Can I Claim Rejseudgifter (Business Travel) as a Business Expense in Denmark?
Fully deductible for genuine business travel. SKAT publishes standard rates: DKK 577/day accommodation, DKK 610/day subsistence (2025). Flights and train at actual cost. Commuting between home and regular workplace is not deductible.
What Skattestyrelsen (Danish Tax Agency) says
Ligningsloven §9A-9C: business travel costs are deductible at actual cost or standard SKAT rates (satserne). The travel must be away from home and the regular workplace for business purposes. Commuting (befordring) is a personal expense (though a separate commuting allowance exists for employees — befordringsfradrag).
When you can claim
- Flights, trains, and ferries for client meetings, conferences, and business trips
- Hotel costs for overnight business travel — deductible at actual cost or standard DKK 577/day
- Meal costs for business travel — deductible at actual cost or standard DKK 610/day subsistence rate
- Taxi and local transport at travel destination for business purposes
- Business-class travel (deductible, though SKAT may question proportionality on excessive costs)
When you cannot claim
- Daily commute between home and the regular office — not deductible as a business expense (separate personal tax deduction befordringsfradrag may apply)
- Personal side trips during a business trip
- Travel for family members accompanying the business traveller
- First-class rail travel without business justification
Good to know
Pro tip: For international business trips, use actual receipts rather than standard rates when costs exceed the SKAT standard rates — particularly for expensive destinations like London, New York, or Singapore where actual hotel costs easily exceed DKK 577. Keep all original receipts and boarding passes.
Important: Standard rates (satserne) are tax-free reimbursement rates, meaning the company can pay these rates to employees and directors without triggering personal tax. They can also be used as the deductible amount for sole traders. The rates are updated annually by SKAT and published at skat.dk.
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