Company formationEuropeA Swedish aktiebolag (AB) is a limited company whose shareholders are not personally liable for its obligations. As of November 2026, a private AB is formed with at least SEK 25,000 of share capital paid in before registration with Bolagsverket, and its profits are taxed at 20.6% for income year 2026.
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An AB is founded by one or more natural or legal persons who sign a founding deed with the articles of association, subscribe for all the shares and pay for them. Payment in money goes into a special account at a bank or another EEA credit institution, which certifies it; payment in kind needs an auditor's statement. The board then applies to Bolagsverket for registration within six months of the deed being signed.
The board has one or more members and, with fewer than three, at least one deputy. A managing director is optional in a private AB. At least half of the board members and the managing director must live in the EEA unless Bolagsverket grants an exemption, the articles name a seat in Sweden, and a company without an authorised representative living in Sweden authorises a Swedish resident to accept service.
Beneficial owners are reported to Bolagsverket together with the registration application and every change without delay. VAT registration and employer registration are made with Skatteverket; a company whose annual turnover in Sweden stays at or below SEK 120,000 usually does not have to register for VAT.
A foreign company can also work through a branch, a filial, registered with Bolagsverket. It is led by a managing director who must live in the EEA unless an exemption is granted. Each year it files the parent's accounts where these are made public in its home country, and its own branch accounts unless the parent is an EEA company comparable to an AB.
Redomiciled coordinates registration, the local representative where one is needed, bookkeeping, annual reporting, and tax, VAT and payroll registrations with Swedish providers; Swedish advisers give the legal and tax advice.
You sell to Swedish customers or hire staff in Sweden and want a local company rather than serving the market from abroad.
Your group needs a Swedish entity for contracts, staff or tenders, held by a parent company in another country.
The residence rules for the board and the managing director are met without an exemption when the people running the company live in the EEA.
A Swedish AB holding business-related shares is generally not taxed on their dividends or on gains when it sells them; the conditions need checking case by case.
Redomiciled coordinates the formation; licensed local agents file it. We start from where the company will trade and bank, and once it exists we introduce it to banking partners whose criteria fit. Formation and account opening are separate steps, each subject to its own checks.
The entity we recommend, with what banks will ask of the company, set against where it trades and banks.
We prepare the documents with you and coordinate the filing with our local partners.
We present the new company to banking partners whose criteria fit it.
Reminders for renewals, annual filings and the information banks request at periodic reviews.
Scope and fee are agreed with you up front, before any work begins.
Paid in before registration: in money through a special account with a bank's certificate, or in kind with an auditor's statement.
With fewer than three members, at least one deputy. A legal person cannot sit on the board.
At least half of the board members and the managing director live in the EEA; Bolagsverket can grant an exemption for special reasons.
The articles of association name the place in Sweden where the board has its seat.
Needed when no authorised representative of the company lives in Sweden; the board authorises a Swedish resident.
Reported to Bolagsverket with the registration application, and every change without delay.
A private AB can opt out in its articles while it stays below the size limits.
Usually needed once annual turnover in Sweden exceeds SEK 120,000; registration is with Skatteverket.
General information, not tax advice. Your position depends on your circumstances.
The annual general meeting is held within six months of the end of the financial year, and certified copies of the annual report reach Bolagsverket within one month after the meeting adopts the accounts. The income tax return follows the deadline Skatteverket sets for that financial year.
The board must keep meeting the residence rules: at least half of its members and the managing director in the EEA unless an exemption has been granted. Without an authorised representative living in Sweden, the person authorised to accept service must stay in place.
Changes to beneficial ownership are reported to Bolagsverket without delay. A private AB that opted out of an auditor checks each year whether it now exceeds more than one of the three size limits in two consecutive years.
With a one-member board, that member must live in the EEA unless Bolagsverket grants an exemption, which it can do in an individual case for special reasons. A board with fewer than three members also needs at least one deputy.
At least SEK 25,000 for a private AB, paid in before registration. Money goes into a special account at a bank or another EEA credit institution, which certifies the payment; capital contributed in kind needs an auditor's statement.
A private AB can opt out of an auditor in its articles unless it exceeds more than one of three limits in each of the last two financial years: more than 3 employees on average, a balance sheet over SEK 1.5 million, or net turnover over SEK 3 million.
The annual general meeting is held within six months of the year end, and certified copies of the annual report must reach Bolagsverket within one month after the meeting adopts the accounts.
Usually not while its annual turnover in Sweden stays at or below SEK 120,000 and its seat is in Sweden. Above that, it registers with Skatteverket. The standard rate is 25%.
Yes. A foreign company can run its Swedish business through a branch registered with Bolagsverket. The branch is led by a managing director who lives in the EEA unless exempted, and it files accounts with Bolagsverket each year.
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Economic substance rules require companies in certain low-tax jurisdictions to carry on their core activities locally. What the Cayman, BVI and Hong Kong rules require, what changed in the UAE, and why banks ask about substance.
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