Corporate income tax for ApS and A/S in Denmark in 2026
Limited liability companies in Denmark (ApS or A/S) pay corporate income tax on their taxable profits. Denmark’s corporate income tax rate is 22% for most limited liability companies in 2026, rising to 26% for a certain group of financial companies. Corporate income tax is paid in two ordinary instalments each year, on 20 March and 20 November, with an optional third voluntary instalment on 1 February the following year to reduce interest on any remaining tax. Deficits can be carried forward and offset against future profits.
Corporate Income Tax for ApS and A/S in Denmark in 2026
This blog discusses corporate income tax for ApS and A/S in Denmark in 2026.
If you are looking for information on dividend tax and dividends instead, read our dedicated guide on dividend tax and dividends here.
Relevant deadlines used in this blog
| DESCRIPTION | DEADLINE |
|---|---|
| Deadline for submitting the annual report | 6 months after the fiscal year ends |
| Deadline for submitting the tax return | 6 months after the fiscal year ends |
| Deadline for paying ordinary corporate income tax, instalment 1 | 20 March |
| Deadline for paying ordinary corporate income tax, instalment 2 | 20 November |
| Deadline for paying voluntary corporate income tax, instalment 3 (voluntary instalment) | 1 February in the year following the end of the fiscal year |
Corporate Income Tax rate
Limited liability companies in Denmark pay Corporate Income Tax on their profits.
These companies are typically in the structure of ApS and A/S.
The Corporate Income Tax rate in Denmark for 2026 is 22% for most companies.
However, for a certain group of financial companies the Corporate Income Tax rate in Denmark for 2026 is 26%.
Read more about the higher corporation tax for financial companies here
How to calculate taxable company income?
Taxable company income is calculated by first subtracting company costs from sales.
Costs include depreciations, accruals, provisions and financial costs.
This amount we called “earnings before tax”.
Once we know the earnings before tax, your accountant or auditor makes some required tax adjustments, in order to calculate the taxable company income.
The “taxable company income” is generally always different from the “earnings before tax” shown in the financial reports due to these tax adjustments.
The tax adjustments are primarily related to depreciations on tangible and intangible assets, accruals and provisions, representation, fines, and other types of costs that cannot be deducted neither partly or fully.
The taxable company income is declared on the corporate income tax return annually.
The deadline for declaring the company’s taxable income is six months from the end of the fiscal year.
Does a company pay Corporate Income Tax if there is a deficit in the taxable company income?
Generally, no Corporate Income Tax is paid if the taxable company income is 0 DKK or less.
Can deficits be brought forward?
A deficit in the taxable company income can be brought forward to future years, where it can be offset in taxable company income profits before the company needs to pay Corporate Income Tax.
Example:
Suppose the company has a deficit in the taxable company income of 100.000 DKK in 2025 and a profit in the taxable company income in 2026 of 100.000 DKK.
In that case, the company can offset its deficit from 2025 so that the taxable company income in 2026 is 0 DKK:
100.000 DKK profit in 2026 – 100.000 DKK deficit in 2025 = 0 DKK in taxable company income
Then no Corporate Income Tax will be paid in either 2025 or 2026.
On the Danish Tax Agency website called SKAT Erhverv, a register of deficits is maintained, showing what deficits have already been offset in profits and what to offset in future profits.
Payment of Corporate Income Tax
Corporate Income Tax is due for payment on 20 March and 20 November each year.
We call these payments the two “ordinary” tax payments.
The two payments will initially be based upon an estimate since nobody knows the actual profit before the year has ended.
Later, the two payments will be an average of the last 3 years of tax payments.
In addition to the two ordinary payments, there is a voluntary third payment on the 1st of February in the year after the fiscal year ends.
This enables the company to adjust the payments of company income tax once the accounting is done for the fiscal year ended. By paying more corporate income tax here, the company can save money on later interest for late payment of corporate income tax.
We call this third payment the “voluntary corporate income tax payment”.
Suppose you have a newly incorporated limited liability company; the first time you receive a letter from the Danish Tax Agency about paying company income tax, it will almost always state that the Danish Tax Agency has estimated that the company should pay 0 DKK in corporate income tax.
