Tax on shares
Shares are taxed as income from shares. This means that you have to pay tax on dividends and gains from the sale of shares. If you have made a loss on the sale of shares, you can deduct the loss. How you can offset the loss depends on whether your shares are admitted to trading.
Read more in Danish about when shares are deemed to be admitted to trading.
Note that you can only deduct losses on shares admitted to trading if the we have received information about the purchase no later than 1 July in the year after you purchased the shares. If 1 July is a Saturday or Sunday, we must have received the information by 9:00 on the first subsequent weekday. You need to be particularly aware of this if your shares are held in a custody account abroad, as we generally don't get information from outside Denmark.
Read more in Danish about conditions for deducting losses on shares.
In most cases, we receive all information about your shares if they are held in a Danish custody account. If your shares are admitted to trading, we can often calculate the gain or loss on them using the Securities System (shares and investment units) and transfer the result to your tax assessment notice. Still, you should always check that we have received all the necessary information and that it's correct. You have a duty to ensure that your tax assessment notice is correct.
Read more in Danish about the Securities System (shares and investment units).
You can't use the securities system (shares and investment units) to calculate gains and losses on shares that are not admitted to trading. You must therefore calculate this yourself and state it in your tax assessment notice.
Since we don't receive information about shares in custody accounts abroad, you must also calculate gains and losses on these yourself and state these in your tax assessment notice.
You can only deduct losses on shares admitted to trading if we have been informed about the purchase no later than 1 July in the year after you purchased the shares. If 1 July is a Saturday or Sunday, we need the information by 9:00 on the first subsequent weekday.
Read more in Danish about conditions for deducting losses on shares.
We receive information about the purchase if the shares are in a Danish custody account
We normally receive information about the purchase of your shares if they are held in a Danish custody account, as banks and securities dealers in Denmark are obligated to report the information to us by 20 January of the year following the year of purchase. If 20 January is a Saturday or Sunday, the deadline is the following Monday.
You can see if we have received information about the purchase from your bank or securities dealer in the tax information under ‘Share information’ in E-tax.
How to see your tax information in E-tax (link currently in Danish).
Contact your bank or securities dealer if, contrary to expectations, the purchase has not been reported.
You must send us information about the purchase if the shares are in a custody account outside Denmark
If your shares are held in a custody account abroad, you must send us information about the purchase, as we don't receive information from abroad. We must receive the information before the deadline.
You must send us the following information:
- Identity of the shares (name, securities code, ISIN etc.)
- Number
- Date of purchase
- Purchase price including trading costs
- Price
How to declare your purchase:
- Log on to E-tax (TastSelv)
- Select Contact
- Select Write to us
- Select ‘Indkomst og fradrag’ (Income and deductions)
- Select ‘Årsopgørelse’ (Tax assessment notice)
- Select ‘Spørgsmål og ændringer til årsopgørelse’ (Questions and changes to the tax assessment notice)
- Select ‘Aktier og værdipapirer’ (Shares and securities)
- Click ‘Send’.
We recommend that you save the purchase receipt, so that you have the information when you sell the shares.
Gains and losses are normally calculated using the average cost method.
The average cost method means that you must calculate gains and losses based on the average purchase price of your total holdings in a company. This applies to all shares in the same company, regardless of whether you bought them yourself or were granted them via a share reward scheme or employee share scheme.
Gains and losses must be calculated as the difference between the sales price of the shares sold and the average purchase price of the shares.
The rules apply regardless of whether the shares in the company are held in the same custody account. It makes no difference whether they are held in Danish or foreign custody accounts.
Read more in Danish about the average cost method.
Your shares may be tax-free
If you bought shares admitted to trading before 1 January 2006, they may be tax-free under certain conditions.
If you sell shares in the same company with the same rights, that you purchased at different times, the shares you purchased first are deemed to be the ones you sell first.
This means that if you have purchased shares in a company, where part of the holding is tax-free (purchased before 1 January 2006) and part is taxable (purchased after 1 January 2006), the tax-free shares are deemed to be the ones you sell first.
You have to pay tax on gains when you sell shares. The gains are taxed as income from shares.
See the tax rates in the section on ‘Tax rates for income from shares (gains and dividends)’.
If you have made a loss on the sale of shares, you can deduct the loss. How the loss can be offset depends on whether your shares are admitted to trading.
Read more in Danish about when shares are deemed to be admitted to trading.
