Here you can find a lot of information about working in Denmark, Danish taxes, pensions, health care and social security.
Have you just got a job in Denmark? Find out more about the practical steps you need to take and what you must consider.
Being affiliated with the social insurance system of a country means that you are eligible for benefits such as parental allowance, sickness benefit and other benefits in that country. If you work full-time in Denmark and live in Sweden, you follow the general rule that you are affiliated with the system in Denmark, the country in which you work.
A person is only entitled to social security in one country. According to the general rule, this is in the country where you physically perform your work. If you have a job in both Denmark and Sweden at the same time, your social security affiliation depends on how much you work in each respective country.
How to apply for a CPR number depends on your situation. There are different application procedures depending on if you plan to live in Denmark, or if you plan to commute to your job in Denmark.
In Øresunddirekt's unique comparison of Danish and Swedish holidays 2023, you will quickly get an overview of which days during the year are holidays in both Denmark and Sweden, and which holidays are unique for each country.
When you begin working in Denmark, you will come into contact with the Danish tax office, Skattestyrelsen. You will get a Danish personal ID number called a "CPR-nummer" , and a "forskudsopgørelse" (a preliminary income assessment).
You pay tax in Denmark if you work there, regardless of whether you live in Denmark or Sweden. Taxation of your salary is done in the country where you actually perform your work, and not where the employer is situated, whereas other income will be taxed in the country you live in. Danish income tax consists of AM-bidrag, municipal tax, health system contribution (sundhedsbidrag), and state tax.
If you work and pay tax in Denmark, you must also declare tax there. You can do this easily online on the website for the Danish Skattestyrelsen with a MitID. If you live in Sweden while working in Denmark, you also have to file an income tax return in Sweden.
If you live in Sweden and work in Denmark, you have limited tax liability in Denmark. The deductions you can make as someone with a limited tax liability are somewhat different to the deductions permitted under the cross-border rule.
If 75% of your total income (calculated according to special rules) comes from Denmark in one income year, you can decide to be taxed according to the cross-border rule. The way that you are taxed affects which deductions you have the right to declare on your Danish declaration.
Employees living in Sweden and working as researchers or key employees in Denmark have the opportunity to be taxed under a special Danish tax, called "forskerordningen".
If you work in Denmark, you can become a member of a Danish trade union. Danish trade unions are divided into the so-called “yellow” trade unions, which are not part of a central organization, and traditional trade unions. It is important to remember that a Swedish trade union cannot help you with your work conditions in Denmark.
If you live in Sweden and start working in Denmark, and want to be unemployment insured, you should become a member of an a-kasse (unemployment insurance fund) in Denmark. It is important that you sign up for a Danish a-kasse on your first working day.
A-kasser (unemployment insurance funds) administer unemployment benefits in Denmark and offer a range of services to their members. In the following, there is a brief introduction to the topic to different Danish a-kasse organisations.
Public health insurance in Denmark means that you are entitled to get medical treatment at the doctor and at the hospital for free. Commuters, who live in Sweden and work in Denmark, are normally entitled to healthcare in both countries.
Denmark has public healthcare, which means that you are entitled to be treated by a doctor or in a hospital. If you live in Sweden and work in Denmark, you can choose the country in which you wish to be treated.
If you live in Sweden and work in Denmark you have the right to use Danish dental care. You will need to present the Danish social insurence card (særligt sundhedskort). I you prefer to use a Swedish dentist, you can request a certificate from Försäkringskassan.
If you work in Denmark, you will earn a Danish pension, as long as you are a citizen in an EU/EEA-country. Danish pension is divided into three parts: one part is public, one is managed by the labour market, and one part is private.
You apply for your pension in the country of your residence, for both the pension earned in Denmark and Sweden. The exception is if you have only worked in one of the countries. In that case, you must apply for your pension in the country where you received your income.
If you are an EU/EEA-citizen, you have the right to the Danish old age pension for the years you have worked in Denmark, without being a Danish citizen - but you do not automatically have the right to the full old age pension.
You are not automatically covered by the labour market pension, or "company pension" as it is known in Denmark. It is therefore a good idea to check what is stated in your employment contract.
Many Danish employees take out private pension insurance, which complements the other pension agreements that they have. In Denmark there are three types of pension insurance - alderspension, ratepension and livsvarig livrente.
In addition to the state pension, ATP (Arbejdsmarkedets Tillægspension) Livslang Pension is paid out to everyone who has lived or worked in Denmark.
As an employee in Denmark, you are subject to the Danish rules when it comes to parental leave.
If you are a family where one parent is working in Sweden and the other is working in Denmark, your parental leave can be allocated in different ways. The countries use a system to deduct the days.
If you are working in Denmark, you have the right to the same economic benefits concerning parental leave as people who live in Denmark.
Whether child benefit is paid primarily in Sweden or Denmark depends on where both parents work and in which country the child lives. Here is a brief introduction about which authority to contact.
When you start working in Denmark, you should open a Danish bank account in order to be paid, as your Danish employer usually doesn't want to pay your salary into a Swedish account. Do it as soon as possible so you can get your salary. It is important that your bank account is a NemKonto.
In Denmark there is no sick pay deduction as in Sweden when you get sick. Read about your right to full pay during illness and when you are entitled to Danish sickness benefits.
There are no rules in Denmark that match the Swedish rules about care for a sick child (VAB). This means that you are not always entitled to paid leave to look after a sick child. Many employment contracts nevertheless allow employees to stay at home one or a few days with a sick child while receiving full pay.
In an emergency – call 112. Otherwise you must contact the emergency medical service (“lægevagten”) before going to the hospital. There is no equivalent to the Swedish health centre (“vårdcentral”) – instead you must choose your own doctor (“egen læge”) who is the one you always contact in connection with less serious illness.
Below we have listed some of the most frequent questions we receive about pension from people working in Denmark. Read the answers and see whether they answer your questions.
Who should you notify if your job in Denmark is terminated while you live in Sweden and receive parental benefits from Denmark?
Have you just got a job in Denmark?
We have the checklist with information about all the practical steps you need to take, and what you must consider.
