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TAXES

Five essential words you need when paying taxes in Denmark

The annual tax return, årsopgørelse is released on Monday so here is a reminder of Denmark’s important tax terminology.

Published: 14 October 2021 17:16 CEST
Updated: 21 February 2023 17:28 CET
The headquarters of the Danish Tax Agency in Copenhagen. A few key vocab items can help you better understand your tax return.
The headquarters of the Danish Tax Agency in Copenhagen. A few key vocab items can help you better understand your tax return. Photo: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix

We hope our brief guide to essential Danish tax vocabulary will give you a little help.

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Self-employed and employed people alike can adjust their tax returns by logging in to the skat.dk website and entering the deductions on their preliminary tax return or annual return.

These are calculated and displayed on the website of the national tax authority, SKAT. As such, a good grasp of the necessary technical terms will help you to fill out your paperwork correctly, including things like any deductions to which you might be entitled.

Forskudsopgørelse, årsopgørelse

Forskudsopgørelse (preliminary tax return) and årsopgørelse (annual return, calculated and displayed on the SKAT website at the beginning of March) are possibly the most important Danish tax terms.

Accessing the annual tax return is a yearly event for taxpayers. Within a set deadline which falls at the beginning of May, taxpayers can edit their tax information, such as by changing income or tax exemption information.

Around three out of four taxpayers in Denmark get refunds after the yearly annual return. The amount refunded varies from person to person, but 2019 saw 3.4 million people paid an average refund of 4,700 kroner, according to official data. Many others have to pay money back to the tax authority, however.

Prior to the publication of the annual return, you can check how much tax you’ve paid or are due to pay during the course of the year and edit your income and deductions details on the preliminary version of the return, the forskudsopgørelse. 

Fradrag

A fradrag or deduction can reduce your tax bill just like in many other national tax systems. These can be entered into your tax returns, as described above.

Various types of deduction are available. These include kørselsfradrag (travel deduction) and håndværkerfradrag and servicefradrag (literally, builder’s deduction and service deduction), given for making improvements to homes or holiday homes.

Various other costs relating to work can be deducted from income tax, including kost og logi (food and accommodation); dobbelt husførelse for housing costs if living away from home temporarily due to work; and A-kasse og fagforening (unemployment insurance and trade union membership).

READ ALSO: Four ways to (legally) lower your tax bill in Denmark

AM–bidrag

AM-bidrag or arbejdsmarkedsbidrag, literally ‘labour market contribution’ is a taxation amounting to 8 percent of your wages. Grammar lovers will note use of the antonym word to fradrag.

The tax is paid directly to SKAT by your employer (for those who are not self-employed or freelance), and will be displayed on your tax returns.

If you are not self-employed or freelance, the wage slip you are issued by your employer will tell you the amount to which this 8 percent taxation is applied: some parts of your gross income are not applicable to the AM-bidrag.

Feriepenge 

Feriepenge (holiday money) is a monthly contribution paid into a special fund, depending on how much you earn.

You can claim back the money once per year, provided you actually take holiday from work.

You will be notified when the money can be paid out around May, and directed to the borger.dk website, from where you claim it back from national administrator Udbetaling Danmark.

Brutto, netto 

Your income before tax is brutto (gross), i.e. the amount prior to calculation and payment of tax and application of deductions. Netto is not usually a supermarket when talking about tax, but is the amount you receive after paying all levies.

EXPLAINED: How to understand your Danish payslip

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For members

WORKING IN DENMARK

What you need to know if you lose your job in Denmark

It's not fun to lose your job, but Danish laws and collective agreements give you a number of rights and there are steps you can take to help insure yourself against the possibility of being out of work.

Published: 8 March 2023 15:02 CET
What you need to know if you lose your job in Denmark

Denmark is currently experiencing a labour shortage and low unemployment. Many companies and sectors are calling for additional foreign labour to meet their recruitment needs, something the government appears to be willing to take steps to accommodate.

Of course, none of these things mean individual companies might not be experiencing headwinds or that the situation can change. There are various kinds of business needs that could be the catalyst for a restructuring, such as financial hardships or pending mergers. This can also mean that some employees will lose their jobs.