Losses on shares admitted to trading
Note that you can only deduct losses on shares admitted to trading if twe have received information about the purchase no later than 1 July in the year after you purchased the shares. If 1 July is a Saturday or Sunday, we must have received the information by 9:00 on the first subsequent weekday.
Read more in Danish about conditions for deducting losses on shares.
We deduct losses on shares admitted to trading from dividends, gains from the sale of other shares admitted to trading and gains from share-based investment units that are taxed according to the market-value principle.
If your losses are greater than the total amount of your share dividends and gains, and you are married and live with your spouse, the surplus loss amount will be deducted from the sum of your spouse’s share dividends and gains, after any deduction of your spouse’s losses.
If you are not married, or if there is still a surplus loss after deduction from your spouse’s share dividends and gains, the loss will be carried forward to subsequent years. A loss carried forward is offset in subsequent years, as you and your spouse (if married) receive share dividends and gains.
If you have losses on shares in a Danish custody account, you must ensure that we have been able to calculate the loss and transfer it to your tax assessment notice before your reporting deadline, and if you have losses on shares in a custody account abroad, you must declare the loss before your reporting deadline – otherwise you lose the right to carry the loss forward.
Losses on shares not admitted to trading
Losses on shares not admitted to trading will be offset against other income from shares. If the income from shares is negative following this, the tax value of the negative income from shares will be calculated and deducted from your other taxes in your tax assessment notice.
However, if you are married and live with your spouse, the negative income from shares is first offset against any positive share income your spouse has before the tax value is calculated and deducted from your other taxes in your tax assessment notice. If the tax value exceeds your other taxes in your tax assessment notice, it will be deducted from your spouse’s other taxes in their tax assessment notice.
If you are not married, or the tax value exceeds the other taxes in the tax assessment notice for both you and your spouse, the tax value will be offset against your tax firstly, and then your spouse’s tax, in subsequent years.
The tax value of the negative income from shares is calculated based on the tax rates for income from shares.
See the tax rates in the section on ‘Tax rates for gains and dividend (share income)’.
If you have losses on shares that are not admitted to trading, but that have been admitted to trading during your ownership period, you must deduct the loss according to the rules that apply to shares admitted to trading.
Sale of subscription rights
A subscription right gives a company’s shareholders the right to subscribe for new shares in connection with the expansion of the company’s capital issue. If you do not wish to exercise the subscription rights yourself, you can sell them. The gain is taxed as income from shares.
Read more in Danish about subscription rights to new shares and how to calculate gains and losses.
When declaring gains and losses on the sale of shares, you need to know if the shares are:
- Danish or non-Danish
- admitted to trading
- held in a custody account in Denmark or abroad.
Read more in Danish about when shares are deemed to be admitted to trading.
If your shares are admitted to trading and held in a Danish custody account, we can usually calculate the gain or loss on your shares using the Securities System (shares and investment units) and transfer the result to your tax assessment notice. However, you should always check that we have received all the necessary information and that it is correct.
Gains and losses are automatically transferred to box 66 if we have all the necessary information.
If we have insufficient information to calculate gains and losses
If we lack information about your shares admitted to trading, you can register the missing information in the Securities System and we can calculate a result for you.
Note that there are several cases where you need to register information in the securities system (shares and investment units) yourself. You can read more below:
Register your shares and investment units (link in Danish).
See the guide to the Securities System (shares and investment units - link in Danish).
If you receive a dividend
You have to pay tax when you receive dividends from your shares.
Dividends from Danish shares admitted to trading will usually be automatically stated in box 61. If this is not the case, you must declare the dividend in box 62 or 68.
Dividends from foreign shares admitted to trading, from countries with which Denmark has a double taxation agreement with a fixed double taxation rate, will normally be stated in box 63. If this is not the case, you must declare the dividend in box 63.
Dividends from foreign shares admitted to trading, from countries with which Denmark does not have a double taxation agreement with a fixed double taxation rate, will normally be stated in box 452. If this is not the case, you must declare the dividend in box 452.
Watch video: How to report gains, losses and dividends on shares purchased outside Denmark
We generally don't receive information about sales of your shares if they are held in a custody account abroad or traded on a non-Danish trading platform, but you can still use the Securities Systems (Shares and securities) to calculate the gain or loss if the shares are Danish and admitted to trading. Simply register the information in the securities system.
If you use the securities system, gains and losses on Danish shares are transferred to box 66.
If you don’t use the securities system, you must enter gains or losses on Danish shares in box 66.
You must calculate and declare gains or losses on foreign shares in box 454.
