Tax on own business
You have to report your business profit or loss from the past year. You do this in E-tax for individuals (TastSelv Borger) from mid-March when your tax assessment notice is accessible and until 1 July.
You have to enter the following:
- Your final profit or loss – in your tax return
- Any additional information about income and deductions – under Change your tax assessment notice/Tax return
Next, you'll get your tax assessment notice which tells you if you will get a tax refund or if you have to pay outstanding tax.
Log on to E-tax for individuals to report your business result
You pay tax on your business by entering your expected profit or loss in your preliminary income assessment (forskudsopgørelsen). If your profit or loss changes, you can adjust it accordingly in your preliminary income assessment.
What is a tax return and who uses it?
When you have a personally owned business, we extend your tax assessment notice with a separate section for businesses where you have to report the profit or loss of your business. This is called a tax return.
You should also use the tax return if you:
- have non-Danish income or property
- have rented out a home that you do not live in personally
- are an artist and covered by the income equalisation scheme for artists
- operate with an irregular financial year
- own shares in investment project partnerships (ordinary or limited) (anparter) that are not subject to the rules governing such shares.
If you run your business in corporate form (partnership or limited company)
If you run your business in corporate form, you have to declare the profit or loss in E-tax for businesses (TastSelv Erhverv). Generally, companies and personally owned businesses are covered by different rules.
One of the differences is, that a company is taxed separately on its profit/loss and you will be considered an employee.
Read more about companies and funds.
The reporting deadline is 1 July
You have to report your business result (profit or loss) for the past year and you can do that from mid-March when your tax assessment notice is accessible and until the deadline of 1 July.
Under certain circumstances, you can apply for an extension of your payment deadline. You can do so from mid-March until the deadline of 1 July.
If you miss the deadline, you will be charged a penalty for late filing of DKK 400 per day.
You can apply to be fully or partially exempt from this penalty if special circumstances are the reason you have not filed your tax return. If so, you need to inform us of such special circumstances and submit relevant information for us to consider.
Request exemption from tax penalty (Ansøgning om fritagelse for skattetillæg) (in Danish only)
Before you can report your final business result (profit or loss), you have to prepare your final accounts for the past year which is where you find the figures you have to report.
Watch the video: How to do your tax accounts
The video shows you how to prepare your tax accounts and find the figures you need to enter in your tax return.
(Duration: 1:45)
Full screen is available by clicking the 2 arrows.
Tools to help you prepare your accounts
We know it may be difficult to manage tax matters - particularly for newly established businesses. At our Danish website we offer help and tools especially for newly established business at Start-up with skat. Currently, the site is in Danish only.
Find tools to help you prepare your business tax account and business result (link in Danish).
You report your business profit or loss by completing your tax return in our self-service system E-tax for Individuals (TastSelv Borger).
Read more about how you report your business profit or loss.
If you have stopped running your own business, renting out property or similar, you have to report your business result (profit or loss). If, for example, you closed your business in 2025, you have to wait until 2026 to report your business result for 2025.
Paying tax on your business on a regular basis
You pay tax on your business on a regular basis by entering your expected profit or loss in your preliminary income assessment (forskudsopgørelse) in E-tax for individuals (TastSelv Borger).
Make adjustments if the financial situation of your business changes
Please note that you can change your preliminary income assessment if the profit or loss of your business changes. The more precise your preliminary income assessment is, the more unlikely it is that you have to pay outstanding tax at the end of the year.
In March, you enter your final proft or loss in your tax return i E-tax for individuals. Once you have completed and accepted your tax return, you will get your tax assessment notice telling you if you are entitled to a tax refund or if you have to pay outstanding tax.
See the video: How to pay tax on your business on a regular basis
The video (currently in Danish) shows you what happens to your tax once you have reported your expected profit - if it's deducted via your income and withholding rate or if you hve to pay B-tax instalments.
Duration 01:53 minutes
Let's help you manage your budget
We know it can be difficult to manage to tax related tasks in a business - particularly if you've just started your business. That's why we have put together a number of tools and guides to, for example, manage your business budget and make changes to your preliminary income assessment. Or you can join our webinars on tax and VAT for newly registered businesses.
Get help: Guides and webinars for newly registered businesses (currently in Danish)
Follow the guide: How to make changes in your preliminary income assessment (forskudsopgørelse)
Select Egen virksomhed (own business)/ udlejningsejendom (rental property) under Oftest tilføjede felter (Most frequently added fields).
Enter your expected profit in field 221 or your expected loss in field 435.
Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Beregn (Calculate).
Check under Nyt skattekort (New tax card) to see if there is entered an amount for B-tax.
If so, you have to pay tax on your profit by means of B-tax instalments.
If there is no amount for B-tax, the tax on your profit will be withheld via your other income.
Read more in Danish about tax on profit under Step 3: Pay tax.
Click Godkend (Accept).
You have now corrected your preliminary income assessment).
The business tax scheme enables you to:
- have your business interest expenses taxed as personal income and not as capital income. If you do so, you pay less labour market contributions (am-bidrag) and possible middle-bracket tax, top-bracket tax and additional top-bracket tax according to the general tax rules.
- save up in your business against paying a provisional tax rate on 22%. This way you can save up in good years and withdraw saved up profits in bad years. When you withdraw an amount from the savings, you are taxed as for personal income, and the tax you have already paid will be deducted.
If you go for the business tax scheme, you will have to separate your personal finances from your business finances from the start. You can choose to be taxed under the business tax scheme in your preliminary income assessment by ticking field 184, but the actual choice is made when you complete your tax return (by ticking box 147).
The return on capital tax scheme may be a good alternative to the business tax scheme as it's easier to manage.
We calculate a return on capital tax, which is taxed as income from capital instead of personal income. By doing so, you pay less labour market contributions and possible middel-bracket tax according to the general tax rules.
The return on capital can't be more than the largest of the following 2 amounts:
- Profit from business
- The total negative income from capital (exclusive of the calculated return on capital)
You can choose to be taxed under the return on capital tax scheme in your preliminary income assessment by ticking field 184. However, you make your final decision about the scheme when you complete your tax return which is available in March. You should complete box 141 under ‘Virksomhedsoplysninger’ (Business information).
For further legal information in Danish see our legal guide.