Source Skatteverket
Some companies have donated goods to hospitals or other healthcare facilities without claiming compensation under the corona. This can, for example, be hand alcohol or protective equipment such as mouth guards.
There are no special rules about VAT on gifts under the corona. Therefore, as a business owner, you must report outgoing VAT for the goods you donate, if you were entitled to a VAT deduction at the time of purchase or during the manufacture of the goods. In such circumstances, the gifts mean that you make a taxable withdrawal of goods. However, the company can avoid paying the reported VAT.
For more information on taxable withdrawals, see Legal Guide. There you can also read about how to calculate the tax base and the outgoing VAT on the withdrawal.
Exemption from paying the reported outgoing VAT
You can avoid paying the reported outgoing VAT on withdrawals of goods that you have donated if you meet the following three conditions:
- You have donated protective equipment, rubbing alcohol or materials for sampling. Protective equipment refers to the equipment the employee wears for their own safety, such as goggles, visors, mouth guards and protective gloves. (Definition of the Swedish Public Health Agency and the National Board of Health and Welfare).
- You have donated the goods to be used in the identification of infected or care of patients or patients with covid-19 or to prevent the spread of the coronavirus within particularly vulnerable groups.
- You have donated the goods to hospitals, nursing homes, LSS housing, home health care or home care services, ie care and nursing places where particularly vulnerable groups can be found.
You can avoid paying withholding tax for goods that have been donated as of March 2020. You must report the VAT on the withholding tax in your VAT return even if you meet the conditions.
You can read about exemption from the obligation to pay for withholding tax on VAT in the Swedish Tax Agency’s position in Legal guidance.
There is more information on exemption from the obligation to pay in other cases in Legal guidance.
Application for exemption from payment
You apply for a payment exemption with the Swedish Tax Agency It is easiest to apply via the link below.
The application must be submitted by the person who is liable for payment, ie the person who must report and pay the outgoing VAT for the donated goods. An authorized representative may also submit the application if it concerns a legal person. A company’s CEO is an example of such an authorized representative. It is also possible for the applicant to notify a representative who can make the application.
You apply for a payment exemption by logging in to My pages. The application for payment exemption service can be found under the VAT tab.
