The TRUTH about Taxes in Sweden- My REAL NUMBERS

[@AbroadonaBudget]

NB- It says in the video description that I will be talking about how much of my *monthly salary* goes to taxes. Therefore, the video focuses on my gross salary versus net salary, and whether or not I feel the taxes are a good return on investment. I have replied to other comments below criticising me for not speaking to every single situation in which one might be taxed while living, and buying things in, Sweden. Most of the political discourse around the discussions of taxation focus on the percentage of a worker's salary which is taken for taxes.Thus I focused this video precisely on that. I do not own a home, or a car, nor do I have children. Those topics don't pertain to me, I don't have personal experience with them, and therefore I chose not to speak to them as it would require extensive research into tax codes that don't concern me- my Swedish is good, but NOT poring through tax code for fun good :) I can say anecdotally that I work with approximately 70 people, the majority of whom have children, and own homes, and all rave unequivocally about how much they enjoy raising children in Sweden. This is anecdata, however, and not statistically verfiable of broader trends. That being said, Sweden consistently ranks as one of the best places to live in the world, so even when one takes into account the entire host of taxation at every level, and factors in expensive things like having children, things seem to be going well overall for most people. Note that after I pay approximate 120 USD in any given year, I have met what most Americans would call a "deductible". Thereafter, I pay nothing out of pocket regardless of the service/cost.

[@patrikberggren1446]

You forgot about all medication you need ... also subsidised and have a ceiling so to speak, I think when You reach about $200 spent on medication, you get every medication you need for free, regardless of what ... insulin, statins, chemo therapy witch can cost several hundred thousand for Americans, but here in Sweden, you pay maximum then you get the freecard :D

[@MarkMelesenka]

The difference is that Sweden has about 10 million people, America has 327 million, our taxes would have to be more than Swedens to maintain just the health care.

[@patrikberggren1446]

@@MarkMelesenka not really, it's just scale ... your health care system is totally different, just because You have a system built on health insurance But, initally, yes it would be more costly, because US general health ARE REALLY BAD!!! but that is just because You don't have a free health care system as we have in sweden. IN US the infant mortality is like a third world country, that is telling me (and many others) something is very very very wrong in the "richest country, country of the free" ... yeah, ....

[@seansurfn2]

@@patrikberggren1446 nothing is free

[@seansurfn2]

@@patrikberggren1446 In a 2008 study, Joy Lawn estimated that a full three-fourths of the world’s neonatal deaths are counted only through highly unreliable five-yearly retrospective household surveys, instead of being reported at the time by hospitals and health-care professionals, as in the United States. Moreover, the most premature babies - those with the highest likelihood of dying - are the least likely to be recorded in infant and neonatal mortality statistics in other countries. Compounding that difficulty, in other countries the underreporting is greatest for deaths that occur very soon after birth. Since the earliest deaths make up 75 percent of all neonatal deaths, underreporting by other countries - often misclassifying what were really live births as fetal demise (stillbirths) - would falsely exclude most neonatal deaths

[@sceptrus]

Thanks a LOT for such clear information! I'm really into moving to Sweden next year to make a living there and this was really explicit and encouraging!

[@AbroadonaBudget]

You are welcome! Sweden is an excellent place to live, work, and, yes, save.

[@jaypuck6912]

Well, be ready for the 25% sales tax she didn't mention. Be ready that you won't be able to afford a car. Be ready that their average home size is 1/2 the size it is in the USA.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

@@jaypuck6912 I assumed most people understand there is a sales tax, as this is common, and the focus and description of this video is income taxes- this is also addressed in the pinned comment above. The sales tax in Sweden is also already incorporated into the listed price of goods, unlike in the U.S., such as in Texas, where the listed price does not include sales tax. When I see prices, it already includes the sales tax. On a teacher salary, I have never not been able to afford anything I wanted to buy, food, restaurant, travel, or consumer item. I support how expensive cars are in Sweden, as it incentivizes using the excellent public transportation, which is good for the environment and human health/community. That being said, car ownership in Sweden may be expensive compared to the US, but regardless a few of my teacher friends own cars comfortably on their teacher salaries, and many of my Swedish friends own cars (again, on middle class salaries). Finally, regarding house size- this depends on where you live and what you are willing to pay. I have friends living in free standing houses with a normal yard, I have others who enjoy city living and, just like in New York or Seattle or Austin, pay high prices to live in a small apartment in the middle of things.

[@lemondrizzlecake7766]

Really good video!! As a European I am always so frustrated when Americans make it seem like we pay such an unreasonable amount of taxes when really, if you were to make a comparison based on what you get back (healthcare, retirement, holidays, parental leave etc...) we probably pay less overall than in the US.

[@kanyewestbank9677]

Hmmm...I dont know if you could say that. The us income tax rate is about 12% if you make under 38k a year. And I believe in Sweden that would end up around 22%. Pretty sure Sweden gets taxed more overall. At least based on yearly income

[@lemondrizzlecake7766]

@@kanyewestbank9677 Yeah, but how much do you pay on top of it for your healthcare insurance? And how much does it cost you to take the 5 weeks of holidays (minimum) that we get paid? And retirement savings? I don't know, I think we still get a better deal overall, and much more peace of mind, I wouldn't trade it, but to each their own I guess.

[@kanyewestbank9677]

@@lemondrizzlecake7766 healthcare in the us is trash. The cost of health insurance is high. I'll admit Sweden does a great job of giving people what they need after all the taxes

[@danishbutter1847]

@@kanyewestbank9677 US = pay less/batteries not included Sweden = pay more/batteries included

[@THEREALKINGOFWEST]

That’s is not true. She only mentions about 1/2 - 1/3 of the taxes that she’s actually paying. The highest tax / fee burden in Nordic countries are on spending not on the income. Sales tax alone is 25%. Let’s say that you make a modest income of $100.000, then the total tax burden is about 75%. It’s ridiculous!

[@Melker63]

Those high tax-percentages that scare-mongering right-wing americans talks about is on money earned ABOVE a certain break-point income-level. Only about 15% of the population earn that much. And it aint 80% - it's 56%. Anything BELOW that break-point the tax-percentage goes down dramatically - also for high-income people. Being a native Swede with a 50K/year income myself, I can vouch for that the numbers and facts given in this video is just about correct.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Thank you for co-signing on this video! I love putting out real numbers, and trying to be as transparent as possible.

[@ervie60]

@Riley Frost Stupid? now do the numbers for the SAME services and THEN do the math again . Health costs are about double the price in the USA then in northern Europe. Also other services you need to take into account; it is about costs and benefits and in the end quality of life. It is nowhere perfect no tin any country and yes it does need constant tinkering and operating the dials so get to work and think do the math and get your priorities straight and forget about getting 100% you want, politics is more a shade of grey then black or white.

[@ervie60]

@Luís Filipe Andrade Even in the USA a substantial part of healthcare (medicaid and medicare) are financed through taxation. Services are things like infrastructure; potholes or no potholes. Local taxation means thins like garbage collection, building code enforcement etc. etc. Many countries also co finance councils and provinces; again by general taxation. Basically there are very few things really free but please feel free to add anything more then the sun rising each day... To summerise; anything needs to be financed. If by taxation it usuallly means acccess for all. If by choice it means if you can afford the same things. Those are political choices made by elected politicians.

[@AB-tb7bt]

@@ervie60 I also live in Northern Europe. Americans still have it better. In America for a well paying job you only need to work for 8 years and can retire with a very cushy pot up in the millions range after that. And also her tax estimations are completely off. She pays effective more like 40% + tax rate on a very small salary. She’s also been lucky that she never had to wait for healthcare. That’s more the exception than the norm in most Eu countries.

[@Lirim_K]

It's still dumb to tax-punish high achievers and educated people. Just because I've worked hard and got a high paying job, I'm not being punished for it. Percentages should not change. If I earn more, I still pay more in taxes than someone who earns less.

[@Hahirs]

Thanks for this video and the real tax details! It is so appalling how these facts get twisted in the US media.. just cannot understand why Europe and especially the Nordic countries get so much bashing! And yes, the system is not perfect, but it makes the society a hell of a lot more peaceful when people have access to the services they need. Keep up the good work and greetings from Finland!

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Thank you! I agree that absolutely no system is perfect- Sweden included- but when I compare it to the US and my experience there, I appreciate the cons here over the cons there.

[@jaypuck6912]

Wow, you completely got conned by her. She only detailed a tiny bit of the taxes they pay in Sweden. Notice she didn't say anything about the sales tax? Did she mention few people can afford a car in Sweden because of taxes? Did she mention that the average size of their homes are 1/2 the size they are in the USA? She's comparing apples and oranges. Very different culture.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

@@jaypuck6912 you missed all these details and answers to these criticisms in the pinned comment above, which has been there for over a year while your comment has been here for 5 days. I also addressed these concerns in your other comment, presenting the same criticisms. Please see pinned comment for details, but also the video description, which states clearly that I am talking about how much of my monthly salary goes to taxes. As mentioned in my other response, I assume sales tax is a given- it's common all over the world- and sales tax has nothing to do with income tax. They are two separate taxes. I can say (as I said in my response to your other comment, and in the pinned comment) I had an outstanding quality of life in Sweden on a teacher's salary, and never wanted for anything. If you want to compare the US to Sweden, I can tell you I experienced much more deprivation, financial insecurity, healthcare stress/lack of access, and going without in the US compared to Sweden, even with the taxes (yes, including sales tax).

[@erics607]

It's because the people who are rich or in power don't want to pay taxes. They talk about how places like Sweden are socialist countries, but per another video I watched, Sweden isn't even a socialist country. They have some socialist philosophies and they used to have a tax rate of about 90% 20-30 years ago. However after about 10 years of going down that road and the citizens hating it, they changed more towards the structure they have now.

[@akersjon278]

@@jaypuck6912 Wow, I didn't know they had abolished all sales tax in Colorado, I thought it was around 10%, but good for you I guess. "Only a few Swedes can afford cars"?? Where did you find that "statistic"? Have you ever heard someone say "I live in New York, so I don't need a car"? Well over 80% of Swedes live in cities (which are much less sprawling then they are in the US) with great public transport, so many of them don't need a car to get around and CHOOSE to not buy one. I live in a more rural area, and EVERYONE I know got their first car as soon as they had their drivers license. Sure, their first couple of cars weren't all that great, seeing as they were older used ones (mine was an absolute heap, which I loved to tinker with). But after a few years working steady most now have pretty nice ones. Does everyone in the US get a brand new SUV from their mom and dad on their sixteenth birthday, or are they so cheap to buy and own that your average teenager with a paper round or a neighborhood soda stand can buy them themselves without taking out a loan or finance them? In that case, again, good for you. As for the average size of Swedish homes compared to the ones in the US. Well you see most Swedes don't want to live in big houses for several reasons. 1. We like living in smaller, but more cozy, houses that are easy to keep clean and that are inexpensive to heat (we have cold winters here) 2. We don't like to bee seen as overly flashy or as braggarts to our neighbors even if we could afford a bigger house. 2. Our houses are built to a much higher energy standard then yours in most cases (which is expensive). Almost all our houses have triple pain glass windows, thick wall and roof insulation and insulated concrete foundations for example. I have never heard any of my friends say anything like, "I wish I could afford a huge ass hose!". So that's not a thing over here. Maybe I have heard them say something like "I wish I had a bigger garage for all my stuff!". But that's another story altogether though...

[@michaelamneus9997]

What a lovely video. I totally agree, by far it's worth it and rather a nice system (naturally with shortcomings). Keep up the good job!

