Sweden: Proposed changes to R&D incentive rules
Proposed changes aimed at simplifying the rules and making them more inclusive
The report of the government’s special investigation into the research and development (R&D) incentive rules, which allow employers to reduce employer contributions by 20% of the salary for employees working in R&D (up to SEK 36 million per year), was delivered yesterday.
The report proposes the following changes to those rules effective January 1, 2026:
- The requirements that a person must work at least 15 hours per month on R&D and that the work be “qualified” would be removed. Nonetheless, only employees directly involved in R&D work would qualify under the incentive regime.
- The requirement that R&D work must be "systematic" would be removed, thus simplifying the rules and making them more inclusive. Within this framework, the requirement to use research results in development work would be replaced by a requirement that the work must involve new solutions to scientific or technical problems.
Read a January 2025 report (Swedish) prepared by the KPMG member firm in Sweden