Österåker Has Lowest Municipal Tax Rate in Sweden and Stockholm Region

Österåker Leads Sweden in Municipal Tax Rates

When it comes to keeping local taxes down in the Stockholm region and across the country, Österåker has taken the lead. According to reporting by Mitti, the municipality has lowered its tax rate since 2004, capturing the lowest municipal tax rate in all of Sweden starting in 2019—a milestone previously reported by SVT. Today, Österåker’s municipal tax sits at 28.93 percentage units.

That figure places it at the bottom of a wide regional spectrum. While Österåker anchors the lowest end of the scale, Södertälje records the highest municipal tax in the Stockholm county at 32.38 percentage units—a gap of nearly four percentage units between the two jurisdictions.

How Stockholm Municipalities Compare on Tax Rates

Data from Statistics Sweden compiled by Mitti shows a hierarchy of tax burdens across Stockholm’s municipalities. Lidingö, Solna, and Täby join Österåker as the only municipalities in the county where the municipal tax rate remains under 30 percentage units. Lidingö follows behind Österåker at 29.67 percentage units, followed by Solna at 29.70 and Täby at 29.88.

Moving up the scale, rates cross the 30-percent threshold with Nacka at 30.11, Sollentuna at 30.45, Stockholm at 30.55, and Danderyd at 30.58. The higher end of the county features municipalities such as Vallentuna (31.23), Haninge (31.28), Värmdö (31.31), Ekerö (31.45), Järfälla (31.52), Sundbyberg (31.58), Vaxholm (31.63), Huddinge (31.71), Upplands-Bro (31.73), and Upplands Väsby (31.75).

Further down the list sit Tyresö and Sigtuna at 31.83, Salem at 32.00, Norrtälje at 32.05, Nynäshamn at 32.18, Botkyrka at 32.23, Nykvarn at 32.30, and finally Södertälje at 32.38.

Does a Low Tax Rate Drive Inmigration?

While low taxes serve as a marketing tool, experts urge caution when looking at how residents choose where to live.

It can be a competitive advantage to have lower tax when it comes to immigration. But then it also depends on what consequences the lower tax gets. If you weigh in the tax, the service level and the fees in the municipality you get a more complete picture of the whole thing. Erik Wångmar, political scientist at Linnaeus University

Wångmar points out that residents must look beyond the headline tax figure to evaluate a municipality’s true cost of living. Fees for childcare, recreational activities, and building permits—along with whether a municipality provides free bus passes for students using public transit—all feed into the broader financial reality of living in a specific area.

Weighing the Margin Between Stockholm Municipalities

Despite the numerical spread from Österåker’s 28.93 to Södertälje’s 32.38, Wångmar argues that the real-world differences across Stockholm county are relatively small. In Stockholm County it doesn’t have such great significance because the differences in the tax level actually aren’t that big, he noted, adding that most municipalities in the region remain prosperous and boast positive population growth, according to Mitti.