Airbnb tax in Denmark in 2026: standard deduction, worked example and reporting

Yes, you have to pay tax on Airbnb, but only on part of the rental income. In 2026, the first DKK 35,100 is tax-free when the platform reports your rental income to the Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen), and only 60 per cent of the rest is taxed. If you rent out without a platform that reports, the standard deduction (bundfradrag) is DKK 13,800.

How big is the standard deduction for Airbnb in 2026?

If you rent out your home for periods of less than four months to the same tenant, it counts as short-term rental. The standard deduction then depends on how you rent out (Danish Tax Agency, in Danish):

How you rent out	Standard deduction 2026	Standard deduction 2025
Through a platform that reports to the Danish Tax Agency or a foreign tax authority	DKK 35,100	DKK 33,500
Without a platform, or through a platform that does not report	DKK 13,800	DKK 13,100

The rules are in section 15 Q of the Tax Assessment Act (ligningsloven) and apply whether you own the home, have a co-operative home (andelsbolig) or rent. The four-month limit applies to each individual rental. So if you rent out five times during the year for a total of four months, that is five short-term rentals.

For 2023, 2024 and 2025, it was enough that the platform had a duty to report. From 2026, the condition is that the Danish Tax Agency has actually received the information about your rental income, either from the platform or from a foreign tax authority (the Legal Guide (Den juridiske vejledning), section C.H.3.4.1.1.2, in Danish). So check in TastSelv, the Danish Tax Agency’s online self-service, that the income has been reported.

There is one standard deduction per home. If you own the home together, you split it by ownership share, and if you share a rented home, it is divided by your share of the rent.

How to calculate tax on Airbnb with 2026 figures

You rent out your apartment in Copenhagen on Airbnb and have a total rental income of DKK 80,000 in 2026. The Danish Tax Agency’s method is simple: subtract the standard deduction, then subtract 40 per cent of the rest. The table shows the same income with and without a platform that reports.

Calculation for 2026	Through a platform that reports	Without a platform
Total rental income	DKK 80,000	DKK 80,000
Standard deduction	DKK 35,100	DKK 13,800
Amount above the standard deduction	DKK 44,900	DKK 66,200
40 per cent reduction	DKK 17,960	DKK 26,480
Taxable income (box 37)	DKK 26,940	DKK 39,720
Tax-free part of the rental income	DKK 53,060	DKK 40,280

With the platform, DKK 12,780 less is taxable. If you own the home half each and share the income, you each get DKK 17,550 in standard deduction and DKK 13,470 in taxable income. In total, that is the same as for one owner.

The taxable part is added to your capital income, so how much tax you end up paying depends on the rest of your finances. Enter the expected taxable part in field 218 of your preliminary income assessment (forskudsopgørelse), so it is included in the tax you pay during the year. The Danish Tax Agency also has a calculator for the standard deduction on skat.dk.

What counts as rental income when you rent out on Airbnb?

The starting point is the gross rental income. It includes both the rent and everything else the tenant pays, for example for heating, electricity and water (the Legal Guide). So you cannot leave the payment for utilities out of the calculation.

• Cleaning fee: It is part of what the guest pays for the stay, and so it belongs in the rental income.
• The guest’s service fee to the platform: It is not your income. If the tenant pays a fee to whoever arranges the lease, it is not included in your gross rental income. This is stated in the explanatory notes to the act that introduced the standard deduction in 2018 (bill L 102, in Danish).
• The platform’s fee to you as a host: Neither the law nor the Danish Tax Agency’s guidance says directly whether the fee the platform deducts from your payout should come out of the calculation. Compare the amount the platform has reported with your own payouts, and ask the Danish Tax Agency if the figures do not match.
• Breakfast, bed linen and the like: If you charge separately for these, the guidance says the payment must be included under the ordinary rules of the State Tax Act (statsskatteloven). It is not covered by the standard deduction.

If you use the standard deduction, you cannot deduct expenses, not even for cleaning, electricity and heating. The standard deduction and the 40 per cent must cover all the costs of renting out.

Standard deduction or accounts-based deduction?

Instead of the standard deduction, you can choose an accounts-based deduction. You then include all the rental income and deduct the documented expenses connected with the rental. The deduction can never be larger than the rental income (Danish Tax Agency).

