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A Sweden AB company is an aktiebolag, the Swedish limited company, and every company name must contain aktiebolag or its abbreviation AB. Its shareholders are not personally liable for its debts, and a private AB needs share capital of at least SEK 25,000, half the SEK 50,000 that applied until the end of 2019. Foreign owners use it as a trading company in Sweden and the EU, as the Swedish subsidiary of a group, or as a holding company drawing on the EU directives and Sweden’s treaties.
Three Swedish features shape every later decision. At least half of the board must live in the EEA. Bolagsverket, the Swedish Companies Registration Office, records the company and its board but not its shareholders, who appear in the share register the company keeps itself. And Bolagsverket’s registration is not a tax registration: whatever a business needs from Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, must be in place before it trades.
| Form | Owners’ exposure to its debts | Minimum capital | Where it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Privat aktiebolag (AB) | None beyond the shares | SEK 25,000 | Nearly every trading or holding company |
| Publikt aktiebolag (AB publ) | None beyond the shares | SEK 500,000 | Public share offers and stock exchange listings |
| Handelsbolag (HB) and kommanditbolag (KB) | HB partners answer jointly and severally; in a KB the general partners answer in full and limited partners up to their contribution | None | Partners willing to carry personal liability |
| Filial | Borne by the foreign company, of which the branch is a part | No capital of its own | A foreign company trading in Sweden under its own name |
What registering an AB requires is set out on our page about company formation in Sweden.
| Item | Rule in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Corporate income tax | 20.6% of profits |
| VAT (moms) | 25% standard; 12% on hotel rooms and restaurant services; 6% on books and passenger transport; food at 6% from 1 April 2026 until the end of 2027, then 12% again |
| Small business VAT exemption | Domestic turnover up to SEK 120,000 a year; automatic for a business not registered for VAT, with no input VAT deduction while it applies |
| Dividends paid abroad (kupongskatt) | 30% under Swedish law; 0% to an EU parent holding 10% or more under the Parent-Subsidiary Directive conditions; lower rates under treaties |
| Interest paid abroad | No Swedish withholding tax |
| Tax treaties | About 80 comprehensive agreements, besides the EU Parent-Subsidiary and Interest and Royalties Directives |
| Transfer of shares | No transfer tax and no stamp duty |
Treaty rates depend on holding conditions and the principal purpose test. The other tax term every owner meets is F-skatt, the approval that lets a company pay its own preliminary tax, covered in the questions below.
Shareholders may be individuals or companies of any nationality living anywhere. The conditions apply to management: an EEA residence rule for the board, the managing director and special signatories, and a Sweden-resident agent for service where no representative lives in Sweden, both explained in the questions below. A board of fewer than three members also needs a deputy. These rules have teeth, because Bolagsverket must order a company into liquidation if it has not notified a board, or an agent for service, that meets them.
The beneficial owner, the verklig huvudman, is a natural person who controls more than 25% of the votes, can appoint or remove more than half of the board, or controls the company by agreement or through its articles. A new AB reports its beneficial owners with its registration application, and every later change without delay. Bolagsverket holds the register, which is not open for browsing: since 1 July 2026 access depends on a legitimate interest.
Where the intended board would not meet the EEA rule, we can provide resident board members, a Sweden-resident person to accept service where the Companies Act calls for one and, on request, a nominee shareholder, in every case through a business that has notified Bolagsverket under the Anti-Money Laundering Act; those board members bear all the duties of the office under the Companies Act, personal liability included, and Bolagsverket registers you as the beneficial owner.
A bank is involved before the company exists: cash share capital is paid into a special account at a bank or credit institution in the EEA, which issues the certificate Bolagsverket needs; capital in kind needs an auditor’s statement instead. Swedish banks treat owners abroad differently. One accepts applications from non-resident owners by post with certified passport copies, another wants every beneficial owner and joint signatory at a branch, a third starts with a personal meeting, and an app-based bank requires Swedish BankID and Scandinavian tax residence. BankID itself needs a Swedish personal identity number. Company deposits are covered by the Swedish deposit insurance up to SEK 1,150,000 per institution since 1 January 2026. What each bank asks is on our page about bank accounts for Swedish companies.
We can supply a ready-made Swedish AB or form a new one, draw up the memorandum, articles, minutes and the notifications to Bolagsverket and Skatteverket, help put the bank application together and, where we have a working contact at a suitable bank, introduce the company, leaving the decision to the bank.
Both are aktiebolag whose owners are not liable for the company’s debts. A private AB needs SEK 25,000 of share capital, may not advertise its shares or offer them to more than 200 people, and may not use the word publikt in its name. A public AB, marked publ, needs SEK 500,000 and is the form for offering shares to the public or listing them. Almost every founder, foreign or Swedish, chooses the private AB.
Not in Sweden itself, but in the EEA: at least half of the board members, the managing director and one of any special signatories must live there, unless Bolagsverket grants an exemption for special reasons. A sole board member living outside the EEA therefore fails the test. And if nobody authorised to represent the company lives in Sweden, a Sweden-resident person must be authorised to receive service, with no exemption.
Most people trading through a company use a private AB, registered first with Bolagsverket and then with Skatteverket before work begins. For services the F-tax approval matters most: a client paying a business without it must deduct tax from the payment, and Skatteverket refuses the approval where no business is expected to be carried on. VAT registration follows unless turnover stays within the SEK 120,000 small business exemption, and employing staff means registering as an employer.
Yes. Skatteverket expects an income tax return after every financial year even when the company did nothing, and the annual report still has to be adopted at a general meeting and sent to Bolagsverket. Where the annual report is still missing eleven months after the year end, liquidation must be ordered, so an AB held before trading needs its calendar kept from the first year.
Kupongskatt, the Swedish withholding tax on dividends, is 30% under domestic law. An EU parent company holding at least 10% that meets the Parent-Subsidiary Directive conditions receives dividends without it, and Sweden’s treaties reduce the rate for other shareholders, subject to their holding conditions and the principal purpose test. Interest paid to non-residents carries no Swedish withholding tax.
Thinking about a Swedish AB? Send us the planned owners, the intended board and the country each person lives in through our contact page, and we will tell you whether a new company or a ready-made one suits the plan; Telegram and WhatsApp reach us at +48 663 247 166.