VAT on books
VAT on books in Sweden
Swedish readers pay 6% VAT on books, and the law names audiobooks outright. Ebooks and digital audiobooks were cut from 25% to 6% on 1 July 2019. Everything not on a reduced list pays 25%.
General guidance, checked against official sources. It is not tax advice. Rates and rules change, and your own situation matters. Check with Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency or an accountant before you decide.
Checked by Dario Griffo, founder of Lanternbee, on .
The rates
| What you sell | Rate | Type | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Printed books | 6% | Reduced rate | Mervärdesskattelag (2023:200), chapter 9, section 9 |
| EbooksSince 1 July 2019. Before that, 25%. | 6% | Reduced rate | Mervärdesskattelag (2023:200), chapter 9, section 13 |
| AudiobooksThe law covers recordings of a book being read, on a medium or supplied electronically. | 6% | Reduced rate | Mervärdesskattelag (2023:200), chapter 9, sections 11 and 13 |
| Most other goods and services | 25% | Standard rate | Mervärdesskattelag (2023:200), chapter 9 |
What to know about Sweden
- The Riksdag cut VAT on e-publications from 25% to 6% in May 2019, in force from 1 July 2019. Riksdag finance committee report 2018/19:FiU36
- In 2021 Sweden's Supreme Administrative Court confirmed that electronically supplied books get 6% unless they are mainly moving images or music. Supreme Administrative Court, case 6978-20
- Sweden's VAT Act names audiobooks directly, as a cassette or other medium that plays a reading of a book. The electronic rule extends that to downloads. Mervärdesskattelag (2023:200)
- Sweden changed its VAT Act in 2026 to cut food to 6% for a while, but the book rules were not touched. Mervärdesskattelag (2023:200)
Selling to readers in Sweden: examples
You are the seller. Your own Stripe account takes the payment, and Stripe Tax adds the rate for Sweden at checkout once you add your registration in Stripe. These examples use prices before tax.
- An ebook priced at €10.00 costs a reader in Sweden €10.60. €0.60 of that is the 6% VAT on ebooks in Sweden, which you pay over.
- A paperback priced at €20.00 and posted to Sweden from another EU country takes the 6% rate for printed books in Sweden once your sales to other EU countries pass €10,000 a year: €1.20 of VAT.
- If you live in Sweden yourself, sales to readers in Sweden always take the rates above, and they go on your usual VAT return in Sweden, not the One-Stop Shop.
How EU VAT works for authors: the reader’s country, the €10,000 threshold and the One-Stop Shop, in one guide.
Questions authors ask about Sweden
What VAT do Swedish readers pay on ebooks?
6%, the same as a printed book, since 1 July 2019.
Are audiobooks taxed at 6% in Sweden?
Yes. The VAT Act puts recordings of a book being read at 6%, and the same rate applies when they are downloaded or streamed, unless the recording is mainly music.
Does a book with lots of advertising still get 6%?
No. Books, brochures and similar items that are wholly or mainly advertising pay the standard 25%.