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Local Sweden
09-07-2025
- General
- Local Sweden
Almost a fifth of Swedes consider a prenup essential
A prenuptial agreement ‒ in Swedish, an äktenskapsförord ‒ may not be the most romantic subject to broach with your future spouse. But for many Swedes it's a dealbreaker for a relationship. Advertisement A new survey by Verian on behalf of Familjens Jurist has revealed that almost one fifth of Swedes (17 percent) would end a relationship if their partner did not agree to sign an äktenskapsförord, a document similar to a prenuptial agreement. Among Swedes who had previously divorced or separated, that number was even higher at 28 percent. In March this year, more than 6,000 Swedes applied for a hindersprövning, a document necessary in order for a wedding to take place, according to figures from the Tax Agency. However, the number of couples who filed a prenuptial agreement with the agency is much lower, at just over 1,000 in January and over 1,300 in June. When two people marry in Sweden, the default is that everything is shared fifty-fifty if they eventually split. "A prenuptial agreement is a way to turn that off ‒ either with regard to everything or certain specific property," lawyer Pierre Kryhl from Familjens Jurist told the TT newswire. A prenuptial agreement can regulate what is considered personal property, or enskild egendom. For it to be valid, it must be written, dated and signed by both parties. It can be altered at a later date if both parties agree, and it can also be signed once the couple are already married. Kryhl added that they can be especially important in situations where one or both of the partners already have children with a former partner. "If one of you has a child from a previous relationship then I think it's smart to think about [a prenup], because it affects what the child inherits and how it should be split up," he said. Advertisement The issue can be difficult for couples to discuss, he said, which is something he has noticed when couples book appointments to discuss the specifics. "You can tell that it becomes very emotional and difficult for them, and understand that they have to go home and discuss it among themselves," he said.


Local Sweden
09-07-2025
- Business
- Local Sweden
Everything you need to know about writing a prenuptial agreement in Sweden
A prenuptial agreement might not be the first thing on your mind when you get engaged, but it's worth knowing what they are and why they can be useful before you tie the knot in Sweden. Advertisement What is a prenuptial agreement? A prenuptial agreement – or äktenskapsförord in Swedish – is an agreement between two spouses that sets out the ownership of their respective assets. Essentially, the default when a couple marries is that all of their property is considered giftorättsgods, or marital property, which means that it is legally shared between them. That includes savings, any house or apartment they own, and any valuables like a car or a boat, for example. A prenuptial agreement states what – if anything – should be considered enskild egendom or personal property, which among other things can be useful if partners' finances differ considerably, or if certain property should be protected for inheritance by current or future children. This property would not be factored into any future divorce agreement. Why should I have one? It's obviously up to you if you want to sign a prenuptial agreement or not, but they can protect you – and your partner – if your marriage ends in tears. According to lawyer Pierre Kryhl, from Familjens Jurist, a prenuptial agreement is similar to an on/off button, allowing you to avoid the default fifty-fifty splitting of property if you get divorced. "A prenuptial agreement is a way to turn that off ‒ either with regard to everything or certain specific property," Kryhl told the TT newswire. He added that they can be especially important in situations where one or both of the partners already has children with a former partner. "If one of you has a child from a previous relationship then I think it's smart to think about [a prenup], because it affects what the child inherits and how it should be split up," he said. Advertisement What does it need to include? An äktenskapsförord needs to be in writing, dated and signed by both parties. Make sure to include your personal numbers, if you have them. There are no specific rules about what the contract should include, so it may be worth contacting a lawyer to be on the safe side. Many offer online services for writing an äktenskapsförord for a few hundred kronor, which may even be covered by your home insurance if legal help is included. Just search for äktenskapsförord and a number of different services should pop up. I'm already married – can I still write one? Yes. You can write a new prenup or change an old one even if you're already married – although you might want to broach the subject of writing one carefully with your partner so they don't get the wrong idea. What do I do when I've written it? You'll need to send the original document to the Tax Agency and pay a small fee of 275 kronor. When you transfer the money, include your names, personal numbers and the word äktenskapsförord. You can find out more about how to submit the document and where to send it on the Tax Agency's website. Advertisement What if I just cohabit with my partner? If you cohabit but are not married – referred to in Swedish as being sambos – then different rules apply. In this case, if you break up, the default is that property bought for shared use, like a home and household goods, is split equally between both partners, while things like cars, summer houses or bank accounts are considered private property (unless they were bought for both partners to use). This means it doesn't apply if one partner moved into a property already owned by the other. Many sambos choose to draw up a Cohabitation Agreement (samboavtal), similar to a prenup, if there are certain items they want to specifically include or exclude from the list of joint property. For example, if one person paid a greater share of the property price and wants to remain entitled to keep that, it might make sense to enter into an official agreement. This agreement doesn't need to be witnessed or registered, but it can be a good idea to prevent any disputes in the future. Note that any agreement becomes invalid if you later marry; then you're covered by the rules on marriage. The rules on inheritance are also different for spouses and sambos. If you're married, you inherit your spouse (apart from in some cases with children from a previous marriage, where they are entitled to inherit their parent directly), while spouses do not inherit their partner. One famous example of why this can be important is the conflict between author Stieg Larsson's sambo, Eva Gabrielsson, and Larsson's family, who automatically inherited his estate after his death. This prompted a lengthy legal dispute over these assets and particularly the copyrights to his books.


