Christmas gifts for employees 2026: the 600 kr limit, gift cards and what happens over it
In Sweden, a Christmas gift (julgåva) to your employees is tax free up to 600 kr including VAT in 2026, fifty kronor more than last year. One krona over, and the whole gift is taxed. Here are the rules, what counts for gift cards, and a check that gives you the answer straight away.
In Sweden, a Christmas gift (julgåva) to your employees is tax free up to 600 kr including VAT in 2026, fifty kronor more than last year. One krona over, and the whole gift is taxed. Here are the rules, what counts for gift cards, and a check that gives you the answer straight away.
The basic rule: at most 600 kr including VAT
A Christmas gift is tax free for the employee when its value is at most 600 kr including VAT for the 2026 income year. For 2025 the limit was 550 kr.
The value is the gift's market value: what it costs in a shop, VAT included. Your costs for handling and shipping the gifts don't count.
Two more conditions apply:
- Every employee, or a larger group, gets a gift. A present for one person is not a tax-free Christmas gift.
- The gift is not money. More on that, and on gift cards, below.
The rules can also cover contractors, such as consultants you hire.
Check your Christmas gift
Type what the gift cost, or read it from the receipt, and pick what the gift is. If you bought every gift on one receipt, say how many gifts it covers, and we split the amount evenly.
One krona over, and the whole gift is taxed
The limit is not an amount that is always tax free. A gift that costs 601 kr is taxable in full, not just the krona over. Two things follow:
- The employee pays income tax on the whole value, like salary.
- You pay the employer social fee (arbetsgivaravgift) on the whole value, 31.42% for most employees.
| Christmas gift per person | Social fee per gift |
|---|---|
| 600 kr | 0 kr |
| 601 kr | 188.83 kr |
| 750 kr | 235.65 kr |
| 25 gifts at 750 kr | 5,891.25 kr |
So 25 gifts at 750 kr cost almost 5,900 kr extra in fees, on top of the gifts. The same gifts at 600 kr cost nothing extra.
The social fee is 31.42% for most employees. For employees born 1938 to 1958 it is 10.21%. For employees born 2003 to 2007 it is 20.81% on pay up to 25,000 kr a month, from 1 April 2026. The check above uses 31.42%.
Gift cards: can they be swapped for money?
Money is never a tax-free gift. Nor is anything that counts as money: a cheque, a postal order or a gift card that can be swapped for money.
For one shop, one chain or one experience. It can be a tax-free Christmas gift, under the same 600 kr limit.
If the card can be cashed in, or moved to an account, it counts as money. It is taxed like salary, at any amount.
Read the terms before you buy. They say whether the card can be cashed in.
Charity instead of a Christmas gift
Many companies give money to a charity instead of buying presents. The tax depends on who decides:
You give to charity instead of giving Christmas gifts. Then there is no taxable gift for the employees. You can't deduct the cost.
An employee asks you to give money to charity instead of their gift. Then the employee is taxed on the gift's value, as salary.
Deductions and VAT for the gift
A gift to an employee is deductible for you, whether it is taxable or not. You can deduct the VAT on the purchase as long as the gift is tax free for the employee.
If the gift is taxable, you pay the social fee on its market value. You can deduct that fee too.
Other gifts to employees
The Christmas gift is one of three tax-free gifts. The other two have their own limits and conditions. All three are tax free up to the amount, VAT included, in 2026.
To every employee, or a larger group. Every year.
When the company turns 25, 50, 75 or 100. At most every 25 years. It was 1,650 kr in 2025.
After at least six years in total: on a round birthday from 50, after 20 years of employment, or when the employment ends. Once, besides when the employment ends.
The same applies to all three: over the limit, the whole gift is taxed.
A Christmas gift in CLVR Benefits
CLVR Benefits has no ready-made Christmas gift feature. But the platform is flexible enough to carry one, and we set it up for you:
- The gift as a benefit in your store. We add a benefit for your company only, with your own text and pictures. Employees choose between the gifts you offer in the Benefits Store, and nothing is taken from their benefit allowance. HR sees every choice in the platform.
- A banner and an email. We can show a banner on the dashboard that leads to the gift, and email every employee when it's time to choose.
- More than 600 kr? Give allowance instead. If you want to give more, add an amount to everyone's benefit allowance. That is not a Christmas gift: each purchase follows its category's rules. Wellness is tax free up to 5,000 kr a year. On a taxable purchase, the social fee is taken from the allowance, so your cost is the amount you set.
If you have companies in Norway, other rules apply there: Christmas gifts for employees in Norway 2026.
The short version
- A Christmas gift is tax free up to 600 kr including VAT in 2026. The limit was 550 kr in 2025.
- Over the limit, the whole gift is taxed, and you pay the social fee on the whole value.
- Money, and gift cards that can be swapped for money, are always taxed.
- Every employee, or a larger group, gets a gift.
- Anniversary gift: 1,800 kr. Memorial gift: 15,000 kr.
Sources
- Skatteverket: Gåvor (for employers): the limits, the rule that every employee or a larger group gets a gift, gift cards, charity, deductions and VAT.
- Skatteverket: Julklappar och andra gåvor till anställda: the limits for 2026 and 2025, and the conditions for memorial gifts.
- Skatteverket: Belopp och procent 2026: Christmas gift 600 kr, anniversary gift 1,800 kr, memorial gift 15,000 kr, and the social fee rates.
- Skatteverket: Julgåvor och julbord, 13 October 2026.
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