How high are Swedish employer social fees in 2026?

31.42 % of gross salary, unchanged from last year. It is a combined fee covering pension, sickness insurance, occupational injury insurance and the general payroll tax.

Do I have to pay ITP1?

Only if you have a collective agreement that includes ITP. Many employers without a collective agreement still set up an equivalent occupational pension, which gives roughly the same cost picture.

What is a good rule of thumb for total cost?

With a collective agreement and holiday pay you usually land at 1.5–1.55× gross salary. Without ITP1 the multiple is closer to 1.4×.

How high are Swedish employer social fees in 2026?

31.42 % of gross salary, unchanged from last year. It is a combined fee covering pension, sickness insurance, occupational injury insurance and the general payroll tax.

Do I have to pay ITP1?

Only if you have a collective agreement that includes ITP. Many employers without a collective agreement still set up an equivalent occupational pension, which gives roughly the same cost picture.

What is a good rule of thumb for total cost?

With a collective agreement and holiday pay you usually land at 1.5–1.55× gross salary. Without ITP1 the multiple is closer to 1.4×.

For employers

Employment cost in Sweden

Gross salary is the tip of the iceberg. Here is what an employee in Sweden actually costs – per month, per year and as a multiple of gross pay.

Employer fee 31.42 %
Rates for 2026
Updated June 2026

Calculate employment cost

What is included in the employment cost?

Gross salary – what the employee receives before tax.
Employer social fees – 31.42 % on gross salary (taxes and social contributions paid to the Swedish Tax Agency).
ITP1 – occupational pension premium under collective agreements: 4.5 % up to 7.5 income base amounts, 30 % above.
Holiday pay supplement – about 0.8 % per vacation day (25 days = 20 % of a monthly salary per year).

Worked example

An employee on 40,000 SEK (≈ €3,480)/month costs about 55,163 SEK (≈ €4,799)/month or 661,956 SEK (≈ €57,590)/year including employer social fees, ITP1 and holiday pay – a multiple of 1.38×. Adjust salary, ITP1 and holiday pay in the calculator.

Typical gross salaries to plug into the cost calculator

Use the median as a starting point and add employer contributions (31.42 %), ITP1 and vacation pay in the calculator. Figures are national averages from SCB.

Occupation	P10	Median	P90
Software & systems developers SSYK 2512	39,600 SEK (≈ €3,445)	53,500 SEK (≈ €4,655)	72,600 SEK (≈ €6,316)
Upper secondary school teachers SSYK 2330	37,400 SEK (≈ €3,254)	44,200 SEK (≈ €3,845)	51,200 SEK (≈ €4,454)
Shop sales assistants (specialised) SSYK 5223	27,000 SEK (≈ €2,349)	33,000 SEK (≈ €2,871)	45,600 SEK (≈ €3,967)
Truck drivers SSYK 8332	30,700 SEK (≈ €2,671)	33,900 SEK (≈ €2,949)	39,600 SEK (≈ €3,445)

Source: Statistics Sweden (SCB), Wage structure statistics 2025 (LoneSpridSektYrk4AN), all sectors, national level.

What does an employee cost?

Gross salary → total monthly and annual cost incl. ITP1 pension and holiday pay.

Open calculator →

Market salary

P10, median and P90 by occupation, sector and region from SCB.

Search occupation →

Frequently asked questions

How high are Swedish employer social fees in 2026?: 31.42 % of gross salary, unchanged from last year. It is a combined fee covering pension, sickness insurance, occupational injury insurance and the general payroll tax.
Do I have to pay ITP1?: Only if you have a collective agreement that includes ITP. Many employers without a collective agreement still set up an equivalent occupational pension, which gives roughly the same cost picture.
What is a good rule of thumb for total cost?: With a collective agreement and holiday pay you usually land at 1.5–1.55× gross salary. Without ITP1 the multiple is closer to 1.4×.