Expense guide for the self-employed
The complete expense guide for freelancers without a company
Do you invoice through WorkNode? Search for what you want to add and see straight away whether we can pay it out tax-free.
Four rules for every expense
- Linked to the assignment
The cost must belong to an assignment you invoice through WorkNode, and its purpose and date must match.
- Necessary and reasonable
The cost must be needed for that specific assignment and be at a reasonable level.
- A valid receipt
The receipt must show the supplier, date, what you bought, the amount and VAT. A card statement is not enough. Enter the amount in SEK, or in the invoice currency if the expense is invoiced on to the client.
- No lasting value
Anything you keep after the assignment, such as a computer or tools, cannot be reimbursed tax-free. There is no fixed amount limit; we assess each case.
Receipts over SEK 4,000 must be made out to Worknode Freelance AB, read more below. Expenses are paid out once the client has paid the invoice.
Why expenses pay off
An expense is paid back from the same invoice as your salary, so it does not increase the total you receive. But it is more tax-efficient: the part that goes to expenses never becomes salary, so no tax or employer contributions are paid on it.
Example: a receipt for SEK 1,000
- As an expense
- SEK 1,000You get the full amount back, including VAT, tax-free.
- As salary instead
- about SEK 530After employer contributions of 31.42% and 30% tax.
- Expenses, mileage and per diem allowance together may be no more than the invoice amount excluding VAT, minus WorkNode’s fee.
- With FLEX, the 3.95% fee also applies to expenses you invoice on to the client, because the invoice total becomes higher.
- With PRO, expenses do not affect the fee.
Why we are careful
Why we ask so much about your expenses
When you invoice through WorkNode, we are your employer. Your expense becomes a cost in our accounts, and if the Swedish Tax Agency takes a different view, we are the ones who got it wrong.
- The expense goes into our accounts
The receipt becomes a record in WorkNode’s bookkeeping, just as when a company buys something for an employee.
- We answer to the Swedish Tax Agency
In an audit, WorkNode must be able to show that the cost belonged to the work. If the receipt or the link to the assignment is missing, we are the ones who pay.
- A private cost becomes a benefit
If you benefit privately from what we paid for, it must be taxed as salary. You would then pay tax and we would pay employer contributions on the amount, sometimes long afterwards.
What is benefit taxation?
A benefit is compensation in a form other than money, for example when your employer pays for something you use privately. A taxable benefit is taxed as salary: the employer deducts tax and pays employer contributions on its market value. That is why we cannot pay for things you keep or use privately, even if you also use them in the assignment.
- Computer and equipmentYou keep it after the assignment. Reimbursing your own work tools is taxable.
- SubscriptionsPhone plans, broadband and licences are also used privately.
- Company carA car from your employer that you drive privately is a taxable benefit.
- Your own officeAn office or membership you keep month to month does not belong to one assignment.
Source: Swedish Tax Agency: Benefits (in Swedish), Swedish Tax Agency: Work tools (in Swedish)
Receipts over SEK 4,000
If a purchase costs more than SEK 4,000 including VAT, the receipt or invoice must be made out to Worknode Freelance AB, not to you. This applies both when you buy in a shop and when you receive an invoice.
What to do
- Tell the seller before you pay that the receipt or invoice should be made out to Worknode Freelance AB.
- Ask for an itemised receipt or an invoice with the company name and registration number.
- Upload it when you create the invoice in WorkNode, as usual.
- If you buy from a foreign supplier, the invoice must also show WorkNode’s VAT number and the words "reverse charge".
How the invoice should be addressed
- Company
- Worknode Freelance AB
- Company registration number
- 559156-1294
- VAT number, for purchases from abroad
- SE559156129401
Why? A large purchase in your own name looks like a private purchase in our accounts. When WorkNode is the buyer, it is clear straight away that it is a cost for the assignment.
Already bought something for more than SEK 4,000 in your own name? Contact support before you add the expense. The seller can often reissue the receipt; otherwise we may have to reject the expense.
Mileage and per diem allowance
The Swedish Tax Agency’s tax-free amounts for 2026. Source: Swedish Tax Agency (in Swedish)
All expenses by category
Travel
Tickets, parking, mileage and per diem allowance.
Materials
What is used up in the assignment or goes to the client.
Equipment
Computer, phone, tools and other things of lasting value.
Software and subscriptions
Licences, cloud services and subscriptions.
Food and entertainment
Your own meals and meetings with clients.
Clothing
Everyday clothes, workwear and protective gear.
Other
Foreign purchases, ROT and RUT.