Last updated: October 2026. Dates and amounts checked on skat.dk in October 2026. General information, not personal tax advice.
Ah, taxes, one thing it’s impossible to escape from, especially in Denmark. But hey, these taxes give us free medical care, free education and lots of other social benefits. The Danish tax year follows the calendar year, and the end of it is when most students either save money or set themselves up for a nasty bill next spring. This guide covers the two documents that matter: the forskudsopgørelse (your estimate for next year) and the årsopgørelse (your final statement for last year).
New to Danish tax altogether? Start with our student guide to taxes in Denmark, which covers 2026 tax rates, tax cards and fradrag.
Quick answer
- November: next year’s forskudsopgørelse opens in TastSelv. Check your expected salary, SU and deductions, because your tax cards for January are based on it.
- Before 31 December: if you earned more or less this year than you told SKAT, correct this year’s forskudsopgørelse now to shrink a bill or a refund.
- March: your årsopgørelse arrives. For 2025 it came on 23 March 2026. Refunds were paid from 24 April.
- Deadline for changes: normally 1 May (extended to 20 May in 2026).
- Owe money (restskat)? Pay before 1 July to avoid a 5.7% surcharge. Small amounts are otherwise added to next year’s tax.
For longer explanations, watch the video series on our YouTube page.
The Danish tax year: a timeline for students
Here’s the cycle, using the dates for the 2025 income year (paid and settled in 2026), from skat.dk’s relevant dates and restskat pages.
| When | What happens | What you should do |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-November | Forskudsopgørelse for next year opens (the 2026 one opened 11 November 2025) | Check income, SU and deductions |
| December | Last month of the tax year | Correct this year’s forskudsopgørelse if your income changed |
| 1 January | New tax cards take effect; interest starts running on any restskat for the year that ended | Check your first payslip |
| March (23 March 2026) | Årsopgørelse released in TastSelv | Check every number, add missing deductions |
| From 24 April 2026 | Refunds paid to your NemKonto | Nothing, if your NemKonto is set up |
| 20 May 2026 (usually 1 May) | Deadline for changes to the årsopgørelse | Make corrections before this |
| 1 July 2026 | Deadline to pay restskat without the surcharge, and to file the extended tax return (self-employed) | Pay what you owe |
| August to October 2026 | Restskat above 25,368 DKK collected in instalments | Watch your Digital Post |
Forskudsopgørelse: get next year right in November
The forskudsopgørelse (preliminary income assessment) is your estimate of what you’ll earn and deduct next year. Skattestyrelsen fills it in from last year’s numbers, and your hovedkort, bikort and frikort are calculated from it. You can see it in TastSelv from mid-November.
What to check as a student:
- Salary: expected gross pay for the whole calendar year. If you’ll only work part of the year (for example, you start a job in September), only count those months.
- SU: filled in automatically, but check it, especially if you’ll finish your studies, go on exchange or pause SU during the year.
- Kørselsfradrag (field 417): if you commute more than 24 km a day round trip to a job. The 2026 rate is 3.17 DKK/km for 25 to 120 km after a retroactive increase in June 2026 (skat.dk).
- Union (field 458) and a-kasse (field 439): fees are deductible, union fees up to 7,000 DKK a year (skat.dk). If you’re a free student member of an a-kasse, there’s nothing to deduct yet. See our a-kasse comparison.
- Graduating next year? Your income will likely jump when you start a full-time job. Update the forskudsopgørelse as soon as you sign the contract.
If you earn more than estimated, too little tax is withheld and you’ll owe restskat. If you earn less, too much is withheld and you get a refund, but you’ve lent SKAT money at 0% interest in the meantime (for 2025, the interest on refunds was 0%, per skat.dk).
Årsopgørelse: what to check in March
The årsopgørelse (tax assessment notice, often called the tax return) is SKAT’s final calculation of last year. You don’t have to file anything if it’s correct, but you should always check it. Compare it with your forskudsopgørelse and your payslips.
- Salary and SU: do they match your payslips and minSU? Mistakes from employers happen.
- Deductions: add anything missing, most often kørselsfradrag.
- Foreign income: if you’re fully tax liable in Denmark, income from abroad must be reported too.
- Guest student deduction: if you’re from a country with a student clause in its tax treaty and applied with form 04.062, check the deduction is on your årsopgørelse. See the country list in our tax guide.
