# Can I claim Firmapension og Erhvervspension (Company Pension) as a business expense in Denmark?

**Yes, fully claimable.** Employer pension contributions are fully deductible with no upper cap. Denmark has no mandatory minimum employer pension contribution (unlike UK auto-enrolment), but most companies contribute to maintain competitiveness. Employee contributions reduce AM-bidrag and income tax base.

Typical amount: Market norm in Denmark is 10-17% of salary as employer pension contribution, depending on industry and collective agreement (overenskomst). No statutory minimum.

## What Skattestyrelsen (Danish Tax Agency) says

Pensionsbeskatningsloven (Pension Taxation Act): employer contributions to approved pension schemes (livrente, ratepension, aldersopsparing) are deductible as salary costs. No employer contribution cap for deductibility purposes. Employee contributions are made from pre-AM-bidrag income via salary sacrifice or from post-AM-bidrag income to aldersopsparing.

## When you can claim

- Employer contributions to occupational pension schemes (firmapension): fully deductible, no cap
- Employer top-up contributions to employee individual pension plans
- Group pension insurance premiums (risk cover element typically deductible)
- Director pension contributions: same rules as employees when structured as employment income
- Lump sum pension contributions at year-end within scheme rules

## When you cannot claim

- Contributions to non-approved or foreign pension schemes without Danish recognition
- Payments structured as pension but lacking the required scheme approval

## Good to know

**Pro tip:** For ApS directors drawing salary, pension contributions can be a highly tax-efficient way to extract value from the company. A director drawing DKK 600,000 salary can have the company contribute 15% (DKK 90,000) to a pension: this reduces the company's taxable profit by DKK 90,000 and the director pays no personal tax on the contribution now (tax deferred to pension payout).

**Important:** Denmark has a three-pillar pension system: state pension (folkepension), occupational pension (arbejdsmarkedspension), and private savings. The occupational pension is not mandatory by law but is required in most sectors by collective agreements (overenskomster). Even without a collective agreement, companies competing for talent typically match at least the standard industry rate.

Source: https://skat.dk/borger/pension-og-efterloen/pensionsordninger

## Related expenses

- [Lønomkostninger (Staff Costs)](https://accounts-os.com/dk/expenses/staff-costs-dk)