Tax-free exercise and wellness benefits in Sweden

Here is an overview of what applies today for tax-free exercise and wellness benefits in Sweden. We’ve included much of the Swedish terminology to make it easier for you to find additional information from other sources. You’ll find more detailed information on Skatteverket’s website (in Swedish).

When we say tax-free exercise and wellness, we mean situations where the company pays for exercise or other wellness activities, records the cost as deductible in its accounts, and the employee is not taxed for receiving a benefit.

Only for employees

The option to offer tax-free exercise and wellness applies only to employees. This means that sole traders (enskild firma), partners in a trading partnership (handelsbolag), and their family members cannot use it. However, employees working in an EF/HB can use it, and so can business owners and employees in a limited company (aktiebolag).

Two types of exercise and wellness benefits

There are two different types:

1. Wellness as an in-kind benefit (naturaförmån)

2. Wellness allowance (friskvårdsbidrag)

An employer may offer both to the same employee in the same year—meaning an employee can receive both in-kind wellness and a wellness allowance.

1. Wellness as an in-kind benefit (naturaförmån)

This means the employer provides wellness activities in their own premises, in rented premises, or through a specific gym card or monthly/annual pass at a facility chosen by the employer. The employer must pay the cost directly.

So it does not work if the employee chooses their own gym or pays themselves and submits a receipt.

The wellness activity must be of “limited value” (mindre värde) and “of a simple nature” (enklare slag). Where the exact boundary for “limited value” lies is not fully defined, but Skatteverket often refers to a “standard gym card in the local area” as a reasonable benchmark. Note that the full cost of the gym card is assessed. A company cannot “co-finance” an expensive gym and let the employee privately pay the excess above what is considered a normal level.

A prerequisite for tax-free in-kind wellness is that all employees are offered the same benefit.

2. Wellness allowance (friskvårdsbidrag)

A wellness allowance (aka “fitness allowance”) means that the employees choose the activity themselves, pay for it, and submit the receipt to the employer for reimbursement. It is handled like any other expense claim—receipt attached, reimbursement paid. The only difference is that expenses can be for the employee’s wellness costs and be reimbursed without being taxed as a benefit.

The cost still has to be of limited value, and Skatteverket mentions a maximum of about SEK 1,000 per session. Statements and case law so far indicate that SEK 5,000 (including VAT) is likely the practical maximum per employee per year. The employee may pay and submit receipts as usual.

Important: You still need a receipt or invoice. You cannot simply pay out SEK 5,000 per employee with no receipts.

In September 2019 Skatteverket announced that if a wellness allowance exceeds SEK 5,000, the entire amount becomes taxable from the first krona.

Activities of “a simple nature” (enklare slag)

The definition has been broadened somewhat. Activities such as golf, horseback riding, sailing, and downhill skiing are now allowed for the wellness allowance (but not necessarily for the in-kind benefit). Even personal trainers can qualify for tax-free wellness. But more exclusive gyms or spa facilities do not qualify. The activity must still be of “a simple nature”—the scope has just been opened up a bit.

Skatteverket previously had a list of approved activities, but removed it because “many interpreted it as a complete and exhaustive list”.

Sometimes it is unclear whether a particular activity works both as an in-kind benefit and for a wellness allowance. For example, can a company sign an agreement with a driving range the same way it signs with a gym? Or hire a personal trainer for the company gym? I honestly do not know; in many cases you have to assess the situation individually.

Membership fees

Membership fees for sports associations, golf clubs, riding clubs, and similar are not tax-free benefits.

But what about situations where the activity itself meets all requirements for tax-free wellness, yet a (small) membership fee is required to participate? A common example is  the gym Friskis & Svettis. I cannot say with certainty, but it seems unlikely that Friskis & Svettis would be rejected solely because a formal membership is required, while a golf club membership almost certainly would not be acceptable. Many providers split their annual fee into a small membership fee and a larger “training fee,” precisely for this reason.

VAT

For wellness activities that meet the requirements, the company may also deduct input VAT, assuming the company is otherwise entitled to deduct VAT. This applies to both in-kind wellness and wellness allowances.

Equipment and competition fees

Equipment is normally not included within tax-free wellness, except for very simple shared items such as practice vests, basic equipment for the company’s own sports facility (e.g., floorball sticks, basketballs). In general, the company cannot pay for personal equipment such as running shoes or ski rentals, but may provide simple shared equipment for the whole staff.

The same applies to individual competition fees—they do not qualify for tax-free wellness. However, the employer may cover the entry fee for a team representing the company. Again, collective costs tend to be acceptable; individual costs generally are not.

Single-owner companies

If you are the only person in your limited company, can you still use the same rules? The short answer is yes. Your company may pay for your gym membership, and you may also receive a wellness allowance.

But some boundaries may work differently in practice. For example: a company can have a gym for employees on its premises. Can a sole owner working from a home office have the company pay for a “company gym” located at home for its “staff”? No—that generally does not work. (Yes, we have been asked this. 🙂)

Can the company buy equipment for “all employees” or enter a competition with “the entire staff”? Again, arguments like that usually do not hold up for a single-person company.

Does that mean single-owner companies are treated unfairly? Depends how you look at it. The rules were created for a company’s employees (not primarily for the owner), but since the owner of a limited company is also formally an employee, they fall under the same definition. In that sense, I think single-owner companies benefit from being included in the rules rather than being disadvantaged by them.

Timing of wellness reimbursements

When must wellness expenses be incurred and reimbursed in order to count toward a specific year’s allowance? Let’s use 2025 as an example, but the principle is the same every year.

Normally, the employee must incur the expense and the company must reimburse it during 2025 in order for it to count toward the 2025 wellness allowance.

An exception is if your routines mean that employees submit receipts in December 2025 and the company reimburses them in January 2026. This is also acceptable—but then it counts toward the 2026 allowance.

If you want the reimbursement to count toward the 2025 allowance, make sure the payment is made before the end of 2025. If you normally reimburse through payroll, you may need to pay December expenses directly in December rather than waiting for the payroll cycle.

Does this feel unnecessarily rigid? Yes, I would say so. But Skatteverket is quite clear on this point.

Comments

Feel free to jump into the comments with opinions and questions. But we are not the right place for a complete encyclopedia of which activities are allowed and which are not. 🙂