Self-employed

These rules will take effect on October 1, 2025.

Income requirement

To be eligible for benefits, you must have worked and had an income. The income must be at least 120,000 kronor during a 12-month period, known as the qualification period (ramtid). The income must be distributed so that in at least 4 of the 12 months, you have earned at least 11,000 kronor. In practice, this means that businesses with annual accounts must have had a minimum annual income of 132,000 kronor, since the average salary is calculated over a full year (12 months): 132,000 / 12 = 11,000 kronor.

What counts as income for self-employed individuals?

When the income requirement is assessed, you may use earned income from the business. This means you must have either paid yourself a salary or declared income from the business in order to meet the income requirement.

Sole proprietorship, trading partnership, and limited partnership: Income includes earned income from the business, i.e., the business’s profit before tax and after deductions.
Combination of employment and self-employment: If you both work in your own business and are employed by an employer, the salary and the business’s profit after deductions and before tax are combined. This means both incomes form the basis for how much you can receive. However, this does not apply if the business is a so-called approved business.
Limited company: Benefits are calculated based on the salary you have paid yourself. If you have not paid yourself a salary, you are not entitled to unemployment benefits.
Self-employment (if you perform assignments and invoice through an invoicing company): The income is the salary you receive from the invoicing company.

Which period should self-employed income be based on?

When assessing the income requirement, the first step is to determine which period to calculate the business income from. The most favorable of the following three options is chosen:

Income during the months the applicant was active as a business owner during the qualification period.
Earned income from the business as shown in the most recent final tax decision.
The average earned income from the business during the two years preceding the most recent final tax decision.

There is also a special protection rule for individuals who had employment before starting their own business, provided the business ends within 60 months of starting.

Who is considered self-employed?

In the context of unemployment insurance, everyone is classified as either employed or self-employed. This may sound simple, but not everyone with a business is considered self-employed, and sometimes no business is needed to be classified as such.

A self-employed person is someone who runs their own business professionally, performs work in it, and has significant influence over it. “Professionally” means the business is run independently, continuously, and for profit. “Significant influence” means that the income largely depends on the person’s skills, the work they perform, and the decisions they make in the business.
If a self-employed person transfers the business to someone else but continues to work in it or has significant influence over it, they are still considered self-employed.
Independent contractors are considered self-employed. There is no clear definition of “independent contractor,” but factors include working independently without supervision, choosing where to work, taking on multiple clients, and covering all expenses while invoicing the client based on pre-agreed terms.
Contractors who do not meet these criteria and only perform occasional tasks for a single client are considered employees.
Family-owned business: If you are closely related to the owner of a business, you may be considered self-employed even if you do not own any part of the business. This applies if you personally work in the business and have significant influence over it.

If you have not worked in your business, you are not considered self-employed. If you have not worked in the business at all or only taken necessary actions due to unforeseen events (force majeure), you are not considered self-employed.

Voluntary work does not make you self-employed. If the work in the business is entirely voluntary—such as a cooperative providing childcare for your own children or board work in a housing association—it is not considered self-employment.

“Approved business” – an exception allowing work and benefits

Normally, you are not allowed to work in your own business while receiving unemployment benefits. However, there is an exception for those with an “approved business” decision.

To be approved, the following must apply:

You have run the business for at least six months alongside other work of at least half-time during the qualification period.
The average monthly earned income from the business has not exceeded 10,000 kronor.
Neither the working hours nor the income from the business increases during unemployment.

Self-employed individuals who pause their business may be considered unemployed

If a self-employed person completely pauses their business, it is not a barrier to receiving benefits. A complete pause means no one is allowed to work in the business. If you later resume the business, you must wait three years before you can pause it again and be considered unemployed. An alternative is to fully separate from the business.

Ending a profitable business – what happens?

If you choose to end a profitable business, it is considered a voluntary resignation, and you are normally disqualified from receiving benefits for 45 benefit days. A business is considered profitable if it generates income exceeding four price base amounts per year (a total of 235,200 kronor in 2025). If you lose your only client and income ceases entirely, other rules may apply.