Can I Claim Lønomkostninger (Staff Costs) as a Business Expense in Denmark?
Fully deductible. Danish employer costs include gross salary, employer ATP contributions (DKK 3,510 per full-time employee per year), and AER (sick pay insurance). Optional pension contributions are also fully deductible. All must be reported monthly via eIndkomst.
What Skattestyrelsen (Danish Tax Agency) says
All ordinary salary and employer social contributions are deductible as erhvervsmæssige udgifter (business expenses) under the Danish Tax Assessment Act (Ligningsloven). The employer must withhold A-skat and AM-bidrag and remit via eIndkomst.
When you can claim
- Gross salary (løn) for all employees including directors who are employees
- ATP (Arbejdsmarkedets Tillægspension) employer contributions: DKK 3,510 per full-time employee per year (2025)
- AER (Arbejdsgivernes Uddannelsesbidrag) employer contributions — sick pay insurance
- Feriegodtgørelse (holiday pay) accruals: 12.5% of gross salary for vacation entitlement
- Employer pension contributions — fully deductible, no employer cap
- Employer-paid social events with a genuine team-building purpose
When you cannot claim
- Salary paid to a director via dividend disguised as employment income — must be properly structured
- Payments to staff for purely personal services unrelated to the business
- Under-documented payments without proper payroll records
Good to know
Pro tip: Register as an employer (arbejdsgiver) with SKAT as soon as you take on any employee, including a director drawing salary. The registration activates your eIndkomst reporting obligation. Failure to register before the first payment triggers penalties. Most payroll software handles the monthly A-skat/AM-bidrag/ATP submissions automatically.
Important: Holiday pay (feriegodtgørelse) is 12.5% of gross salary and must be accrued monthly and paid out or transferred to FerieKonto. The obligation survives even if the employee is dismissed — missing holiday pay creates personal director liability.
Stop guessing what you can claim in Denmark
AccountsOS automatically categorises expenses with Skattestyrelsen (Danish Tax Agency)-aware rules and tells you exactly what is claimable.
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