Household goods relief when moving to Sweden
Household goods relief has four conditions, and the one most often got wrong is the twelve-month deadline for declaring. It runs from the day you move here, not from population registration.
Four conditions, no more
If you are moving to Sweden from a country outside the EU you can bring your personal belongings in without duty and without VAT. The right follows from an EU regulation, and it sets four requirements.
- Twelve months outside the EU
- Your normal residence must have been outside the customs territory of the union for a continuous period of at least twelve months.
- Six months owned and used
- You must have owned the property, and used it, at your former residence for at least six months. The period runs up to the day you cease to live in the country you are leaving, not up to the import.
- Twelve months to declare
- Counted from the day you establish your normal residence in Sweden. The consignment may be split across several deliveries within that period.
- Same purpose
- The property must be used for the same purpose in the new home. Its nature or quantity must not suggest a commercial purpose.
Conditions for relief on personal property
The third condition is the one most often got wrong. The deadline runs from the day you establish your normal residence here, that is the day you arrive to live. The population registration decision can come much later and does not govern the deadline.
Registration is proof that you moved, not the starting point for your time to apply.
What is not covered
Relief applies to personal property. Four categories are expressly excluded, and two of them regularly come as a surprise.
- Alcohol
- Excluded. Covers beer, wine, aperitifs, spirits and liqueur, that is headings 2203 to 2208 of the tariff.
- Tobacco
- Excluded, both tobacco and tobacco products.
- Commercial means of transport
- Excluded. A private car, motorcycle, caravan, leisure boat and private aircraft are personal property.
- Trade or professional equipment
- Excluded, with one opening: portable tools, equipment and instruments for the applied or liberal arts count as personal property.
Excluded goods
So the car is personal property, and it is one of the most valuable items in a household move. It still has to go through the origin check and registration inspection to get Swedish plates, and we describe that chain on the page about importing a car to Sweden.
The restriction that applies for a year after entry
This is the rule missing from almost all Swedish guidance on household moves, and the one that costs most when it is overlooked.
For twelve months from the day the customs declaration was accepted, the property may not be lent, pledged, hired out or transferred, whether for payment or free of charge, without notifying Swedish Customs first. If you do it anyway, import duty becomes payable at the rate and customs value applying on the day of the act. VAT follows the same rule.
Swedish Customs state plainly that no exemption exists. So someone who brings a car in as household goods and sells it after eight months pays both duty and VAT on it, calculated on the value that day.
Incoming or returning
The two cases look alike in daily life but rest on different legal bases, and they have different forms and different commodity codes. Pick the wrong form and the case comes back.
- Incoming resident
- You have had your normal residence outside the EU for at least a year, or have never lived in the EU. Form Tv 740.44, commodity code 9905 00 00 00.
- Returning resident
- You have kept your normal residence in Sweden and worked outside the EU for at least a year. Separate legal basis in the Swedish duty relief ordinance, form Tv 740.46, commodity code 9965 00 00 00.
- The 72 day rule
- Applies to returning residents only. Visits to the EU of up to 72 days a year do not break the stay abroad. If you actually lived outside the EU there is no such limit.
- Marriage
- Separate form, Tv 740.48.
Two ways in
Documents you need
A signed declaration on the right form. A copy of your passport. Documents showing you lived outside the EU, such as address registration, a residence permit, an employer's certificate or a tenancy agreement. Documents showing you have moved here, such as a notification of the move or a registration decision, a residence permit or proof of right of residence. A list of goods with capital items itemised. Registration certificate and purchase documents for vehicles. Freight documents if you used a removal company.
The documents are handed in at the border, at a customs office, or through a representative who makes the declaration for you. The declaration must be signed by you, the person moving, and nobody else.
Read on
Moving away from Sweden instead? Read about moving from Sweden.
Is your company importing goods? Read about importing into Sweden.
Common questions
Does the year run from population registration?
No. The deadline runs from the day you establish your normal residence in Sweden, that is the day you arrive to settle here. Population registration is not mentioned in the regulation at all.
The difference is practical. A registration decision can arrive weeks or months after arrival, and anyone counting from the decision may think they have more time than they do. Conversely, someone who is not registered may think relief is closed to them, and that is not right either.
Do I have to be on the population register to get relief?
No. Registration is evidence, not a condition. Swedish Customs assess where your normal residence lies from family, housing, economic interests, population registration and social benefits. Registration is therefore one item in a list of five. If you were not registered during your time abroad, a notification of the move to the Swedish Tax Agency is usually enough, and if you have never lived in Sweden, proof of a residence permit or right of residence can be used instead.
Can I bring spirits and tobacco duty free?
No. Alcoholic products and tobacco are expressly excluded from relief on personal property. That holds however long you have owned them and whatever the quantity.
What remains is the ordinary traveller's allowance, with the quantities that apply there. So bring the spirits as a traveller, not as household goods. Note at the same time that alcohol and tobacco must still be itemised on the list of goods if they are in the consignment.
May I sell the car once it has arrived?
Not within a year, and not without notifying first. For twelve months from the day the customs declaration was accepted, the property may not be lent, pledged, hired out or transferred without prior notification to Swedish Customs.
If you do it anyway, import duty becomes payable, calculated at the rate and customs value applying on the day of the act. VAT follows, because the same rule applies there. Swedish Customs are categorical on this point: there is no exemption.
I have worked abroad and am moving home. Do the same rules apply?
Almost, but you take a different route. If you kept your normal residence in Sweden and worked outside the EU for at least twelve months, you are a returning resident. The legal basis is then the Swedish duty relief ordinance rather than the EU regulation directly, and you use a separate form and a separate commodity code.
The practical difference that matters most is the 72 day rule. As a returning resident you may visit the EU for up to 72 days a year without breaking the stay abroad. Longer visits do not count towards the period. Someone who actually lived outside the EU has no equivalent limit on short interruptions.
Do I need an EORI number?
Normally not. A private individual importing goods for private use manages without one, and is then identified in the declaration by the code for a natural person without EORI. Two exceptions exist, covering large volumes of goods under the carbon border adjustment mechanism, and goods covered by the fluorinated gas regulation. A fridge and freezer in the load sit close to the second question, so check it with us if you are bringing white goods.
What should the list of goods contain?
Itemise capital goods separately: vehicles, computers, televisions, fridges and freezers, and alcohol and tobacco. The rest may be grouped under collective headings such as clothing, household articles, books and linen. The form has its own section for the list with description, quantity and value, so the information has to be given whether or not you call it a packing list.
Can I send my things before I move?
Yes. The property may be declared before you establish your normal residence here, provided you undertake to actually do so within six months. The undertaking must be accompanied by a guarantee. An application in advance is made at the earliest six months before the planned move and uses a different procedure in the declaration from the ordinary route.
