Short answer: without a VAT number, you pay 25% on top of every krona you spend on Amazon ads, and you never get it back. With SEK 10,000 of ads a month, Skatteverket keeps SEK 30,000 a year that could stay with you. A Swedish KDP author can register for VAT and deduct it. And if you buy ads billed from outside the EU, Skatteverket says you must register anyway.
For Swedish KDP authors, Merch on Demand designers and small sellers, from Skatteverket's guidance, the VAT Act (mervärdesskattelag 2023:200) and Amazon Ads' help pages, checked in October 2026. This is information, not tax advice: confirm your case with an accountant.
Work out what you lose with our free calculator
How much you lose each year
Swedish VAT is 25%. Without a VAT number, it is a pure cost on your ads:
| Ads per month | VAT per month | VAT per year |
|---|---|---|
| SEK 3,000 | SEK 750 | SEK 9,000 |
| SEK 10,000 | SEK 2,500 | SEK 30,000 |
| SEK 30,000 | SEK 7,500 | SEK 90,000 |
Amazon won't tell you that you can deduct it. Its help pages say it charges VAT to advertisers who "haven't provided a valid VAT/GST registration number", and leave the rest to "your tax advisor".
Why Amazon charges you 25%
Without a VAT number, Amazon adds the standard rate of your country. Amazon Ads' tax guide: Amazon "may be required to collect the standard rate of VAT/GST applicable to your country of residence or business establishment when a VAT/GST ID isn't provided."
Which Amazon company bills you depends on the marketplace your ads run on:
- amazon.se: Amazon Online Sweden AB, a Swedish company. It charges Swedish VAT.
- amazon.de, amazon.fr and the other EU marketplaces: an Amazon company in another EU country (Amazon Online Germany GmbH for amazon.de, for example).
- amazon.com and amazon.co.uk: Amazon Advertising LLC and Amazon Online UK Limited, both outside the EU.
Ads billed from outside the EU oblige you to register
Skatteverket: a business that buys services from outside the EU must be VAT-registered, even if it is too small to charge VAT. In its words: "Du som är en beskattningsbar person, till exempel ett företag, som inte är registrerad för moms ska vara momsregistrerad om du köper tjänster till verksamheten från ett land utanför EU" (if you are a taxable person, a business for example, not registered for VAT, you must be registered if you buy services for the business from a country outside the EU).
- Small businesses are included. Skatteverket counts as taxable persons the businesses exempt under small-business rules, like the Swedish exemption for an annual turnover of SEK 120,000 or less.
- No minimum amount. The obligation applies to such purchases, whatever their size.
- amazon.com and amazon.co.uk ads are exactly this case: both are billed from outside the EU. Skatteverket's registration page also lists services bought from a business "i ett annat land" (in another country) when the VAT on them is due in Sweden, which covers the EU marketplaces.
The trap: registered, but still paying the 25%
Registering only to report the VAT on foreign purchases gives you no deduction. Skatteverket: "Om du är momsregistrerad bara för att kunna redovisa utgående moms på inköp från andra länder får du däremot inte dra av beloppet som ingående moms" (if you are registered only to report VAT on purchases from other countries, you may not deduct the amount as input VAT).
To deduct the 25%, you must be registered for your whole activity, outside the small-business exemption. Under SEK 120,000 of turnover, Skatteverket lets you choose it: "kan du frivilligt välja att registrera företaget för moms" (you can voluntarily choose to register the business for VAT).
Why an author can deduct it:
- Your royalties are paid by Amazon companies outside Sweden (the KDP agreement names Amazon.com Services LLC, Amazon Media EU S.à r.l. and others). A service to a business is taxed where that business is established, so you charge no Swedish VAT on them.
- The VAT Act still gives you the deduction. Chapter 13, section 9 allows it for transactions outside Sweden that "skulle ha medfört rätt till avdrag för ingående skatt om de hade gjorts inom landet" (would have given a right to deduct if made in Sweden).
- They would. In Sweden, granting rights to a literary work is taxed at 6% (Skatteverket, VAT rates). It is a taxable activity, not an exempt one.
What changes once you are registered
- Add your VAT number to Amazon Ads. As a KDP author: Administration, Billing, Payment Settings, then the Tax info section.
- amazon.se ads: Amazon Online Sweden AB still shows 25% VAT on the invoice. You deduct it on your VAT return.
