Living in Denmark as an expat means getting to grips with a tax system that is highly digitalised, strict about deadlines, and demanding about accuracy. Unlike many countries where tax largely takes care of itself through an employer, Denmark expects you to engage with the process throughout the year. Missing a key date or forgetting to report foreign income can result in penalties, an incorrect preliminary tax, or lost deductions that you are entitled to. The good news is that, once you understand the rhythm of the year, staying compliant becomes a matter of routine rather than a source of anxiety. This month-by-month guide is intended to keep you on track.
January: Receive Your Preliminary Income Assessment
In January, SKAT sends you your forskudsopgørelse — the preliminary income assessment for the year ahead. This document estimates your income and tax based on information provided by your employer, banks, and pension providers, and it drives how much tax your employer withholds from each payslip through the year.
It is worth checking it closely. Does the reported salary match your payslips? Are job-related expenses, commuting costs, and interest deductions included? Is your personal allowance (personfradrag) applied correctly? And if you qualify, is the reduced rate of the researcher tax scheme reflected? If anything is wrong, log in to TastSelv at skat.dk/tastselv and correct it early — errors here affect your preliminary tax for the entire year.
February: Review Your Tax Assessment Notice
In February or March, SKAT issues your årsopgørelse — the annual assessment for the previous year. This is the final word on your tax for that year, and it is worth comparing it carefully against your own records.
Several boxes are particularly relevant for expats. Box 66 covers share gains and losses, so verify all your sales are reported correctly. Box 61 and Box 62 track dividends from Danish and foreign companies respectively, while Box 452 and Box 454 deal with foreign income, including the value of foreign shares and dividends. Box 496 records the foreign tax credit — tax you have paid abroad — and it must match your own documentation. Box 497 covers the mortgage interest deduction (rentefradrag), and Box 310 captures pension contributions for tax deduction.
Errors in these boxes are common for expats, particularly in boxes 452, 454, and 496. If you invested through a foreign broker, SKAT often will not have received the data automatically, so you need to check these carefully and correct any errors through TastSelv.
March–April: File Your Tax Return
For most employees, the filing deadline is 1 May. Self-employed individuals have until 1 July, or later if an extension is granted. The process centres on TastSelv: log in, review the pre-filled årsopgørelse, and add anything that is missing — foreign income, cryptocurrency gains, or freelance income, for example. Then claim the deductions you are entitled to, covering job-related expenses, professional memberships, and commuting costs, and update your forskudsopgørelse for the current year to reflect any changes in expected salary, deductions, or commuting.
Updating the forskudsopgørelse matters because it ensures your employer withholds the correct amount of tax each month. If you underpay during the year, you may owe a large, unwelcome sum when the final statement arrives in October.
April: Pay Preliminary Tax (Self-Employed)
If you run a business as an enkeltmandsvirksomhed or an ApS, you pay preliminary tax (kildeskud) quarterly, with payments due on 20 March, 20 June, 20 September, and 20 December. Paying late triggers a sinkingsgebyr (late payment penalty) plus interest, so it is well worth setting up automatic payments through Betalingsservice or, at the very least, calendar reminders for each quarter.
May: Receive Holiday Pay
In May, your employer pays feriepenge (holiday pay) — the amount represents 1.25% of your annual salary for each week of earned holiday. Check that the payment matches your holiday entitlement, that it appears in your FerieKonto at feriekonto.dk, and that it will cover your summer plans. Because holiday pay is paid out before your holiday rather than during it, planning your summer finances in advance avoids a shortfall later.
June: Company Tax Return Deadline
If you are a director of an ApS or an A/S, note that the deadline for company tax returns is 30 June. Make sure your revisor (accountant) has submitted the annual accounts and corporate tax return on time. If an extension was requested, the deadline may move to 1 July, so confirm the date with your accountant.
