How to pay tax on account for companies etc.
Deadlines for payment of tax on account
- Instalment 1: Ordinary tax on account and any voluntary payment of tax on account: 20 March
- Instalment 2: Ordinary tax on account and any voluntary payment of tax on account: 20 November
- Voluntary instalment 3: Voluntary tax on account: 1 February of the year after the income year
If the deadline falls on a weekend or a public holiday, it will be extended to the next weekday.
Tax on account: What to do
Corporation tax can be paid as tax on account in up to 3 annual instalments. As a general rule, corporation tax is 22% of your expected taxable profit.
We collect the ordinary tax on account in 2 equal annual instalments (1st and 2nd instalments). We assesses the ordinary tax on account as 50% of the average corporation tax for the past 3 years. Every January, you will receive an assessment via Digital Post explaining how your instalments of tax on account have been calculated.
From February of the income year, the company can see the ordinary instalments payable. For more information, see the section ‘How to declare and pay your tax on account’.
The 3rd instalment is voluntary and may be reported and paid no later than on 1 February of the year following the income year.
You can adjust the size of the instalments yourself
If you feel that the ordinary instalments are set too high, you can reduce them yourself.
If the instalments are set too low and you expect a higher taxable profit, you can increase the amount by making a voluntary payment.
You make the changes in our online self-service system E-tax for businesses (TastSelv Erhverv) and pay via your Tax Account. For more information, see the section ‘How to report and pay your tax on account’.
When can the instalments be changed?
See the periods during which you can reduce your instalments, create a voluntary instalment and make payments:
| Period during which the instalment may be increased or decreased | Payment deadline | |
|---|---|---|
| Instalment 1: Ordinary tax on account and any voluntary payment of tax on account | 1 February - 20 March of the income year | 20 March |
| Instalment 2: Ordinary tax on account and any voluntary payment of tax on account | 21 March - 20 November of the income year | 20 November |
|
Voluntary instalment 3: Voluntary tax on account |
21 November in the income year - 1 February in the year following the income year | 1 February |
If the deadline falls on a weekend or a public holiday, it will be extended to the next weekday.
If you don't wish to change the ordinary instalments, you simply need to pay the instalments in your Tax Account by the payment deadline.
Reporting and paying tax if you want to increase or decrease your tax on account
If you want to increase or decrease your tax on account, it's important that you report the change before paying the amount. If you don't report the increase, you risk that your payment will be returned to you.
How to report and pay tax on account
- Log on to E-tax for businesses
- Click 'Skat for selskaber' (Tax for companies etc.)
- Click 'Selskabsskat' (Corporation tax)
- Click 'Acibtisjat' (Tax on account)
- Click ‘Indberet/ændr' (Report/Change) next to the instalment that you want to change
- Enter the amount by which you want to change the instalment. Please note that the entered value is not the new instalment. The value you enter will be added to or deducted from the ordinary instalment.
- Click 'Godkend' (Accept)
- Pay the amount using the payment line for the Tax Account, which you find in E-tax for businesses under 'Skattekontoen' (Tax Account) > 'Stamoplysninger' (Master data).
You can see the changed tax on account in your Tax Account under ‘Fremtidige posteringer' (Future entries) the day after you have declared it.
If you reduce your instalments and they are part of a payment plan, we will have to suspend the payment plan. You will then need to create the payment plan again yourself. If this applies to you, we will write to you.
Change of reported voluntary instalments
It's possible to reduce a voluntary instalment of tax on account within 5 days after it has been created, but no later than by the reporting and payment deadlines. This can be done in E-tax for businesses.
If you would like a reduction after the 5 days, you will need to contact us via ‘Contact’ in E-tax for businesses.
Please note that you can't create a voluntary instalment 1 or voluntary instalment 2 if the ordinary instalment 1 or the ordinary instalment 2 for the income year has been reduced.
Please note the following if you wish to pay well in advance of the deadline
Please make sure that any voluntary tax on account has been reported before paying the tax on account. The ordinary instalments can be paid in the period 1 March to 20 March and in the period 1 November to 20 November.
Read more at ‘How to pay taxes and duties to your business Tax Account
Advantage of paying voluntary tax on account early
If you make voluntary payments on account by 20 March (1st instalment of tax on account), the company will receive an allowance. In 2025, the allowance was 0.7%.