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Absolutely I agree that no system is perfect- they all have their downfalls. I think the key for me has been comparing what shortcomings I can live with, vs. what shortcomings I can't, and for me, this European model has the kind of shortcomings that don't hurt as much as the American model. For example, as a child I grew up without any health insurance, barely ever went to the doctor, and went without a dentist for over. a. decade. The stress of not having heath care taken care of far outweighed any benefits of "freedom" or "small government" positives that are often touted in the American system. I am so glad you liked the video, and I appreciate the feedback.

[@Dante84-t6w]

As a guy from Sweden i have to say it works better here than in USA. I have some friends in USA. One in Chicago working nights at 7/11. He makes just a little more than some Unimployd people here. And can't afford to live on his own. In Sweden the same job is actually good middle class living and you can easily afford a nice 2 room apartment with still some money over. That's the biggest difference in Sweden. The average Joe in general has it better here

[@saibotb]

The norm in sweden is 5 weeks of payed vacation. And don't forget how easy it is to do the taxes here. Just sign with your mobile and it's done.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

I definitely have a video on that! It's such a relief to not have to go through the whole process like American taxes...

[@Annicaha]

@@AbroadonaBudget I'm guessing this will be an extremely short video ;-)

[@alexismainguet]

The French system is so complicated... but they do that to confuse people, so you don't ask question and pay, or if you make a mistake you pay penalties... how messed up is that? I recently met Swedish and Danish friends, and I just love how benevolent and honest they are. The French system is so corrupted.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

@@alexismainguet Very similar to how I feel about the US system. It took me two hours to file my American taxes (forms bizarrely change almost every year for those filing overseas) and I still have to print off the forms to sign and mail them. Hopefully that happens before I am quarantined in my house!

[@peaceandjustice4414]

1. As a foreign national, you could lose your accumulated pension if you emigrate from Sweden. 2. You pay around 25 dollars to visit the doctor. No flat rate for prescriptions. 3. Dental treatment for adults in Sweden is amongst the most expensive in the world. 4. Average tax for a monthy salary in Sweden is 30-31%, (56% if you earn 7,000 Dollars plus monthly). 5. Your employer (not you personally) then pays approx. an extra 31% of your income as a social security charge. 6. Valued added tax on almost everything you purchase is 25%. Exceptions are, travel within in Sweden 6%, Restaurant and hotel 12%. Culture admissions to museums, art galleries etc. 6% 7. You pay on average of 150 dollars per child monthly if they attend nursery school. 8. Capital gains tax is 30% on profit from sales, or rental of private assets, dividends and any non business income. 9. Corporation Tax is 22% levied on the profits of a company. 10. That's Sweden, with its comprehensive social welfare system. ... As a percentage of gross domestic product, Sweden's income tax revenue is one of the world's highest.

[@jopiira]

Someone should really compare if in States some one wanted to buy all of those "insurances." This system in nordics are BS free. No pre-existing conditions, get people ok and back to live their normal life. Big one also is if some one loses their job. Coverment pays about an year 70...80 % of your last paycheck. After that over 1000 dollars.

[@sveingeraldhansen7275]

Peace and Justice You forgot Maternity Leave. The Swedish government says that parents of both sexes are entitled to 480 days (16 months) of paid parental leave at about 80% of their salary US is the only Country in the world, without Maternity Leave. and Sweden have 6 weeks Paid Vacation. US have 7- 12 days, and the worlds most expensive Health Care.

[@pontuseklund8875]

Thank you! I think it's good to have this perspective in mind. I still believe we could use our tax money more wisely but you have some really good points. Thank you.

[@SunShine8308]

This is my first drop-in to your channel and I can't believe your channel is not getting thousands more views. I am an American in Poland right now and the algorithms have led me to exploring conditions in Sweden. I do not know all the ins and outs of what is going on with my numbers in Poland but I am less worried than what I'd encounter in the US, such as when I had $900 in dental work there last year (quite foolish because I wound up in Eastern Europe where I could have paid 1/4th that, but I didn't know at the time).

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Hi there! I am glad you like it! I have let it stagnate a bit too long but I am trying to revive it this year- new year's resolutions!

[@blueprintswe]

This is one of the best videos I have seen when it comes to explaining the Swedish tax system and what the money actually goes to. Kudos to you. Are you still here in Sweden?

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Thank you! As an international teacher, I move pretty often, so I am no longer in Sweden as of July 2019. But it was so hard to leave after four years, and I am going back asap for a visit! I am currently in Kazakhstan now, just moved here in August.

[@Dieguito507]

You need a chart , I lost track of the numbers . The problem is America has 350 million people and a lot of of lazy ones, Maybe in Sweden people are more educated and Are part of the economy, but in California I have 3 members of family collecting welfare, free healthcare (medical) Free schooling and at the moment my niece is trying to get section 8 ( very discounted rent ) Now imagine how many people in the whole state of Cali are milking the system.

[@danishbutter1847]

for USA, get money out of real estate and loosen state policies and regulations and zoning laws and create incentives for independent businesses and ease those taxes for smaller people and bring back jobs from overseas and we need more job creation entrepreneurs that's the only way to counter a country that progressing into welfare if we don't do anything it just becomes a homeless army and that's basically what San Francisco is.

[@georgekingiv8171]

@@danishbutter1847 ok boomer

[@davidcooks2379]

If you are not rewarded fairly you get "lazy", which in reality means disillusioned, helpless, depressed

[@johnetro8806]

Yyou even start off the comment with “I’m too lazy to read numbers.” Only about 1% of spending in the US is to non working poor. Half of spending is for elderly, 20% for defense. Of other social safety nets it’s for work based unemployment and disabled people. Sorry man, Ronald Reagan lied to you. Now go read some real info. Also, Sweden is more educated but that’s because college is covered. And % of working age population is only about 5% lower in US.

[@TheWaheed28]

A valuable information. Please keep posting. Thank you

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Very welcome!

[@imatt42]

Great video and explanation. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos!

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Welcome!

[@maxval54]

Thank you for sharing this details about taxes in Sweden. Really useful information on how it works!

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Welcome!

[@katinkaridde-coffey6493]

Don't forget health care, dental care and eyecare/glasses for free for children (think it is up to 21 year) and health care is free for any 85 years and older.

[@LTV_Crusader]

As a teacher you get free glasses too, my wife did.

[@detskalldaltas133]

How many be 85. Now you must work to 70 becouse 2 million refugees cost 40 billion! 45 billon crowns to EU after Brexit. Its a corrupt politics and EU do the Law.

[@jaypuck6912]

It's not "free." You pay for it in your taxes. Notice she didn't mention the sales tax of 25%?

[@Ciceron.mp3]

It's true that the "on-paper" tax doesn't seem as high as the rumors has it but you forget to mention the following: - 25% VAT on pretty much any goods or services - Aprox. 65% tax on fuel - Aprox. 40-50% tax for tobacco products Also, consider the following scenarion; Greta gets her pay of 4000$, the state takes 1000$ out of her paycheck straight away and also the employer pays an additional 31.42% of your salary pre-tax. Total taxes paid to the government by the time it hits Gretas checking account is 2256.8$. Greta then pays her rent the first thing she does, let's say that is an additional 800$ of which 25% is VAT. Add groceries to that for maybe 400$ - running total 2556.8$. She then filles up her car twice a month for 100$ at a time - 2676.8$ in taxes. Also remember that the owner of the gas station, grocery store e.tc pay this 31.42% of their employees salaries as well and by the end of the year about 25% tax on the profits. After which they can choose to pay out a divident that is only taxed at 20% but also limited to about 20 000$ or 50% of the total amount of salaries paid throughout the year. In essence Sweden is just an endless loop of money being taxed in portions until it all goes back to the government in some way. Maybe not straight from the individual, but as I said, it is an endless loop and the only way of getting the money out of the loop is to not spend it or spend it somewhere else.

[@timotejzemljic9860]

Yeah but its still worth it. All of it. If Americans would try it in less then a year they would not be talking shit about social perks in Europe anymore.

[@niure86]

Yeah, but if you live the life she describes in the video, why does it matter? She seem to live a great life, with a good income and all kind of service and quality of life 🙂

[@sveingeraldhansen7275]

DANIEL I thought people today were smart enough to not use Tobacco. It `s free to use but extremely stupid. My father died of it. My neighbor got COPD , he lived around 70 meters away, but we could hear his horrible cough as if he were dying every moment, and gasping for air all the time, night, day like a perpetual machine. Day after day, - weeks, -month. It was horrible to listen to and I can't even fantasize about what it was like for the man or his wife. And she said ,she did not need a car. Look at the world, we have had the 2 warmest summers ever. With huge Fires, Floods etc So Daniel if you are so dissatisfied, why don`t you go to other places.

[@danielclasson]

"Aprox 65% tax on fuel" This is wrong. Yes, about 65% of the total price is tax. The taxes on Fuel is about 200%.

[@TheRealPaul_Morphy]

@@sveingeraldhansen7275 Yea I remember when I thought smoking was cool but then I saw this anti smoking ad where they proved smoking makes you gay. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpSrlmlof9FkabM

[@guitar-arvidojoar560]

Schools including food & universities are also free , but you also need to mention that VAT is between 6-25% and the higher salary you have the higher taxes are, and taxes on gas cost is also very high making gas cost about 4 times higher than in US but I agree in Sweden you get a lot of benefits from our taxes including very good public transportation making less need for using cars

[@andersringstrom825]

Regarding your pupils' health, it might have been worth mentioning that school lunches are free.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Yes! And the school lunch at my school is quite good- huge salad bar, meat, fish, veg, and vegan options, and not a soda vending machine or fast food counter in sight.

[@gonelsas5120]

Am living in Sweden for nearly 15 years now, when I came to this lovely country, I went to school to learn Swedish. This school had....free warm lunches, a massive library, a bowling place, a swimming pool, study books nearly free of charge and a super relaxed atmosphere. I was in awe......

[@veed_official]

@@gonelsas5120 how are you feeling nowadays?

[@amalliyanage8223]

Really nice video. I'm relieved now 😊😊😊

[@BoscoNFTs]

Thank you for your video

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Very welcome, Cardosco!

[@marionbartley214]

Thanks for posting this information. The United States needs to get on board with a program like this. We pay so much for everything with less benfits. Makes me think I'm living in the wrong country ?

[@Oldcarsandstuffsweden7645]

Ohhh, that's socialims........ Just kidding, but it's not that bad you know.

[@al8-.W]

That's the spirit. When you can't change the place where you live, you are still free to move to a place that suits your needs. No justification required.

[@milesdust3465]

Thanks a lot for your video. As you explained, it is all about TAXES. Stay safe. Cheers!

[@AbroadonaBudget]

I am glad you enjoyed it and it helped. Take care!

[@clearskyamerica3107]

The value added tax also needs to be considered. Most goods and services are taxed at 25% which is paid by the purchaser.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Yes, but that's not an income tax on my salary. When I made my budget for things like travel, groceries, entertainment, I didn't separate out VAT. I lived in Sweden for four years and took vacations on every break, bought whatever I wanted, and saved money, all on a teacher's salary. I have detailed, real numbers budgets on this channel where I break down how I spend my salary on a monthly budget, so this was specifically about income taxes. I will say that there was never a time when I paused and thought "I'd love a new winter coat but... that VAT." or "I'd love to buy a new set of headphones but... that VAT." There is VAT in many countries, and Sweden's might be higher than others, but to me that impacts how you allocate/budget your salary after income tax. And as I said, I never, ever thought about it and it never, ever impacted my life personally. I also never heard anyone else every talk about/complain about it (and most of my friends were on a teacher's salary). There is a longer discussion of this below in the comments. Hope this addresses it!

