Denmark

Research notes

Denmark — family-office tax dossier

Last reviewed: 2026-10-16 Tax year: 2026 Reviewer: research agent (Claude), unreviewed by a tax adviser

Summary

High-tax option. Share gains and dividends are "share income" (aktieindkomst): 27% on the first DKK 79,400 per person (2026), 42% above. Many funds/ETFs are taxed annually on unrealised gains. Exit tax on shares when leaving. No wealth tax. Estate duty (boafgift) 15% for children above DKK 392,300 per estate. The June 2026 government platform proposes 30% on estates above DKK 10 million (not law).

Residence and eligibility

Full tax liability if a home is available in Denmark and the person stays there, or after 6 consecutive months' stay (PwC). EU/EEA citizens: free movement. US/other: need a residence permit; no investor visa (not verified in detail). The researcher/expat scheme covers employment income only.

Capital gains

• Rule: Personskatteloven § 8a; gains on shares realised under the Aktieavancebeskatningsloven are share income. 27% up to DKK 79,400 (2025: DKK 67,500), 42% above; doubled band for spouses (DKK 158,800). Source: skat.dk, info.skat.dk C.E.15.2, Themis 2026 limits table.
• JSON: 0.42 for domestic/foreign listed shares and private business sale (the 27% band is negligible for a large gain).
• Funds/ETFs: investment companies are taxed on a mark-to-market basis (lagerprincippet) every year (PwC).
• Real estate (not main home): capital income, "up to 42%" (PwC 2026). JSON 0.42. Main home on a plot below 1,400 m² exempt.
• Exit tax (ABL § 38): leaving with shares worth DKK 100,000+ after at least 7 years of Danish liability triggers tax on unrealised gains; interest-free deferral, collateral if moving outside EU/Nordics (skat.dk).
• Announced, not in force: 27% band to ~DKK 110,000; aktiesparekonto cap to DKK 500,000; capital-tax reform via commission (Deloitte, June 2026).

Dividends

Share income at 27/42%; JSON domestic and foreign gross rate 0.42; foreign WHT credited up to the treaty rate (skat.dk). Outbound WHT 27% to non-residents, refund down to treaty rate (PwC). About 76 treaties.

Inheritance and gifts to children

• Boafgiftsloven: 15% estate duty on the share passing to children (class A) after a basic allowance of DKK 392,300 per estate (2026; PwC, Ældre Sagen). The 25% additional duty does not apply to children. Spouse exempt.
• JSON: basis estate, exemption 392,300, bracket 15% from 0.
• Gifts: tax-free up to DKK 80,600 per donor per child per year (2026); 15% above (PwC).
• Announced, not in force: allowance to DKK 550,000 and +15 points (30%) on estates with a base above DKK 10 million; business-succession estates reportedly excluded; no bill and no date (Deloitte 3 and 24 June 2026). Siblings move to the 15% class from 1 January 2027.
• Surviving spouse: exempt from boafgift if not separated (Boafgiftsloven § 3(1)(a)); a registered partner is exempt too, a cohabitant is not.

• Indexation: the allowance is adjusted every year under personskatteloven § 20 and is being raised in steps by the 2025 tax reform (Skatteministeriet, Faktaark 9); JSON thresholds_indexed true. At the second death in an undivided estate (uskiftet bo) there can be two allowances (Ældre Sagen).

Wealth tax

None since 1997 (PwC). JSON type none. Property value tax 0.51% up to DKK 9,007,000 and 1.4% above, plus municipal land tax (not a wealth tax). A wealth tax was proposed by left-wing parties before the 2026 election but is not in the government platform as summarised by Deloitte.

Special regimes

None relevant for a portfolio-income family.

Holding structures

No structure modelled. A Danish holding ApS gets no relief on a listed portfolio: holdings below 10% in listed companies are 'taxable portfolio shares', whose gains are fully taxable regardless of holding period and whose dividends are fully included at 22% (PwC, Corporate income determination). Listed taxable portfolio shares are taxed on the mark-to-market (lager) principle each year (aktieavancebeskatningsloven; not re-verified on an official page in this pass). Distributions to the owners are then share income at 27%/42%, so the combined burden is about 22% + 78% × 42% ≈ 55%, against 42% for direct holding. Only unlisted portfolio shares (below 10%) are exempt, which does not fit a listed portfolio. Recorded in holding_company_notes.

Company taxation (kept separate from personal tax)

CIT 22% (PwC). Platform proposes 19% over three years (not enacted). Dividends to non-residents: 27% WHT, refundable to treaty rate.

