Payslip and Tax: Key Words
The Swedish words on your payslip and in your tax return, from gross pay to tax refunds.
Your first Swedish payslip can be confusing: two different salaries, a tax table, deductions and supplements. Learn the words on the payslip first, then the ones you meet when you file your tax return with Skatteverket.
- 1
en lön
a salary, wages
Tip: Used for both monthly salary and hourly wages.
- 2
en lönespecifikation
a payslip
Tip: Long word, so people shorten it to the first part plus 'spec'.
- 3
en lönedag
payday
Tip: Salary + day. Many employers pay around the same date every month.
- 4
en löneperiod
a pay period
Tip: The period your pay covers.
- 5
en månadslön
a monthly salary
Tip: Month + salary, with a linking -s-.
- 6
en timlön
an hourly wage
Tip: Hour + salary.
- 7
en bruttolön
gross salary
Tip: Before tax. Usually used without an article.
- 8
en nettolön
net salary, take-home pay
Tip: After tax: what actually reaches your account.
- 9
en inkomst
an income
Tip: Everything you earn, not just salary.
- 10
en skatt
a tax
Tip: Also means 'treasure'! Plural with -er.
- 11
en skattetabell
a tax table
Tip: The table your employer uses to work out how much tax to take.
- 12
en kommunalskatt
municipal tax
Tip: Paid to your municipality and region; the rate varies a little.
- 13
en preliminärskatt
preliminary tax
Tip: The tax taken from each salary, settled later in your tax return.
- 14
ett avdrag
a deduction
Tip: Ett-word. Anything taken off your pay or your taxable income.
- 15
att jobba övertid
to work overtime
Tip: No article: overtime is used like 'time'.
- 16
ett OB-tillägg
an unsocial-hours supplement
Tip: Extra pay for evenings, nights and weekends. Ett-word, from the supplement noun.
- 17
en löneförhöjning
a pay rise
Tip: Salary + raising.
- 18
en bonus
a bonus
Tip: Same as English. Plural adds -ar.
- 19
en semesterlön
holiday pay
Tip: Your pay while you're on holiday.
- 20
en semesterersättning
holiday compensation
Tip: Paid out instead of paid holiday, e.g. when you work by the hour or leave a job.
- 21
ett kollektivavtal
a collective agreement
Tip: Agreed between unions and employers. Sets many pay rules.
- 22
en pension
a pension
Tip: Same word as English, said the Swedish way.
- 23
en tjänstepension
an occupational pension
Tip: Paid in by your employer on top of the state pension.
- 24
ett bankkonto
a bank account
Tip: Ett-word, from the account noun.
- 25
ett belopp
an amount
Tip: Ett-word. Every line on the payslip has one.
- 26
en deklaration
a tax return
Tip: You get it every spring.
- 27
att deklarera
to file a tax return
Tip: Regular -a verb. Most people do it online.
- 28
Skatteverket
the Swedish Tax Agency
Tip: Always in the definite form, like a name.
- 29
en skatteåterbäring
a tax refund
Tip: When you've paid too much tax during the year.
- 30
en kvarskatt
tax still owed
Tip: When too little tax was taken during the year and you have to pay the rest.