Taxation

The tax year in Denmark runs from January 1st to December 31st.The Danish tax authorities provide a tax calendar for individuals (and for business), where you can see the deadlines for different taxation issues.

• Preliminary tax assessment notice (selvangivelse): from February you can make changes to the data which is in your online tax folder. You will see the tax that has been calculated for the previous year and which tax allowances and deductions have been taken into account. Make corrections if necessary.
• Annual tax statement/tax assessment notice (årsopgørelse): from March you will be able to see your tax assessment notice for the previous year. Corrections should be done latest by May 1.
• Preliminary income assessment (forskudsopgørelse): each year in November, SKAT generates a preliminary income assessment of your expected income for the following year. You should update your SKAT data if your figures are not correct.

Preliminary tax assessment notice

The preliminary income assessment (forskudsopgørelse) shows how much tax you have to pay in the coming tax year. You will receive your preliminary income assessment electronically every year in November. You can view your preliminary income assessment notice in your tax folder (skattemappe) via e-tax for individuals (TastSelv) online.

Read more about preliminary income assessment on SKAT’s website.

IMPORTANT IN NOVEMBER: How to change your preliminary tax assessment notice

In case you need to change your preliminary income assessment, SKAT has made a step-by-step guide to how to make changes in the preliminary income assessment. See information about how to change your preliminary income assessment.

Annual tax assessment notice

The tax assessment notice is a form showing all the figures known to SKAT for the preceding tax year concerning your income, allowances etc. Every year in March/April, you will receive a tax assessment notice. You can view your annual tax assessment notice in your tax folder (skattemappe) via e-tax for individuals (TastSelv) on the Internet.

You can see an example of an annual tax assessment notice under SKAT: Guides on the SKAT website.

Read more about how to correct your annual tax statement.

Employees may have work related allowances and deductions taken into account in their annual tax statement. They are subtracted from the taxable income, thus reducing the taxes to be paid. The most important allowances and deductions can be found below.

• Personal allowance (personfradrag): each taxpayer has a personal allowance. This will automatically be taken into account without you having to explicitly claim it.
• Employment allowance (beskæftigelsesfradrag): this amount will also be taken into account automatically.
• Transportation allowance (befordringsfradrag): part of the transportation costs if you commute to and from work can be taken into account in your tax statements. Find distance rates for daily travel to and from work.

Read more about deductions and allowances. 

E-tax (TastSelv) is the online self-service system for SKAT. 

You can update your tax information yourself in your tax folder (skattemappe) via e-tax for individuals on the Internet. You should update your tax information if you:

• Get a new job with substantially higher or lower pay
• Start your own business
• Are unemployed, on a pension or retire early
• Change your marital status
• Buy or sell a house or apartment
• Convert or redeem loans, e.g. a housing loan
• Join a capital pension scheme or another private pension scheme
• Move, and the distance between your home and work is considerably longer or shorter (your transport allowance must be changed)
• There are significant changes in your capital income

Aalborg University (AAU) has an agreement with Deloitte regarding tax assistance which can benefit you as an AAU staff. 

Cleck bellow to find out more

Tax checklist before arrival

Special tax scheme for foreign researchers

When you are recruited to Aalborg University (AAU) as a researcher or a key employee you need to consider which taxation scheme you would like to work under. It will depend on your situation whether the special tax scheme is beneficial to you. Within eight days of the obligation to deduct tax commencing, AAU must contact the tax centre, and SKAT then assesses whether the employer and the employee fulfil the conditions for the special tax scheme.

Tax checklist after arrival

When arriving to Denmark you have to register at the National Registry Office. Hereafter you need to visit the tax administration authorities (SKAT - Skatteforvaltningen) in your local municipality and get an electronic tax card.

Remember to have the following when you go for sKAT registration:

• information about your salary and pension
• your purchase agreement if you have bought a property
• bank details regarding interest income and expenses, foreign accounts, etc.
• information about free benefits (free car or free board and lodging)
• personal identification, e.g. your passport

Tax Glossary

Below you will find a Danish glossary list with English translations and explanatory texts to key taxation terms.  

