Buying a US Home from Sweden: Mortgage, Visa and Tax Facts

Q: I have an uppskov from an earlier sale. What happens when I move to the US?

Skatteverket states that a person with a deferred capital gain who moves to a country outside the EEA must pay tax on the deferred amount. The United States is outside the EEA, so the deferral ends. Find the figure on your latest tax return and budget for it before you calculate your US down payment.

Q: Is the gain on my Swedish home taxed when I sell?

Yes. Sweden has no main-residence exemption. On a private home sold at a gain, 22/30 of the gain is taxed, which works out at 22% of the gain. If you sell after you have moved abroad, you still pay Swedish tax on it and report it for the year the contract was signed.

Q: What can I show a US lender about my credit in Sweden?

UC gives every individual a free extract of the data it holds once per calendar year, available in English, and has a low-cost digital service as well. It will not produce a US credit score, and the lender decides whether to consider it, but an English-language extract is easy to add to your file.

Q: Do I pay Swedish tax on a US holiday home if I stay in Sweden?

Skatteverket says no Swedish property tax or fee is charged on a home abroad. If you let it, the rental is taxed as if the home were in Sweden, and a later sale is reported in your Swedish return. Tax paid in the United States can be set off through the foreign tax credit rules.

Sweden and the United States at a glance

Figures last checked: 3 October 2026

Visiting: In the Visa Waiver Program since 1989: viewing trips need an ESTA, not a visa.
Treaty visas: E-1 trader and E-2 investor status available, under the treaty in force since 20 February 1992.
Income tax treaty: Yes, in force.
Estate tax treaty: No.
Social security agreement: Yes, since 1 January 1987.
Currency: Swedish krona, so you carry exchange-rate risk against the dollar directly.
Already there: About 45,000 people born in Sweden live in the United States (Census Bureau, 2024).

Your route into the United States

Swedish citizens visit the United States under the Visa Waiver Program. To live there you need a status of your own, and the mortgage depends on it, because lenders offer standard loans to people who are lawfully resident on a green card or a temporary visa. Business owners can look at the E-1 and E-2 categories, available to Swedes since 1992. An E-2 is tied to an operating business, and buying a home does not count towards it.

A holiday home bought while you remain resident in Sweden is usually financed through a foreign national loan, with a larger down payment and a higher rate. See the guide to visa status and US loans.

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Work out the Swedish tax bill first

Swedes moving to the United States often overestimate their down payment, for two reasons that Skatteverket spells out. First, there is no exemption for selling your main home: 22/30 of any gain is taxed. Second, a deferral carried over from an earlier sale comes back into tax when you move outside the EEA. Both reduce what you actually have to transfer.

Shareholders face a further rule. Certain share sales have to be reported in Sweden if you lived there in the year of sale or any of the ten years before. And if you are a Swedish citizen or lived in Sweden for at least ten years, it is for you to show, for five years after leaving, that you no longer have a substantial connection to the country. Keeping a home in Sweden is part of that picture.

Krona, not euros

Your savings are in kronor and the purchase is in dollars. The krona can move against the dollar on its own path, so decide when you convert. The rules most lenders follow leave limited room in any case: assets held abroad have to be exchanged into dollars and held in a US-regulated institution, and verified there, before closing.

What a US lender sees of your Swedish finances

A US credit score reflects only what US lenders report. Order your free annual extract from UC in English and add it to your file. For income, Fannie Mae's rules require two years of US federal tax returns before earnings from a foreign employer paid in foreign currency can be counted, so expect the assessment to rest on your US employment and on funds already in a US account.

If you keep your Swedish home

Once you live abroad, Skatteverket limits the deduction for interest on the Swedish home. Under the special income tax for non-residents, interest is deductible only for the period the home is let. The wider deduction available to residents of other EEA countries does not fit someone living in the United States. If you intend to keep the home and its mortgage, run the numbers with those limits in mind.

No estate tax treaty

Sweden abolished its own inheritance tax years ago, which makes the US rule easy to overlook. An estate tax return is required for an owner who is neither a US citizen nor a US resident once US assets, real estate included, exceed $60,000, and Sweden has no estate tax treaty with the United States. Take advice on how to hold the property before you buy.

Checklist for Swedish buyers

Confirm your US status and when it starts.
Look up any deferred gain on your tax return and budget for it.
Calculate the 22% tax on the gain before you count on sale proceeds.
Order your free UC extract in English and collect tax returns and statements.
Open a US account and plan the krona to dollar conversion.
Decide whether to keep your Swedish home, given the limits on interest deduction.
Take estate tax advice before deciding how to hold the US property.

Questions people moving from Europe ask

I have an uppskov from an earlier sale. What happens when I move to the US?

Is the gain on my Swedish home taxed when I sell?

What can I show a US lender about my credit in Sweden?

Do I pay Swedish tax on a US holiday home if I stay in Sweden?

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Sources (12)

Figures and rules on this page were checked against these sources on 3 October 2026. Rates, prices and local rules change, so confirm anything you rely on before you commit.

Made, reviewed and approved by Bas Terpstra, AFM- and PGN-certified
Basterpstra B.V., Drachten, the Netherlands (AFM 12050993)

Who made this guide. Bas Terpstra makes, reviews and approves every guide, using AI tools and public sources as a starting point. Rules and figures change, so treat this as general information and confirm the details for your own situation.

This page is general information, not personal financial, legal, tax or immigration advice. Nothing here is an offer, and no rate, loan amount, approval or visa outcome is promised. Mortgage availability is subject to immigration status, income, credit, appraisal and lender criteria, and lending, tax and local rules change. Consult a licensed US lender, an immigration attorney and a cross-border tax adviser. Any property securing a loan may be at risk if payments are not made.