Sweden cut its VAT rate on food from 12% to 6% on 1 April 2026, and the cut runs until 31 December 2027. If you sell food from Great Britain to consumers in Sweden, your checkout may now be charging the wrong rate.
What changed
The cut applies to food. It does not apply to eating out: restaurant and catering services stay at 12%.
Before 1 April 2026, food and restaurant and catering services were both at 12%. From 1 April 2026 to 31 December 2027, food is at 6% and restaurant and catering stay at 12%. The standard rate stays at 25%.
The full list of Swedish rates is on our Sweden VAT rates page. The European Commission's Taxes in Europe Database holds the official rates for each member state.
Who this affects
Most UK businesses will feel nothing. The change matters only if you send food to Sweden, and it depends on who buys it.
- Selling to Swedish consumers through IOSS: affected. You must charge 6% on eligible food lines.
- Selling to Swedish businesses: not affected. These are zero rated exports.
- Selling only in the UK: not affected. Nothing in UK VAT changed.
Selling to Swedish consumers through IOSS
The Import One Stop Shop (IOSS) covers goods sent from Great Britain to EU consumers in consignments worth up to €150. You charge Swedish VAT at the Swedish rate for that product. For eligible food lines, that rate is now 6%, not 12%.
Your customers should be paying less VAT, and your IOSS return should drop to match. If your shop still charges 12% on food, you are overcharging customers and declaring the wrong figure.
If a basket mixes food with other goods, only the food lines move to 6%. Anything at the 25% standard rate stays there.
Selling to Swedish businesses
Sales of goods to Swedish businesses are zero rated exports from the UK. The customer pays Swedish import VAT, so the new rate is their concern, not yours. Your invoices do not change.
What it means for you
Say a food order has a net price of €50. You have two choices: pass the saving on, or keep the gross price where it was.
At 12%€50.00 net + €6.00 Swedish VAT = €56.00 customer pays
At 6%, saving passed on€50.00 net + €3.00 Swedish VAT = €53.00 customer pays
At 6%, price held€52.83 net + €3.17 Swedish VAT = €56.00 customer pays
If you hold the price at €56.00, the net is €56.00 ÷ 1.06 = €52.83. So you keep €2.83 more per order. Either way, the VAT you charge and declare must be worked out at 6%.
What to do now
- Check every food product you sell to Sweden and confirm whether it falls in the 6% food rate.
- Update the Swedish tax rate in your checkout or marketplace settings for those products.
- Use 6% for those lines on your IOSS return for April 2026 onwards.
- Keep restaurant or catering supplies, if you make any, at 12%.
- Put 31 December 2027 in your diary, as that is when the cut is due to end.
Your platform may update its default rates, but rates you set by hand per product will not move on their own. Nobody at HMRC will tell you, because nothing in the UK changed. A check now saves correcting months of IOSS returns later.
Our guide to EU VAT for UK businesses covers IOSS, OSS and exports. For other countries, see the EU VAT rates table.
What has not changed
- The Swedish standard rate is still 25%.
- Restaurant and catering services are still 12%.
- Sales of goods to Swedish businesses are still zero rated exports.
- IOSS still covers consignments up to €150.
- UK VAT rates are the same.
Questions
What is the VAT rate on food in Sweden?
6% from 1 April 2026 until 31 December 2027. Before that it was 12%.
Has Sweden cut VAT on restaurants?
No. Restaurant and catering services stay at 12%.
Do UK sellers need to charge 6% on food sent to Sweden?
Yes, for eligible food lines sold to Swedish consumers in consignments up to €150 through IOSS. Sales to Swedish businesses are zero rated exports.
Has the Swedish standard VAT rate changed?
No. It is still 25%.