If you do lose your job in Denmark, you are covered by certain aspects of the law. It is also a good idea to think about taking the necessary measures — such as A-kasse membership — that can protect your from some of the financial implications of unemployment.

Notice periods 

If you are covered by the Salaried Employees Act (Funktionærloven), then you are entitled to certain notice periods before any significant change happens to the terms of your employment.

You can see in your contract whether you are a salaried employee (funktionær), but generally, the term applies to staff who have been employed for over 1 month and work more than 8 hours weekly, on average.

Sectors in which staff are considered funktionærer include business and administration, purchasing, selling, technical and cleaning services; and management and supervision. In short, people who work in offices, sales or purchasing or certain types of warehouse jobs are likely to be covered.

Areas which may not be covered include factory work or craftsmanship, nor are people hired through temp agencies (vikarbureauer) covered by the act.

The notice periods provided by the Salaried Employees Act cover things like notification of termination of employment or significant changes to your job duties. 

The amount of notice that you are entitled to is determined by how much seniority you have, as follows:

0-6 months of employment

1 month’s notice

6 months to 3 years

3 months

3 years to 6 years

4 months

6 months to 3 years

3 months

6 years to 9 years

5 months

More than 9 years

6 months

When you have worked at the company for 12 or more years, you are also entitled to additional compensation (Danish: fratrædelsesgodtgørelse) if you are let go from your job, per the Danish Salaried Employees Act.  

The compensation is 1 month’s salary after 12 years’ employment and 3 months’ salary after 17 years of employment.

It is possible that your company will also provide other additional payments due to restructuring activities. This varies from company to company and is not part of the Danish Salaried Employees Act. 

Should I join an A-kasse?

Membership of an unemployment insurance service provider, an A-kasse (arbejdsløshedskasse) is the first step to keeping your income steady while you begin the process of finding new employment. Finding a new job is a task the A-kasse itself can assist you with.

It can be difficult to figure out which A-kasse to join and while some are cheaper than others, it’s not just about paying an insurance premium. In the event that you become unemployed, it’s good to have an A-kasse that is an appropriate fit for your background, so that they can better help you with your plan to get back into the workforce.

A-kasser are private associations which have been authorised by the Danish state to administer unemployment benefits. The state regulates the requirements for receiving benefits while the A-kasse administers the benefits.

If you are interested in A-kasse membership, you must apply to the A-kasse of your choice, either as a full-time or part-time insured member. A-kasse members pay a tax-deductible monthly fee, which gives them the right to receive unemployment benefits (dagpenge) should they become unemployed.

There are a lot of rules that you’ll have to familiarise yourself with, including when you will be allowed to apply for benefits and how long you can receive them for. Members must meet certain eligibility requirements to receive unemployment benefits, which include being a member of an A-kasse for at least 12 months.

According to Denmark’s digital self-service website Borger.dk, one must also have earned at least 246,924 kroner (2022) in the past three years for full-time insured and 164,616 kroner (2022) for part-time insured. You also have to have worked for a certain period of time within the last three years, which varies depending on whether you were insured as full-time or part-time.

READ ALSO: A-kasse: Everything foreigners in Denmark need to know about unemployment insurance

What else should I keep in mind?

In general, the Danish labour market system is not primarily based on laws, as you may be used to from other countries, but on agreements and negotiations, primarily collective bargaining agreements or overenskomster between trade unions and employer associations. You may have heard of the concept ‘the Danish model’ (den danske model) referred to in this regard.

A large proportion of people who work in Denmark are therefore trade union members.

Collective bargaining agreements cover many aspects of Denmark’s labour market, from wages to paid parental leave. 

A lesser-known fact about the Danish labour model is that employees covered by collective bargaining agreements won’t have to negotiate general employment terms – regardless of whether they are trade union members.

There are large central agreements in both the public and private sectors. Therefore, employees whose contracts are regulated by a central bargaining agreement won’t individually have to negotiate general terms of employment, like working hours or a minimum salary. 

The particular collective agreement upon which your contract is based may be mentioned in your contract, and if it isn’t, you can ask your employer. 

READ ALSO: What is a Danish collective bargaining agreement?

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