How we calculate Danish net pay

The calculator works out the annual tax of a fully tax-liable employee working the whole year, in the same order as the Ministry of Taxation's own worked examples. Rates come from the ministry's tables of rates and thresholds in the Personal Tax Act, the Tax Assessment Act and the Labour Market Contribution Act, and municipal taxes from the ministry's spreadsheets for 2025 and 2026 — see data sources.

ATP and the labour market contribution

Full-time employees pay DKK 99 a month in ATP and the employer twice that. The labour market contribution is 8% of pay after ATP and your own share of the employer pension scheme. What remains is personal income.

Deductions

The employment deduction is 12.75% of work income, at most DKK 63,300 (12.3% and DKK 55,600 in 2025); work income also counts your own and your employer's ATP and pension contributions. The job deduction is 4.5% of work income above DKK 235,200, at most DKK 3,100. The extra pension deduction is 12% of pension contributions after the AM contribution, on at most DKK 87,800 (32% with 15 years or less to state pension age). Single parents get an extra employment deduction of 11.5%, at most DKK 50,600.

Municipal and church tax

Municipal and church tax are charged on taxable income (personal income less deductions) above the personal allowance of DKK 54,100. We use the rates of all 98 municipalities from the ministry's spreadsheets; church tax applies only to members of the Church of Denmark.

State tax and the tax ceiling

Bottom-bracket tax is 12.01% of personal income above the personal allowance. From 2026 there is a middle tax of 7.5% above DKK 641,200, a top tax of 7.5% above DKK 777,900 and a top-top tax of 5% above DKK 2,592,700, all on personal income after the AM contribution. If municipal, bottom and middle tax together exceed the 44.57% ceiling, the middle tax is cut by the difference. In 2025 there was a single 15% top tax above DKK 611,800 and a 52.07% ceiling.

Employer cost

On top of pay the employer pays DKK 198 a month in ATP and any employer pension contribution. Then come the fixed contributions that ATP collects through Samlet Betaling for each full-time employee. In 2026 these are DKK 2,821 to AUB, DKK 2,200 to Barsel.dk, a financing contribution of DKK 328 and an administration fee of DKK 20 for Lønmodtagernes Feriemidler a year. They follow the ATP contribution, so part-time staff count pro rata. We assume a private employer fully covered by Barsel.dk, and count AUB in full even though a business gets a deduction for its first and every 50th employee. The AES contribution and the occupational injury levy are left out because they depend on the industry (from DKK 284 to DKK 10,892 a year in 2026).

Monthly pay

The employer withholds tax each month using the rate and allowance on the tax card, based on the preliminary assessment. With the same pay all year this equals the annual tax spread over twelve months, which is what we show.

Tests

Not yet included

• Spouses' transfer of unused personal allowance and of the middle-tax threshold.
• Capital and share income, property value tax, commuting deductions beyond one combined amount.
• AES contributions and the occupational injury levy (they depend on the industry), occupational injury insurance and the holiday allowance.

Estimates only. Not tax, legal or financial advice.