ROT and RUT deductions 2026: how the reliefs work

The ROT and RUT deductions are two of Sweden’s most used tax reliefs. They let you deduct part of labour costs when hiring someone to renovate or run your home. The deduction comes straight off the invoice, so you only pay the net price. The company then claims the rest from Skatteverket. So you never front the money waiting for the tax return.

The deductions sound simple, and day to day they are. But rules exist on which services count, how much you may deduct yearly, and who holds the right. And as a homeowner, understanding how ROT interacts with improvement expenses when you one day sell matters extra. Rules and amounts adjust regularly, so always check current levels at Skatteverket ahead of bigger jobs.

ROT or RUT: what is the difference?

ROT stands for repairs, rebuilds and extensions (reparation, ombyggnad, tillbyggnad), covering work on and in your home. Craft services: remodelling the kitchen, rewiring, laying new floors, replacing the roof, or renovating the bathroom. ROT covers work on the home and plot itself, not standalone things like furniture or appliances you buy.

RUT stands for cleaning, maintenance and laundry (rengöring, underhåll, tvätt), covering household services. That includes cleaning, window washing, gardening, moving help, childcare, and by now a range of further services added over time. The simple rule: craft work on the home is ROT, household services are RUT. For both, only labour costs deduct, never materials, travel or machines. What you may use ROT and RUT for gets a page of its own.

Deduction levels and ceilings

The deductions differ in size. ROT normally deducts a smaller share of labour costs than RUT, historically sitting at a higher level. Both also share a yearly per-person ceiling, with ROT and RUT holding separate ceilings in some periods. Exactly which percentages and ceilings apply in 2026 shifts politically at intervals. Check current levels at Skatteverket before ordering work.

Since the ceiling applies per person, co-owners can often double the room by splitting the invoice between you, if both meet the conditions. Note the deduction burns ongoing through the year: a big renovation early can exhaust the ceiling when the next job appears. So planning bigger ROT jobs with the ceiling in mind pays, possibly spreading them across year-ends.

Who holds the right?

For ROT or RUT deductions you must have paid enough tax during the year. The deduction can never exceed the tax you actually paid. You must also be at least 18, with the work done in your own home or, for some RUT services, at a parent you help.

ROT carries one extra important requirement: you must own the home where the work happens. That means a tenant gets no ROT deduction for renovating a rental flat, nor normally a tenant-owner for work the association answers for. Living in a tenant-owner apartment, ROT covers the interior upkeep you answer for yourself, but not pipes, facade and other association property. RUT holds no such ownership requirement: the service happening in your home suffices, owning or renting alike.

How the deduction comes off the invoice

You rarely need to do anything yourself to get the deduction. Hiring a company with F-tax (F-skatt), they deduct ROT or RUT straight on the invoice, so you only pay the reduced labour cost. The company then claims the rest paid out from Skatteverket. It is called the invoice model (fakturamodellen) and is standard today.

You see how much ROT and RUT you used on My Pages (Mina sidor) at Skatteverket, good to track so you never breach the ceiling. Granted too big a deduction, for example several jobs together breaching the ceiling, it adjusts in the tax return and you may owe the difference back. Always save invoices. They are your records both toward Skatteverket and, for ROT, ahead of a future sale.

ROT, improvement expenses and capital gains tax

Here is a connection many miss. Selling your home, you may deduct improvement expenses against the profit, cutting capital gains tax. But you may only deduct the actual cost you paid yourself. With ROT deduction on a job, only the net cost (what you paid after deduction) counts as improvement expense, not the whole labour cost.

That does not make ROT bad, quite the opposite. You already got a discount directly. But never counting twice matters when later declaring the sale. Save invoices and note what the ROT deduction was, so you enter the right net amount as improvement expense. Material costs, never ROT-deductible, you may by contrast count in full.

Thinking about before buying

Eyeing a home needing renovation, ROT can make the maths more manageable, since part of labour costs falls away directly. Still always calculate the full cost including materials, and remember the yearly ceiling caps how much you deduct in time.

Looking for a place with the right potential, perhaps one needing love but sitting right, you can place a buying brief with your requirements and budget on SökHem. The matching then actively looks for fitting sellers, even ones not yet listed publicly. Since ROT and RUT rules shift over time: always check current percentages and ceilings at Skatteverket before planning work.