The State Budget Procedure

When the Minister for Finance presents the Spring Fiscal Policy Bill or the Budget Bill to the Riksdag, this represents the culmination of a process that carries on at the Ministry of Finance and other ministries throughout the year. Before reaching this point, forecasts have to be made, reforms calculated and negociated and a host of decisions taken.

• Two bills that differ in content

  In the spring the Spring Fiscal Policy Bill is presented and in the autumn comes the Government's Budget Bill.

• The two Bills differ in content. The Spring Fiscal Policy Bill contains the Governments proposed guidelines for economic policy and budget policy over the next few years and in the longer term. In the Budget Bill these proposals are then turned into a central government budget for the year to come. This Bill presents detailed proposals for the distribution of government expenditure between the various expenditure areas.

• This brochure gives you a chance to follow the work on the budget for a whole year and see what happens month by month in the central government budget process. Click on any month to see what is happening just then.

• January

  The Government: The ministries go through forecasts for their expenditure areas and appropriations. The Ministry of Finance goes through revenue forecasts and analyses the macroeconomic development.

• February

  The Government: The ministries go through forecasts for their expenditure areas and appropriations.
  The public authorities submit annual reports and budget documents to the Government.
  

• March

  Rivsrevisionen, the Swedish national audit office, presents audit reports to the Government.
  

• April

  The Government presents the Spring Fiscal Policy Bill, a Bill on a proposed supplementary budget and the Central Government Annual Report to the Riksdag.
  The Riksdag starts work on the Spring Fiscal Policy and the Bill on a proposed supplementary budget.
  

• May

  The Riksdag continues its work on the Spring Fiscal Policy Bill and the Bill on a proposed supplementary budget.
  The Government: Work on the budget continues at the various ministries.

• June

  The Government holds deliberations.
  The Riksdag takes a formal decision on the Spring Fiscal Policy Bill and the Bill on a proposed supplementary budget.
  

• July

  The Government pauses from its work on the Swedish budget. The Ministry of Finance works on the EU budget.
  

• August

  The Government continues work on the budget.
  

• September

  The Government presents the Budget Bill to the Riksdag.
  

• October

  The Riksdag considers the Budget Bill.
  The Opposition presents different alternatives to the Governments budget proposal.
  

• November

  The Riksdag takes decisions on the expenditure ceiling, expenditure area framework and central government revenues.
  

• December

  The Riksdag takes its decision on central government budget appropriations.
  The Government decides on the objectives and responsibility of each public authority (appropriation directions).