Questions and answers

You can see how the calculation is made via using the Calculator on the first page of frilansfinans.se. Enter your age and the amount, and the click on “show details.”

Notify Administration at info@frilansfinans.se that you need a certificate of employment, and for what period, and we will arrange it.

You claim deductions for expenses directly from the invoiced amount and thus don’t need to pay these with taxed money. Example: you have made an agreement with the customer that you will receive remuneration of SEK 1,000 for services rendered. You have costs/expenses of SEK 200. You are therefore only taxed on SEK 800. The costs/expenses amounting to SEK 200 we pay directly to you, against the approved receipt(s) you have submitted. The costs/expenses are entered into the invoicing tool, Invoice, Part 2, which you can access via the “Create invoice” button that you see when you are logged in. For further information, refer to the Deductions Guide

You are always welcome to invoice via Frilans Finans. The only difference compared to if you do not have non-payments in your credit history is that your pay is not transferred to you until the customer has completed its payment to Frilans Finans.

Frilans Finans makes three different assessments for the payment of wages: “Approved without non-payment records,” “Approved with non-payment records” or “Not Approved.” After you enter the details for an invoice, we will notify you by e-mail which assessment the invoice has received.

1. In the normal case, the invoice receives the credit assessment “Approved without non-payment records.” Five (5) business days after the invoice’s date of approval, we will pay your net pay (the amount you have paid out to your bank account after the statutory taxes have been deducted) directly to your bank account. Note that it may take 1-2 business days before the money is in your bank account and available to you.

End customers receive a 30-day payment terms calculated from the invoice’s date of approval. The conditions for that the work/invoice will be Approved without non-payment records are:

• – that the customer does not have a negative credit history (non-payment records).
• – that you do not have a negative credit history (non-payment records).
• – that the customer does not consist of yourself or another party where you have significant common interests.
• – that the day(s) worked is/are not more than 30 days prior.
• – that the customer is registered with the Swedish Companies Registration Office. You can check this yourself with the Companies Registration Office
• – that the receivable concerning the work you performed is not in dispute.

2. Specific cases in which the invoice has the credit assessment status “Approved with non-payment records.” In the situation where the customer is a private individual, or a company located abroad, or some of the criteria for the invoice to be given the status “Approved without non-payment records” can not be met, the invoice receives the credit assessment status “Approved with non-payment records.”

The wages are paid out as soon as the end customer has completed their payment to Frilans Finans, usually after 30-40 days. Note that the “Approved with non-payment records” is not something negative, it only means that Frilans Finans assesses the risk to be somewhat higher due to natural reasons such as that the customer is located abroad, which means that verifications and follow-ups are difficult to make.

3. Very special cases are “Not Approved.” If the customer is in insolvency, for example, that a notification of potential bankruptcy petition has been submitted to the Swedish Enforcement Authorities, or that its liabilities significantly exceed assets, Frilans Finans will reject the invoice in its entirety. Therefore no wages are paid out. You can always check in advance, by contacting Frilans Finans, if the billing for your work/your invoice will be “Approved without non-payment records,” “Approved with non-payment records,” or “Not Approved.”

Frilans Finans has accounts with credit reporting agencies and can immediately provide information about a customer’s financial status. Frilans Finans’ decision concerning the assessment status cannot be appealed.

Frilans Finans’ invoice tool has a unique feature that lets you easily, via a drop down menu on the “Create Invoice” tab, choose which currency you wish to invoice in. Invoices to abroad count as exports and are not subject to VAT. Invoices are prepared so that customers who are located abroad will be able to easily make payment to Frilans Finans. Regarding the payment, we provide i.a. the following information:

For our non-domestic customers, payment is preferably received through

SWIFT SEB: ESSESESS.

Account number: 5368 10 536 93.

IBAN: SE2250000000053681053693

Frilans Finans invoices globally, to countries all over the world, and has built up a unique expertise in invoicing to foreign entities, so we can provide advice on these issues.

Yes, you are entitled to benefits from your unemployment insurance fund according to the Swedish Unemployment Insurance Act, assuming of course that you fulfil the terms and prerequisites to qualify for unemployment insurance. Frilans Finans applies the Trade Organisation of Umbrella Companies www.egenanstallning.org overall assessment: umbrella employed as a contractor in combination with unemployment benefits.

In order that your unemployment insurance fund will be able to make a proper assessment of you as an employee, the following points are important.

• Always pre-register your work, to the extent possible.
• Exchange assignment contacts (between Frilans Finans and the customer, the party whom you are performing the work for), to the extent feasible.