Local Sweden
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
New laws and summer events: What changes in Sweden in July?
July brings with it cheaper flights, summer holidays and pay rises ‒ for government ministers at least. Here are the new laws and events happening in Sweden next month. Advertisement New laws Most Swedish laws come into force on either January 1st or July 1st, so there are a few new changes to be aware of this month. Sweden's former centre-left government introduced a flight tax in 2018 to lower the impact of flights on the climate. That will be abolished from July 1st, which the current right-wing government and the Sweden Democrats expect will shave 80 kronor off the price of domestic and European flights. Flights outside Europe are expected to be around 325 kronor cheaper. The sale of laughing gas will also be banned from July 1st in cases where there is a suspicion it will be used for recreational purposes. There will also be a ban on selling it to minors and a limit on the amount which can be purchased at one time, set at 18 grams. Sellers found breaking the new law risk a fine or a prison sentence of up to six months. A new law making it easy to change legal gender is also set to come into force from July 1st. The law will allow qualified doctors, psychologists, psychotherapists and healthcare counsellors (kurator) to write up a document for patients wishing to change gender, which will then be processed by the National Board of Health and Welfare (Socialstyrelsen). If the request to change legal gender is granted, the Tax Agency would be responsible for changing their gender in the population register, as well as altering the second-to-last number in the applicants' personal number – women have even numbers while men have odd numbers. Advertisement Tax on beer will also be cut from the beginning of July for small independent breweries – defined as breweries producing a maximum of three million litres of beer per year. The size of the tax cut is determined by the breweries' yearly production, with a maximum cut of 50 percent. Sweden's new high cost protection scheme for medicine will come into force on July 1st. Under the old rules, you pay a maximum of 2,900 kronor for prescription medicine in a twelve month period. Under the new rules, that figure will be raised by 900 kronor to 3,800 kronor. You can read more about this change at the link below. READ ALSO: Why prescription medicine in Sweden is set to get more expensive It will be cheaper to change banks from July 1st, even if you have mortgage with a fixed interest rate. Previously, bank customers have been liable for any losses the bank incurs in expected interest rate payments as the result of changing bank, while under the new rules they will only have to pay for administrative costs incurred due to paying in advance. Another bank-related change will prevent "quick loan" companies, like Lendo or Compricer, from loaning money directly to consumers unless they register for a bank licence. The temporary extra housing benefit for families will expire on June 30th, and the tax reduction for solar panels will decrease slightly from 20 to 15 percent from the start of July. Advertisement Other things happening in July Tax: If you got your final tax bill at the beginning of April, you'll have to pay any arrears by July 14th. Minister salaries: Swedish government ministers are getting paid more from the start of July. Their monthly salaries have been raised 3.2 percent, (3 percent for the prime minister) according to a decision by parliament's Ministerial Remunerations Board. The pay review, which happens every year, means that Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson gets a 6,000 kronor pay rise, with his monthly salary going up to 204,000 kronor. The other ministers' salaries have been raised by 5,000 kronor to 161,000 kronor. School holidays: With schools across Sweden finishing the school year in the last two weeks of June, almost all children in Sweden are on holiday throughout July. Most adults in Sweden also take at least three weeks off in the summer, starting either in the first or second week of July. So if you're not taking time off, be warned: it can be difficult to get any responses from people you work with, either inside your own company, or in other companies in July. Advertisement Events Dansbandsveckan If you want to really experience Swedish culture, consider visiting Dansbandsveckan, which takes place between July 13th and 19th this year. This festival of the hugely popular Dansband genre attracts nearly 100,000 visitors over seven evenings, with six dance floors and 82 dance bands. The festival will include dance classes, a musical summer evening, a fairground, axe throwing, a car exhibition and much more. Evening tickets are priced at 395 kronor and a weekly ticket costs 2,400 kronor. Classic Car Week The long-running Classic Car Week event takes place in Rättvik each year around week 31, with the exact dates this year falling between July 25th and 31st. The week will include music, events for children, a vintage market, a demolition derby, classic car parade and much more. Wristbands for the entire event cost 1,000 kronor, although you can pay for individual events if you'd rather. Ystad Sweden Jazz Festival Fans of jazz should head to Ystad in the south of Sweden, where the city will be taken over by a family-friendly jazz festival between July 30th and August 3rd. There are free and paid events, with the paid events costing between 100 and 225 kronor per person. Stockholm Pride Stockholm Pride will take place between July 28th and August 3rd this year. You can see a programme of events on the official website. A full ticket for all four days costs 800 kronor per person, with individual day tickets costing between 300 and 550 kronor depending on the day. Not in Stockholm? Malmö Pride is from July 2nd-5th (Gothenburg celebrated in June). In the north of Sweden, Kalix Pride will be held from July 16th-20th and Timrå will celebrate on July 12th.


