Additional cost allowance for adults

If you have additional costs as the result of a disability, you may be eligible for additional cost allowance. Additional costs are costs that are incurred due to your disability and go beyond what is customary for people of the same age. Försäkringskassan determines what counts as additional costs.

Can I receive additional cost allowance?

You can receive additional cost allowance if

have a disability that can be presumed to persist for at least one year
have additional costs amounting to at least SEK 11,900 per year due to your disability
you are at least 18 years of age and do not have a parent who is obligated to support you
you are insured in Sweden. If you live here, you are insured. However, there are some exceptions to this rule.

Parents are liable to pay maintenance for their children until the child reaches the age of 18, or at the most until the child reaches the age of 21 if the child attends upper secondary school or equivalent.

Additional costs are costs that you have due to your disability, i.e. costs in addition to the costs that are common for people of the same age without disabilities. Additional costs can be one-off costs or recurring costs, such as disposable materials.

Försäkringskassan will determine what counts as additional costs due to your disability.

An example: You cannot normally claim the allowance for buying a bicycle. However, if you need to adjust the bicycle to be able to ride the bicycle despite your disability, you may be entitled to additional cost allowance. In this case, you will be reimbursed for the cost of adjusting the bicycle – you will not be reimbursed for the cost of the bicycle without adaptation.

Additional costs are divided into seven categories according to the legislation. It is not possible to list everything that may qualify as additional costs, however here are some examples.

health, medical care and food. For example, costs for medicines. patient fees and special diets.
Wear and tear and cleaning. For example, wear and tear on clothes, increased washing and cleaning.
Travel. For example, travel in your own car if you are unable to travel by public transportation or sick and medical treatment trips that are not reimbursed by the municipality or region.
Assistive devices. For example, the purchase or rental and insurance of assistive devices.
Assistance in daily life. For example, costs for a guardian, home care services or other services that are granted by the municipality.
Housing. For example, in the case of a change of housing, the cost of an additional room or a larger living space needed for care equipment, assistive devices or a treatment room may be an additional cost if the cost is not otherwise met.
Other purposes. This applies to additional costs due to a disability, which do not fit in the categories above.

You can only receive additional cost allowance for things that you pay for yourself

This means that you cannot receive allowance for things that the state, municipality or region pays for. This means, for example, that in the case of patient transport, you can only receive compensation up to the high-cost protection.

Similarly, you cannot claim additional cost allowance for aids if there is an equivalent aid available to borrow for free from the municipality or region. Therefore, you should contact the municipality or region before purchasing aids that you need due to your disability.

We assess whether the costs you have indicated in the application can be approved as additional costs. In order to receive additional cost allowance, the conditions described in the legislation must be met. This requires:

That the cost arises due to the disability

The cost must arise due to a disability, it cannot be a cost that you would have had even if you did not have a disability. Based on the information in the medical documentation, we will assess whether there is a link between the disability and the cost.

The cost refers to what goes beyond what is normal for persons of the same age who do not have a disability

In order to be regarded as an additional cost, the cost must go beyond the costs that a person of the same age would normally have. We use information from, for example, the Swedish Consumer Agency to determine what can be considered normal costs even without a disability. After that we make an assessment of what costs go beyond that.

The cost is reasonable or fair

The cost must also be reasonable. Reasonable is an expression used in the legislation and is comparable to the cost being fair.

We assess the size of the costs based on your individual life situation. What is reasonable can vary on a case-by-case basis and we therefore investigate whether the additional costs are reasonable. We use information from various sources, such as regions, the Swedish Consumer Agency, the Swedish Energy Agency, FASS, occupational therapists, pharmacies and district nurses.

You pay for the cost yourself

The cost must be paid you. If the state, municipality or region pays it, it is not considered an additional cost.

If the state, municipality or region meets any part of your needs, it is called other community support in the legislation and is not approved as an additional cost. Therefore, we need to know what possible services or support you have. For example, it may be that the municipality pays for a support that you need or that a need is met by us paying you another form of allowance.