[@snnetwork8420]

Isn't the tax on salary 30% here in Sweden which also goes to your pension. How did you come up with the 24% on your salary as a teacher?

[@snnetwork8420]

Also agree that life is better for the working person in Sweden compared to the US since you don't need a car or worry about health insurance but it got its flaws. For example in Sweden they have a 60 % tax rate if you want to start a private company which is ridiculous (basically are you working for the government). If you start an aktiebolag the tax is little bit less but still quite high. This discourages many people from starting a company which is not good for the economy and leads to unemployment and being dependent on the government. In US I heard its much less and thus why there are more jobs there.

[@tina9953]

Thank you for this brilliant video. I always thought that Scandinavian countries are heaven on earth, but I have to say that the social system in Austria is even better. Everyone gets not only 12 salaries per year, but 14. No additional costs when you go to the doctor, only dental work, but the prices are quite reasonable. 5 weeks paid vacation, 100% coverage from day one when you are sick. You don't have to do your taxes when you're an employee, you get the net income. I pay 25% of my salary in taxes. Yay to Austria.

[@stephb7702]

But thats on the federal level... is there provincial and local taxes? Do you have a tax on goods and services?

[@ollienilson1644]

your Arbetsgivare pay 33% to social care of your salary direct to skatteverket. witch you never see.

[@victorcapel2755]

31.42%, and only half of that for people under 24. Pay roll taxes are common all over the world, It's not a Swedish thing. Most countries on earth has them. And it's actually by choice by the employers organisations, they had the chance to skip this and pay insurance and higher contribution towards pensions for their employees instead, but chose this system instead.

[@ollienilson1644]

@@victorcapel2755 Have US that kind of taxes? An you can not move back to US and think you get this pensions money if you are away more than 10 years. Then your money goes in in the pensions system.

[@victorcapel2755]

@@ollienilson1644 Yes, the amount depends on the state (and sometimes city). en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Payroll_tax?wprov=sfla1 And it's only a part of the pension, the Garantipension, that is not paid if you move outside the EU.

[@ollienilson1644]

@@victorcapel2755 No, if you not live in Sweden more than 10 years you go ut of the system. Check it and ring skatteverket and pensionsmyndigheten.

[@victorcapel2755]

@@ollienilson1644 Wrong. www.minpension.se/allt-om-pensioner/planera/att-flytta-utomlands-som-pensionar "All egen intjänad pension kan du få utbetald oavsett i vilket land du bosätter dig. Det du behöver göra är att ange vart pengarna ska skickas. Men om du har garantipension som en del i dina pensionsutbetalningar så får du inte den utbetald om du bor utan för EU/EES och några andra länder med liknande avtal." Finns ju tusentals Svenska pensionärer i länder som Thailand och Spanien, som bott där i 20+ år.

[@caioaugustopinhel2219]

I'm currently living in Ireland and my girlfriend is crazy about living in Sweden. I started to search about jobs, wages and taxes, i was scared about what i saw. After watch your video i got relaxed. I think in Ireland we pay a similar amount of money in taxes than Sweden but we don't have what Swedish govermment give to you. Do you think as a couple, we can have a good life there with the medium salary? I mean, rent a nice house, have a car, travel...? Thank you for the video :)

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Hi Caio! I'm happy to have given a more detailed perspective to help you out. I shared my real numbers budget in the description box here, if you want to watch that you can see my exact take home pay, all my expenses, etc. I can say that most of my friends were teachers or new career locals, and we were all making between 27,000 to 34,000 SEK a month *before* taxes. All of us were able to save, travel, have a nice lifestyle, enjoy weekends out and restaurant meals, etc. We weren't living in the lap of luxury, but we were solidly, comfortably middle class. I will say that housing in Stockholm can be absolutely insanely expensive, so you need to look around a bit for that. I highly recommend checking out Tyresö area, it's a suburb outside of Stockholm that is gorgeous and green, lots of lakes and trails and near a national park (Tyresta). It's about 20 minutes from the green line metro on a direct bus, and the prices are much cheaper because you are not in the center of the city. You would get more for your money. That being said, I eventually moved to Solna (waaaaaay far out on the pendeltåg, or commuter train) and it was just too far out for me. However, many people love that area, too, and there is a nice biking path that goes straight in to the center of Stockholm. Finally, I lived my last two years in Stockholm right in the heart of Södermalm, which I absolutely adored. I personally chose to pay a bit more to be in the middle of things, and walking distance to my work. In the long, dark winters it helped me avoid SAD. let me know if you have any other questions, and thanks for stopping by!

[@vatz0075]

Thank you so much for your video, it is really helpful to me to accept my Swedish offer.. 🙏r

[@88svetly]

I'm a bit confused about 24% tax rate you say you pay in Sweden because living in Goteborg I pay about 32.5% depending on the commune plus for income above 465K sek/year it's paid 53% and if you're lucky and get 650K sek/year or so, it's 58% for everything above

[@niure86]

You forget the Jobbskatteavdrag (work tax deduction). Check your pay slip, divide the number of SEK paid in tax with your brut salary, and you will get your actual tax percentage after the job tax deduction. I guarantee you that it won't be anywhere near 32 %, rather around 25

[@victorcapel2755]

@@niure86 I pay 21.5% outside Stockholm. The Swedish income tax for a working person hasn't been anywhere near 32% for well over a decade.

[@AKMBUBBLE]

Interesting but the high procent is counted in your employers taxes and food taxes.

[@WXIWXI]

vi kanske inte vet hur bra vi har det här i Sverige, om man blir sjuk. Lika dant med medecin och tandvård. Efter ett tag betalar du ingen ting!. Läkar besök max =300 kronor. Efter några ggr bet 100 och sedan får du fri kort!. Jag tror vi har det ganska bra här i Sverige! Mvh Thomas

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Hej Thomas! Jag håller helt med dig! Jag kan inte föreställa mig hur jag bodde i amerika utan sjukvård. Ursäkta för min dåligt svenska, men jag älskar språket och försöker tala det när jag kan.

[@jesperzettergren6599]

Add to your work place benefits that you get ten days of paid leave every year to use if some one close dies for example.

[@fangugel3812]

I lived in Sweden for around 9 years and had a similar experience with taxes. Tax deadline is no stress because tax form is a single sheet. Sign if everything is correct or indicate that something needs correcting and sign. Moving back again soon.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Yes, it's these small things that people don't think about- they are so used to cumbersome taxes that it's hard to imagine what life is life just not worrying about it. No country is perfect, Sweden is no exception, but for me the quirks and characteristics made life easier, not harder, on so many levels (including saving money/personal finance). Good luck with your return!

[@mahbubalislam2475]

Good Video but as far as I know Tax is 30% plus. How come you are paying just 24%? I guess it's less for foreign workers or is there something else to it?

[@lb9900]

Interesting thank you for the video

[@rikkshow]

The health insurance + a high copay in the US, that one year health care spending you had in Sweden, in the US it could have been anything from $5000-$10000 for that year. Swedish people have no idea of the US healthcare cost.

[@davidcooks2379]

If it goes to you pension it's not a tax, it's your pension contribution, and forms part of your net wealth

[@AbroadonaBudget]

This is true! Many people, particularly Americans, view any deductions from a federal government as an overreach, or inappropriate intrusions into a person's way of managing their own finances. So since it's a deduction from my income that is managed by the government, I included it. Where I am from, in Texas, many people are deeply opposed to Social Security for example.

[@adityajayaraman]

Great video. Gives very good explanation. One question. I plan to work in sweden for the next 2-3 years and come back to my home country. What happens to the pension contributions that I make during that time? Can I withdraw/transfer them when I leave the country?

[@AbroadonaBudget]

This is a great question- my school had an economist on staff and she said that you can't transfer it or withdraw it until the typical retirement age, so it will just sit there for you until it's time to withdraw. She told me to hang on to my personnummer (id number) forever so I can access it. That being said, I have been meaning to look into it in more detail (there is a website) and see if there is any way to pay it out early even if there is a penalty. I hope this helps! One tip in general for moving to Sweden- healthcare is awesome there but you need to get dental insurance separately. It is VERY cheap, less than 20 USD a month. That being said, to get it you need to get a checkup and a cleaning to assess your dental health first. This will cost about 120 USD, and then they will get you set up on the dental insurance that covers everything. Many folks assume dental is part of health insurance, and I had no idea until I needed a dentist.

[@adityajayaraman]

@@AbroadonaBudget Thanks so much for the information. Incase you find a way to withdraw the pension early, pls let me know. Also thanks for the heads up about dentist insurance. I didn't know it either! Thanks! I'm your new subscriber and hoping for new informative videos. Great work!

[@AbroadonaBudget]

@@adityajayaraman Very welcome! I will update if I find out more. Good luck in Sweden, you will love it!

[@msudak4]

Thanks and get well

[@mahziaree]

Thanks for your nice video. You’ve got a very beautiful smile ❤️

[@survivalistnomad9507]

How can a new resident in Sweden buy private health insurance? Do you know?

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Hi there- I am not sure because I have never used private insurance and don't know anyone else who has. I used a private physical therapist/sports massage doctor my friend recommended, and the hour long treatment was only 60 dollars out of pocket. Sorry I can't be of more help!

[@survivalistnomad9507]

@@AbroadonaBudget Thank you.

[@jarls5890]

Call an insurance company! =) I am Norwegian (but essentially same system as Sweden) - and i have a private disability insurance. Meaning, if i get partial or fully disabled and this prevents me from work, i get paid a handsome amount to live off on top of what the social security programs pay me. This insurance costs me $25 per month. Also, this is through the same insurance company where i got house and car insurance.

[@arvidgyllner]

You forgot to mention the “cost of employment” (Arbetsgivaravgift) witch is 31% of your salary that your employer pays in taxes for hiring you. So if you’re making 4000 usd before tax your employer has to pay a total of 5140 usd and you only get to keep 3000 usd after income tax. So you effectively pay 55% tax

[@latjolajban81]

But arbetsgivaravgift (basically a payroll tax) is not taken from her salary. It's a fee that the employer pays. You and your employer agree on a monthly salary, and the income tax is on that salary. Arbetsgivaravgiften is not deducted from your agreed monthly salary. The employer pays that on top of your agreed salary. In your example, her agreed salary before taxes (which is the number you say you want as an employee for that position) was 4000 usd. Not 5140 usd.

[@arvidgyllner]

Fredrik Herre yeah but that is money that you are costing your employer, so naturally that is going to be subtracted from potential wage.

[@latjolajban81]

@@arvidgyllner That's not a good arguement because that fee is not money that you as an employee is asking for. You as an employee is getting the contracted agreed pretax salary. Whatever else that the employer is sending wherever is not yours to take home.

[@arvidgyllner]

Fredrik Herre as you said, that is not yours to take home. Because it goes to the government. You still have to create that value but neither you or your employer can profit of it

[@latjolajban81]

@@arvidgyllner You never asked to take that money home. That's why you can't say its your money, nor can you say it's taxes you pay. Because you never asked for that money. Value creation is another topic.

