Tax in Denmark - tips if you recently got a job
In Denmark tax is divided into municipal income tax and state income tax. Anyone who is taxable also has the right to different forms of tax deductions. The deductions you are entitled to depends on which form of tax liability you have in Denmark.
Skattestyrelsen in Denmark
If you are working in Denmark, you pay taxes in Denmark too under the Danish tax office, called Skattestyrelsen. You can contact them if you have any questions about tax and you also send your Danish tax return, or "oplysningsskema" as it is called, to the tax office when the time comes. You should also contact Skattestyrelsen if you stop working in Denmark, so that they have the correct information about you in their records. Contact with Skattestyrelsen is primarily digitally, through their website or by phone. If you want to visit Skattestyrelsen, you must book a time by telephone on +45-72 22 18 18.
Getting a CPR-number - a Danish personal ID number
Everyone who lives or works in Denmark should have a personal ID number. In Denmark this is called a “CPR-nummer” and it is given to all Danish citizens at birth or when an immigrant is registered in the Danish population register. The personal ID number is valid for life. If you commute to a job in Denmark from Sweden, you will receive your CPR-number when you apply for your tax card.
Read more about how to get a CPR number in our article.
Forskudsopgørelsen - a preliminary income assessment in Denmark
When you apply for tax registration and a personal ID number, you also get a preliminary income assessment (forskudsopgørelse), so that your employer can deduct the correct tax rate from your salary. A forskudsopgørelse is an overview of the information on income as well as deductions, which Skattestyrelsen estimates for you in the coming year. If the information in the forskudsopgørelsen is incorrect or something is missing, you must correct it yourself. Otherwise you run the risk of having to pay residual taxes or of paying too much tax to begin with.
If the employer has no basis from which to calculate your tax, they are obliged to deduct 8% for AM-bidrag and 55% in tax of the rest. Total 58,60%. Your forskudsopgørelse is done electronically and can then be found once your digital tax information is available on Skattestyrelsen's website. After this, when you need to change something in your forskudsopgørelse, you can do it yourself via Skattestyrelsen's electronic service TastSelv.
Get a Tastselv code at skat.dk
TastSelv - electronic service system
Everyone who starts working in Denmark for the first time needs to get to know Skattestyrelsen's electronic information and payment system TastSelv. To access TastSelv you need a MitID. You can also order a so-called TastSelv code on Skattetyrelsen's website. You can use TastSelv to make changes to your forskudsopgørelse and submit your Danish tax return when it is time. You can use TastSelv to check employers salary report, make changes to your forskudsopgørelseand submit your Danish tax return when it's time.
You can find more information on how to do this in our article: Declaring tax in Denmark.