This is because the Danish Tax Agency doesn’t know yet how much the company is supposed to pay, so they’ll send a letter informing you that these ordinary corporate income payments are due in March and November, but they won’t state the payable amount.
Your accountant or auditor can help you estimate the ordinary corporate income tax payments.
How do you estimate the corporate income tax instalments as a newly incorporated ApS or A/S?
Let’s say you’re in January, and you already know you will have a profit this year.
Start making an estimate of the profit for the entire year as precisely as you can.
Then calculate 22% of the estimated profit and divide this by two, this will be the two payments of ordinary company income tax due for payment on 20 March and 20 November.
You can always change the instalments of corporate income tax on the Danish Tax Agency website “SKAT Erhverv”.
Here you will also find the payment details for your internet bank.
If the amount you estimate isn’t precise, then it’s no big deal, because when the year is finished, you’re required to make an annual report and submit a tax return with the correct amount.
Then in the following year, you’ll pay the remaining tax or receive a refund, depending on whether you over- or underestimated your payments.
Annual reports must be submitted six months after the fiscal year ends.
Corporate income tax returns must be submitted six months after the fiscal year ends.
The tax statement is received in November, the same year the tax declaration is submitted.
If any remaining corporate income tax is due for payment, it needs to be paid on 20 November of the same year.
Deadlines
Annual reports must be submitted to the Danish Business Authority on VIRK no later than six months after the end of the fiscal year.
Tax returns must be submitted to the Danish Tax Agency on SKAT Erhverv no later than six months after the end of the fiscal year.
When does the company receive the annual tax summary?
The annual tax summary is received in the e-Boks in November following the end of the fiscal year.
When does the company have to pay additional company income tax not covered by the ordinary and voluntary payments?
Additional company income tax not covered by the ordinary and voluntary payments is paid in November following the end of the fiscal year.
If the company ends up with remaining tax to pay (a “restskat”) rather than the ordinary and voluntary instalments covering the final liability, an interest surcharge applies. For the 2025 income year, this surcharge is 6,6% (equivalent to roughly 8,5% before tax, since the surcharge itself is not tax-deductible). If instead the company has overpaid and is due a refund (“overskydende skat”), a tax-free compensation applies, which for the 2025 income year is 2,8%.
The rates for the 2026 income year are set by the Danish Tax Agency by 15 December 2026 and are not yet published at the time of writing. They are expected to be broadly similar to the 2025 rates, though the fixed addition used in the refund compensation formula is being reduced from 2026 onwards, which will likely make the 2026 refund compensation somewhat lower than in 2025.
Payment of company income tax in the first fiscal year – when the fiscal year ends 31.12
Limited liability companies don’t necessarily have to follow the calendar year.
They’re allowed to have a split year, which means you may have up to 18 months in your first fiscal year.
For instance, if you start the company on 1 July 2026, your first year can run from 1 July 2026 to 31 December 2027, which is 18 months.
Another option is for the first year to end on 31 December 2026.
It’s completely up to you, but the maximum is 18 months in the first fiscal year.
The following fiscal years will always be 12 months.
The tax gets more complicated if you choose to have 18 months in the first year.
You will then have a partial payment on November 20th in the first year and March and November in the second year (all payments belonging to the first fiscal year).
The fiscal year has to be finished before we submit the tax declaration, so in this example, with an 18-month fiscal year, the fiscal year would start on 1 July 2026 and finish on 31 December 2027, after which the tax declaration would be submitted on 30 June 2028.
Tax returns are declared six months after the fiscal year ends.
In this example, with an 18-month fiscal year, after we submit the tax declaration on 30 June 2028, the Danish Tax Agency will calculate the actual corporate income tax, which will be 22% of the taxable profit, plus any applicable interest surcharge.
This tax will be due on 20 November 2028, and any tax you might already have paid in November (first year) and March and November (second year) will be offset in the total company income tax due.
You’ll receive an annual company income tax statement that will show all this information, including your profit for the full fiscal year, as well as the 22% in corporation tax and any added late payment interest.
You can also receive a corporation tax refund.
This happens if you paid too much in corporate income tax, in which case you receive a tax-free compensation at the applicable rate for that income year (see the rates discussed above).
