VAT Registrations and Returns in Denmark made Simple

Q: What is VAT in Denmark?

In Danish, Value Added Tax is called Merværdiafgift (Moms).

Q: How much is VAT in Denmark?

Denmark has two VAT rates: Standard 25% and Zero Rated 0%.

Since VAT was introduced in Denmark in 1967, there have only been the 25% and 0% VAT rates.
It's the only country in the EU that has never had a reduced VAT rate.

In Danish, VAT is known as moms, which is short for merværdiafgift.

Denmark

Currency	Danish Krone (DKK, kr)
Languages	Danish, English, German
Largest Marketplace	Temu.com
Most Popular Product Category	Electronics
Tax Authority	Skattestyrelsen / Danish Tax Agency
VAT Rates	Standard – 25%

Do I need to register for VAT in Denmark?

Whether you need to register for VAT in Denmark depends on:

Where your business is based
Who your customers are
Where you customers are
Whether you’re selling goods or services
And if you’re selling goods, where your stock is when the purchase is made

Like an answer for your specific situation? The easiest thing to do is to talk to someone. Book a free 15-minute consultation with one of our experts today.

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My B2C business is based outside the EU

Whether you need to register for VAT in Denmark depends on where your goods are, and where you’re selling them.

Selling goods on your website

When you sell through a store you own (like a Shopify store), you have more work to do to be VAT compliant.

If you store goods in Denmark, you'll need to register for VAT there. You have two options when you’re selling goods stored somewhere else in the EU to customers in Denmark:

Which is better for your business will depend on your current set-up and plans.

Not sure which you need? You can ask us (for free).

Book a call

Importing goods to Denmark

Are your goods outside the EU when your customer buys them? You have three options to sell to Denmark compliantly:

Ship your goods to Denmark Delivered at Place (DAP)

An IOSS registration allows you to import goods with an intrinsic value of EUR 150 or less to customers all over the EU – not just Denmark.

If your average order from Denmark has an intrinsic value over EUR 150 registering for VAT might be more efficient.

You can also ship your goods to Denmark DAP. Shipping DAP puts the responsibility for Import fees, duties and VAT on your customer. We really only recommend doing this if you have one-off or infrequent high-value sales to Denmark. Shipping DAP is generally a worse experience for your customers.

Not sure which is the best option? Talk to us about your business and we’ll help you work it out.

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Get Registered for IOSS, Fast

Are you ready to sell to customers in Denmark? Don’t wait any longer, start your IOSS registration now. We can get you your IOSS number in as little as three working days.

Get an IOSS number

Selling goods on a marketplace

Since 2021, online marketplaces like Amazon or eBay have been responsible for collecting and remitting the VAT on certain sales on their platforms.

Marketplaces are responsible for the VAT when:

You, the seller, are based outside the EU

The sale is B2C

The goods are shipped from outside the EU in shipments with an intrinsic value of EUR 150 or less

Or the goods are in the EU at the point of sale

For example, you’re an Amazon seller based in the USA. Your stock is in your warehouse in Huntington, WV. Your customer in Denmark orders a EUR 100 coat from you. Amazon will charge your customer Danish VAT and remit it to the Skattestyrelsen.

Storing your goods in an EU country will require you to register for VAT there, even though the marketplace collects and remits the VAT. Orders from Denmark with an intrinsic value over EUR 150 will require you to register for VAT in Denmark or ship it DAP.

Don't let VAT get in the way of Amazon Pan-EU

Getting your goods closer to your European customers means faster delivery. It also means getting registered for VAT. Don’t let that stop you from selling to the 450 million people in the EU – we're here to make it easy.

Make FBA Easy

Selling Digital Services and Digital Goods to Denmark

Everything that’s not a physical object is considered a service in the EU. Digital services are a category of services that are defined by being “electronically supplied”. That covers things like eBooks, PDFs of sewing patterns, on-demand video courses and tickets to livestreams. If you’re in Canada or the USA, you’ll probably know these things as “Digital Goods”.

To sell digital services to customers in Denmark you can either:

Determining whether your services are “electronically supplied” can be complicated and has big consequences – if they’re not, you don’t need to register for anything. We recommend you talk to an expert if you’re selling digital services, just to make sure.

Book a Call

My B2C business is based in the EU

This information assumes you’re not based in Denmark.

Selling Goods

Being based in the EU, you can make up to 10,000 EUR in sales to other EU countries before you have to register for anything, depending on where your goods are when they’re sold. All registrations require you to charge your Danish customers their local VAT rate, then report and pay that amount to the tax authorities.

My Goods are in Denmark

Storing goods in Denmark creates a “taxable supply”. You’ll need to register for VAT in Denmark or for One Stop Shop (OSS) in the country where you’re based.

My Goods are in the EU, but not in Denmark

Essentially, you have a VAT obligation in every country where you hold stock or have customers. If you hold stock in the country where you’re based, you can choose to either register for VAT in Denmark or for OSS. Storing goods in a third country creates another VAT obligation. You can register for VAT there as well or skip the individual registrations and just register for OSS.

My goods are outside the EU

You have three options when your goods are outside the EU at the point of sale:

Register for VAT in Denmark
Register for Import One Stop Shop (IOSS)
Make your customer the Importer of Record
Making your customer the Importer of Record will mean their order gets hold at customs until they’ve paid any duty and VAT due. If they don’t pay in time, the order will get sent back to you.