[@crystalkirlia4553]

Thanks for the info 👍I'm British and want to be an English teacher in foreign countries so I can travel. What would I need to get started in this? 🙂

[@AbroadonaBudget]

If you want to go the EAL route, most countries require a bachelor's in a relevant subject and a TEFL certificate. However, that would generally be for strictly EAL, like after school programs, or learning English on the side, things like that. If you want to teach in a public or private school overseas almost all of them require a teaching license, because that's usually a requirement of the visa. SE Asia is probably your best best if you want to go pure EAL and get the TEFL. Eastern and Central Europe can sometimes work as well, but the pay isn't great for cost of living. Vietnam and Thailand are both still great places for purely English teaching as a foreign language, and they'll take you without a teaching license. There are a few countries, last I checked (a few years ago) such as Cambodia or Laos which have private schools which will hire you without a teaching license, but the bachelor's is still required and to make up for the lack of license they'll want a good chunk of relevant education experience. And excellent website to try is Teach Away.com, as they have a range of jobs from entry EAL with a TEFL all the way to high end private schools. Good luck!

[@erikempire318]

Sweden are 125000 teachers short over the next five years. Make an application

[@LTV_Crusader]

Hi and thanks for the great info. I no you are exempt from US federal tax because of your time out of the US. Can you still pay into US social security to keep that pension going?

[@AbroadonaBudget]

That's a good question- for now I am exempt from tax which also means I am not currently paying into US social security. I worked from the time I was 14, and full time since I was 18 while going through college, so I contributed a bit early for my age which helps offset the seven years I've been overseas. While I am in Sweden, I am contributing here and I will be able to draw that wherever I am in the world when it comes time to retire.

[@joshn2342323]

She is not exempt from US taxation. USA simply has a tax credit for foreign taxes paid and since Sweden has higher rates compared to the USA, the foreign tax credit completely eliminates her USA tax liability.

[@AdamNature-Cohen1]

How much taxes do you pay in US relatively to Sweden on the same salary you have, per year?

[@survivalistnomad9507]

I'm an American citizen retiring soon and moving to Sweden to live there on my American pension. What do I need to do with IRS in order to pay my taxes to Sweden not to USA?

[@AbroadonaBudget]

That is a unique situation and I am not sure how it works. Usually if you are living/working abroad, you don't have to pay American income tax if you make less than around 133K a year. BUT in this case your income is from an American company. I honestly don't know how that would work. I would look into the stipulations of your pension. Also, how are you getting around the residency permit issue in Sweden? One can stay in country for six months as an American citizen without a visa, but then you have to be out for six months (Sweden is part of the Schengen area.

[@survivalistnomad9507]

@@AbroadonaBudget Thank you. I really like your videos. You explain things very well.

[@PutteDanerhag]

Unless u have a big pension i would greatly discourage u to do that

[@jaypuck6912]

Yes, what Patrik said. Car ownership is very expensive in Sweden, due to taxes she didn't bother to tell us about. The average home in Sweden is 1/2 the size of homes in America. Sweden is at the top of the list for depression. Winters are harsh. The darkness gets really old. Good luck. You'll likely end up back in the USA, broke. She also didn't bother to tell you that sales tax is 25% in Sweden. So, if you're a consumer, you're going to pay out the nose.

[@latjolajban81]

@@jaypuck6912 Have you ever even lived in Sweden? I see you posting the same shit in so many threads. Maybe you have and screwed up or something and now piss all over it. Or maybe you went on a vacation and noticed alcohol is expensive. On top of that you are very disingenious. You make it sound like people don't own cars in Sweden. Sales tax is the same as income tax. Sales tax in Sweden is included in the listed price. Its not added on top of listed price as in the US. If you're a HUMAN BEING, you will probably fair better in Sweden than in the US.

[@Vortex1988]

So I was a little skeptical of what you said in this video, because I would fall into a higher tax bracket in Sweden. I decided to take the initiative and found a Swedish tax calculator online. I took into account that my taxes in Sweden would also cover my healthcare, pension, etc., and it turns out that I would actually have an additional $220 (1,920 KR) every two weeks (I get paid bi-weekly in the US) if I lived in Sweden. I make $90,000 annually, so this is crazy to me. I thought I'd be paying more in taxes for sure. I understand there's always the caveat that there is a pretty large VAT tax in Sweden, but I also understand that the tax is already factored into the price. From looking at the cost of living and the prices of things in Sweden, it looks like I'd be paying about the same for most things I buy too. Not to mention, I'd also spend about half of when I would spend in property taxes if I bought a house in my area. My mind has been officially blown. We're really being ripped off in the US. We get nothing out of government except for wars that no one wants and kickbacks to mega corporations that don't need it. I think I'm going to start taking Swedish classes, and if things get too bad here, I might just have to apply for a job and residency in Sweden. I just hope my professional skills and pay carry over.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

I really appreciate this comment more than I can say. I respect so much that you took the time to do the calculations and apply it to your own situation, to be able to make comparisons. Exactly what you did is why I made this video- I wanted to give a fuller picture than just "taxes are high in Sweden", because there is so much nuance to it. I think the main thing is, there are so many different ways of doing life/structuring a government, and while no way is perfect, from my experience I was more healthy in so many ways in Sweden than in the US. I am glad you found this video, and enjoyed reading this comment. It blew my mind, too, when I had been in Sweden about a year and then realised, hang on, I am living such a downright luxurious lifestyle as a teacher, with so little stress about money and health. And YES, the vat is already in there, so I never think of it- it's just the price, the end. I budget a certain amount for clothes, or eating out, and that's that- I never break it down into vat, and I can say hand on heart I never went without anything I wanted or needed because the VAT was prohibitive. And I moved to Sweden from Laos, so I had to buy SO many winter gear/hiking things, basically a brand new work wardrobe, things for my apartment, etc. Regarding health, I plan to make a detailed video about healthcare in its own right. The great thing about learning Swedish is that it is SO easy for someone who already knows English. Start with DuoLingo, and just commit to 20 minutes a day for 30 days. You'll be blown away by what you can achieve. I hope you are able to make the move to Sweden if that is what you end up aiming for- there are tons of professional options even if you don't speak very much Swedish to begin with, especially for skilled workers. Thanks for stopping by and best of luck on wherever life takes you next!

[@Vortex1988]

@@AbroadonaBudget Thanks for the well wishes. I have been half-heartedly joking about moving to one of the Scandinavian countries for years, but I never thought I would. I'm starting to seriously consider it lately though because things in the US are starting to get legitimately scary, and I have absolutely no confidence in the government to do right by its citizens. My only concern is that I'm a mortgage underwriter, and I'm not sure if that's actually a thing in Sweden or if there is much demand for it. I imagine most people rent in Sweden. I basically just look at mortgage applications all day and determine if people can afford the loans or not. I guess if it's not in demand though, I might be able to make something else in banking or lending work.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

@@Vortex1988 I used to be an underwriter for Harley-Davidson! Since you have a mind for systems/processes, and you are fluent in technology, have you considered pursuing your Salesforce admin certification? Average salaries are 95K and you can do all the training online for free with their Trailhead website. I am not sure how familiar you are with Salesforce, but basically it's a SaaS CRM (customer relationship management) and it's the number one used platform in the world. Admin jobs are in high demand, and you don't have to know how to code to do it- just teach yourself the platform, which, if you learned your underwriting software, you could certainly learn this. I looked into it because they have different data architecture for non-profits and schools, and I am trying to get my school onboard. Check it out at salesforce.org- tons of jobs, mostly remote, and I looked up jobs in Sweden are there are a lot in Stockholm, Malmö, and Gothenburg. I hate that it's called Salesforce, because it sounds like a cheesy MLM from the 1990s, but it's 100% on the up and up (and you might already be familiar, working in underwriting). There are lots of great videos about it here on KZbin as well, and also a nice podcast called Salesforce Admins on Spotify.

[@Vortex1988]

@@AbroadonaBudget it does sound vaguely familiar. I'll have to look into it.

[@coopsnz1]

@@Vortex1988 Majority screwed by high consumption tax in a country , don't buy her left bullshit in Australia I pay 70% tax when you add high car taxes , fuel taxes , liquor taxes = Swedish people have less savings than American middle class

[@Mmcermes]

Almost in all Western Europe there’s higher quality of life compared to the USA (considering medium income)

[@MickaelEngstrom]

If it's true that US spends more on healthcare per capita than in Sweden I suspect it may be because of how it's done. In Sweden we go to the doctor when there is something wrong with us as of having a more preventing healthcare system like in the US. I don't think overtreating is of any good!

[@AbroadonaBudget]

This is such a great point- the Swedish system invests in healthy lifestyles and preventative care, which is lacking in the American model.

[@alwaysSpeakTruth1947]

Few people say that they will get Pension amount back after retirement. What is the amount of interest you will get upon your Pension amount? If you would have got that money on the same month when you were earning then you would have invested it in Stock Market or Real estate and earned huge Profit in few years of time. The infrastructure is already well built, then why they are still taking Huge Taxes in the name of infrastructure? Why not give Free Bus, Rail and Tram tickets for the Tax Payers in that case? Why are you charging for that. And Medical, there is huge waiting time if you want to do basis medical tests, otherwise Pay for it. Is it Really Worth Paying so much Tax for the invisible benefits?

[@Peter-ve6kz]

Approximately It’s 33% income tax, 31% employment fee(based on pre taxes salary) and at the least 20% VAT except for electricity which has 50% tax and fuel around 80% tax rates. If you earn more than 4200usd a mont you pay 55% tax on everything above. That is if you’re employed.

[@arnehammarlind4420]

Arbetsgivaravgiften betalar inte den anställde, utan arbetsgivaren. Räknas inte med i inkomstskatten heller.

[@noahclayborne1240]

So just curious if I never went to college, don't have much health problems, don't have kids requiring daycare, and want to save for my own retirement why would I exactly want to pay these tax rates?

[@AbroadonaBudget]

I think your question highlights a common question about being part of a modern society that is based on taxes, not just Sweden. I could say the same thing about the US, for example. If I never drove a car and biked everywhere, why should I pay for roads, or if I never use public transportation, why should I pay for bus infrastructure, if I never have kids, why should my taxes go to public schools, if I never use the library or go to the museum or use public parks, why would I want to pay for them? If I disagree with a war, why are my taxes funding it? I think the nature of modern, capitalist society, wherein we specialise, earn income, pay taxes, and use those taxes to pay for infrastructure, means that all of us, regardless of where we live, are paying taxes towards something we might never use, or might not benefit from. So I would then say that the reason that this is still a collective good is that, even if I don't personally/direct benefit, I benefit indirectly. So if you, personally, are young and healthy, you might not directly benefit. But just statistically speaking, you are bound to have someone you love and care for who might not be healthy, or who will need care. The lack of stress knowing those you care about are taken care of is valuable; if you were an employer, knowing that your employees will be healthy and taken care of, etc. If you don't have kids, you still benefit from a society where children are cared for and well educated, as every major research in the last several decades draw (distressing and depressing) connections to early childhood trauma and later problems with managing oneself as an adult, drug and alcohol problems, etc. A well educated and healthy community is more enjoyable for everyone to live in. I could go on, but hopefully this makes the point. You will be paying taxes anywhere, and my experience is that I paid a bit more, but got enormously more benefit, both personally and societally. For example, as a teacher, I really can't describe the crushing stress of standing up in front of a group of kids in America and realising that if I didn't buy their supplies, they wouldn't get it, to look at him and know his dad was on the street without mental care, to look at her and know she needed glasses and couldn't get them, etc. A huge indirect benefit to me was that, as a professional, I could focus on being a teacher educating students, not trying to be a surrogate parent and literally paying for them to get necessities. Another benefit was that my friends with health concerns just needed my support- I didn't have to anguish they might die from lack of care, or worry that they weren't getting the best care because it was the discount, bargain basement cattle call care at the free clinic they could afford. Or spend my time organising Go Fund Mes etc. Anyway, all that is to say, I see your point but I think it applies to anyone anwhere in the world, including America, when it comes to paying taxes, and I think it's an inevitable structure of tax financed government infrastructure that seeks to address community needs. And I do personally think that in governments where community needs like education and healthcare are not addressed, it does cumulatively have a net negative impact, albeit on some of us indirectly. On the flip side, I do think it has a net positive impact to educate children as a child free person, or pay for public transportation infrastructure if I have a car, or contribute to healthcare even if I am healthy (one final point- continued health is never a guarantee, and as noted, even having health insurance in America does not protect one from finanacial ruin should you be the unfortunate victim of an accident, or cancer). These things build a positive and productive community, and are linked directly to lower rates of crime and a higher quality of life for everyone. Poverty is the number one correlated factor with crime. If we want to look at it from a utilitarian and purely selfish standpoint, one could say that by paying slightly higher taxes to ensure basic standards of living for citizens, we are in some ways still selfishly (no negative connotation intended there) contributing to our own overall safety and well being by being less likely to be impacted by crime, but that's another point altogether.

