Sweden’s election promises on household finances range from tax cuts and higher child benefits to cheaper dental care, nationwide public transport passes and subsidies for electric cars. With the parliamentary election scheduled for 13 September 2026, all eight parties represented in the Riksdag have presented measures aimed at leaving households with more disposable income or reducing some of their largest everyday expenses.
The proposals collected by Sweden Herald, based on reporting by the TT News Agency show substantial differences in how the parties want to achieve that goal. Some concentrate on lower taxes and incentives to work, while others prioritise benefits, healthcare costs and public services.
For the euro conversions below, figures are approximate and based on the European Central Bank reference rate of SEK 11.1575 to €1 on 2 September.
Sweden election promises put families at the centre
Several parties are making families with children a central part of their economic programmes.
The Moderates (Moderaterna) are promising families with children SEK 5,000 (€449) more per month in disposable income. Their package includes broad reductions in taxation on work, a special earned-income tax credit for parents, free preschool and the possibility for employers to provide public transport passes as a tax-free benefit.
The Christian Democrats (Kristdemokraterna) want to raise child benefit to SEK 2,000 (€180) and introduce a SEK 36,900 (€3,316) “mother’s bonus”, paid into the premium pension system when a child is born. They also propose a special earned-income tax deduction for parents.
The Liberals (Liberalerna) are proposing a child-related tax deduction worth SEK 10,000 (€899) per child each year. Families with children under 12 would also receive a 70-percent tax reduction for services such as cleaning and babysitting. Parents who divide parental leave equally would receive a SEK 30,000 (€2,696) gender equality bonus per child.
On the centre-left, the Social Democrats (Socialdemokraterna, formally Arbetarepartiet-Socialdemokraterna) want to double child and student allowances during the Christmas and summer holidays and permanently strengthen housing benefits for families with children.
The Green Party (Miljöpartiet de gröna) proposes increasing child benefit by SEK 350 (€31) per month, with an additional SEK 800 (€72) for single parents. The Left Party (Vänsterpartiet) would increase child benefit by SEK 500 (€45) and add SEK 300 (€27) for single parents, alongside a SEK 15,000 (€1,348) “baby allowance” for first-time parents.
The Centre Party (Centerpartiet) also wants higher child benefits specifically for single parents.
The right focuses heavily on lower taxes
Tax reductions are particularly prominent in the programmes of the Moderates, Christian Democrats, Liberals and Centre Party.
Alongside its broader income tax cuts, the Moderates want tax-free savings in investment savings accounts, known as ISK accounts, up to SEK 500,000 (€44,935). They also propose lower taxes on pensions and on people who continue working beyond the target retirement age.
The Christian Democrats want income tax reductions for everyone in employment, combined with additional targeted reductions for groups including young people up to 23, the long-term unemployed, newly arrived residents and people working after the age of 69.
They also want to reduce capital gains tax when a home is sold. Under their proposal, the tax would eventually disappear entirely for people who have lived in the property for at least 16 years.
The Liberals propose one of the largest changes to income taxation, cutting the state income tax rate from 20 to 10 percent. Like the Moderates, they support making ISK savings tax-free up to SEK 500,000 (€44,935).
The Centre Party takes a different approach. It wants to reduce income taxes for everyone earning below SEK 40,000 (€3,595) per month by transforming existing earned-income tax deductions into a tax-free basic income of up to SEK 15,300 (€1,375) per month.
Dental care and sick leave divide the parties
Healthcare costs are another major area of competition.
The Sweden Democrats (Sverigedemokraterna) want to extend high-cost protection for dental care to everyone, leaving patients to pay 10 percent of the reference price for most treatments.
The Social Democrats have made a similar proposal, saying nobody should pay more than 10 percent of the price of dental treatments and that dental care should be free until the age of 23.
The Left Party instead proposes a maximum annual dental-care cost of SEK 1,450 (€130), also combined with free treatment up to age 23.
Sick leave is another dividing line. Sweden currently applies the karensavdrag, a qualifying deduction from sick pay. The Social Democrats, Greens and Left Party all propose abolishing it. The Social Democrats would combine abolition with protection for small and medium-sized employers against particularly high costs.
The Sweden Democrats propose a more limited review of the deduction for professions where employees have extensive direct contact with other people.
Both the Social Democrats and Green Party also want stronger protection against high medicine costs, while the Social Democrats propose cheaper medicines for older people and stronger unemployment insurance.
Public transport and electric cars feature prominently
Transport policy shows some of the clearest differences between the parties.
The Green Party proposes a nationwide Sweden public transport card costing SEK 499 (€45) per month for adults and SEK 249 (€22) for children.
The Left Party supports a similar national ticket priced at SEK 450 (€40) per month.
Several parties instead use tax incentives or subsidies to support particular forms of transport. The Moderates want public transport commuter passes to become a tax-free employee benefit.
The Liberals propose abolishing electricity tax on electric-vehicle charging and increasing mileage compensation for electric cars.
The Green Party wants an electric-car purchase bonus of up to SEK 60,000 (€5,392), with additional support for leasing electric cars in rural areas.
The Centre Party proposes a SEK 50,000 (€4,493) electric-car purchase bonus and a SEK 2,000 (€180) leasing subsidy for environmentally friendly cars.
Food and electricity remain election issues
The cost of food has remained politically important during the campaign. Sweden reduced VAT on food from 12 to 6 percent on 1 April 2026, with the measure currently scheduled to expire at the end of 2027. According to the Swedish government’s first assessment of the measure, consumer food prices fell by 5.5 percent between March and April, although several factors can affect food prices.
The Sweden Democrats want to make the reduced food VAT rate permanent.
Electricity costs also feature across several programmes. The Sweden Democrats propose gradually lowering electricity taxation to the EU minimum level.
The Centre Party wants to reduce household electricity costs through tax deductions for investments such as solar panels and heat pumps, lower electricity taxation and measures intended to limit increases in network charges and power fees.
In sparsely populated areas, the Sweden Democrats also propose abolishing the general payroll tax and offering student-loan forgiveness for people working in professions experiencing labour shortages.
Different answers to the same pressure on household budgets
All eight parliamentary parties are presenting household finances as an important issue in the final phase of Sweden’s election campaign, but their proposals reflect different priorities.
The centre-right parties generally place greater emphasis on lower taxation, incentives to work and targeted benefits for families, although the Sweden Democrats also focus strongly on food, energy and dental costs. The Social Democrats, Greens and Left Party put more weight on social benefits, healthcare, sick-pay rules and direct reductions in household expenses.
The differences are particularly visible in transport, taxation and welfare. Voters are therefore being offered not only competing promises about how much money could remain in their wallets, but different models for whether that support should come primarily through the tax system, direct transfers or publicly subsidised services.
Early voting has already begun, and according to the Swedish Election Authority voters will elect the Riksdag, regional councils and municipal councils on 13 September 2026.