Example for 2025 – 1st instalment:
If the company makes a voluntary payment on account of DKK 100,000, DKK 100,700 will be credited as tax paid.
If you make voluntary payments after 20 March but no later than on 20 November (2nd instalment of tax on account), the company must pay a surcharge. In 2025, the surcharge was 0.7%.
Example for 2025 – 2nd instalment:
If the company makes a voluntary payment on account of DKK 100,000, DKK 99,300 will be credited as tax paid.
If you make voluntary payments of account after 20 November but no later than on 1 February of the following year (3rd instalment of tax on account), the company must pay an increased surcharge. In 2025, the increased surcharge was 1.3%.
Example for 2025 – 3rd instalment:
If the company makes a voluntary payment on account of DKK 100,000, DKK 98,700 will be credited as tax paid.
The allowance and surcharge rates in connection with voluntary payment of tax on account are published annually in December. You can find the current rates in Danish in the Corporation Tax Act (Selskabsloven) (svmn.dk).
More about tax on account
The company can declare tax etc. via E-tax for businesses and pay voluntary tax on account.
If the company is part of a joint taxation arrangement, we will only collect the tax on account from the management company. If the subsidiary has paid tax on account, the management company will be credited the tax paid on account.
The management company is the company with which the subsidiary is jointly taxed on the last day of the income year.
Tax on account in case of a change of the jointly taxed companies
If there have been changes in the joint taxation or if there has been a merger or demerger, you must be aware of the rules on how the tax on account is applied. You must also be aware of the deadlines for applying for a transfer of the tax on account between the companies. Read more in our Danish-language legal guide, C.D.10.4.12: Acontoskat ved omstruktureringer (Tax on account in connection with restructuring).
If the company becomes a subsidiary in a joint taxation arrangement during the income year, you may apply to have the tax on account transferred for the period before the joint taxation entered into force. You must submit the application to us no later than on 1 February of the year following the income year or no later than 3 months after you have established the group affiliation.
If the company ceases due to a merger or demerger during the income year, any paid instalments on account will be treated according to our legal guide, section C.D.10.4.12.3 Skattefri fusion (Tax-free merger) and section C.D.10.4.12.4 Skattefri spaltning (Tax-free demerger).
When the company is discontinued, the future taxes on account will be cancelled. If the company needs to pay voluntary tax on account in the year of discontinuation, a discontinuation instalment can be set up via E-tax for businesses.
The company’s tax assessment notice (årsopgørelse) is generated annually in October of the year following the income year. In the tax assessment notice, you can see the tax paid on account and whether the company must pay outstanding tax or will receive a tax refund.
The tax assessment notice will be sent to the company’s Digital Post. You can also find your tax assessment notice at E-tax for businesses:
- Log on at E-tax for businesses
- Select Contact
- Select Message archive
If the company is to receive a tax refund (overpaid tax), it will automatically be disbursed to the company’s Tax Account. If the company has other debt in its Tax Account, the overpaid tax will be used to cover this debt. If the balance in the Tax Account is subsequently positive, it will automatically be disbursed to the company’s NemKonto. You don't have to do anything.
If the company is liable to pay outstanding tax, the outstanding tax and an outstanding tax surcharge can be paid between 1 November and 20 November. The amount of the outstanding tax surcharge changes every year – in 2025, it was 6.6%.
You pay via the company’s Tax Account > Master data (Stamoplysninger) in E-tax for businesses.
We don't collect tax on account for the first 3 years of the life of the company.
If you expect that the company will make a profit and as a result is liable to pay tax, the company may choose to pay part of the tax in advance 3 times a year. You can do this by making a voluntary payment.
If the company pays tax on account, you can avoid having to pay an outstanding tax surcharge on top of any outstanding tax at the end of the year.
If you choose to pay tax during the year as tax on account, you must first report how much you intend to pay via E-tax for businesses. You then need to pay the tax. Both the reporting and payment must be done by the deadline.
Read more about how to make voluntary payments in the section ‘How to report and pay your tax on account’.
The saying that you must pay tax on account are laid down in section 29 A of the Corporation Tax Act.
The rules saying that you are entitled to a transfer of tax on account if you become part of a joint taxation arrangement are laid down in section 29 B(2) of the Corporation Tax Act and in our Danish-language legal guide section C.D.10.4.12.2 Ind- og udtræden af sambeskatning (Joining and withdrawing from joint taxation arrangements).
For further legal information in Danish see our legal guide .