- Ads on other marketplaces: Amazon normally stops adding VAT. You report it yourself and deduct it on the same return. For services from outside the EU, Skatteverket puts the amount in box 22, the VAT in boxes 30 to 32 and the deduction in box 48. Net cost: zero.
What it costs, and when it pays
You file VAT returns and keep VAT records: budget for your time or an accountant. Say that costs SEK 1,000 a month (our assumption, not an official figure):
| Ads per month | VAT deducted | Gain after SEK 1,000 |
|---|---|---|
| SEK 3,000 | SEK 750 | −SEK 250 |
| SEK 4,000 | SEK 1,000 | SEK 0 |
| SEK 10,000 | SEK 2,500 | +SEK 1,500 |
Two things to weigh:
- You are locked in. A voluntary registration can only be cancelled "från den 1 januari det tredje kalenderåret efter det år som Skatteverket fattade beslutet" (from 1 January of the third calendar year after Skatteverket's decision).
- If you buy ads from outside the EU, you must register anyway. Then the real choice is between a registration that only reports the VAT and one that deducts it.
The limits you need to know
Do not register for a refund of the past. Skatteverket lets a voluntary registration start earlier, "tidigast från 1 januari året före det år som du skickar in din ansökan" (at the earliest 1 January of the year before you apply), and says you "kan ha rätt till avdrag" (may be entitled to deductions) from that date. You also owe VAT on your sales from that date. Whether any past ad invoice can be deducted, or refunded by Amazon (which asks for a registration "active during the billing period"), is your accountant's call, not a promise. Count on the savings from now on.
If you sell to consumers yourself, you must charge VAT on those sales. Books and e-books are taxed at 6% in Sweden, so a paperback you sell yourself carries 6% once you are registered. For an FBA seller who sells goods to consumers at 25%, it is a bigger change:
| Per month, prices unchanged | Not registered | Registered |
|---|---|---|
| Sales | SEK 50,000 | SEK 50,000, of which SEK 10,000 VAT to pay |
| Ads | SEK 12,500 (with VAT) | SEK 10,000 (VAT deducted) |
| What is left | SEK 37,500 | SEK 30,000 |
That seller would lose SEK 7,500 a month by registering fully. Deducting the VAT on ads pays when your income carries no VAT, which is the case of KDP royalties paid from abroad.
Merch on Demand: the same reasoning applies only if your Merch royalties, like KDP royalties, are paid by an Amazon company outside Sweden. Check your Merch agreement with your accountant.
Frequently asked questions
Do I charge VAT on my KDP royalties once registered?
No. They are paid by Amazon companies outside Sweden, and a service to a foreign business is taxed where that business is established.
I earn less than SEK 120,000 a year. Do I still have to register?
If you buy ads billed from outside the EU (amazon.com, amazon.co.uk), Skatteverket says yes: the small-business exemption does not cover purchases of services from abroad.
Is registering just to report foreign purchases enough?
It meets the obligation, but you keep paying the 25%: Skatteverket gives no deduction for that kind of registration.
How long am I registered if I choose to?
At least until 1 January of the third calendar year after Skatteverket's decision. A decision dated March 2025 runs until 1 January 2028 at the earliest.
Before you decide
Work out what you lose with our free calculator: enter your monthly ad spend, see the VAT you pay each year and what registering would change. Then take the figure to your accountant.
Spending less on ads for the same sales helps too: see how much Sponsored Products ads cost and whether KDP authors can run Sponsored Brands ads. Authors elsewhere in Europe: United Kingdom, Ireland.
Sources
- Momssatser och undantag från moms (25%, 6% on literary rights and books), Skatteverket
- Köpa tjänster från länder utanför EU (registration, boxes 22, 30-32 and 48, no deduction when registered only for purchases), Skatteverket
- Registrera ditt företag för moms (voluntary registration, backdating, lock-in), Skatteverket
- Undantag från momsplikt vid försäljning på högst 120 000 kronor, Skatteverket
- Mervärdesskattelag (2023:200), chapter 13, section 9, Riksdagen
- Amazon Advertising Agreement ("Amazon Contracting Party", "Elected Country"), Amazon Ads
- Understanding taxes and regulatory fees on your advertising invoice, Amazon Ads
- VAT on Electronically Supplied Services, Register your Tax ID and Tax refunds, Amazon Ads help
- KDP Terms and Conditions (the Amazon parties), Amazon KDP
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