Parental leave as a limited company owner
This guide covers you as the owner of a Swedish aktiebolag (AB), a limited liability company. Legally the company is a separate person, so you're employed by your own company and pay yourself a salary. That salary drives your SGI, exactly the same way as for any other employee.
If you pay yourself 35,000 SEK/month before tax, SGI is 420,000 SEK/year and parental benefit is 77.6 % of that, spread across 365 days. Profit kept in the company or distributed as utdelning (dividends) is not counted toward SGI.
Salary vs dividends
The classic AB trade-off is salary vs dividends. Salary gives higher SGI but is taxed more heavily. Dividends are tax-favourable but give no SGI and no pension contribution. If you want a meaningful parental benefit, you need to pay yourself enough salary in the period leading up to leave.
Plan your SGI strategically
Because you set your own salary, you can plan SGI in a way an ordinary employee can't. Raising your salary half a year before parental leave will affect your future SGI. The raise does need to be genuine (actually paid, taxed, and reasonable for the role), not a retroactive paper exercise.
The 240-day rule
The 240-day rule applies to you too: you need a continuous employment (including in your own AB) of at least 240 days before the birth to receive sickness-benefit level for the first 180 days. Periods without salary payments can wipe out SGI entirely unless the gap is SGI-protected.
Frequently asked questions
SGI is based on the salary you pay yourself from your aktiebolag, the same way as for any other employee. Profit kept in the company or distributed as dividends is not counted.
No. Dividends give no SGI and no pension entitlement. To get a parental benefit that matches your income, you need to pay yourself the equivalent as salary in the period before leave.
It can be worth planning ahead. SGI is based on your recent salary, so raising it at the last minute can be challenged by Försäkringskassan as artificial. A stable, sustainable salary at the right level several months before leave is the safer approach.
In theory yes, if the company is covered by a collective agreement. In practice it's unusual for one-person companies. Collective agreements are rarely signed when you're alone in the business. Check with your industry organisation if unsure.
You can claim parental benefit at 75 %, 50 %, 25 % or 12.5 % and work the rest of the time. You declare the level to Försäkringskassan. Just make sure your actual work matches what you've declared. Försäkringskassan does follow up.