Local Sweden
16-06-2025
- Politics
- Local Sweden
More than half a million living in Sweden without a personnummer
At least half a million people are living in Sweden without a personnummer, according to the Tax Agency (Skatteverket). And 110,000 or more aren't registered at all. Advertisement At the turn of the year, 10,587,700 people were listed in Sweden's population register, an increase of around 36,000 people on the year before, according to the Tax Agency. It found 485,028 people with active coordination numbers – a number given to newly arrived immigrants who do not yet qualify for a personnummer, the ten-digit identity code that unlocks a wide range of Swedish services, from banks to gym cards. Around 110,000-185,000 people are living and working in Sweden without either a personnummer or coordination number, according to the Tax Agency's estimate. There can be perfectly legitimate reasons why someone doesn't have a personnummer (for example you don't qualify for one unless you can show that you intend to live in Sweden for at least a year), but the Tax Agency also found a few discrepancies. Around 116,000 people are living in Sweden at an address different from the one they're registered as living at, despite the law demanding that the two match. READ ALSO: At least 79,000 people are in the population register without living in Sweden, and around 24,000 living in Sweden are eligible for a personnummer, but don't have one. Advertisement The figures were presented on the government's request, after it tasked the Tax Agency with presenting an annual report shedding light on population data in Sweden. "We now have the best picture of the population in modern times. It is really important, both to keep tabs on who is in Sweden and to stop cheating, errors and crime," Finance Minister Elisabeth Svantesson said in a statement after receiving the report.


Local Spain
26-05-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
What Spain's self-employed should know about getting paid through Bizum
Some self-employed people (autónomos) in Spain heavily rely on getting paid through Bizum, an app, which allows you to make payments or request money from a phone number, if you have a Spanish account number from a bank linked to it. Bizum has over 20 million users in Spain and is how many Spaniards choose to split the bill, pay small amounts for services and even pay their rent. If you get paid part of your income through Bizum, however, you should already know that you have to be careful because it has certain limits and conditions when it comes to paying taxes in Spain. This means that payments are recorded in the same way as other banks, so you must make sure you're declaring any income you receive through the app, including gifts from family and friends. Up until now, only amounts over €3,000 were recorded and sent to the Tax Agency, but starting in January 2026, the authorities will begin receiving detailed data every month on all transactions carried out by freelancers and small businesses through Bizum and other payment platforms, regardless of the amount of each transaction. From this date onwards platforms must submit the identification of the professional or company receiving payments, the merchant number, the sales terminals used, whether or not they are in Spain, the monthly amount billed, the type of payment method and payment destination. This means that any amount, no matter how small, will be reported to the Treasury from next year. This cross-referencing will allow the Tax Agency to verify the amount of income compared to your tax returns and detect small amounts of undeclared income, as well as the large amounts, like the current situation. Under declaring is in fact common for small businesses in Spain and something that the government are intent on fighting against, so you have to be extra careful and make sure you declare everything correctly. Stats show the underground economy represents about 15.8 percent of Spain's GDP. This all means that from next year the situation will become very complicated for autónomos because if you use Bizum for your business, but you also use it with friends and family, there will be very little distinction between the two. For example, if a friend pays you back via Bizum for a coffee you bought them or you buy tickets for a group of friends to go to the cinema and they each pay you back individually, it will look as though you've received income. You obviously won't have reported these amounts as income on your quarterly tax return because they're not – it's just friends paying you back for money they owe you. With this new reform, Bizum will go from being an app for transfers between friends into another tool for tax audits and increase the Tax Agency's control over the self-employed. If you do work for yourself and use Bizum to collect payments for services or sales, all professional income received through Bizum and similar platforms must be declared along with the corresponding VAT. Occasional payments between individuals for do not require a declaration if they do not exceed €10,000 per year and are not for commercial purposes. This is the same with reimbursements between friends or family, as long as they are not professional income. It may however, be confusing for both you and for the Tax Agency to distinguish between the two and decide which are reimbursements and which is income from clients or customers, therefore, you must learn to identify and classify the transactions in order to differentiate between personal and professional income. Professional income from Bizum must be accompanied by a corresponding invoice and be taxed like any other income from work. This means it's essential to keep records, invoices, and receipts for payments received via Bizum. Your bank should also allow you to view and download your Bizum transaction history to help. Failure to declare taxable income can result in fines ranging from €3,000 for a minor infraction, as well as a surcharge of up to 50 percent of the amount that was not paid. For a serious offence when undeclared income exceeds €3,000 there could also be a surcharge of between 50 and 100 percent of the amount that was not declared. Finally, for very serious offences you will be fined 150 percent of the amount not declared. It is considered a tax crime if the amount defrauded exceeds €120,000. Our journalists at The Local are not tax experts, we learned the hard way by reading laws and rules, and speaking with experts. If you're unsure about how to declare any payments or which payments you should declare it's important to contact a tax professional in order to advise you.