Bill would define stadigvarande vistelse as 160 days, or 120 twice

Sweden proposes to replace a judgment-based test of unlimited tax liability with a counted one. A physical person who stays habitually in Sweden is normally regarded as having unlimited tax liability here, which means being liable to tax on all income in Sweden and from abroad. Inkomstskattelagen (1999:1229) contains no definition of stadigvarande vistelse today, and the assessment can in many cases be complicated to make. Proposition 2025/26:306, submitted to the Riksdag on 27 August 2026, therefore proposes to introduce a definition in the actRiksdagen.

The proposed test has two limbs. A stay is habitual where it comprises, in a calendar year, more than 160 days of stay, or more than 120 days of stay where the number of such days in the immediately preceding calendar year also exceeded 120Riksdagen. Only days on which the stay is combined with an overnight rest count as days of stayRiksdagen. The definition would apply when applying every provision in inkomstskattelagen in which the concept occurs, and would sit in a new 3 kap. 3 a §.

The proposal also fixes the period the stay covers, which matters for allocating income across a year. Where the conditions are met in only one calendar year, the stay is regarded as habitual from the first day of stay to the last day of stay in that calendar year. Where the conditions are met in consecutive calendar years, the stay is regarded as habitual from the first day of stay in the first of those years to the last day of stay in the last of them.

The change is proposed to enter into force on 1 January 2027Riksdagen, with older provisions still applying to the assessment of whether a stay was habitual during time before entry into force. That transitional rule matters for anyone whose presence straddles the turn of the year: the pre-2027 period continues to be judged on the current case-law-based approach, while days from 2027 count under the new definition.

For advisers, the practical work shifts to day counting and evidence. The 120-day limb makes the previous year's presence decisive for a person who returns regularly, and because only nights spent in Sweden count, day commuting does not by itself build up days of stay. Employers and individuals will need records that support the count, since the outcome decides whether taxation follows unlimited liability under inkomstskattelagen or the limited-liability regimes.

The proposal is a bill and not enacted law: it was submitted by the government on 27 August 2026, signed by Ulf Kristersson with Elisabeth Svantesson of Finansdepartementet, and the Riksdag has still to decide it.

The legal basis is the proposed 3 kap. 3 a § inkomstskattelagen (1999:1229) in proposition 2025/26:306, with its transitional provisions.