Cost of living notes

City: Copenhagen.

• Prime rent (monthly): 59,500 DKK (2026). Median asking rent of 12 houses/villas with 6+ rooms (about 4-5 bedrooms; Danish room counts include living rooms) listed on lejebolig.dk on 2026-10-15 in Gentofte municipality's prime districts: Hellerup, Charlottenlund, Gentofte and Klampenborg (DKK 29,800-120,000). Pages checked: lejebolig.dk/huse/hellerup, /charlottenlund, /gentofte, /klampenborg. Source: Lejebolig.dk - Huse til leje i Hellerup.
• International school fee (annual, per child): 215,000 DKK (2026). Copenhagen International School, Grades 11-12 (IB Diploma) annual tuition 2026-27. One-off fees extra: DKK 40,000 registration and DKK 3,000 application. Source: CIS General & Financial Conditions - Tuition and Fees 2026/2027.
• Health insurance, housekeeper and price per m² not sourced. Most prime north-Copenhagen family houses are owner-occupied; the rental sample is small.

Open questions

• Exact 2026 maximum rate on positive net capital income under the new bracket structure (PwC says up to 42%).
• Enactment of the 30% estate duty above DKK 10m and its effect on gift tax.
• Treatment of foreign real estate in a Danish estate; current reduced rate for family-business transfers.
• Cost-of-living items.

Sources

• Tax on shares (buying and selling shares and securities), Skattestyrelsen: https://skat.dk/en-us/individuals/shares-and-securities/buying-and-selling-shares-and-securities
• Tax on shares if you leave Denmark, Skattestyrelsen: https://skat.dk/en-us/individuals/shares-and-securities/tax-on-shares-if-you-leave-denmark
• C.E.15.2 Oversigt - kalenderår 2024-2026, Skattestyrelsen: https://info.skat.dk/data.aspx?oid=2292849
• Denmark - Individual - Income determination, PwC: https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/denmark/individual/income-determination
• Denmark - Individual - Taxes on personal income, PwC: https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/denmark/individual/taxes-on-personal-income
• Denmark - Individual - Other taxes, PwC: https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/denmark/individual/other-taxes
• Denmark - Individual - Residence, PwC: https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/denmark/individual/residence
• Denmark - Corporate - Withholding taxes, PwC: https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/denmark/corporate/withholding-taxes
• Denmark - Corporate - Taxes on corporate income, PwC: https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/denmark/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income
• Oversigt over beløbsgrænser 2026, Themis: https://themis.dk/synopsis/docs/Oversigt_over_beloebsgraenser_2026_.html
• Boafgift og bundfradrag, Ældre Sagen: https://www.aeldresagen.dk/viden-og-raadgivning/vaerd-at-vide/a/arv-testamente-doedsbo-gaver/boafgift/boafgift-og-bundfradrag
• Boafgift på 30 pct., Deloitte Denmark: https://www.deloitte.com/dk/en/services/tax/perspectives/boafgift-paa-30-pct.html
• Nyt regeringsudspil: skat og afgifter, Deloitte Denmark: https://www.deloitte.com/dk/en/services/tax/perspectives/nyt-regeringsudspil-skat-og-afgifter.html
• CIS General & Financial Conditions - Tuition and Fees 2026/2027
• Lejebolig.dk - Huse til leje i Hellerup
• Faktaark 9: Boafgift (Reform af personskat), Skatteministeriet: https://svmn.dk/media/apqahpml/faktaark-9-boafgift.pdf
• Denmark - Corporate - Income determination, PwC: https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/denmark/corporate/income-determination
• Boafgiftsloven § 3 as quoted in bill L 153 (2023/1), Folketinget / retsinformation: https://www.retsinformation.dk/api/pdf/242633

Change log

• 2026-10-15: initial research.
• 2026-10-15: data-quality pass: added prime rent (lejebolig.dk, Hellerup/Charlottenlund/Gentofte/Klampenborg villas, DKK 59,500/month) and Copenhagen International School fee (DKK 215,000, Grades 11-12, 2026-27).
• 2026-10-15: holding-structure review: no structure added (ApS taxed 22% on listed portfolio shares, then 27/42% on payout); holding_company_notes updated.
• 2026-10-15: family rent re-checked against the upper-middle-class standard: kept.
• 2026-10-16: added surviving-spouse treatment.
• 2026-10-16: recipe pass: inheritance thresholds marked indexed (personskatteloven § 20); open question on the mark-to-market (lager) taxation of a holding ApS that the projection cannot express.