We can help you with filling in forms and questionnaires from your unemployment insurance fund. Before contact is made with your unemployment insurance fund, we recommend that you always contact Administration at Frilans Finans for information and advice, so that you know how you what you should do.

Attached below you will find information from the Trade Organisation of Umbrella Companies.

Information from the Trade Organisation of Umbrella Companies – Umbrella Employed in combination with Unemployment Insurance

Preconditions

Currently, there is a great deal of uncertainty among the unemployment insurance fund administrators concerning how the rules in the Unemployment Insurance Act should be interpreted. A further complicating factor is that according to the Unemployment Insurance Act your unemployment insurance fund is not allowed to not provide an advance decision. The difficulty the administrators at the unemployment insurance funds have in interpreting the law is due to that it was written and designed for a labour market that has fundamentally changed since it was written. Stated in more simplified terms, one could say that the law is written from a situation (and presumption) in which people worked at the same place year in and year out, and that the individual employee could be controlled in purely physical terms. Today the majority of people are working with some form of personal responsibility over their job/employment, and the unemployment insurance fund quite simply finds it difficult to relating to the fact that the worker has their own responsibility, since according to the Unemployment Insurance Act entrepreneurs are holders personal responsibility and that in the main entrepreneurs are entitled to the unemployment insurance benefits only in special cases.

So the conclusion is, in order to be eligible for compensation from the unemployment insurance fund, you should as an employee have as little as possible own responsibility and be placed under the employer’s direction. The Trade Association of Umbrella Companies’ member companies responds to this legal requirement via advance registration, which means that you report in when, where and with what you are going to be working with to your umbrella company before the work commences. The pre-registration is done in your umbrella company’s own system, e-mail address, etc. and most preferably by that the customer signs your umbrella company’s standard contract (open as PDF) for the purchase of services: Frilans Finans standard contract. Frilans Finans Standard Agreement . Also see “How do I make an advance registration of an invoice?”

Subordination – the most fundamental evaluation criterion

When you make a pre-registration, this means in the employment law that sense that you as an employee are initiating a job that your umbrella company controls, as the law requires: the nature of the work, time and location. Based on these conditions, your umbrella company then chooses to accept the assignment or to decline it.

This means that you as the employee are placed under the employer’s control, which in the legal sense is of importance because it indicates that you are an employee, or a non-independent contractor (non-independent service provider), and thus are potentially qualified receive to benefits from the unemployment insurance fund. The opposite relationship is an entrepreneur (owner of a company) or independent contractor.

Therefore in summary, it is important that you communicate to your administrator at your unemployment insurance fund that you initiate the work for your umbrella company, who after a decision to enter into the contract, verifies the nature of the work, time and location, and then offers an employment (to you). This way of organising work means that you are under the control of Frilans Finans and that Frilans Finans has the same rights and obligations as any other employer in Sweden.

Several assessment criteria

Below are some other criteria that are important for the unemployment insurance fund’s overall assessment of whether you to be regarded in the sense of unemployment insurance as an employee or non-independent service provider and thus are qualified to receive benefits from the unemployment insurance.

You, as an employee or non-independent service provider, are characterised in that you;

• – Only are making your labour available
• – Sell/perform only one type of service/work
• – Are remunerated for the assignment according to the time elapsed, for example, per hour
• – Do not have a registered firm, company, corporation or similar entity
• – Usually lack a dedicated premises for the activities
• – Are registered with the Public Employment Service

You have the right, under the Unemployment Insurance Act, to an overall assessment

According to the Unemployment Insurance Act, your unemployment insurance fund is not allowed to not provide an advance decision. However, they are required to make an overall assessment of the facts when they examine whether you are eligible to receive benefits from the unemployment insurance.

Some things to consider

In order to be clear vis-à-vis your administrator at the unemployment insurance fund, remember that in the employment law legal sense you are employed, and therefore avoid words or entrepreneurial concepts such as e.g. invoice, customer, do it on my own, etc.

Is the Swedish government doing something to adapt the law to today’s reality?

Former Minister for Employment Hillevi Engström was well aware of the problems with the legislation, and the Ministry of Employment’s press release of 2 October 2010 speaks about that there is great legal uncertainty for individuals. Then-Administration then issued a supplementary directive concerning establishing clear and predictable rules for contractors/service providers within the framework of the Social Insurance Investigatory Commission which should have been presented on 1 January, 2015. The Social Insurance Investigatory Commission report was presented in March 2015, and it does not contain any concrete proposals for clarification of the rules.

