 years. When you enter your VAT number, the PDF carries Factur-X / ZUGFeRD XML (EN 16931).

Open the invoice generator Install Paperly on Shopify

Sources

Every fact on this page links to one of these pages, published by the national tax authority, the official law gazette or the European Commission. Last checked November 2026.

General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change and your case may differ: check the tax authority’s current guidance or ask an accountant before you rely on it.

Invoice rules in the other EU countries

The EU baseline every country starts from is on the overview page.