Can I refund
taxes
paid in Denmark?

If you work in Denmark or have to pay local taxes, you may visit the local tax authorities called SKAT to create an account in the E-tax online payment system (it's called Tast-Selv in Danish).

The tax account contains summarized information about paid taxes, information from the tax-at-source card, tax returns, tax refunds, information from the employer and so on.

Kindly note that the income rates in Denmark depend on the number of working days in the country. The higher is the income, the higher are taxes.

Danes and non-residents of Denmark are able to pay taxes after the deduction of tax credit (from the nontaxable amount).

The personal income is a subject of AM tax with a rate of 8%. This tax is applied to the first krone without all applicable tax credits.

• Tax and benefits rates

Both local and foreign citizens are able to use a wide range of tax credits in Denmark to reduce the overall amount of taxes (called "skattefradrag" in Danish). Kindly note that general tax credits are automatically added to the tax return. But some tax credits can help reduce the amount of taxes you pay.

1. Personfradrag. The minimum annual allowance is calculated totally automatically. The amount of 46 500 DKK (in 2020) and 46 700 kr.(in 2021)is not taxed after deducting the AM tax in the amount of 8% (in 2020 & 2021).

Kindly note that you will receive only a share of the tax credit if you didn't work in Denmark for a year.

What are the benefits?
If you received 75% of your income in Denmark and you are a citizen of EU/EEA (or a citizen of countries with which Denmark has signed a tax treaty) without being a tax resident in Denmark, you are able to get the full amount of the minimum personal allowance. You need to submit a request in order to get a tax refund.

When you have to make travel expenses in order to reach the place of temporary work in Denmark and the total distance is more than 24 km (12 km each way), you are able to get a tax credit for travel expenses irrespectively to the chosen mean of transportation.

The distance from 25 to 120 km:

• 1.96 DKK per km in 2020 (1.90 DKK in 2021).

The distance of more than 120 km:

• 0.98 DKK in 2020 (0.95 DKK in 2021).

Important information:

• You are not able to use the tax credit if the employer covers all your travel expenses.
• In case if your route included a ferry or a plane, you have to include the price of the ticket instead of calculating the distance.

In the case when you don't live home because of the work in Denmark, you are able to use the following tax credit options:
1. Expenses for accommodation and food;
2. Expenses for two houses or apartments.

The maximum amount of the tax credit is the following:
28.000 DKK in 2019
28,600 DKK in 2020

Enter your expenses in your tax assessment notice, box 53, and in your preliminary income assessment, field 429.

1. Food and accommodation expenses
If you have temporary work and you have to live out of the place of your permanent residence, you are able to enjoy all the benefits of the tax credit for food and accommodation expenses.

Food expenses:
Per day - DKK 521 in 2020, (DKK 509 in 2019)
How long - No more than 12 months.

Accommodation expenses:
Per day - DKK 223 in 2020, (DKK 219 in 2019)
How long - As long as the workplace is temporary.

2. Expenses for two houses or apartments.
In the case when you have a temporary employment contract and you are in a legal marriage with another person or have a minor dependent.
You are able to enjoy the tax credit for expenses for two houses or apartments (issued for a maximum two years).

You are able to get 400 DKK per week without providing receipts and supporting documents for your relevant expenses.

We do our best to prepare and submit your tax returns (or tax forms and claims) to the tax office within 5 working days. In some countries tax return submitting is possible immediately. After communication will get started, our Tax Agent will report you the precise time.

Processing time of Tax return, tax request and forms, depends on the laws of the country. In common, it takes 1 to 10 months.

Sure, all the time we will check the status of the tax return and will keep you updated!

• from January 1 to December 31 is a tax year in Denmark.
• in March - you are able to use the E-tax online system in order to get access to the annual Tax assessment notice (Årsopgørelsen).
• 1st April - the tax office starts sending the Tax assessment notice (Årsopgørelsen) by regular mail.
• up to 1st May - is the last day when one is able to correct the Tax assessment notice (Årsopgørelsen).
• from 11 May - you are able to adjust the Tax assessment notice (Årsopgørelsen) by providing the reason for the late submission of the documents.
• 1st July- is the last day when you are obliged to fill and submit the extended version of the Tax Return (Selvangivelse).
• 1st July- is the last day to pay taxes. After this day, in case you have unpaid taxes for the previous year, in your total tax payable for the year, added an interest charge of 4%.
• in November - is an important month for the E-tax online system because you will be able to get access to the Preliminary income assessment (Forskudsopgørelsen), for the current year, in order to make required adjustments and corrections.
• in December - is the last day to submit tax refund requests for the current tax year.

💡By the way
During 2 years from July 1 of the tax year, cross-border workers are allowed to request adjustment of the tax calculation (in case of getting at least 75% of the income in Denmark).

Here's an example: For the tax statement for 2019, the last day of tax return submission on June 31, 2021.

Each person, who receives the salary, the pension of the allowance and is obliged to pay relevant taxes, will receive the Tax assessment notice totally automatically (it's called Årsopgørelsen in Danish).

You need to check the address provided to the SKATT tax authority in case you didn't receive the tax return.

In case, if the tax office received information from employers, banks and other entities, you will see such information in the corresponding cells (boxes) with the relevant amount.

Check the correctness of the information provided in the Tax assessment.

• Compare the amount of income in the form with the real income from your employer (section 11).
• Check the amount of taxes (Skatteberegning og skatteopgørelse).

The 1st page, of the Tax assessment notice (Årsopgørelsen) contains information about the paid taxes, the remaining amount and the final result:

• You will see the following word if you will get tax refunds: Du skal have penge tilbage __ Kr.
• In case if you have unpaid taxes, you will see the following: Du mangler at betale __ kr.

In the middle of November, you will be able to use the E-tax online system in order to get access to the Preliminary income assessment (Forskudsopgørelsen) for the current tax year.

All the changes will be sent to the employer and other relevant authorities after submission.

💡 Useful tip: You need to make corrections to the Preliminary income assessment (Forskudsopgørelsen) in the following cases:

• you spent your own money on work-related expenses;
• you stopped working or the calculation contains wrong information about your working period.

Additional information about the Forskudsopgørelsen

• More information on skat.dk

In case if the tax office requested to send the extended version of the tax return form (Selvangivelse), you are obliged to send it before July 1.
Important: even in case if you have nothing to add to the tax return, you need to fill and submit it.

You need to submit the tax return in the following cases:

• you are self-employed
• you have foreign income or assets
• You are buying or selling properties in Denmark.

In order to identify citizens of Denmark, local authorities implemented the CPR registration number (bopælsregistreret).

• The CPR number consists of 10 symbols, where the first six symbols are the date of birth added with four more digits

In order to get a number, you need to contact local municipal authorities (Borgerservice) or visit the international service center called icitizen.dk.

If you are not able to get the CPR number, you have a legal right to get a tax identification number and a tax card.