July: Foreign Share Purchase Reporting
If you hold shares through a foreign custody account with a broker based abroad, you must report your purchases to SKAT by 1 July. This is a reporting obligation that catches many expats out. You need to report every share purchase made during the previous year, including the acquisition price and date of each purchase, alongside the foreign broker’s name and account number. SKAT uses this information to calculate your capital gains tax when you eventually sell, and failing to report can result in a 50% penalty surcharge on any unreported gains.
You can submit the details through the “Værdipapirer — køb og salg” form in TastSelv, or ask your tax advisor to do it for you.
August–September: Review Pension Contributions
By late summer, you should have a clear sense of where your pension contributions stand. Danish pension limits for 2026 are a ratepension cap of DKK 62,200 and an aldersopsparing cap of DKK 59,400 per year. If you have not reached these limits, it may be worth making additional contributions before the year ends, since pension contributions are tax-deductible and reduce your taxable income substantially. For expats in particular, check that contributions from foreign pension schemes are also reported where they qualify for a Danish tax deduction.
October: Pay Final Tax Installment
In October, SKAT sends your slutopgørelse (final tax statement) for the previous year, which shows whether you owe additional tax or are due a refund. If you owe tax, the payment is typically due in November. You can pay the full amount at once, set up a Betalingsservice payment plan, or pay in installments, although installments carry interest. If you are owed a refund, it is deposited directly into your NemKonto, which should already be set up.
November: Year-End Tax Optimization
November is the natural moment to tidy up your tax position before 31 December. You might consider realising losses by selling underperforming shares to offset gains and reduce your tax bill, maximising deductions such as charitable donations, professional memberships, and prepaying deductible expenses, and topping up your ratepension and aldersopsparing before the deadline. Reviewing your investment portfolio for tax-loss harvesting within Danish rules is worthwhile, and if gift planning matters to you, note that the annual tax-free gift limit for 2026 is DKK 73,600 per child, which helps you plan gifts for the new year.
December: Final Tax Payment Deadline
The last quarterly preliminary tax payment for the self-employed falls due on 20 December. For employees, December is a useful moment to review your year-end position and confirm all deductions are claimed. Go through the checklist: verify that all share purchases from the year have been reported, confirm pension contributions are complete, review any foreign income or gains not yet reported, set calendar reminders for the January–May deadlines, and update your forskudsopgørelse for the new year if anything has changed.
Common Expat Mistakes
SKAT regularly sees the same errors among expats, and most are avoidable. The most frequent is forgetting to report foreign income — because SKAT does not always receive data from foreign brokers, employers, or pension providers, the responsibility to declare it falls on you. Closely linked is failing to claim the foreign tax credit: if you paid withholding tax abroad, you can credit it against Danish tax in box 496, and missing it means paying tax twice on the same income.
An incorrect forskudsopgørelse causes problems all year, because it drives monthly withholding. When you start a new job in Denmark, your first payslip may be taxed at a default rate of 55%, so it pays to update your forskudsopgørelse straight away to bring that down to your actual rate. Cryptocurrency is taxed as shares in Denmark, so all gains and losses must be reported, and missing the 1 July deadline for foreign share purchases can itself draw penalties.
Tips for Staying on Track
A little organisation goes a long way. Set calendar reminders for every deadline above, store your payslips, dividend statements, mortgage statements, and foreign tax certificates digitally where you can find them, and log in to TastSelv at least quarterly to keep your information current. For your first year in particular, an accountant who understands Danish rules can save you from expensive mistakes. An A-kasse, the unemployment insurance fund, also offers tax guidance to expats, and it is worth keeping your MitID active since you need it for all your interactions with SKAT.
Danish tax compliance for expats is manageable once you follow a structured approach. The key is to act early, check every document SKAT sends you, and report foreign income and gains proactively rather than waiting to be asked. Missing deadlines or underreporting income can be expensive, but with a steady monthly routine you can stay organised and keep your tax burden as low as the law allows.