Tax card in Denmark – the 2026 brackets, AM-bidrag, the researcher scheme, customs and pets
Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →
Your first Danish payslip depends on a document you never hold in your hand: the tax card. Denmark also rebuilt its income tax brackets for 2026, so here is how to get the card, read your preliminary income assessment, weigh the researcher scheme and bring your belongings and pets.
Denmark rebuilt its income tax for 2026, and the tax card you need for your first payslip now works inside a new system: new brackets, AM-bidrag (labour market contribution) only from the year you turn 18, and a higher personal allowance. According to Life in Denmark, the official English-language guide, the average Dane pays about 50 per cent of their income in tax.
| When | What is new |
|---|---|
| January 2026 | A frikort (tax-exemption card) is generated automatically in the year a child turns 13 |
| Income year 2026 | New brackets: mellemskat, topskat and toptopskat (middle, top and additional top-bracket tax) |
| Income year 2026 | Personal allowance DKK 54,100, up from DKK 51,600 |
| 22 April 2026 | At most five pets in one vehicle, unless it is public transport |
| 1 July 2026 | Customs duty on all web-shop goods from outside the EU |
Source: Skattestyrelsen, Fødevarestyrelsen and Toldstyrelsen, read 23 September 2026.
How do I get a tax card in Denmark?
Your skattekort (tax card) tells your employer how much tax to withhold. Without one, your employer must withhold 55 per cent, so sort it out before your first payday – though Skattestyrelsen (the Danish Tax Agency) cannot issue it more than 1 month before your job starts.
Staying 3 months or less (6 for EU, EEA and Swiss citizens)? You get a personal tax number instead of a CPR-nummer (personal identification number) – the same digits, which become your CPR number if you stay. Stay more than 6 months, and as a rule you pay Danish tax on all your income, including foreign income, with exceptions for students and tourists.
| Route | What you need | How long |
|---|---|---|
| TastSelv (E-tax) | A health card with your CPR number, a Danish address registered before the job starts, and MitID or an E-tax password | Instant, or up to 5 days |
| Digital form 04.063 | Signed employment contract, passport or ID card, and a residence and work permit if you are from outside the EU, Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein | About 2 weeks |
| An international citizen service, such as International House Copenhagen | Form 04.063, contract, photo ID, marriage certificate if married, work permit if needed | Free of charge |
Source: Skattestyrelsen and International House Copenhagen, read 23 September 2026.
What is the preliminary income assessment, and when must you change it?
The tax card is digital, not a plastic card. It comes in three forms – frikort, hovedkort (primary tax card) and bikort (secondary tax card) – all shown at the top of your forskudsopgørelse (preliminary income assessment) in TastSelv.
The forskudsopgørelse is Skattestyrelsen's estimate of your tax for the coming year. It appears each November, and you must correct it whenever your circumstances change substantially – a new job, a pay change, marriage or divorce, buying or selling a home. Each March the årsopgørelse (tax assessment notice) shows whether you paid too much or too little the year before.
One trap for 2026: below an income of DKK 496,471, entering a higher income than you expect can leave you paying too little tax, because the automatic employment allowance rises with it. With a frikort you can earn up to DKK 54,100 in 2026 before ordinary income tax, but the 8 per cent AM-bidrag still applies.
How much tax do you pay in Denmark in 2026?
Danish income tax comes in layers: 8 per cent AM-bidrag on all salary income, kommuneskat (municipal tax), kirkeskat (church tax) if you belong to the Folkekirke (the Church of Denmark), and the state's bracket taxes. Against this come the personfradrag (personal allowance) of DKK 54,100 and the beskæftigelsesfradrag (employment allowance): 12.75 per cent of earned income, at most DKK 63,300.
| Tax | Rate in 2026 | Paid on |
|---|---|---|
| AM-bidrag | 8% | All salary income, from the year you turn 18 |
| Kommuneskat | 25.049% on average | Set by your municipality |
| Kirkeskat | 0.867% on average | Members of the Folkekirke only |
| Bundskat (bottom-bracket tax) | 12.01% | Personal income above the DKK 54,100 personal allowance |
| Mellemskat | 7.5% | Personal income after AM-bidrag above DKK 641,200 |
| Topskat | 7.5% | Personal income after AM-bidrag above DKK 777,900 |
| Toptopskat | 5% | Personal income after AM-bidrag above DKK 2,592,700 |
Source: Skattestyrelsen and Skatte- og Vækstministeriet (the Danish tax ministry), read 23 September 2026.