• A-indkomst (A income): A income is income such as pay, unemployment benefits, state education grants (SU) etc. on which A tax is withheld.
• A-skat (A tax): The tax which is charged on A income, i.e. your ordinary income. Your employer will calculate your A tax based on your withholding rate.
• Arbejdsmarkedsbidrag (Labour market contribution): All working citizens must contribute a labour market contribution at a rate of 8 %. The contribution is deducted from your gross pay after ATP has been deducted and before other allowances are deducted. Your tax is then calculated.
• ATP, Arbejdsmarkedetstillægspension (Labour Market Supplementary Pension Fund): All employees between the age of 16 and 66 will pay to this pension scheme. The amount is deducted from your full pay (gross pay) before your tax is calculated.
• B-indkomst (B income): B income is income which has not been taxed when paid to you. B income may be fees or profits from self-employed business activities and interest receivable. Such income is subject to B tax. B taxes are normally paid in up to 10 instalments by means giro transfer forms received from SKAT. For a number of taxpayers, however, the B tax is included in the calculation of the withholding rate
• Fradrag (Allowances and deductions): The allowance corresponding to the pay period is deducted before the tax is calculated. From your tax card, your employer can see what your allowances and deductions are.
• Ferie (Holiday): All employees will usually be entitled to holiday. This means that in addition to your pay, you will receive 12.5 % which is deposited into a holiday account and paid to you when you go on holiday.
• Forskudsopgørelse (Preliminary income assessment): each year in November, SKAT generates a preliminary income assessment of your expected income for the following year. You should update your SKAT data if your figures are not correct.
• Løn (pay):Could also be stated as “honorar”(fee), “indtægt” (income) etc. Your pay is usually stated at the top of the payslip, and the amount is your full pay before tax is deducted. At the bottom of the calculation the following is usually stated: “Løn til udbetaling” (Pay for disbursement), showing the actual amount that you will be paid.
• Selvangivelse (Preliminary income tax return): from February you can make changes to the data which is in your online tax folder. You will see the tax that has been calculated for the previous year and what tax allowances and deductions have been taken into account. Make corrections if necessary.
• SP, Særlig Pensionsopsparing (Special Pension Savings): All employees must usually pay a SP contribution of 1 %.
• Årsopgørelse (Annual tax statement or tax assessment notice): from March you will be able to see your annual tax statement for the previous year. Corrections should be done latest by May 1.

International staff members must pay income tax in Denmark on the salary earned in Denmark.

When coming to Denmark to work, you need a personal tax number and a tax card. The (electronic) tax card is issued by the Danish tax authorities called SKAT. If you are here for less than three months, you can find more information at Stays under 90 days.

The tax card ensures that you get the tax allowances and reliefs you are entitled to before AAU withholds tax from your income. If you do not apply for a tax card, AAU will deduct 55% tax from your salary.

The tax card is electronic and gives AAU access to your tax information.

You can apply for the tax card online at SKAT’s webpage.

Or you can go to the local International Citizen Service Centre to obtain your tax card.

What you need to bring

Remember to have with you or attach the following documents when registering online for the tax card: 

• ID with photo, such as a passport or national ID Card
• Marriage certificate if you are married (family certificate if you are a Swedish citizen)
• Work permit if you are a citizen from outside the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Switzerland or Norway 
• Employment contract (signed by your employer)
• Fill inn Form 04.063

If you have previously worked in Denmark, you will already have a civil registration number or a personal tax number.

When you have completed the form (04.063) and attached or enclosed the documents required, you will receive a preliminary income assessment (forskudsopgørelse) within two weeks.

You can see your tax card information on the first page of your preliminary income assessment (forskudsopgørelse). The tax card contains information about your withholding rate, deductions and allowances.

If you have any question, please call SKAT on +45 72 22 18 18 (also to book personal appointments)

Opening hours: Monday 9 am – 5 pm, Tuesday to Thursday 9 am – 4 pm and Friday 9 am – 2 pm.

If you are on the researcher taxation scheme

If you are on the researcher taxation scheme, the International Staff Unit (ISU) will register you for tax and you do not need to do this yourself. 

Salary

When you receive your salary, tax has already been deducted. 

Find your payslip via e-boks

As an employee at Aalborg University (AAU), your payslip is available via www.e-boks.dk.

E-boks is a secure electronic mailbox where you can receive and store the documents you normally receive by post. Your payslip will inform you about your salary and the tax you have paid. Every time you receive your payslip, you should check that the figures are correct. You should also save your payslips until the end of the tax year and until your tax for the year has been calculated (on the annual tax statement). Your payslips are proof that you have paid tax.

Read more under Working at AAU - Salary and Payslip .

Property value tax (ejendomsværdiskat) 

If you own a house or a flat, you must pay property value tax. The tax is 1 % of the property value. The property value is determined by the public authorities every other year.

People living in Denmark must also pay property value tax on any foreign property that they own, and persons living abroad must pay property value tax on any property that they own in Denmark.

The property value tax is included in the total tax paid over the year. SKAT will usually obtain the required information, but if you have recently bought a house, the tax is not included in your preliminary income assessment and your tax card. You should then contact your local tax centre to obtain a new tax card.

Property tax (ejendomsskat)

If you own a house, a flat or a plot of land, you must also pay property tax to the municipality based on the actual property value. The property tax is assessed and collected directly by each municipality and will differ from municipality to municipality.

Topics from SKAT:

• Public property assessment
• Property tax

Motor vehicles

Because of the 25 % VAT and a very high registration tax, it is expensive to drive a car in Denmark. Many people choose not to bring their car with them to Denmark for this reason. 