You must also declare the market value (converted to Danish kroner) of your foreign securities custody account on 31 December of each year.
If you receive a dividend
You have to pay tax when you receive dividends from your shares.
You must declare dividends from Danish shares in box 62 or 68.
You must declare dividends from foreign shares in box 452.
You must declare any foreign dividend tax paid in box 496. You can at most declare the dividend tax to which the given country is entitled, according to any double taxation agreement between Denmark and the given country. If the given country has withheld dividend tax at a higher rate than agreed in the double taxation agreement, you can apply for a refund of the overpaid dividend tax.
You must contact the tax authorities in the given country to apply for a refund of overpaid dividend tax.
If your shares are not admitted to trading, you must calculate and declare the gain or loss in your tax assessment notice. The Securities System (shares and investment units) can't be used for this type of shares.
You must declare gains or losses on Danish shares in box 67.
You must declare gains or losses on foreign shares in box 451.
Watch video: How to report gains, losses and dividends on shares purchased abroad.
If you have losses on shares that are not admitted to trading, but that have been previously admitted to trading during your ownership period, you must declare the loss according to the rules that apply to shares admitted to trading.
If you receive a dividend
You have to pay tax when you receive dividends from your shares.
Dividends from Danish shares admitted to trading will usually be automatically stated in box 64, if held in a Danish custody account. If this is not the case, you must declare the dividend in box 65.
You must declare dividends from non-Danish shares in box 450.
You must declare any non-Danish dividend tax paid in box 496. You can at most declare the dividend tax to which the given country is entitled, according to any double taxation agreement between Denmark and the given country. If the given country has withheld dividend tax at a higher rate than agreed in the double taxation agreement, you can apply for a refund of the overpaid dividend tax.
You must contact the tax authorities in the given country to apply for a refund of overpaid dividend tax.
You can see what information we have about your shares in the tax information in E-tax.
How to see your tax information in E-tax.
We receive information about your holdings, purchases, sales and dividends if your shares are held in a Danish custody account. You can view this information under ‘Aktieoplysninger’ (Share information).
The share information is grouped based on whether the shares are admitted to trading. This can be helpful when you need to declare a gain or loss.
Read more in Danish about when shares are deemed to be admitted to trading.
You can also see if the shares are Danish or non-Danish. This is listed under ‘Landenavn’ (Country name) for each entry.
If your shares are traded in a custody account abroad or on a non-Danish trading platform, we do not generally receive reporting on sales, and you will therefore not see any information under tax information.
The Securities System
In the Securities System (shares and investment units) you can see the information we have about your shares admitted to trading. A red highlight will be shown in the Securities System if we are missing information that you need to register.
In 2025 you must pay:
- 27% tax on the first DKK 67,500 (2024: DKK 61,000) in share income
- 42% tax on share income in excess of DKK 67,500 (2024: DKK 61,000).
Share income is both dividends and gains (profit) on sales.
If you are married
If you are married and living with your spouse at the end of the income year, these limits are doubled. In 2025, you must pay 27% of the first DKK 135,000 (27% of the first DKK 122,000 in 2024) of your total share income, and 42% of share income that exceeds DKK 135,000 (DKK 122,000 in 2024).
When changes (corporate events) occur in a company in which you hold shares, you should check the information in the Securities System (shares and investment units), if the shares are held in a Danish custody account. You should check that the information is correct and that we still have all the information needed to calculate gains and losses.
If your shares are held in a custody account outside Denmark, remember to take the corporate event into account when calculating the average purchase price against which the gain or loss is calculated.
Examples of changes in companies
- Name change
- Merger
- Split (change in share composition)
- Share exchange (A and B shares)
- A security changes to a different form of taxation
If you are a shareholder in a company that is not admitted to trading that is dissolved, you must pay tax on your personal gain at the time of dissolution. If you have incurred a loss, you can claim a deduction for this.
You must declare gains and losses in box 67 in your tax assessment notice and in field 312 in your preliminary income assessment.
How to calculate profit and loss
Gains and losses on shares are calculated as the difference between the disposal price and the acquisition price.
| Disposal price (proceeds on termination) | DKK 250,000 |
| Acquisition price | DKK - 40,000 |
| Gain (declared in field 312/box 67) | =DKK 210,000 |
The disposal price is the proceeds at the time of dissolution. This will often be the equity in your company. If the equity is negative at the time of dissolution, there are no proceeds and the disposal price will be DKK 0.
The acquisition price is the amount you pay or the value you inject when you become an owner of the company. The acquisition price must be adjusted based on the capital changes that have occurred during your ownership period.