You make an advance registration via that you report to Frilans Finans when, where and with what you are going to be working with before you commence your work.

There are several alternative ways to make an advance registration at Frilans Finans:

1. Preregistration Standard Contract

In order to meet the requirements of dependence to the fullest extent, you should ask the customer to sign the Standard Contract for the purchase of services and submit it to Frilans Finans before the work commences.

The Frilans Finans Standard Contract is designed to accommodate most professions and various different types of service. This is what to do:

Open up the standard contract in Word and add the information in the yellow fields. Print out the contract in two copies. Ask the customer to sign both copies and send them to Frilans Finans at the address:

About Frilans Finans

Dag Hammarsköldsväg 13

SE-752 37 Uppsala

Frilans Finans then signs the contract and then returns one copy to the customer. If you need help to adapt the contract for a particular transaction, please contact Frilans Finans Administration. We will be happy to assist with that.

2. Other pre-registration

Alternatively, you have the option of choosing to pre-register by registering the customer and the working date in the invoice tool, then save this by clicking on the button “Invoice pre-registration”. The invoice is now saved to “My Page” and when it is time to issue the final invoice, you return to it and continue by inputting the remaining details and finishing the invoicing.

Minor deviations are accepted. For example, if any working day has been shifted a few days or you’ve spent more working days on the project than was initially planned. The work will still be counted as pre-registered.

You can also pre-register by sending an e-mail to info@frilansfinans.se or by phoning to 0771-15 10 00, however we recommend advance registration is done via the Standard Contract. See above.

Login to your start page. From there you can upload your logo that you want to have on your invoices. The cost for having your own logo on your invoices is SEK 225/year.

No, Frilans Finance has no limitations on amounts, either minimum or maximum limits.

The answer is actually both yes and no. From 1 January 2003 an invoicing company that is not owned by the person who is on stage will be treated as a production company, and they add 25% VAT on the fees paid to performing artists, i.e. gager. Frilans Finans is equated with a production company according to the Tax Agency’s definition and therefore Frilans Finans must impose 25% VAT on fees paid to performing artists.

In cases where the artist who stands on the stage owns the invoicing company, this will be treated as an Artist company and VAT is not to be added to the fees paid to the performing artist. Note that as a consequence, the Artist company is not entitled to deduct VAT on purchases.

It is worth noting is that VAT does not constitute an cost for most companies in Sweden because they are subject to VAT, and thus are entitled to offset input VAT against output VAT. Certain private individuals, non-profit organisations, religious communities, and the above-mentioned Artist companies, are exempted from the payment of VAT, so for these VAT constitutes an expense and nor do they have the right to deduct VAT.

Frilans Finans verifies that the invoices for services which, according to the Tax Agency’s rules, relate to services that are not subject to VAT are not charged VAT. There are very few services and goods that are exempted being subject to VAT. Some examples of exceptions include CSN eligible education, so-called reverse VAT on construction, and exports.

Please refer to the tab, ‘‘How it works.” You can also use the Calculator on the homepage to calculate your net wages on the basis of the invoice amount, or vice versa.

Whichever bank you have, you should only enter four digits as the routing number. If you have Swedbank, for example, omit the fifth digit altogether. Then fill in the account number as usual without spaces, dots or dashes. If you have a Nordea personal account, your routing number is 3300, and you fill in the account number according to YYMMDDXXXX.

Yes, you need to register. This is absolutely free of charge. In order to enable the site to be so simple, easy to use, and secure as possible, you need to have a login account. Functions related to your login account make it easier to enter both the principal and employee. You can check your balance, payslips (specification of wages), invoices, etc. previously input invoices, etc. Additionally, we communicate with you via your login name.

The agreement consists of that you accept the general terms and conditions of employment at the time of invoicing, no commitments beyond that. The rights and obligations between you and Frilans Finans are governed by you approving an invoice.

Yes, this is perfectly acceptable. The amount that the person with their own company will invoice is entered as a deduction in the invoice tool, Invoicery. The invoice tool can be found by clicking on “Create Invoice” in the logged status. The LevID that is automatically generated when you input a deduction must be indicated in the invoice sent to Frilans Finans. The LevID makes it possible for Frilans Finans to be able to quickly and securely verify that the invoice received is correct.

Yes. That’s no problem at all. Once you’ve logged in and arrived at your start page, click on “Settings” and then select the right tab “Personal Data,” and follow the instructions there.

Yes. This too is quite easily done. Once you’ve logged in and arrived at your start page, click on “Settings” and then select the right tab “Personal Data,” and follow the instructions there.