According to Skattestyrelsen, topskat and toptopskat are the two new brackets, while the former top-bracket tax is now called mellemskat. Where you live matters too: Copenhagen has the lowest municipal tax of Denmark's 98 municipalities in 2026.
| Municipality | Municipal tax 2026 | Church tax 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Copenhagen | 23.39% | 0.8% |
| Aarhus | 24.52% | 0.74% |
| Odense | 25.5% | 0.68% |
| Aalborg | 25.6% | 0.98% |
Source: Skatte- og Vækstministeriet, read 23 September 2026.
Can you use the researcher tax scheme in Denmark?
Forskerskatteordningen (the tax scheme for researchers) is open to researchers and to highly paid key employees. Under section 48 E–F of kildeskatteloven (the Withholding Tax Act), your gross earned income is taxed at a flat 32.84 per cent – 8 per cent AM-bidrag plus 27 per cent tax – for up to 7 years, with no deductions or allowances.
| Condition | The rule in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Salary for key employees | A guaranteed monthly salary of at least DKK 65,400 |
| Earlier Danish tax liability | None in the 10 years before the job starts |
| Length | Up to 7 years in total, which may be split into periods – and only once in your life |
| Changing jobs | No more than 1 month between the two jobs |
Source: Skattestyrelsen, read 23 September 2026.
What can you bring to Denmark duty-free – including pets?
Moving from outside the EU, you can bring personal belongings – furniture, clothing, bicycles, private vehicles and white goods – free of duty and VAT if you have lived outside the EU for at least 12 consecutive months and meet the other conditions, according to Toldstyrelsen (the Danish Customs Agency).
| What | The rule |
|---|---|
| Timing | From 6 months before the move (with security) to 12 months after it |
| Not covered | Alcohol, tobacco, commercial motor vehicles and professional equipment |
| Wedding presents | At most EUR 1,000 (about DKK 7,500) each, from a giver living outside the EU |
| Web-shop parcels from outside the EU, from 1 July 2026 | Duty even on parcels of EUR 150 or less: EUR 3 (about DKK 22) per varepost (item with its own commodity code), plus VAT and the carrier's fee |
Source: Toldstyrelsen, read 23 September 2026.
A vehicle from outside the EU generally costs 10 per cent duty and 25 per cent VAT on the invoice price plus freight, according to Motorstyrelsen (the Danish Motor Vehicle Agency), and you may drive it on foreign plates for up to 30 days while registration is pending. Registration tax comes on top; its 2026 rates apply only if Parliament adopts Bill No. 79 of 19 November 2025 – part 12 explains.
Pets
Fødevarestyrelsen (the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration) sets the rules for dogs, cats and ferrets, and one tightened on 22 April 2026.
| Rule | What it means |
|---|---|
| Up to 5 animals | Per owner in a non-commercial move, with exceptions for shows, competitions and training |
| New from 22 April 2026 | At most 5 in one means of transport, unless it is a bus, train, ferry or plane |
| Puppies and kittens | At least 15 weeks old to move between EU countries |
| From outside the EU | Only via Copenhagen Airport (Kastrup), Billund Airport or Aalborg Airport, which takes dogs and cats only |
| Banned | Prairie dogs from the USA; wild rodents and squirrels from Africa south of the Sahara |
Source: Fødevarestyrelsen, read 23 September 2026.
What to do now
| Step | What | When |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apply for your tax card; questions on +45 72 22 27 80 | From 1 month before your job starts |
| 2 | Check your forskudsopgørelse; questions on +45 72 22 27 95 | On arrival, each November and when things change |
| 3 | Ask about the researcher scheme and compare it with ordinary tax; Skattestyrelsen: +45 72 22 28 92 | Before your job starts |
| 4 | Meet Skattestyrelsen at its International Citizens Day in Copenhagen | 26 September 2026 |
| 5 | Plan removal goods and pets; Toldstyrelsen for private individuals: 72 22 28 02 | Removal goods: 6 months before to 12 months after the move |
| 6 | Check your årsopgørelse | Each March |
Source: Skattestyrelsen, Toldstyrelsen and Fødevarestyrelsen, read 23 September 2026.
Official sources
The official pages this guide is based on, read 23 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.
- skat.dk · skat.dk
- skat.dk · skat.dk
- skat.dk · skat.dk
- skat.dk · skat.dk
- skat.dk · skat.dk
- toldst.dk · toldst.dk
- motorst.dk (Danish Motor Vehicle Agency) · motorst.dk
- motorst.dk (Danish Motor Vehicle Agency) · motorst.dk
- Fødevarestyrelsen · foedevarestyrelsen.dk
Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.