[@noahclayborne1240]

@@AbroadonaBudget gotcha. So ultimately it comes down to the collective benfit over voluntary action. I personally think that if there is any role for government it should be to protect me from which is morally unjustifiable which in my view would the protection of my individual rights from others putting my rights at risk. Since nature has no responsibility the government does not have a role in protecting me from nature. That's just my opinion.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

@@noahclayborne1240 You could say that it comes down to collective benefit over voluntary action. I do want to clarify again that I don't think this is unique to Sweden, though. I think it's just as common in the US, due to the examples I enumerated. I think that culturally, there are certain collective benefits that are more accepted/common than others depending on cultural contexts, so they might stand out more/less. Also, my reference to selfishness at the end of my comment didn't have negative connotations- I just mean a self centered act. I do agree there is a difference between selfishness and individualism, but I also don't subscribe to the belief that selfishness is inherently bad or should always be dissuaded. I have acquaintances in the US, for example, who are staunchly Libertarian to the point of not supporting public schools. On the other hand, childfree friends in the US who happily pay taxes to educate other people's children might simultaneously balk at paying for other people's healthcare collectively. I think it comes down to where people decide to draw their line. But for me, I do think this is just the way it works in modern society- I pay taxes for things I don't use, others pay taxes for things they don't use, and different countries enumerate the baseline commodities that are subsidized by taxes. For this reason I think the onus falls on elaborating why one thinks education is justified to be supported as a public good via taxes but not healthcare, as opposed to stating that one shouldn't have to pay taxes for services one doesn't use.

[@Subjektiv1]

If you never went to college you'll probably never get a salary that is high enough to cause you to pay the higher tax rates, and if you don't plan on dying young you'll probably need significant amounts of healthcare eventually (its mostly unavoidable, we do live significantly longer than americans afterall), as for benefits for kids and parents, if you grew up in sweden you're basically just paying society back for all the benfits you and your parents received when you were a kid.

[@staciem.9715]

I have been thinking about moving to Sweden for a while now. How easy was it for you to get a job their?

[@AbroadonaBudget]

As an English speaking teacher without a Swedish teaching license, I was limited to international schools or English schools. That being said, the major cities in Sweden such as Malmö, Lund, and Stockholm all have several international schools or English schools. FuturaSkolan is quite popular for instruction in English, as is IES (but pay is lower). As a teacher, the number one thing you need to know is that salaries are negotiated, there is no salary schedule, and frankly schools often try to take advantage of foreigners because everyone assumes Sweden just always treats workers well- no, this depends on the employer! So do your research and negotiate your pay. If you are an experienced educator and they need you, it's relatively simple to get a job there. But this depends on your area of specialisation and what they need. Best of luck to you!

[@agu212]

This was very helpful for someone preparing to move to Sweden. Thank you so much. I suggest that you add a small chart or other visual cues to keep the important numbers onscreen while talking about it. With that addition, this would be perfect!

[@AbroadonaBudget]

That's a great idea! I was watching over it and thought the exact same thing. Good luck with your move! Sweden isn't the cheapest place to live, BUT it's not as impossible as so many people make it out to be and the standard of living is excellent.

[@Daarkdevil93]

Vafan. Where do you live with only 24% in tax. It's roughly 30% in general

[@rickardkarlsson2245]

I pay 23 % of my income in income tax. But then I only earn 27 500 SEK a month before taxes. The taxes go up if you earn more.

[@Daarkdevil93]

@@rickardkarlsson2245 if you have only 23% in income taxes you are living in an rich city like Danderyd. 98% of all the cities in sweden have 30-34% in income taxes for low income.

[@nickharrison3748]

What is your cost of living, which city you stay?

[@AbroadonaBudget]

I posted a video on my cost of living breakdown here on my channel! I was living in Stockholm.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

@MillerTime See pinned comment for further details. I won't respond to name calling and insults. I grew up on food stamps, HUD housing and have worked since I was 14 years old, including full-time through college and master's programs. I never had health insurance until my first time living abroad, in Japan, at 22. I am not certain what led you to speak in that manner to a stranger on the internet, but I know it's not about me, it's about what you're going through, and I'm sorry for whatever that is. I hope your day gets better.

[@everythingisaworkinprogres5729]

@@AbroadonaBudget It's just a troll. Pay no mind. You just keep doing you, girl. (Great response, btw.)

[@pgancedo9299]

it would never work here in the US because unlike Sweden we are not permitted to check if you are “authorized “ to be in the country. End result is anyone can come here and go to the emergency room, enroll kids in school, access a public defender, etc...none of these things you could do in sweden if you just showed up with your kids. so if you have a verifiable tax paying population then you can do these things

[@marvelenia6702]

Thank you SO much for this useful information! I am working through so much information since my hubby and I are considering moving to Sweden, it is quite overwhelming. Can you please tell me how long one needs to work in Sweden in order to be entitled to a pension? I mean like if you would only work there for 3 years would you be entitled? Of course not to a complete pension that is logical. And if for the beginning only my husband would have a job and I don‘t would I be included in his healthcare? Thanks in advance!

[@AbroadonaBudget]

If your husband has a job and you don't, but you are both residents of Sweden, you are eligible for healthcare. And I was told by my school economist that you are entitled to some amount of pension as soon as you start working- it might be vanishingly small, though, by the time you get it :) I was advised to be sure to keep my personnummer (like a Social Security Number) handy, as well as my log in to the tax company. I hope this helps! I will say, hang in there the first few months- there is a ton of bureaucracy to get up and running, and a lot of things depend on other things- like, you need to get a personnummer before you can get a national ID, and then you need both to get a bank account. The first three months I was there I didn't have a bank account, and for a country that is almost cashless, it was rough- cashing checks at Western Union, not being able to go to some restaurants (lots of places don't take cash at all) having to sort out how to pay my rent, it's a kind of steep onboarding, BUT once you are all set? It's so well organised, well resourced, and high quality services. Best of luck to you!

[@josephmills871]

Please help! So in America we have household income. So if my wife makes 30,000 USD AND I make 30,000 USD our income is 60,000 and that lowers our tax bracket because it’s joint income. In Sweden I see no such thing. I just see personal income tax. So if I make 350,000kr and my wife makes 350,000kr that puts us at 700,000kr My question is this: the national income tax for 700,000kr is 25% on top of 35% municipal and county. Which would be 60% income tax and take me down basically to 280,000kr income after taxes? So my question is do they tax our personal income together at 60% or separate at 35% no national tax until our independent personal income tax reaches that number?

[@whitearthling]

Taxed are paid separately for each individual, it's not possible to get a tax deduction as a whole family. statsskuld.se/en/jobs/net-salary

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Thanks for the response here!

[@josephmills871]

@@whitearthling WOW taxes are lower in Sweden HAHAH

[@miahipop987]

You forgot VAT tax (sales tax) which is 12% for food and 25% for non-food.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

I didn't forget about it- this video vis addressing misconceptions about how much money is deducted from income. I assumed it as a given that people know you pay taxes when you buy things, so I didn't include it here. That is the same in America, so I am used to that being a given.

[@miahipop987]

​ Abroad on a Budget : Ok, but the sale taxes in USA aren't so big. Being so big, VAT it is practically a regressive tax.

[@jaypuck6912]

@@AbroadonaBudget NO ONE has a misconception about deducted taxes. When people say you are paying 50% of your check in taxes, we are talking about ALL taxes. 24% deducted, then you buy a tv, bicycle, new mattress, clothes... all taxed at 25%. 24+25 is 49. 49, 50... what's the difference?!

[@latjolajban81]

@@jaypuck6912 lol. You buy a new tv and bicycle and mattress every month? And only that? You don't buy food? That's 12% VAT.You don't pay rent? That's 0% VAT. Or maybe mortgage? Also 0% VAT. And now your monthly ALL taxes is already considerably lower than 50%.

[@jaypuck6912]

@@latjolajban81 I'm a consumer. While not buying a TV every month, I definitely spend. I have had 2 new trucks in the last 5 years, 4 motorcycles in the last 3 years, 2 camping trailers (totaling $41k) in the last 4 years. My sales tax is 5.0%. I do not have a sales tax on food. I do not have a sales tax on my mortgage, which is at 3.5% for a 5,000 sq ft home on 2/3 acre. Yeah, my home is far larger than the average home in Sweden by multiples. It's tough to compare wages, spending, and taxes, because we are very different cultures.

[@lb9900]

Just wondering what subject do you teach?

[@AbroadonaBudget]

English Literature on the IB DP.

[@annakoch9972]

@@AbroadonaBudget You forget to mention, if you have had (I don't know if you did or not) you teaching degree in Sweden, its free. You get payed to study and get a degree in Sweden.😁👍

[@AbroadonaBudget]

@@annakoch9972 Yes! CSN is fantastic :)

[@kiwikerry6407]

What about your VAT? Cost of goods? Rent? Property tax? If you pay 20% VAT on 25,000 living expenses, then add another $5000 of taxes paid every year.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Hi Kerry, VAT is not an income tax, which is the title, focus, and purpose of this video, as enumerated in the description and the content. This video addressed common misconceptions people have about how much income tax is taken out of your salary, I shared my pre-tax salary, I shared the amount taken out and what it pays for, and then I shared what I take home. Sales tax is a fact of life when consuming goods. But let me ask you- when you sit down to make your monthly grocery budget, do you budget for cost and then make a separate column for sales tax? Or when you make an entertainment/spending budget, do you break this down into the cost of the item and then put another column for sales tax? I would be willing to be you don't. I earn a teacher's salary in Sweden and the money I save on healthcare, paid sick days, and other tax benefits more than makes up for the day to day higher sales tax. But more than that, as a teacher, I take multiple, extended vacations a year, I buy whatever I want from clothes to electronics to hiking and camping gear to books, and I have never, not once, not made a purchase because of sales tax. I budget weekly for restaurants, and that is just the sum total- again, I don't break it out for sales tax separately. Yes, sales tax exists, no, it's not an income tax, it's a consumption tax. I can assure you that in my extensive network of friends and colleagues, no one has ever said "I wish I could buy work clothes, but man, that sales tax!" or "I'd love to have dinner tonight, but I can't afford the sales tax". Clothes budgets and eating out budgets are just a line item like anything else in my budget. You asked multiple questions about my cost of goods and rent, which is linked in a detailed video outlining my real numbers budget in Sweden, based on my take home salary. I am also not sure how rent is expected to be included in a video on income taxes, but as I knew people would be interested in my general budget and how I spend after tax money, I did link that detailed video in the description box. tl;dr sales tax is common throughout the world, I make my monthly budget and spend accordingly, sales tax in Sweden has never deterred me from buying anything I ever needed, wanted, or wanted to try out. I hope this clears it up!