Everyone has costs for, for example, clothes, regardless of whether they have a disability or not. We call such costs normal costs and you cannot receive additional cost allowance for them. If you have higher costs due to your disability, it is an additional cost and you may be entitled to additional cost allowance.

You need to calculate how high your additional costs are per year. You can, for example, use information from the Swedish Consumer Agency to find out what costs you usually have even without a disability. Then you can estimate how high your additional costs are. If you do not know, write it in your application, so that you can get support from your administrative officer.

In this appendix, you will find tables with the Swedish Consumer Agency's estimates of normal costs for clothes and shoes, washing and drying, and household electricity.

Compilation of normal costs for adults (in Swedish)

If you need assistive devices, there is information available in 1177 Vårdguiden.

1177 Vårdguiden (1177.se) (in Swedish)

If the state, municipality or region reimburses any part of your costs, you need to exclude it when you calculate how large your additional costs are.

If you have an additional cost for a more expensive product with a long lifespan, Försäkringskassan calculates what the annual cost will be. This means that if, for example, the product costs SEK 6,000, the cost is distributed over the number of years the product is expected to be used. This is normally 10 years. The additional cost will then be SEK 600 per year.

How much money will I receive?

You can receive between SEK 1,190 and 2,777 per month depending on how the amount of your additional costs. If your additional costs are less than SEK 11,900 per year, you cannot receive allowance.

These amounts are valid for 2021. You do not pay any tax on the allowance.

Additional costs per year and monthly allowance

Your additional costs are at least SEK 11,900 per year. You can receive SEK 1,190 per month.
Your additional costs are at least SEK 16,660 per year. You can receive SEK 1,587 per month.
Your additional costs are at least SEK 21,420 per year. You can receive SEK 1,983 per month.
Your additional costs are at least SEK 26,180 per year. You can receive SEK 2,380 per month.
Your additional costs are at least SEK 30,940 per year. You can receive the maximum amount of SEK 2,777 per month.

How do I apply?

1. Apply on My pages (Mina sidor)

Apply for additional cost allowance on My Pages (Mina sidor), where you can describe your additional costs. Read about how to calculate your additional costs under the heading Calculate your additional cost.

Write in the application if you would rather tell us about your additional costs verbally instead of submitting them when you apply.

Fill in and submit the form

3077 Costs for car - additional cost allowance (in Swedish)

2. Send in a medical statement

After completing your application, send in a medical statement describing your disability. If you are applying via our e-service you can submit the medical certificate and other attachments digitally through My Pages as soon as we receive your application. You can see your case on My Pages within 24 hours of applying and you then click add attachments to your application.

If you are not applying via the e-service, send the medical certificate and other attachments to Försäkringskassans inläsningscentral, 839 88 Östersund.

3. We will contact you

Once we have started processing your case, we will book an appointment with you where we will jointly review the additional costs that are due to your disability.

You can prepare for the conversation by writing down what additional costs you have incurred due to your disability, the reason for the costs and how you have calculated them, if this is not already stated in your application.

If you indicated that you need an interpreter, the administrative officer will make sure one participates in the conversation.

4. You will receive a decision

We will assess which of your additional costs are reasonable and can be approved. We will then add up the approved additional costs to see if you can receive additional cost allowance. If your additional costs are at least SEK 11,900 per year, you will receive a decision on a certain monthly amount. The decision can either be time limited or apply until further notice.

If your costs are high enough, you will receive a decision about what amount you will receive per month. The decision can either be time limited or apply until further notice.

Unfortunately, we currently have long processing times, an average of twelve months. You will not miss out on any money because of our processing times. If you are entitled to compensation, you will receive the money in arrears once we have made a decision on your case.

5. Disbursement

Additional cost allowance is paid out on the 18th or 19th of every month.

Special disbursement dates

Special disbursement dates and processing times

When will the disbursement appear on My pages (Mina sidor)?

On My pages (Mina sidor), you can see the disbursement under Disbursements (Utbetalningar) 8 bank days before the money arrives.

6. Report changes

Call your administrator if your additional costs change. Report the change as soon as possible, but no later than 14 days after you became aware of it. Otherwise, you may be required to pay back the money.

Additional cost allowance for adults