Danish income tax is not shy, and the top brackets are steep. For people recruited abroad, Denmark has a special regime: the forskerskatteordning, a special regime that taxes a salary at a flat rate for a limited time. It is aimed at researchers and at highly paid employees, and it can transform a net salary if you qualify.
This guide to the researcher tax scheme in Denmark (the forskerskatteordningen, known abroad as the flat 27% tax for expats) follows the Skattestyrelsen pages as read in October 2026. It is not personal advice, and since the risks are high it is worth a professional check before you sign.
What is the researcher tax scheme in Denmark?
Under the scheme, your salary is taxed at 27 per cent plus the 8 per cent labour market contribution (AM-bidrag). Skattestyrelsen quotes the total as a flat 32.84 per cent, which is 8 per cent plus 27 per cent of the remaining 92 per cent. The employer reports the salary in the e-Income system with income type code 08, including the contribution, the ATP pension contribution and the 27 per cent withholding tax.
The comparison to remember: under the ordinary system, the labour market contribution is followed by municipal tax of about 25 per cent on average and state tax, with extra brackets of 7.5 per cent and 5 per cent above high thresholds; see income tax in Denmark. For a high salary, a flat rate lower than the marginal rate is where the benefit comes from.
Who qualifies as a researcher or a highly paid employee?
There are two profiles.
Researcher. You must do research work and hold a research-based education of at least PhD level, and you must be approved under the applicable rules. There is no salary minimum for researchers in the page we read.
Highly paid employee. You must have a guaranteed minimum monthly salary of DKK 65,400 in 2026 (DKK 67,300 in 2027). The amount is calculated before the labour market contribution and before mandatory foreign social contributions, with ATP on top, according to Skattestyrelsen. The condition is checked year by year, from the start of the job, as a monthly average over the calendar year. An employment that starts at a lower salary and rises later does not necessarily work, and a month of unpaid leave can pull the average below the floor.
Nationality is irrelevant: the scheme depends on your tax past in Denmark and on your job. British and other non-EU citizens must first have a residence and work permit; see moving to Denmark from the UK.
What is the ten-year rule?
This is where most refusals come from. Skattestyrelsen says you cannot have been tax liable in Denmark within the ten years before you start using the scheme. Work performed in Denmark during that period without the scheme also disqualifies you. Having a home available in Denmark and living in it disqualifies you as well.
What does not disqualify you: Danish income from real estate, dividends or royalties. If you owned a flat in Copenhagen and let it, for example, that rental income alone does not exclude you. Whether a past stay counts is a question of fact, so write down every period you spent in Denmark before you accept a job that depends on the scheme.
How long does it last, and can you leave early?
Up to seven years, which can be split into several periods if the conditions are met for each one. It can be used once in a lifetime. After seven years you move to the ordinary system, which means a much higher marginal rate, so plan your finances before the date.
You can leave voluntarily only for a whole year, and coming back means meeting all the conditions again. A change of employer is allowed, provided there is no more than one month between two jobs and all the other conditions are still met. If they stop being met, Skattestyrelsen applies ordinary tax for the period concerned.
How do you apply?
You do not apply on your own. Your Danish employer registers the job on form 01.012, under section 48 E of the withholding tax act. Registration is not automatic approval, so the conditions still have to be met. The employer then withholds the 8 per cent contribution and the 27 per cent tax directly from your salary, without a tax card and without deductions. There is no minimum number of days to spend in Denmark, but the right to tax must not pass to another country for more than 30 days in the year.
Before you negotiate a contract, Moovy can help you build the checklist: your salary against the DKK 65,400 floor, the list of every period you spent in Denmark, and the questions to ask your employer's payroll department. It writes the questions in Danish with an English translation, and you send them yourself. It does not replace a tax adviser's opinion on your own case.
How much can the 27% tax in Denmark save an expat?
The honest answer is: it depends on your salary and your municipality, and nobody should quote you a figure without your numbers. What you can compare yourself is the structure. Under the scheme, every krone of salary above the floor bears the same 32.84 per cent in total. Under the ordinary system, the labour market contribution is the same 8 per cent, but the income tax grows with your income: municipal tax of about 25 per cent on average, state tax of 12.01 per cent above the allowance of DKK 54,100, then 7.5 per cent, a further 7.5 per cent and, for very high incomes, 5 per cent in the higher brackets. The higher your salary, the wider the gap. The scheme is therefore most valuable to people far above the DKK 65,400 floor, and less decisive for someone just at it.
Ask your employer's payroll department for a simulation on your own contract, and check it against the November preliminary assessment once you are registered. A written simulation is a good document to keep in your file.
What should you ask before you sign?
A short list of questions makes the difference between a safe and a risky start:
- Is the job registered under section 48 E, and when will the form 01.012 be filed?
- Is my guaranteed monthly salary at least the 2026 floor from the first month, with the supplements that Skattestyrelsen allows to count?
- Who checks the ten-year rule, and on what evidence? Keep your own record of every earlier stay in Denmark.
- What happens if I change employer, and who tells the tax authority?
- What is my plan for year eight, when the ordinary scale applies?
If the answers are vague, ask for them in writing.
What are the traps of the researcher tax scheme in Denmark?
- A past job in Denmark. One employment outside the scheme in the last ten years can close the door.
- A gap of more than one month between two jobs. The conditions are no longer met, and ordinary tax applies for the period concerned.
- No deductions. The salary is taxed gross: no commuting costs and no loan interest are deducted from it. The one exception Skattestyrelsen lists is documented mandatory foreign social contributions, entered in box 459 of the annual assessment.
- Not telling the authorities when you stop qualifying. You and your employer must inform Skattestyrelsen, otherwise the calculations are wrong and you risk losing the months that remain.
- Working abroad too much. More than 30 days a year where another country gains the right to tax is a problem.
- Forgetting the end date. After seven years the ordinary scale applies. Think ahead about housing and mortgage affordability.
Does the scheme change your other taxes?
The researcher tax scheme in Denmark applies to your salary. Other income, such as dividends, rent or interest, follows the ordinary rules, and you remain fully liable to Danish tax on your worldwide income once you live here. The treaty between Denmark and your home country decides how tax is shared. Before you accept an offer that depends on the scheme, have your case confirmed by a Danish tax adviser or accountant. Property owners should also read buying property in Denmark because the two annual property taxes sit outside the scheme.
The pages we read describe a salaried job with a Danish employer. If you want to work for yourself instead, ask Skattestyrelsen before assuming the scheme applies, and look at starting a business in Denmark. And for the whole arrival sequence, the moving to Denmark guide is the place to start.