[@coopsnz1]

More than that , there fuel tax , liquor tax , car taxes = 80% if you're in middle class . She earn $46000usd she is in working class. All dumb lefties around the world only mention income tax of a country , never mention the high consumption taxes that really fucks over middle class and business owners in every country

[@abdullakc]

Tax depends on which city u live in

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Yes, very true! My taxes went down when I moved to Södermalm from Tyresö.

[@abdullakc]

@@AbroadonaBudget välkommen till Sverige ^^

[@pierredda8297]

Are you employed in a company or a freelancer? Because do you not have to pay municipal taxes based on where you live, about 30% on top of social contribution and income taxes?

[@Spaceythealien246]

This was so helpful!! My family and I are planning to move to Sweden and this is something I’ve been trying to find answers on. One question: you mentioned that you paid American taxes as well-how much of your income goes to that and how does that all work?

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Hi Lindsy! So because I make less than the threshold for paying taxes back home, I just have to file taxes to let the US gov't know how much I made, but I don't have to pay any taxes. I just download all the forms from IRS.gov and then fill them out and mail them in. I believe the updated threshold is about 130,000 USD per year.

[@jaypuck6912]

Lindsy, are you in Sweden yet? She didn't tell you a lot about what it is really like up there. Hope you didn't go up there yet.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

@@jaypuck6912 This is the fourth comment from you I have seen, so I will reiterate that you spend an awful lot of time reading and commenting, but little time reading the pinned comment above which addresses these criticisms you feel very strongly that I "left out". I appreciate that you feel strongly about this, but I would urge you to consider reading the full information, consider the video title/caption, before you get worked up about the way I am "conning" (to use your word in another comment) people. You seem to feel very strongly against this system, and that's fine. But willfully not reading the information, or criticising me for not including information irrelevant to the title, form, and function of the video is strange to me. i appreciate discourse and criticism, but it's difficult to understand your intention here. Life in Sweden is exceptionally good, and I have never wanted for anything or not been able to buy something I needed, wanted, or just thought would be cool to have on a whim.

[@PutteDanerhag]

I'm sorry but you are wrong. The general tax in sweden from net income is above 30% . Most cities is around 33% tax pay. If u break down a 100kr bill in to tax. It goes like follow. ~ 33kr in tax that u pay. ~ 30kr the company pays in social fees, including pensions, 5 week vacation and so on. U are left with 37kr. Take in to account ~ 25% tax on everything you buy. If u earn more than 435.000kr per year everything u earn after that is taxed with 50% Example: For u to get 435.000 the company will pay ~630.000 U get a salary of 435.000 before tax. After tax you are left with ~327.000 If u earn more than 435.000 For example U make 1.000.000 Than 33% tax is payed for the amount up 435.000 And for the remaining 565.000 u pay 50% tax. So 435.000 / 0.77 = 334.950 565.000 / 0.5 = 282.000 282.000+334.950= 616950 And we just recently took away the tax for the absolute richest people but can't remember what it was. But I believe around 5~10% And like our famous truck manufacturer ceo said to the press: What the hell do I get for the money Sorry for long post, hope I make sense

[@latjolajban81]

Nope. jobbskatteavdrag makes income tax more like 21-25% Social fees is not paid by the employee. So more accurately you are left with around 75-79 kr. But yes, there is 25% VAT on TV's and playstations and stuff.

[@divinanonadversa]

Sportbreak actually started when the schools needed to save costs for keeping the schools warm during ww2.And don´t forget taxes are paying your salay.

[@coopsnz1]

You aren't in middle class you are earning less than $60000usd , middle class in Sweden pays 80% tax when you add high car taxes on a $100000 salary

[@Subjektiv1]

Are you pulling numbers out of your arse ?, The vehicle tax is emissions based (all teslas are $40 / year, a 2021 ferrari SF90(a $550k car which you probably wouldn't own if you only had a $60k / year salary) costs ~$650 / year in vehicle tax. At a yearly salary of ~$80k in stockholm you pay ~30% income tax, if you include payroll tax (paid by the employer but its based on your salary so i guess its fair to count it) its ~46% of your total cost to the employer that goes to taxes in some form, if you assume that the remaining 64% is spent entierly on goods in the highest VAT bracket(so no food or other essentials as that would lower the percentage that goes to taxes) the total amount paid in taxes will hit ~55%. (Which is significantly lower than 80%)

[@rikkshow]

Totally incorrect, not even the marginal tax rate. Do you even know the difference between marginal tax rate and total income tax rate? 😂

[@kiwikerry6407]

I was in NZ over 25 yrs, Oz for a couple. I’m with you that their taxes are worth it when looking at healthcare alone. NZ’s system is like Britain. Oz’s is like Germany. Overall better quality of life than USA, in my opinion. NZ has recently lurched left and is re-learning the lessons of Socialist economics = bankruptcy. They went through that already in 70’s, as Sweden did. I’m back in USA because my daughter & grandchildren are here. I’m hoping to return downunda if/when they return. I enjoyed your podcast. Enjoy your OE, you’re in a good spot. 🤗

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Definitely, for my money, work, and experience, I can't believe the quality of life here on my teacher's salary. Enjoy the time with family in the US!

[@CreRay]

I found this video very informative. I don’t get much of the criticism in the comments. Yes- your employer has to pay taxes as well, but it’s not subtracted from /your/ salary is it? Sales tax is always incorporated in the prices you see, unlike in the US. Ofcourse is the tax on your income not the only tax the government receives... Some people go as far as ”you won’t be able to buy a car”- that’s just plain rediculous and can come only from someone who’s never visited Sweden before.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Thanks for understanding the nuance that goes into this, and the practical assumptions of understanding I made (such as sales tax). And you are right, the employer pays taxes but those are not subtracted from my salary as was given to me in my employment contract.

[@survivalistnomad9507]

I'm an American in USA, how do I apply for jobs in Sweden from here in USA?

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Depends on your field and what is in demand- there are tons of jobs for teachers in English speaking schools. Advertising and computer programming/web development fields are also relatively easy to get into.

[@XxxXxx-eu2yw]

Sorry do you say public transportation... In return of tax?? I think This is the most expensive public transportation in the world... Almost 4 USD per ticket. How this is support?

[@AbroadonaBudget]

I don't know what you are referencing with that number. I paid a flat monthly fee for a transport card that let me take unlimited rides on all public transportation- that part of the video was quite detailed. I compared it to the fact that my monthly transportation card was less than just the liability insurance per month in the US- and of course then you add on wear and tear, oil changes, gas, etc. It was a massive savings to have wonderful public transportation and not have to maintain a car. Hope that clears it up.

[@survivalistnomad9507]

Is there a special tax rate on an American retiree moving to Sweden?

[@AbroadonaBudget]

That's a good question. I imagine you would be subject to the same laws for Americans earning an income overseas. I believe that this year if you made less than 133,000 US Dollars overseas, then you don't have to pay taxes on that back home in America, but you do have to report it. So if you are a retiree and you're living off of a pension, or you are drawing retirement from your investments, as long as you're not living off of more than $133,000 a year I imagine you would just file the foreign earned income exclusion. But I would double-check that. In terms of how you would be taxed here and Sweden on that income, I'm also not certain. The main issue with retiring to Sweden is that I'm not certain how you would get a long-stay visa, because right now my ability to stay in Sweden is tied to my employer sponsoring my visa.

[@annakoch9972]

@@AbroadonaBudget I'm not totally sure but if you can pay for you own visit in Sweden, if you can shown you have money to support your self your free to wisit. That means you must have money to buy your own food, how your gonna pay to live, or stay, hotell, hire a house and so on. And the healthcare isn't free for you then. The system give you a bill, then you send it to your insurers company. BUT... the cost for a visit to the doctor for example a broken arm, actually I don't know, have no idea at all but it's not insane figure. Not a scam. And it is the same cost all over the country. It's not fantasy figure, just mad up by somebody. And the same for medicine. It's cost, but not totally in spin, like in US. (I looked for random epilepsy medicine, don't know if it's common or not. About 120kr. ($12) 60 pills.

[@anacamejo4640]

Have you ever considered making a list of everything you are asking Aborad on a Budget, and taking it up with the Swedish Consulate?

[@rooineck427]

24% tax and that's it? Sure not the whole picture and there are social charges and municipal taxes as well

[@Bellmathclass]

Are you still in Sweden? I'm bringing a class of university students in July to see the differences in sweden's healthcare and education systems with the u.s.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Hi Laura! I am still in Sweden and just now saw this- I am so sorry to have missed the comment. I hope your trip went well!

[@THEREALKINGOFWEST]

I’ve lived in Sweden for years. And I am born and raised in Norway. The problem is that you only talk about your income taxes on a modest salary (low bracket) and not the other high taxes that you also have to pay regardless of how little you make. Sales tax alone in Sweden is 25%. Same thing in Norway. In Norway we also have to pay over 200% taxes on on certain cars. 85% on gasoline. My friend in Oslo paying over $1000 a month just in toll stations. And even more in parking. So you get a lot more for your money in the U.S. It’s not even close! My private healthcare in the U.S. is only $65 a month. I see a lot of videos where people paint a pretty picture of the nordic countries, but when you dig deeper the U.S. is much much better.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

I spoke in detail about my salary, because I am intimately familiar with it. I also have a full video where I break down my entire monthly take home and how I spent it. Even on a modest salary, as a teacher, I traveled whenever I wanted, bought whatever I needed, and never worried about healthcare. I mentioned that for me, I would rather have great public transportation than a private car. Finally, it's great you found that low of a private rate- I have never, ever, ever, heard of anything that low unless it is baseline catastrophic and the deductible is 5 or 10 thousand dollars a year. Almost a decade ago, when I was obviously a decade younger, single, non smoker, healthy weight, no kids, I was paying between 150- 200 a month as the cheapest private option I could find. I'm glad you prefer the US system and have the opportunity to live there. To be clear, this isn't about which one is better. It's about the benefits and tradeoffs of each, and the inaccuracy of just saying "Taxes are high and that's bad/taxes are low and that's good." I have addressed VAT more times than I can count in the comments, but here it is again- VAT is, by definition, not an income tax, which is what this video is about. VAT is a consumption tax. I can't control my income tax, but I can control my consumption. That being said, to reiterate what I told other commenters, I never, not even once, cared or thought about VAT. I never didn't buy something I needed, or go somewhere, or do something, because of VAT. When I made my monthly budget for categories, I never broke it down to split out VAT. No one I knew in Sweden did that either. I had a certain amount of money for eating out, and that was more than enough for me. I traveled, ate well, went out as I pleased, and lived alone in the heart of Södermalm in an apartment within walking distance of my work. It was a great quality of life and this video sought to address the more hyperbolic, US based hand wringing about "tHoSe EuRopEaN TAXES". I hope this clears it up!

[@lb9900]

This video is absolutely amazing. You are great.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Thank you! I need to make more- I have so many things I want to say as an American living in Sweden about the differences.