Expense	Deduction in the accounts
Electricity, water and heating for the rented part	Yes, the part that relates to the rental
Cleaning of the rented part and advertising	Yes
Maintenance and depreciation of furnishings, but not large household appliances	Yes
Rent or housing charge (boligafgift) for the rented part, if you are a tenant or co-operative member	Yes, the proportional part
Land tax (grundskyld), if you are the owner	Yes, proportionally, if you rent out at least 10 per cent of the home
Maintenance of the property itself, insurance, waste collection and chimney sweeping	No

If you own the home and use the standard deduction, you pay property value tax (ejendomsværdiskat) for the whole year. With the accounts, the property value tax is reduced for the time the home is rented out.

Work through both options before you choose. In the worked example above, your documented expenses would have to be more than DKK 53,060 before the accounts gave a lower taxable income than the standard deduction. For an owner, the reduction in property value tax comes on top. If you choose the accounts, you cannot go back to the standard deduction later, so keep all receipts.

If you rent out for longer periods, other standard deductions apply. We go through them in the article on tax deductions when renting out.

Do the same tax rules apply to owned, co-operative and rented homes?

Yes. For short-term rental, the standard deduction is the same whether you own, rent or have a co-operative home. Co-operative members are treated in the same way as tenants, and for rentals of less than four months, the taxable amount is capital income for all three.

The difference shows up in the accounts. As a tenant or co-operative member, you can deduct the proportional part of the rent or housing charge. As an owner, you can deduct part of the land tax and get a reduction in property value tax.

It has to be your own home. If you do not have the apartment at your own disposal and therefore do not pay property value tax on it, the rules in section 15 Q of the Tax Assessment Act do not apply. The result must then be calculated under the rules of the State Tax Act (the Legal Guide). If you rent out all year, it may be assessed as renting out on a commercial basis, and then other rules apply.

How the platforms report, and what you have to do yourself

Since 1 January 2023, the EU’s DAC7 directive has required digital platforms to report information about their users to the Danish Tax Agency or a foreign tax authority. That is why the platform may ask for your CPR number (Danish personal identification number) and your address, and if it does not get them, it can stop your payouts (Danish Tax Agency).

1. Log on to TastSelv and find the platform’s report under your tax information.
2. Compare the amount with your own payouts and bookings.
3. Work out the taxable part with the standard deduction and the 40 per cent reduction, or with your accounts.
4. Enter the taxable amount in box 37 of your annual tax return.
5. Keep documentation for income and expenses, especially if you use the accounts-based deduction.

The information is not only used for tax. According to the bill on stronger supervision that went to public consultation in September 2026, the Danish Agency for Planning and Rural Affairs (Plan- og Landdistriktsstyrelsen) cross-checks the rental income from annual tax returns with the civil and building registers (CPR and BBR) when it checks the day limit for short-term rental (Høringsportalen, in Danish).

Three mistakes that make tax on Airbnb more expensive

1. Bookings outside the platform. The standard deduction is used first on the income from the platform. If that is DKK 13,800 or more, the income from outside the platform gets no standard deduction, only the 40 per cent reduction. At the same time, the day limit for the whole home falls from 70 to 30 days, because the 70 days require all rentals to go through platforms that report (Danish Agency for Planning and Rural Affairs, in Danish). Read more about the Airbnb rules in Copenhagen.
2. Assuming the platform takes care of it. The platform reports your rental income, but it does not work out your tax. You have to enter the taxable amount in box 37 yourself.
3. Accounts without receipts. You can only deduct documented expenses, and once you have chosen the accounts, you cannot go back to the standard deduction.

Do you have to pay VAT on Airbnb?

If you rent out your whole home, the rental is exempt from VAT, however short the stay. If you rent out rooms in your own home for periods of less than a month, VAT applies, because it resembles running a hotel. This also applies to an apartment with its own kitchen and bathroom that is an integrated part of your home. You only have to register for VAT, however, once your turnover in Denmark exceeds DKK 50,000 within a calendar year (Danish Tax Agency, in Danish).

If BY Administration manages your home, you get a monthly statement of income, costs and net result, so the figures for your annual tax return are in one place. Read about Airbnb management, or see what your home could earn.

Sources

• You rent out a room or a home you live in yourself (Danish Tax Agency, in Danish)
• The Legal Guide, C.H.3.4.1.1.2 Calculating taxable income under section 15 Q of the Tax Assessment Act (Danish Tax Agency, in Danish)
• VAT on renting out rooms and homes (Danish Tax Agency, in Danish)
• Bill amending the Tax Assessment Act and others (L 102, 2018-19), better conditions for growth and correct tax payment in the sharing and platform economy (Retsinformation, in Danish)
• Your own full-time home for holiday guests (Danish Agency for Planning and Rural Affairs, in Danish)
• Bill on stronger supervision and enforcement of the Summer Houses Act, in consultation from 16 September 2026 (Høringsportalen, in Danish)