Corrections made after the årsopgørelse is released generate a new one, and the result (refund or restskat) changes with it.
Restskat: what if I owe money?
Restskat is tax you underpaid during the year. For the 2025 income year, these were the rules on skat.dk:
| When you pay | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Before 1 July 2026 | Day-to-day interest of 3.7% a year, counted from 1 January 2026. Paying earlier means paying less. |
| Not paid by 1 July, up to 25,368 DKK (including surcharge) | A 5.7% surcharge, and the total is added to your 2027 tax. You get a smaller monthly fradrag in 2027. |
| Not paid by 1 July, above 25,368 DKK | The part above 25,368 DKK is collected in up to three instalments in August, September and October 2026. |
Skat.dk’s own example: a restskat of 15,000 DKK left unpaid becomes about 15,855 DKK in 2027, or roughly 1,322 DKK less take-home pay a month. If you can’t pay at all, you can call Skattestyrelsen on 72 22 28 21 about a payment plan.
The most common reasons students end up with restskat:
- Two payers (for example SU and an employer) both used your hovedkort.
- You earned more than your forskudsopgørelse said, often from a summer job or a new job after graduation.
- You stopped SU but didn’t update your estimate.
Overskydende skat: getting money back
If you paid too much, the refund goes to your NemKonto. For 2025, refunds started on 24 April 2026. They can take longer if you have unfiled returns, a large refund, or debt to public authorities. If you live abroad, you can register a non-Danish bank account as NemKonto, but it can take about four months to activate (skat.dk).
How do you read your Danish payslip?
Even though payslips look quite different depending on where you work, there are some common lines. Here is an example of what you can find on a payslip:
- Arbejdstimer = hours you worked that month
- Ferieberettiget løn = the base salary you earn holiday pay on
- Pens. bidrag = what is paid into your pension scheme. Not all employers offer this.
- ATP-bidrag = a small social security contribution towards your pension
- AM-bidrag (labour market contribution) = 8% of your salary. From 2026 you only pay it from the year you turn 18.
- Benyttet skattefradrag = the part of your salary that was tax-free that month (only appears if the employer uses your hovedkort or frikort)
- A-skat = income tax withheld, at the trækprocent on your tax card
After pension, AM-bidrag and your monthly fradrag are taken off, A-skat is withheld from the rest. In 2026 the trækprocent is bundskat (12.01%) plus your municipality’s rate, so typically around 37 to 38%. Your total tax is lower than that because of the deductions; see the worked example in our tax guide.
When do you become tax liable when moving to Denmark?
When you move here and live in Denmark, you’re normally fully tax liable, which means Denmark taxes your income from all countries, and grants such as SU count as income too. Skat.dk’s Coming to study page explains this, including when tax treaties may stop Denmark from taxing scholarships from your home country. Short stays, such as a single exchange semester, can be assessed differently, so check your situation with SKAT.
To get set up, you need a CPR number, MitID and NemKonto. We explain them in Just Arrived In Denmark To Study? 4 Essentials You Need.
Year-end money checklist for students
- Check this year’s forskudsopgørelse against what you actually earned. Correct it before 31 December.
- Check next year’s forskudsopgørelse when it opens in November.
- Make sure only one payer uses your hovedkort.
- Working while on SU? Check you’re within the SU earnings limit for the year; see our SU guide.
- Investing? Danish banks and brokers report gains for you, but foreign brokers don’t. See how investing is taxed in Denmark and our guide to the aktiesparekonto.
FAQ
When does the tax year end in Denmark?
On 31 December. The Danish tax year is the calendar year.
When is the årsopgørelse released?
In March. For the 2025 income year it was released on 23 March 2026.
What is the deadline for correcting my årsopgørelse?
Normally 1 May. In 2026 Skattestyrelsen extended it to 20 May.
When do I get my tax refund in Denmark?
Refunds for 2025 were paid to NemKonto from 24 April 2026. Later corrections are paid after a new årsopgørelse is made.
What happens if I don’t pay my restskat?
A 5.7% surcharge is added after 1 July, and the total (up to 25,368 DKK) is added to next year’s tax. Amounts above that are collected in instalments in August to October.
How much tax do students pay in Denmark?
After 8% AM-bidrag, you pay bundskat (12.01%) and municipal tax (about 25% on average) above your personfradrag of 54,100 DKK (2026). On a 10,000 DKK monthly salary, that’s about 22% in total. Full breakdown in our tax guide.