[@djperryboy]

It's absolutely wrong to think that all pupils emotions is good. There is alot of kids who feels not good. Many people keep it inside. They don't want to hurt other and are afraid they it would "come out" and they will be more hurt. Also what people normally forgot to mention is that the tax also pay for all the road works to keep the good roads that we have in Sweden. And also for new sculptures, for new safety, technology and for repairs of things all around us. Have a good time!

[@jaypuck6912]

Glad you said that. Sweden is the most depressed country on the planet.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

I agree that not all emotions are good in students- that was my point. That they are taken care of mentally, emotionally, and physically. If they need a counselor, they can see one. If they need medication for mental health, they can get it. This was light years ahead of my experience teaching in America, when my students were living in their cars, going hungry, or dealing with violent parents/family members with no recourse, or undiagnosed/untreated medical conditions because they could not afford a doctor.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

@@jaypuck6912 Unfortunately that is incorrect. WHO findings frequently put the US in the category of countries with most depression, anxiety, alcohol/food addiction. "In the U.S., one in five adults will struggle with a depressive disorder at some point in their lifetimes. However, only 41% of depression sufferers will receive help for their illness. The biggest reason that mental health advocates cite as the prevention for people getting help for their depression in the U.S. is a lack of sufficient healthcare providers and the prohibitive costs of medication." Here is one link, but you can also read the UN World Happiness Report and the WHO findings in other places.pulsetms.com/resources/around-world/

[@jaypuck6912]

@@AbroadonaBudget Yes. The USA is #1 in world for alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and obesity. The USA is #3 in world for tobacco abuse. Not surprised the USA healthcare is so expensive. We make bad choices with our health. When it comes to depression, the answer isn't so clear. www.usnews.com/news/best-countries/articles/2016-09-14/the-10-most-depressed-countries The northern countries have more psychiatrists than most other countries. So, the stats you are quoting from WHO, what are they? Are they "untreated" cases? Treated cases? Total cases? If you simply Google "Sweden depression rate" and start reading (even the WHO articles) the anwer isn't so clear. Point is, for a country that is supposedly so awesome, Sweden has a serious underlying problem with depression and suicide. Now, why on earth would we treat the WHO as the God of info anyway? Do a lot of research and come to your own conclusion. Don't just follow their opinion.

[@jaypuck6912]

@@AbroadonaBudget Thinking about it on the way to work, I remember now why I came to the conclusion I have. It's undeniable that the Scandinavian countries are at the top for anti-depressant usage. If you're taking anti-depressant, you're still depressed, even if you feel good. Being dependent on drugs doesn't make you well.

[@MegaPeachi]

its very common they check everything

[@rufuspipemos]

Also, you forgot to point out that Sweden has a 25% VAT, which makes almost everything there about 1/3 more than here. That is a tax. If you count that, your tax rate is about 40%. Sorry, but it is.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

I didn't "forget" that. The title and the description mention this is a video about income tax, and what I get for it. VAT has nothing to do with income, and everything to do with how you spend your income. As was stated in the introduction, the common misconception about Sweden is how much of you income goes to taxes, and if it's liveable. Because of that, It's also not accurate to imply that VAT means that you simply add VAT to income tax and 40% of my income is taxes. I get to choose how much of my income I spend, and VAT is attached to spending. Please see pinned comment below, and a few other comments where I expand into the fact that I never, not even once, changed a spending or purchasing decision because of VAT. It never came up, and didn't impact me. I had budgets for different categories, and I didn't further break it down according to VAT. Even so, I lived better on a teacher's salary in Sweden than any teacher I know in the US. Every country I have ever lived in has had some form of VAT. That's not what the video is about, as it's a given, and just adding VAT to income tax and implying that 40% of my income "goes to taxes" isn't accurate math. Sorry, but it's not.

[@christopherx7428]

Sorry, but I think you have it all wrong. You might pay 24% of your salary that is visible to you in taxes, but your employer pays an additional 32% in taxes that you never see. It is from THIS additional tax that money is put aside for your pension.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Hi- yes, employers pay additional tax. But that doesn't come out of my salary, which is what this video is about. And yes, I spoke with the school economist, and she discussed the pension breakdown to me and that some elements of it are contributed by the employer, and some by me. I don't "have it all wrong". There is a detailed thread in the comments about this exact point you are making. If an employer gives you a contract in Sweden that says "We will pay you 40,000 SEK a month" that is not *after* they have taking 32% of a bigger number out of it and then decided to "leave you" with the rest. The employer tax is a cost of doing business for the employer. The salary tax- which this video is about- is related to the cost to me of taxes in relation to my salary. Hope that clears it up.

[@christopherx7428]

@@AbroadonaBudget Of course it comes out of your salary. It is just a part of your salary that is normally not visible to you. What you are saying is that the extra cost for the employer has nothing to do with your salary. I am rather sure that the employer sees it differently. Yes, 7% of your visible salary goes to the pension. 10,21% of the extra taxes from the employer are also for pensions. So: My apologies: You did not have it all wrong, just part of it. From your video you might get the impression that a lot of benefits are paid for with just a low taxation, the one you see. This is not the case. Here are a lot more details on the "invisible" taxation (in Swedish): www.ekonomifakta.se/Fakta/Skatter/Skatt-pa-arbete/Arbetsgivaravgift/

[@AbroadonaBudget]

@@christopherx7428 No, it doesn't come out of my salary. No, it's not invisible. I stated that clearly. The number on my contract was not asterisked and noted as "by the way this is after we already took 32% out of it". That's simply not the way it works. I know my salary, I received it for four years, I carefully researched before I took the job, and respectfully I'm not interested in continuing to debate with a stranger on the internet who assumes they know more about my income than I do. If you would like, there is a detailed thread about this very misunderstanding further down in the comments that was explained as well. Have a nice day- no use for us both to waste anymore time debating on KZbin if you are intent on your perspective about my paycheck and I know it's not the case.

[@christopherx7428]

@@AbroadonaBudget I agree. Have a nice day! PS: I am Swedish and do know a lot about how things work here...

[@miahipop987]

You forget especially the employer tax ( social security contribution, which is 31.42 percent) and VAT which is high (12% for food and services and 25% for the rest). So in order to have 3800$ before taxes the employer pays in your name around 1740$. So practically the amount that the employer spends is actually 5500$. After that it is the VAT. Sweden is a expensive country. Lets assume you spend 500 $ for food (includes 60$ for VAT), 800$ for rent (includes 96$ for VAT; but I assume you spend more than 800$/month) and 300$ for other thinks (includes 75$ for VAT). It results you spend 1500$/month. I think it is a conservative sum of money. So actually the amount of taxes that the government receives for the fact that you are working are: 1740 + 910 + 60 + 96 + 75 = 2881 $. So your taxes represents 52% not 24%. And with you spend more than 1500$/ month the percentage increases.

[@miahipop987]

@Kevin T In my country are also around 50%. I didn't questioned the system but the number (it is around 50% not 24%). And if you are poorer the taxes increases because you are paying a higher potion of your income for VAT. It is true that you receive all the benefits of the social net. also keep in mind that Sweden is a 10 million people country. As a country is more populated the social programs are more inefficient. As an example the communism worked very well in Israel Kibbutz but failed in any communist country. To cite Nassim Taleb, in economy scale matters.

[@sveingeraldhansen7275]

See Video: Where to Invade Next - Taxes

[@victorcapel2755]

Rent is VAT free, and the VAT for food is 12%.

[@branislavpetriska882]

I totally agree with the gross and net ratio, I've been in Sweden 5 times workwise and the axes they took were always less than in my homecountry Slovakia!!!Of course nobody back home would believe me till I showed them the payslips.😂😂

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Yes! I am glad you understand!

[@Zacharias_Andersson]

Don't forget 25% sales tax

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Yes, but this video focused on income pre-post tax, and what those income taxes go towards. A consumption/sales tax is assumed as many societies, including my home country, have them. I can say that I have never not purchased anything I wanted, needed, or just thought would be fun because of the sales tax involved, so honestly sales tax is something that I just never, ever think of- I take it as a given, part of consumption, and I've already budgeted my post tax salary, so the tax on, say, a meal out doesn't impact me meaningfully in terms of feeling a cut. I just take it out of my restaurant budget, and am used to a meal out being 25 USD (I mean, yes that is super expensive, but as a former poverty level waitress in high school in Texas I appreciate why meals out in Sweden are expensive to actually take care of employees). My goal in the video was to dispel the rampant myth that 50% or more of your salary goes to taxes, so I focused on my salary and income taxes. A clarification that the sales tax percentage is X in Sweden vs. Y in America would have been an interesting addition to compare the numbers, but because a) I considered consumption tax a given b) I never think of it/it never hinders me and c) the video was on income tax, I didn't speak to it- but not out of forgetting or purposefully leaving it out. I suppose in the end it proves how painfree I find the sales tax that I don't even think about it, haha. The pinned comment goes into more detail on all of this, especially other issues like having a house, or kids, or a car. I hope this clarifies it and why it wasn't mentioned in the video- thank you for not assuming malicious intent to exclude on my part, as has unfortunately been somewhat of a trend in some of the comments regarding sales tax.

[@coopsnz1]

Fuel tax , liquor tax , car taxes this video misleading like most socialist do globally never mention all taxes you pay in total

[@AbroadonaBudget]

@@coopsnz1 there is nothing misleading about sharing detailed, real numbers pre and post tax salary on a video that clearly states I will be talking about income tax. How was your experience living and working in Sweden, in terms of quality of life and savings? You seem quite confident in labeling my salary and my experience as working class, even as I enjoyed multiple week long vacations plus a summer break, no stress around healthcare, I could go out to eat when ever I wanted, I bought whatever I needed whenever I wanted it, none of my friends who were also teachers or other people in my similar income bracket ever went without, I had a great standard of living in a beautiful, safe city. Again, you are expressing frustration that I didn't talk about consumption tax when that is not income tax. As I have said in multiple comments related to this critique, consumption tax is simply not something that ever, not once, ever came up as a deterrent for me to buy what I wanted or needed. I never was about to head out for a dinner with friends, and said, you know what... but that sales tax! I never went out to buy work clothes, or snow gear, or a book, or anything else, and said, oh, dangit, sales tax, nevermind. I know many people making 60-70K in America who had a lower quality of life in terms of stress and bills than I did. I look forward to hearing your perspective on when you lived and worked i Sweden, because you seem to feel quite strongly that I am wrong as I share my experience living and working in Sweden for almost four years. Again, please see title, description, and focus of the video, along with my real numbers budget linked for even more details, and the pinned comment below. If you want to persist in the idea that it is a socialist hellscape of scraping by and shoveling all your money to taxes, you can, but frankly that was not my experience nor the experience of the tens of locals and foreigners I worked with and was friends with. I hope this clears it up.

[@coopsnz1]

@@AbroadonaBudget I ive in Australia , small business owners are in middle class on $100000aud salaries

[@AbroadonaBudget]

@@coopsnz1 that works out to about 51,000 SEK a month in Sweden. Everyone I know was making somewhere around 30,000 SEK a month, plus or minus a few thousand in either direction. Raising kids, buying homes, some had cars, it seemed pretty middle class and comfortable to me. But I acknowledge that even what a middle class life looks like can be subjective. I can only speak to the fact that every year a few teachers would announce they had bought an apartment. Every Friday, it was an afterwork with drinks and eating out, mid-week hangs, every vacation talk would turn to where you were traveling, because it was a given. Foreign staff would sometimes fly all the way home to North America multiple times a year. My partner paid off his Canadian student loan debt while traveling every vacation and flying home to Canada at least once a year. Everyone was quite comfortable, including those with kids and apartments and pets. My particular company was notorious for underpaying vs. market rate, so we would bitch about the corporate penny pinching, but again, no one was struggling anywhere near the level I would say would mean we weren't middle class. It's interesting to hear the numbers in Australia, as another country know for good quality of life/high cost of living.

