Summary of recent adopted/still pending bills in Danish tax law

This article provides a summary of some of the most relevant Q4 2024 - YTD proposals that have been enacted, as well as those that remain pending.

One of the most significant legislative proposals was the abolition of dividend tax for companies receiving dividends from companies in which they hold less than 10% of unlisted shares. We recently published an article on these changes, which also includes a walkthrough of the new rules allowing corporate investors to opt for taxation of capital gains on listed portfolio shares (ownership below 10%) upon realisation rather than under the applicable mark-to-market principle.

Please find the article here: Tax-exempt dividends for ownership below 10% of unlisted shares and option for realisation-based taxation of listed shares.

The rules have been adopted and are effective from 1 January 2025.

It was also proposed to increase the tax deduction for research and development (“R&D”) costs. The deduction rate was 108%, but after the law changes, it increased to 110% from 2026 with no upper limit and to 114% for expenses up to DKK 1 billion.

For amounts below the DKK 1 billion threshold, the deduction rate will further increase from 114% in 2026 to 116% in 2027, before permanently settling at 120% from 2028.

Additionally, the proposal included an increase in the tax credit scheme for R&D expenses, raising the maximum eligible costs from DKK 25m to DKK 35m starting in 2027. This change allows companies to receive a loan of up to DKK 7.7m.

The rules have been adopted and are effective from 1 January 2025.

Furthermore, it was proposed to increase the tax losses carried forward that can be offset against positive income from approximately DKK 9.5m to approximately DKK 20.8m. If the threshold is exceeded, carried-forward losses can only be deducted by 60% of the portion of the year's taxable income. Any additional losses can be carried forward indefinitely.

The rules have been adopted and are effective from 1 January 2025.

The taxation of crypto assets has been a topic of discussion in Denmark for some time. In late 2024, the Danish Tax Law Council recommended that financial crypto-assets should be subject to mark-to-market taxation, a proposal that was met with skepticism within the tax industry. The anticipated legislative proposal, originally expected in early 2025, has been postponed to later this year.

However, a separate legislative proposal has been introduced concerning reporting obligations for crypto providers and the automatic exchange of information on income from crypto asset transactions to align with changes to Directive 2011/16/EU.

The legislative proposal on the taxation of crypto assets has been postponed to later this year, while the proposal regarding reporting obligations for crypto providers and the automatic exchange of information was introduced on 26 February 2025 but has not been adopted yet.

With a slight delay, the Danish Ministry of Taxation has introduced the long-awaited legislative proposal on family business transfers. The proposal generally improves conditions for transferring a business to a family member, including a reduction in the estate and gift tax rate from 15% to 10% for transfers of commercial businesses within the family and the introduction of tax deferral (succession) for certain real estate businesses. We recently published an article on this topic.

Please find the article here: Improved conditions for transfers of business within family.

Additionally, the definition of close relatives will be expanded to include siblings, who will now be subject to a 15% gift tax instead of income tax on received gifts.

The legislative proposal was introduced on 22 January 2025 but has not been adopted yet but is expected to be adopted within days. After the adoption a new newsletter will be sent out in Danish.

Please see the Danish newsletter on these topics relating to the introduced legislative proposal yet not adopted.

If you have any questions on the impact from the amendments, please do not hesitate to contact our Danish tax team.