Payment of corporate income tax in the first fiscal year – when the fiscal year does not end 31.12
A company can decide when they’d like their fiscal year to end, but only around 10% of our clients choose something other than the calendar year. Most companies choose 31 December because it’s easier to produce an annual overview if it follows the calendar year.
But some people prefer ending the year on 30 June or 31 January.
The company income tax can get tricky for those who do not follow the calendar year.
Let’s assume that you have June 30th as the end of your fiscal year, for example.
You’re still allowed to have 18 months in your first fiscal year, but if you start a company on 1 July 2026 and your fiscal year ends on 30 June 2027, your first fiscal year will only be 12 months.
The partial company income tax payments make this a bit complicated.
In the first year, 2026, as is normal, you most likely will not pay anything in November.
Then in 2027, you’ll make a partial payment in March, and even though the year finishes on 30 June 2027, the partial payment you make in November 2027 still counts toward your first fiscal year, despite being paid after the first fiscal year has finished.
One advantage of this is you can avoid paying interest because you have more time to calculate the correct profit, from which you can calculate exactly how much you must pay in additional tax for the last instalment in November 2027.
Joint taxation
If your company is owned by another Danish company with more than 50%, e.g. via a holding company, then you will need to apply “joint taxation”.
In joint taxation, the owner (who owns more than 50%), called the management company, must manage the payment of the company income tax to the Danish Tax Agency.
The management company instead collects the corporate income tax from the company.
The company income tax collected by the management company from the company is called the “joint taxation contribution”.
The joint taxation contribution corresponds to the company income tax that the company must pay on its taxable profits.
What happens once the company has paid its corporate income tax?
After corporate income tax is paid, the remaining profit can either stay in the company as reserves, or be distributed to the shareholders as a dividend.
Read our full guide on dividend tax and dividends in Denmark in 2026 here, including how to structure your remuneration as a director and shareholder, and how dividend tax works for both resident and non-resident shareholders.
(This blog is updated: 22.7.2026)
FAQ
What is the corporate income tax rate in Denmark in 2026?
The corporate income tax rate is 22% for most limited liability companies (ApS and A/S). A certain group of financial companies pays a higher rate of 26%.
When must corporate income tax be paid?
Corporate income tax is paid in two ordinary instalments each year, due on 20 March and 20 November. There is also an optional third, voluntary instalment on 1 February the following year, which can reduce any interest owed on remaining tax.
Does a company pay corporate income tax if it has a deficit?
Generally, no. If the taxable company income is 0 DKK or less, no corporate income tax is due.
Can a company carry a deficit forward to future years?
Yes. A deficit in taxable company income can be carried forward and offset against taxable profits in later years, reducing or eliminating the corporate income tax due in those years.
How do you estimate the ordinary instalments for a newly incorporated company?
Estimate the company's expected profit for the year, calculate 22% of that estimate, and divide it by two. These two amounts become the ordinary instalments due on 20 March and 20 November. The instalments can be adjusted at any time via SKAT Erhverv.
What happens if a company pays too little or too much corporate income tax during the year?
Any shortfall or overpayment is settled the following year once the annual report and tax return are submitted. If tax is still owed, an interest surcharge applies (6,6% for the 2025 income year); if the company overpaid, a tax-free compensation applies (2,8% for the 2025 income year). The 2026 rates are published by the Danish Tax Agency by 15 December 2026.
What are the deadlines for the annual report and the corporate tax return?
Both must be submitted no later than six months after the end of the fiscal year.
Can a company choose its own fiscal year end date?
Yes. Most companies use the calendar year, but a company can choose a different fiscal year end, such as 30 June or 31 January. The first fiscal year can run for up to 18 months.
What is "joint taxation," and when does it apply?
Joint taxation applies when a company is owned by more than 50% by another Danish company, often via a holding structure. The majority-owning "management company" administers the payment of corporate income tax to the Danish Tax Agency on behalf of the group, collecting a "joint taxation contribution" from the subsidiary equal to its own tax liability.
What happens to a company's profit after corporate income tax is paid?
The remaining profit can stay in the company as reserves, or be distributed to shareholders as a dividend. Dividend tax rules are covered in our separate guide on dividend tax and dividends in Denmark in 2026.