[@mikey291145]

Great Info. If it were as great as you say , why don't all Americans move to Sweden, because it is not as great as you say. 25% payroll tax and 25% VAT = 50% of you pay so far goes to taxes. Not including another Huge tax on gas. I'll stay in the US and manage my own money. One bad move by the Gov't and you guys are another Venezuela. Good luck though

[@AbroadonaBudget]

That's not how VAT works. It's 25% of the purchase, which is why it is called VAT, or value added tax. It is a consumption tax at the time of purchase. So it's not 25% of my salary, because VAT doesn't have to do with my salary. See the pinned comment where I address this. To compare Sweden to Venezuela shows misunderstanding of their governments, constitutions, culture, and laws. I know Venezuela is the common example brought out to prove that any social welfare is bad, and I understand the point you are trying to make, but by comparing these two countries you are undercutting your own argument. It would perhaps make more sense to compare, say, Sweden and Germany, and the different ways they address social welfare and safety nets. Thanks for sharing your perspective, and see pinned comment for further details. It sounds like you are American from your comment about staying in the US. Respectfully, how can you possibly tell me it's not like what I am saying, when I lived there for almost four years, most of my friends were Swedish (and many with children, cars, and home mortgages) and you are saying you'd rather stay in the US? The point of my video is not to convince you, but to share first hand information because of misinformation that is often propagated by people who have never lived in these countries. You disregard it having never lived there, while also sharing misinformation about how VAT works functionally and mathematically.

[@jaypuck6912]

@@AbroadonaBudget But, that is how it works. If you want to compare it properly, Americans are consumers. I do, but most don't save. They spend every dollar they get. So, they're paying that VAT!!! You can't compare taxes paid by consumers to taxes paid by non-consumers.

[@latjolajban81]

Mike29 Why more Americans don't move to Europe? You are the living embodiment of that. Misinformation and disbelief.

[@rikkshow]

Sweden's Constitution prevented a covid lockdown. The US didn't. Seems to me that we who live in the US are closer to Venezuelan tyranny 😂

[@daviddaviedavidson]

Can everyone please stop calling EI, income tax, healthcare and pension into the word taxes. It’s annoying.

[@droptine0826]

So with VAT taxes you pay 36 percent and if you drove a car and had to buy gas that number would be much higher.

[@joshn2342323]

VAT is 25% in Sweden.

[@jaypuck6912]

Well, the goal of her video was the BS you into thinking the taxes were low. She intentionally didn't mention 25% VAT (12% if for food, but in USA food is 0%). She didn't mention why people can't buy homes, and so many rent. She didn't mention why people don't buy cars... ownership tax is a bitch! She also didn't tell ya gas is about triple -- because of taxes.

[@latjolajban81]

@@jaypuck6912 Again... wow. Look. I'm a teacher in Sweden. I own my own apartment. I own a car. I eat out most of the days. I do that no problem on a teacher salary. Don't lie and try to make it seem like people can't live comfortably in Sweden. You are making a fool of yourself.

[@jaypuck6912]

@@latjolajban81 How big is your apartment? How nice is your car? How nice is your apartment? There are so many more things to consider than just the fact you eat out. And, I'm not lying. Facts are facts, and they are VERY easy to find on the internet, even from Swedish websites and their government site.

[@latjolajban81]

@@jaypuck6912 My apartment is big enough for a single person. My car is from 2017. My apartment is rather nice in a rather nice neighborhood. Yes facts are facts. But you are distorting or misreading the facts.

[@LiterallyGod]

Still too high

[@larskaminskidk]

You forgot to include your employers social contributions. so if make about 3.800 usd per month. your employer pays about 32% ekstra ini social contributions. So your real pay is about 5.000 USD. you pay about 900 USD i tax and your employer pays about 1.200 USD in social contributions. A total tax of about 2.100 USD. So your real tax i about 2.100/5.000 = 42%

[@1620rx]

People conveniently leave out stuff to justify their position.

[@nairobie755]

Sure you shouldn't include your neighbors taxes as well? I mean it's money that someone else pay in taxes/fees and that you will never see even if the law was changed tomorrow.

[@latjolajban81]

But that employer social contribution fee is not deducted from your salary. If your agreed salary when you take the job is 4000, then thats what you get pre income tax. The social contribution is not deducted from your 4000. It's a cost that the employer pays on top of your agreed salary.

[@rikkshow]

US employers also pay such taxes and workers comp, a bit lower than in Sweden. Did you forget?

[@alwaysSpeakTruth1947]

And Why only Swedish Medium Schools are Free? Why not International Schools which teach English? In India you get English Education at really low amount. And Still All the Top CEOs of Top American Companies are Indians, why not any Swedish person dit it, bcoz they are educated in Swedish school?

[@matswinberg5045]

The CEO of Verizon Hans Vestberg is a Swede. There are many opportunities in Sweden managing succesful Swedish companiees. FYI English is taught in Swedish schools from second grade. Movies and TV series in English or other languages are not dubbed but subtitled.

[@joshn2342323]

Sweden is only a bad place to live if you are high income, like make over 50k USD per year. Then most of your income goes to taxes lol As long as you stay below 468,700 SKK/year / 48k USD/year then the taxes are reasonable compared to what you get in services.

[@latjolajban81]

lol. The higher taxes above 50k, is only on the part of your income that is above 50k. If you earn say 53k, you pay the lower taxes on the first 50k, and then the higher tax rate on the 3k above. You would be stupid to say no to a wage increase because of some idea that you suddenly will pay more in taxes and get less money in the pocket. That's not true.

[@antediluvianatheist5262]

TLDR: taxes high, totally worth it.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

100%, I approve this video summary :)

[@ollbor75]

shes fucking rich my income in sweden is 1600 dollars every month and i pay 33% in taxes...

[@badgerresistance4322]

She got me all excited about Sweden, but then all the swedes in the comments started adding and adjusting tax numbers and got me second guessing. Maybe I'll just go and vacation.

[@marcusdavenport1590]

You didn't count the hidden taxes... You're only counting the direct taxes... This video was a waste.

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Hi Marcus, do you live and work in Sweden? Can you tell me what hidden taxes I didn't speak to, in regards to the stated topic of the video and the written video description, which was my income before tax, the taxes which come out of my income related to services like healthcare, worker protections, retirement, and public services, and the money I take home after those taxes? I assume you are mentioning sales tax, which, to be clear, is not an income tax or related to taxes the government takes out of my paycheck, which, again, was the stated description of this video, and what was enumerated with real numbers and details therein. Sales tax is a given around the world, and any working adult is well aware of it. It higher in Sweden than in other places, but the money I save on having paid sick days, paid health insurance, not having to pay for a car thanks to excellent public transportation, means that I have never, not once, even though about sales tax. It simply doesn't affect my life in any way. It's a given of society that there is some sales tax, and the higher sales tax in Sweden is offset as mentioned, in my experience, by all the other money I don't have to spend. As a teacher, I went on swanky ski vacations, traveled on every one of my vacations a year- a week in fall, two weeks at Christmas, a week in early spring, and a week in late spring, plus a normal summer break- bought consumer items I needed/wanted. No one I know, ever, not even once, in Sweden has said "Yeah, I really wanted to eat out today, but man that sales tax!" or "Yeah, I need new work clothes, but man, that sales tax!". I give myself a weekly budget for things like eating out, entertainment, etc., and in no way do I break that weekly spending money budget into money and sales tax money- I mean, that's just silly, frankly. In Texas, there is a sales tax as well, but I just said hey, I have X amount of money to spend a month on entertainment, the end. Please see my pinned comment, or other comments below from Swedish people discussing this. I hope this clears it up, and sorry you found the video of me discussing taxes on my income to be a waste because I discussed taxes on my income.

[@rikkshow]

US real estate tax is way higher than in Sweden, did you not know?

[@msmith508]

Your taxes are ~50% + 25% sales tax! Hey check out the comments here totally disagreeing with your numbers. Also check out “Sweden: Lessons for America” on youtube. And you forgot sales tax. What is it 25% on ALMOST EVERYTHING you buy? And if you want extra insurance against catastrophic health surprises, you can CHOOSE to buy supplemental insurance in the US. But the point is it’s a choice, not the government giving you no choice in the matter!

[@AbroadonaBudget]

See the pinned comment. I lived, worked, and earned a paycheck in Sweden and shared exact numbers in this video. My taxes are not 50% + 25%. I don't know what else to say other than you're not correct.

[@jaypuck6912]

She's a teacher. If she was smarter with math, she'd be something else.

[@latjolajban81]

Matthew Smith You are completely wrong. It's not 50% + 25%. income tax for most Swedes is around 21-25%. VAT is 25% on consumer goods. Do you buy a new TV or playstation every month? Rent is 0% VAT. Food is 12%. I know you have VAT on food in the states as well, so that's not exactly unique to Sweden or any other country. And why would we choose to not have everything covered in healthcare? We don't need to buy extra insurance against catastrophic health surprises. We don't need to buy insurance at all. You know, the whole point of insurance is for the insurance to cover the expenses in case of surprises. What a stupid arguement. "You got everything covered? Oh ye? Well, I can choose to NOT be covered! So take that!" lol.

[@jaypuck6912]

@@latjolajban81 I don't have a VAT (or sales tax) on food in Colorado, USA. I didn't have one in the other two states I have lived in either. I just looked it up, actually. Only 45 of 50 states have a sales tax. Of the 45, only 13 charge sales tax on groceries. None of our states have a general sales tax as high as your tax on food.

[@latjolajban81]

@@jaypuck6912 "only" 45 of 50 states... You have other taxes in many states instead. Sales taxes like you said, and use taxes. Most countries in the world has VAT. US is one of the few exceptions, but has sales tax or use tax in some states instead. Don't make VAT sound like some unique expensive feature of Scandinavia. It's not.

[@yoni8714]

This is complete bullshit, with a salary of $3800 a month, and assuming the tax in your city is around average, the marginal tax is FOURTY-SIX POINT SIX PERCENT. Yes, it’s 46.6%.

[@Subjektiv1]

You don't pay the marginal rate on your whole salary. at $3800 (32620 SEK) a month you pay 7610 SEK / month in tax (national average rate), you don't pay state income tax (you need a salary of around 44700 SEK / month to pay state tax, and then you only pay that on the amount above 44.7k (That is what MARGINAL means) (and the first ~20k SEK you earn each year are tax free, so if you earn for example 3000 SEK / month your effective tax rate would only be ~7%) Thus the actual rate would be: 7610 / 32620 = 23.33% , if you include the payroll tax (arbetsgivaravgift) the pre-tax amount would be 42 869 and total tax paid would be 17 859 or 41% If you have a 55000 SEK / month salary you do pay state income tax though, but even then you only pay the higher rate on ~11000 SEK / month and your total tax would end up at 16970 SEK or 30% effective tax rate. (or if you include the payroll tax, 47,38%)

[@AbroadonaBudget]

This is exactly right, thank you for the clear and concise explanation! I feel like I am giving the same explanations over and over to try and give these details and it helps to have support from people commenting!

[@ebenezernanaaddo3552]

You are very beautiful inwardly and outwardly may God guide u

[@AbroadonaBudget]

Thank you so much 😀