In the login box, click on the “Forgot my password.” On the following page, fill in your e-mail address and follow the instructions in the e-mail message which is then sent to you.

Make sure you enter the correct user name and password. Your user name is the same as the e-mail address you provided when you registered, e.g.: my.name@e-mail.se – the Password is the same that was sent to you at the time of registration, unless you have changed it. If you have forgotten your password, read below.

Go to “My invoice history”. If a pen is displayed to the right of your invoice, you can edit the contents. Then save your changes. If instead a padlock is shown, the invoice is locked due to that the invoice is being processed by an administrator.

This service means that you will receive a notification via SMS when your wages are paid from Frilans Finans. This means that your wages will be in you bank account the banking day after you received the message (provided that the banks fulfil their obligations). The SMS messages started as of 26/03/2015 and are sent out to the mobile number you provided to Frilans Finans. The sender is FrilansFin. If you do not wish to receive information via SMS, you can turn off the feature by logging in to your page and select “My Settings” and there clear the SMS notification checkmark. For more info read this here.

Yes. Once logged in, click on “My wages history” and select the period you want to view.

You will see here the amount of your total gross wages, and any subsistence allowances, travel expenses, etc. during the time period you’ve searched for. Note that vacation benefits are included in the gross pay, and are paid out at the same time as your wages, unless you choose to save it up. If you chose to save the vacation benefits, you can track it on your page when logged in.

No, you do not have to. The workers you have entered on previous occasions are saved and you can easily choose the previous workers in a list.

No, you don’t have to do this. The customers you have entered on previous occasions are saved and you can easily choose from the list “Retrieve existing customer” that appears on the “Create Invoice” page.

Yes. Once logged in, click on “My invoice history.”

What is a ROT/RUT deduction?

ROT work relates to repairs and maintenance, and remodelling and additions, provided that the work is performed in or in the immediate vicinity of a residence the individual who is entitled to the deduction owns. However the ROT deduction can not be taken for entirely new buildings, nor for additions to new residences (within the first five years).

There are examples of ROT on the Tax Agency’s website:

https://www.skatteverket.se/rotrutarbete/exempelparotarbete

RUT work refers to household work carried out in the property that the buyer of the service or his/her parents are living in or are staying in. Beginning in 1 January 2016, the RUT deduction is approved only for simple cleaning work, other cleaning work or for the final cleaning when moving. The RUT deduction can not be used for cooking or other food preparation.

Via this link you can see examples of RUT work:

https://www.skatteverket.se/rotrutarbete/exempelparutarbete

Who may use this deduction?

A buyer who has been taxable without limitations during the tax year and is at least 18 years old (by the end of the year) is entitled to receive a maximum of SEK 50,000 in ROT/RUT deductions per person, per year. As of 1 January 2016, the ROT deduction is 30% of the labour costs, with a maximum deduction of SEK 50,000 regardless of the buyer’s age. The RUT deduction is a maximum of SEK 25,000 for people under the age of 65. Those who have reached age 65 on 1 January 2016 can receive up to SEK 50,000 in the RUT deduction.

The buyer has the responsibility for ensuring that they have an amount available to them for the ROT/RUT work in question.

The amount available is based on the buyer’s final income tax where other possible deductions are taken into account before any ROT/RUT deductions. If you are not sure that the buyer has enough room for your work, you can ask the buyer for a certificate from the Swedish Tax Agency. This will show how much of the possible deductions have been utilised so far in the current year. If you are not sure that the buyer has enough room for your work, you can ask the buyer for a certificate from the Swedish Tax Agency. This will show how much of the possible deductions have been utilised so far in the current year.

For the buyer who pays for a RUT or ROT job on 1 January 2016 or later, the rules that were introduced on 1 January 2016 will be applicable for any ROT and RUT deductions. This applies regardless of whether the work was performed in 2015 and not finally completed until January 2016.

Please note that providers of the service may not be closely related to the buyer of the service.

See who is considered to be closely related in this link:

https://www.skatteverket.se/rotrutarbete/utforarenfarintevaranarstaende

How will your invoice be itemised?

The following information must be stated in your invoice:

– information about the work that has been performed

– the allocation of the costs or expenses related to the work between materials, equipment or machine rental, other equipment or tools, and travel

– the amount of the tax reduction

– if the invoice only relates to labour costs, this should be stated in the itemisation

– details of where the work was done

Who applies for the deduction from the Swedish Tax Agency?