Selling Services from the EU to Denmark

In the EU, anything that’s not a physical object is considered a service. It covers everything from catering services to digital downloads. Selling services to consumers in other EU countries requires you to register for OSS.

You can register for OSS with your local tax authority.

Feeling Confused? Take the EU VAT Quiz

Find out in less than a minute if you need to register in the EU and what for – IOSS, OSS, Non-Union OSS or VAT.

Take the Quiz

VAT on Sales to Danish Businesses

When your customers are other businesses, your VAT obligations change. You might still have to register for VAT (if you store goods in Denmark, for example) but in many cases the VAT is your customer’s obligation.

I’m based outside the EU and selling B2B to Denmark

When you’re based outside the EU, and your EU customer is VAT registered, the reverse charge mechanism often applies. You include “reverse charge mechanism” on the invoice, and they account for it on their VAT return. Make sure you're issuing your invoices correctly, or you might have to submit corrections to your VAT returns.

I’m based in the EU and selling B2B to Denmark

Generally, B2B sales between EU states are zero-rated if you're both VAT registered. You might need a Danish VAT registration either. However, you have to:

Be VAT registered where you're based
Add it to your EC Sales List
Verify your customer's VAT number on VIES

Business-to-business sales across international borders are simple in theory. In practice, they’re complicated. Tax authorities interpret rules differently, documents are issued wrong (or not at all), you might be one business in a chain – it gets messy, quick.

Make it easier with some expert advice.

Book a Call

The Bookkeeping Act (Bogføringsloven)

In 2022, The Bookkeeping Act came into force in Denmark. It aims to to bring Denmark into closer alignment with VAT in the Digital Age (ViDA) by requiring taxpayers use digital accounting software. You can read more about it and some of it's requirements in our e-invoicing explainer.

What is an e-invoice and how does it work?

The title of the blog: What is an e-invoice and how does e-invoicing work?" next to an image of a woman sitting in front of two computer monitors. A man is pointing something on the screen.

How do I register for VAT in Denmark?

You need to be registered for VAT in Denmark before you start selling to Danish customers. If you’re not based in the EU, you’ll need a fiscal representative to register, unless you’re based in:

The Faroe Islands
Greenland
Iceland
Norway
Aland Islands
United Kingdom
Isle of Man

These countries and territories have mutual agreements with Denmark. Gibraltar, Jersey, and Guernsey are not included in the UK’s agreement.

Danish VAT Returns

For the first 18 months of being registered, you have to file your Danish VAT return quarterly. After that, the frequency is based on your taxable annual revenue:

  
        FREQUENCY
        TAXABLE ANNUAL REVENUE
      
        Monthly
        DKK 50,000,000 or more
      
        Quarterly
        DKK 5,000,000 to 50,000,000
      
        Half Annually
        DKK 5,000,000 or less

FREQUENCY	TAXABLE ANNUAL REVENUE
Monthly	DKK 50,000,000 or more
Quarterly	DKK 5,000,000 to 50,000,000
Half Annually	DKK 5,000,000 or less

If you file monthly, the deadline is the 25th of the month following the reporting period. So, if your return is for June, you have until the 25th of July to file. Quarterly and half-annual returns are due on the first day of the next quarter. You can find the exact dates on Skattestyrelsen’s website.

Intrastat Thresholds Denmark

Intrastat is a statistical report used by the EU to collect and analyse data on the movement of goods between EU Member States. You don’t have to file Intrastat reports until you’ve passed a threshold. In Spain, the thresholds are DKK 41,000,000 in arrivals and DKK 11,300,000 in dispatches.

Intrastat reports are transactional reports, so if a single transaction contains goods with distinct commodity codes, you’ll have to divide it. They’re a lot of extra work but we can do them for you.

Intrastat Reports Filed for You

VAT Refunds Denmark

If you buy something from a Danish supplier or import goods into Denmark, you’ll be charged input VAT. You can claim input VAT back on your Danish VAT return. When you have more input VAT than output VAT, the difference is refunded immediately. However, before that can happen, certain conditions have to be met:

There is no outstanding VAT to be filed

The refund limit in your tax account is set to DKK 0

You don’t have any VAT debt

You have set up a NemKonto

A NemKonto is a bank account of yours that you assign to be your NemKonto. You can submit any bank account to be registered as your NemKonto. Submissions are reviewed on a case-by-case basis, so there’s no guarantee that the account you submit will be approved.

Refunds when you’re not VAT registered in Denmark

If you’re not registered for VAT in Denmark, you can still get a VAT refund. How you do it depends on whether you’re based in the EU or not.

Businesses based in the EU can use their national tax authority’s online portal to use the EU Refund Directive. Once the claim has been processed, Skattestyrelsen will refund you the money.

If you’re not based in the EU, you’ll need to use the 13th Directive.

13th Directive Refunds in Denmark

You can apply for a three-month period (which you can do four times a year) or a one-year period. The minimum you can claim over a three-month period is DKK 3,000. If you’re claiming for a year period, the minimum drops to DKK 400.

You have until the 30th of September, the year following the refund period to make your claim. For example, the deadline to refund VAT paid in April 2024 is September 2025.

13th Directive refunds are admin-intensive and can take a long time. If you’d like to save time on getting your money back, we can handle them for you.

Get a VAT Refund in Denmark