The taxation on motor vehicles in Denmark depends on whether you own a vehicle here or you bring your foreign registered motor vehicle to Denmark. If you bring your vehicle with foreign number plates to Denmark, you have three options:

1. Apply for permission to drive your vehicle in Denmark without paying Danish registration tax. This may be relevant if, for example, you are staying in Denmark as a student or because of short-term employment.

Note that you are allowed to drive a foreign vehicle in Denmark if:

• The vehicle has temporary stickers that are valid for a maximum of seven days. The stickers must have been issued by a competent authority in an EU/EEA state, the Faroe Islands or Greenland.
• The vehicle has been rented abroad for a maximum of seven days; the driver's name must be listed on the rental agreement, and the driver must drive from the border directly to the destination in Denmark where the vehicle is to be delivered according to the rental agreement.
• The registered owner or user is a passenger of the vehicle.

You need to bring the registration certificate and the permit for driving with temporary stickers, or the rental agreement when you use the vehicle in Denmark.

2. Seek permission from SKAT to pay quarterly a proportion of the normal vehicle registration tax.

3. Import your vehicle and have it registered to Danish number plates. You must do so within two weeks of arrival. In this case, you will need to pay full registration tax.

Find more information about the three options on Skat's website. Here you can also read about how to apply for these.  

SKAT (the Danish taxation authorities) has also made a guide explaining what to do If you bring a vehicle with foreign number plates to Denmark. Read the guide under SKAT: Guides on the SKAT website.

Pension

You are entitled to tax allowances and reliefs for the contributions you have paid into your approved pension plan(s). In the majority of cases, you automatically receive your tax relief and pay the right amount of tax on your pension and early retirement benefits. Remember to check or correct your preliminary income assessment when you contribute to a pension scheme.

On the website of the Danish taxation authorities, you can find information about:

• Pensions and early retirement benefits
• Danish pensions if you move abroad
• Pensions from an EU or EEA country

Find here more information from the International Staff Unit (ISU) about pension schemes in general.

When you leave Denmark to live in another country, your full tax liability in Denmark normally ends. There are certain things you should remember, such as sending in a tax form to the tax centre.

• People with full tax liability to Denmark should fill out form 04.029
• People with limited tax liability to Denmark and without access to E-tax (TastSelv) should fill out form 04.069
• Make sure that SKAT has your current contact information in case they need to reach you after you have left Denmark

Read more about taxation when you are about to leave Denmark 

Read more about taxation when leaving Denmark permanently

Pay outstanding tax (restskat) outside Denmark

Restskat means that your preliminary income assessment is not correct. If you have not paid enough money in taxes according to what you have earned in Denmark, then you have to pay the missing tax-money back to SKAT.

You can pay restskat from a bank outside Denmark. Remember to state your CPR number and the tax year you are paying for in the bank transfer. The bank also needs to be informed when you leave Denmark.

As an employee of Aalborg University (AAU), you may be eligible for the researcher tax scheme. The researcher tax scheme applies to you, if you are employed as a postdoc, assistant professor, associate professor or professor. The researcher tax scheme only applies to salary received from AAU. Other income will be taxed according to the regular tax rules.

Employees who are covered by the special researcher tax scheme can get a 27% flat rate tax + 8% labour market contributions, a total tax rate of 32.84%, for a period of maximum 84 months (7 years). These months can be distributed among several different work periods. The 27 % tax is calculated after the deduction of the 8 % labour market contribution. 

Requirements

In order to be covered by the flat rate tax of 32.84%, it is a requirement that you are employed in a post doc position or above and that you have not been tax liable to Denmark 10 years prior to your employment at AAU.

• IMPORTANT NOTICE: This also means that if you register in Denmark more than one month prior to the beginning of your employment at AAU, you will not be eligible for the researcher taxation. Furthermore, if you have a gap in your employment of more than one month and keep your address in Denmark, you may not be eligible to continue on the researcher taxation. 

Procedure

Researcher taxation needs to be approved by the Danish tax authorities. In order to apply for the researcher tax, you must follow these steps:

• Register with the civil registration office and obtain a CPR number.
• Fill in the special researcher taxation form (you will receive an e-mail from the International Staff Unit (ISU)
• ISU will send the completed form to the HR Service Centre for further processing.
• The HR Service Centre will send your application to the tax authorities, which will confirm registration after a handling time of up to two months.

No tax card is needed for individuals covered by the researcher tax scheme with no other income or assets that are taxable in Denmark.

It is also possible to be on the researcher taxation scheme, if you are employed in Denmark but live abroad. It is a requirement that you work in Denmark at least one day a month.

Please contact ISU, you have any further questions.

Read more about the tax scheme for foreign researchers and highly-paid employees under SKAT: Guides on the SKAT website.