For all invoices you prepare as ROT or RUT work via our website, Frilans Finans will seek to take a deduction for. We will have all the contact with the Swedish Tax Agency regarding this, and your wages are already paid out when the customer has paid their share of the invoice.

Vacation benefits – let them accrue or not? We recommend you save them up so that you are able to have a longer continuous period of time off.

By activating “Accrue vacation benefits,” you will be automatically setting aside 12% of your gross pay plus employer contributions to an account at Frilans Finans each time you issue an invoice. You can see how much money you’ve saved up on “My Page”.

Your vacation pay – minus taxes and social insurance contributions – is paid in to your bank account on 25 June each year (or the following banking day if the 25th is a public holiday). Or you can request at any time that your remaining saved up vacation money be paid out.

You may wonder why you, someone who is self-employed, should save for an occupational pension? It is completely voluntary, but will give you a higher pension than the general public pension when the time comes to stop working. Occupational pensions are deferred wages paid in by the employer; for private sector salaried employees under ITP1 the amount corresponds to 4.5% of the salary. Approximately 90% of Sweden’s employees have an occupational pension.

If you would like Frilans Finans to pay in an occupational pension for you, you can allocate funds directly in the invoicing tool; the amount is automatically calculated. Frilans Finans will then pay in that amount to Nordnet Försäkring.

The umbrella employment form is a new, innovative way of organising work within traditional employment law. Umbrella employment is suitable whenever you need to send an invoice for a job and you don’t want to start up your own company. Umbrella employment is equally suitable for students, professionals and pensioners. Umbrella employment is also excellent for those who invoice for work abroad, or if you come from another country and need to receive remuneration for work performed in Sweden. Umbrella employment could also be envisaged for those who run a business with a turnover of less than SEK 1 million per year. Experience shows that the umbrella form of employment is the most cost effective solution, plus it makes things significantly easier.

See what the Swedish Tax Agency writes about umbrella employment- link; http://www.skatteverket.se/funktioner/sok/sok.4.64a656d113f4c7597011b3.html?query=egenanst%C3%A4llning

See what Egenanstälningsföretagen writes about umbrella employment – www.egenanstallning.org

Umbrella employment from an employment law perspective

What is meant by “umbrella employed” is workers, referred to as “contractors,” who are entitled to negotiate concerning work assignments with principals (customer) for the account of the umbrella company (the employer Frilans Finans) and normally are hired for the assignment in the event the umbrella company, after a credit check (Approved invoice) chooses to accept the assignment.

The umbrella company (Frilans Finans) reports the income tax and social insurance contributions. At year end, the contractor has the amount of their income pre-printed in the self assessment tax return and receives a Statement of Earnings and Tax Deductions via e-mail. The umbrella company handles all administration.

See the Deductibility Guide for more information.

This is what one from Frilans Finans looks like, take a look at the example invoice. Invoice template

When companies buy from each other, one states the invoiced amount exclusive of VAT. This is so that the company will have the right to deduct the VAT. NOTE! One must clearly state that VAT is added.

There is no income tax liability for reimbursement for travel expenses. You are entitled to SEK 1.85 per kilometre when travelling in conjunction with performing services (work).

The daily subsistence allowance is not taxed. The subsistence allowance is meant to cover your private increased living expenses in connection with performing services (work). You have the right to a subsistence allowance if the provision of services (the work) takes place more than 50 kilometres from your home city, and that you spend the night in a place other than home city. The Tax Agency has established the subsistence allowance to be SEK 220 per day. Please note that other amounts apply for subsistence allowances for provision of services in other countries: contact us for information about the current amounts and countries.

The percentage (rate key) converts your net salary to the fee on the invoice, or vice versa. This rate key/percentage includes your A-tax, social insurance contributions and the fee to Frilans Finans.

Standard tax rate keys

1.99726 A-tax born 1952 or later

30% municipal tax is deducted and regular employer social insurance contributions are paid.

1.76839 A-tax born 1938 – 1951

30% municipal tax is deducted and a special payroll tax of 16.36% is paid.

1.61322 A-tax born – 1937

30% municipal tax is deducted and a special payroll tax of 6.15% is paid.

There are also other tax rate keys to choose from, these are to be found in the invoice tool under the headline OMR key in invoice part 2. If you do not have a Tax Rate Key, you are always welcome to contact Frilans Finans Client Support on phone +46 771-15 10 00, chat or email info@frilansfinans.se and we will produce one for you.

The invoiced amount is the total of net pay, A-tax and social insurance contributions.

The gross is the total of net wages and A-tax.

The portion of the fee that you get to keep after the statutory A-tax and social insurance contributions have been deducted.