If you founded the company:
Cash payment:
In the case of a cash payment, your acquisition price will be what you paid for the shares. If you have made the payment at a price above par value, the purchase price will be the total payment.
Example: Cash payment
If Lars has made a payment of DKK 40,000 at two times par value, the acquisition price will be DKK 80,000. The nominal value of the share capital will be DKK 40,000, while the remaining DKK 40,000 is registered as free reserves under equity.
Contribution in kind (asset injection)
If you have founded the company by injecting assets that are not cash, this is called a contribution in kind. Examples of injected assets include machines, vehicles, etc. There must be a valuation report from an auditor that accounts for the value of the injected assets.
Your acquisition price will be the market value of the injected assets.
Injection of other assets (share exchange)
In addition to injecting assets such as equipment and machinery, you can also exchange shares in another company you own. In this case, the shares you have in the other company are injected and the company is formed through a ‘share exchange’.
If you have applied the rules for a tax-free share exchange, you are deemed to have acquired the shares in the receiving company at the same time and for the same acquisition price as the shares you inject.
If you have applied the rules for a taxable share exchange, the shares will be deemed to have been acquired at the time of injection, and the acquisition price will be the value of the injected company, calculated as the taxable proceeds at the time of injection.
Injection of existing business
It is also possible to create a new company by injecting your personally owned business.
If you have chosen to convert your personally owned business into a company, the rules for tax-free business conversion are often applied. The acquisition price of the shares is calculated as the amount that would have been obtained from a normal sale of the company (market value) less the taxable gain that would have been realised from such a sale. In addition, accounts for accrued profits under the business taxation scheme can be included in the acquisition price and can make the acquisition price negative.
If you have applied these rules, you need to have sent a number of documents to the Tax Agency, including a statement showing the taxable acquisition price of the shares.
If you have applied the taxable business conversion rules, the acquisition price should correspond to the nominal value of the shares.
Demerger
In a demerger, a company transfers its assets and liabilities to one or more companies. Either part of the assets/liabilities (boundary demerger) or all of them (termination demerger).
If your company is formed through a tax-free demerger, your acquisition price will correspond to the acquisition price of the company being demerged. Your original acquisition price is thereby carried over in the demerged company.
In the case of a taxable demerger, your acquisition price will correspond to the disposal price you have been taxed on in connection with the demerger.
If you take over an existing company
Purchase of an existing company
If you purchase/acquire an existing company, your acquisition price will be the amount you paid for the company according to the shareholder transfer agreement.
Succession
If you have acquired shares according to the rules on succession, you are deemed to have acquired the shares in the company at the same value/acquisition price as the person from whom you acquired the shares. This can be through inheritance, death or transfer from a close relative.
In the case of transfer by succession, the person who acquires the shares takes over the transferring party’s tax position when the shares are transferred.
Capital increase through cash injection
If you have made a capital increase by injecting cash, the amount is added to the original acquisition price. If the payment is made at a price above par value, the total cash injection will still have to be added to the acquisition price.
Capital increase through transferred reserves/surplus
Capital can also be increased by transferring available funds from profits (or other reserves) to the share capital.
If your company has increased its capital through transferred reserves, this will not affect your acquisition price, as the capital has been increased using the company’s own funds with no injection/payment from you.
Capital increase through injected assets
Capital can also be increased by injecting assets other than cash. These could be machinery, operating assets, shares, etc. Other shares can also be injected, either separately or as subsidiary shares.
A valuation report has to be prepared if a capital increase is made using non-cash assets.
If your company has increased its capital through injected assets, you can read more about calculating the acquisition price in the section above.
Capital increase through debt conversion
If the company had a debt to you that has been converted into shares through a capital increase, this capital increase has occurred through debt conversion. The acquisition price of the shares will be the market value of your receivable at the time of conversion, and the amount to be added to your acquisition price.
You can read more in Danish about debt conversion and see the calculation of market value in our Danish-language legal guide on capital increases through debt conversion.
Convertible bond/debt instrument
If you have lent money to your company and have received a convertible debt instrument (a convertible bond) in return that gives you the right to convert your receivable into shares, the acquisition price of this can be added to the acquisition price of the shares if the company is dissolved within the period when the debt instrument can be converted into shares.
Note that there are some company law requirements for notification and registration with the Danish Business Authority when issuing convertible bonds/debt instruments that must be observed in order for the debt instrument to be recognised as a convertible debt instrument.
