Every year from mid-March, Skattestyrelsen (the Danish Tax Agency) sends you a notification: your annual tax statement — the årsopgørelse — is ready. It's your final tax reckoning for the previous calendar year. Do you get money back? Do you owe money? And what do all those fields actually mean?
Here's a clear, plain-language breakdown.
What is the årsopgørelse?
It's the Danish Tax Agency's final calculation of your taxes for last year. It shows your total income, your total tax paid, and whether those two numbers match.
Most of the information is filled in automatically. Your employer reports your salary. Your bank reports interest earned and paid. Your pension provider reports contributions. But it's still your responsibility to check that everything is correct — and to add anything that Skattestyrelsen can't see automatically.
When is it available — and what's the deadline?
Your tax statement for 2025 is available on skat.dk from 23 March 2026. Log in with MitID (which replaced NemID, fully shut down in October 2023) and go to TastSelv. An English-language version of TastSelv is also available at skat.dk.
The deadline to correct any errors is 20 May 2026. If you find mistakes or missing information, fix them before then. Most fields can be updated directly in TastSelv.
What does "restskat" and "overskydende skat" mean?
There are two possible outcomes:
Overskydende skat (tax refund) means you paid too much tax during the year. The money is paid into your NemKonto bank account. For the 2025 tax year, refunds are paid out on 24 April 2026.
Restskat (tax bill) means you paid too little tax during the year. The amount is either added to your next preliminary tax statement or you can pay it directly. Restskat typically happens if your income was higher than expected, you had multiple income sources, or you didn't update your preliminary tax statement during the year.
What should you actually check?
These are the fields most likely to contain errors — or that Skattestyrelsen simply can't fill in on your behalf:
Commuting deduction (rubrik 51): If you commute more than 12 km each way to work, you're entitled to a deduction — but you have to report the number of working days and kilometres yourself. It's not automatic.
Secondary income (rubrik 12 + 15): Freelance work, side jobs, small business income, or honoraria aren't always reported automatically. Check that anything you've earned outside your main job is included.
Interest on private loans (rubrik 44): If you pay interest on loans from family or friends, this doesn't appear automatically. You need to add it yourself to claim the deduction.
Foreign shares and investments (rubrik 63 + 66): Holdings in foreign banks or brokerages are rarely reported automatically. You need to declare gains and losses yourself.
Home service/craftwork deduction (rubrik 461): Did you have cleaning, renovation, or craftwork done at home in 2025? You can deduct the labour cost — but payment must have been made electronically by 28 February 2026. Maximum deduction: 8,600 DKK per person for 2025.
Pension contributions (rubrik 21/24): If you make private contributions to a rate pension (ratepension), check the amount shown and make sure you haven't exceeded the annual limit (65,500 DKK for 2025). Exceeding the limit results in double taxation.
Restskat vs. overskydende skat — a note on deductions
A common misconception: a 10,000 DKK deduction does not mean you get 10,000 DKK back. A deduction reduces your taxable income, and you save a percentage of it in tax — typically around 26–42% depending on your income level. So a 10,000 DKK deduction might save you roughly 2,600–4,200 DKK, not the full 10,000 DKK.
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