Merger
A merger occurs when one or more companies transfer their activity/assets to another company, or two or more companies merge into a new company.
If you have made a capital increase by injecting another company that belonged to you through a tax-free merger, you are deemed to have acquired the shares in the new receiving company at the same time and for the same acquisition price as the shares in the company being injected.
In the case of a taxable merger, your acquisition price will correspond to the disposal price you have been taxed on for the ‘discontinuing company’ in the merger.
Capital reduction to cover losses
If your company has had a loss that could not be covered using available reserves and the company has chosen to pay its debts using the share capital, this does not affect your acquisition price as no payment has been made to you. This will mean that you own fewer shares, but the acquisition price of those shares will still be what you paid for them originally.
Capital reduction through withdrawal
If your company has made a capital reduction by making a payment to you, you must pay tax on this payment as a dividend from the company. Your acquisition price will continue to be the original acquisition price.
If you have mistakenly not been taxed on the amount withdrawn, your acquisition price must be adjusted in line with the price your shares were acquired at.
Example: If you have not been taxed by mistake
Mette’s company has capital of DKK 300,000. Mette’s company was founded by a cash injection at par value. It has been decided to reduce the capital by DKK 100,000 at par value. Mette has therefore received DKK 100,000 that has not been taxed.
Mette’s acquisition price must therefore be reduced based on the price at which the shares being ‘reduced’ were originally acquired. In this example, they were acquired at par value.
| Original acquisition price: 300,000 shares for | DKK 300,000 |
| Reduction: 100,000 shares at a price of | DKK - 100,000 |
| New acquisition price for the remaining 200,000 shares: | = DKK 200,000 |
Dissolution through voluntary liquidation
If your company has been dissolved through voluntary liquidation, a final liquidation statement has been submitted to the Danish Business Authority. Your disposal price in this case will be the calculated equity/liquidation account in the statement.
Dissolution through payment declaration
If your company has been dissolved through a payment declaration, no final statement has been submitted to the Danish Business Authority for the closing period/final year.
If there has been no activity in your company since the last submitted accounts/annual report, your disposal price can be calculated based on the equity stated in the last submitted accounts/annual report.
If there has been activity, the company’s disposal price can be found either in the company’s book balance, or the equity from the last submitted accounts/annual report, adjusted in line with subsequent documented income and expenses.
If your company has entered bankruptcy, its debts will have exceeded its assets. The company’s creditors will have had priority to have their receivables covered. It is therefore assumed that there are no funds remaining. The assumption is therefore that the disposal price is DKK 0 in connection with bankruptcy.
There are several transitional rules on the taxation of shares and investment units. See if you are covered by these rules.
Transition rules on shares and investment units purchased before 2006 (link in Danish)
Transition rules on the sale of investment units purchased before 19 January 1994 (link in Danish)
Transition rules on the sale of shares purchased before 19 May 1993 (link in Danish)
Transition rules on unutilised losses on shares from previous years (link in Danish)
Shareholders can claim refund of dividend tax if the dividend tax withheld exceeds the final dividend tax according to a double taxation agreement or current Danish tax law.
You can make the claim online. In order to make such a claim, the shareholder must be liable to pay tax abroad or be exempt from tax in Denmark. Shareholders or agents (on behalf of shareholders) can make claims.
Click here for further information and to make a claim for refund of dividend tax
Since August 2015, all claims for refunds of dividend tax have been put on hold because of the alleged criminal offences related to such claims. Read more about the background to this decision (only available in Danish).
On 17 March 2016, we resumed payment of refunds of dividend tax, provided supporting documentation is submitted.
Please note that increased case processing time should still be expected.
We regret any inconvenience this may have caused and we apologise for continued delays in the period ahead. According to section 69B of the Danish Withholding Tax Act (Kildeskatteloven), the Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen) has to pay interest on overdue refunds if case-processing time exceeds six months and the delay is due to circumstances which are not the fault of the recipient of the refund. Th Danish Tax Agency will pay any interest on overdue refunds if the conditions for this are met. You do not have to submit a claim for this interest.
If you invest in private equity, venture or infrastructure funds, special rules apply to the taxation of excess returns.
Private equity and venture capital funds invest in shares with the aim of fully or partially acquiring a company and participating in its management and operations.
Infrastructure funds raise capital for the purpose of direct or indirect investment in the construction or expansion of infrastructure plants and facilities and the ownership and operation of such plants and facilities. Excess returns on investments made through such funds are taxable.
For further legal information in Danish see our legal guide .