Danish commuting deduction 2026: eligibility, rates and missing claims

You can normally claim the Danish commuting deduction when your total daily travel between home and paid work exceeds 24 km. Only days with actual travel count. The deduction reduces the income on which tax is calculated; it is not a reimbursement of your transport costs. For the 2026 income year, SKAT lists DKK 3.17 per kilometre from 25 to 120 km and DKK 1.59 above 120 km. Information and rates checked on 12 November 2026.

Who can claim the commuting deduction?

The rules start with travel between your usual home and workplace. The first 24 km do not qualify. The calculation is independent of transport mode, so trains, buses and bicycles can qualify just as cars can. Ticket prices and fuel bills do not determine the standard deduction. Legal guidance: standard deduction

Start with your circumstances: which address do you travel from, where do you work and on which days do you actually travel? Keep a separate record when your job or workplace changes. This avoids applying one annual distance to a period when you worked somewhere else.

Ordinary travel to study does not automatically qualify like travel to paid work. From 2026, special rules exist for SU recipients living in the specified outlying municipalities or small islands. If that describes you, use the special rule rather than treating every study journey as ordinary commuting. Standard deduction and students

These rates concern the 2026 income year

SKAT's calculator shows the increased rates for 2026. Apply the year's distance bands to the total daily return journey. The first band has no deduction; the following bands are calculated separately. SKAT: commuting calculator

The table shows ordinary rates. SKAT lists a special 2026 rate of DKK 3.51 per eligible kilometre for the specified outlying municipalities and small islands. Other special rules include bridge deductions. SKAT: rates and special situations

Do not transfer this table to a 2027 calculation. Select the correct income year in the official calculation when dealing with another year.

A worked example: 60 km per day

Assume a person has a total daily return journey of 60 km and 20 actual commuting days in one month. The example uses ordinary 2026 rates, without bridge deductions or other special rules.

First subtract 24 km: 60 − 24 = 36 km. The daily deduction is then 36 × DKK 3.17 = DKK 114.12. Over 20 days, DKK 114.12 × 20 produces a deduction of DKK 2,282.40.

SKAT describes its tax value as approximately 26 percent. In this simplified example, that means about DKK 593 less tax, not a payment of DKK 2,282.40. This is our own calculation using SKAT's calculator and explanation of the deduction's tax value.

Keep the distance and number of days alongside the result. You can then correct a single month without reconstructing the entire year.

Which distance should you use?

The normal route by car forms the calculation basis, including when you use public transport. The legal guidance explains how the route is established and why you cannot freely select a longer route simply to increase the deduction. Legal guidance: transport route

Use the correct home and workplace addresses. A station near work is not necessarily the workplace address, and a private detour should not be added as commuting. If your actual route differs from the automatic calculation, examine the basis and keep an explanation of the distance. An unusually long route may require additional evidence.

Count actual travel days

The legal guidance ties the deduction to days when the journey took place. Holidays, days off and sickness do not generate an ordinary commuting deduction for a journey that was not made. Basis of the standard deduction

SKAT also states that working from home does not qualify and that field 417 should be adjusted when the number of home-working days changes. SKAT: changes in work and income

Work through your calendar month by month. Mark the days you attended in person and connect them to the correct workplace. This is more precise than taking every weekday in a month and estimating an adjustment for leave. Calendar notes can also explain a job change or a period of mixed attendance.

Why is my commuting deduction missing?

A missing deduction can mean the conditions were not met or that information is absent from the relevant assessment. SKAT's annual-assessment guidance identifies missing registration of actual travel days as one possible issue. SKAT: correcting the annual commuting deduction

SKAT's ordinary public guidance excludes commuting deductions for employer-paid transport and a company car available for private use. Where an employer pays for only part of the route, the arrangement needs separate assessment; the legal guidance describes a possible division. SKAT's general rules · Partly employer-paid travel

The word deduction can also refer to other tax allowances. The employment deduction, for example, is calculated automatically from salary, while you must supply the travel details for the commuting deduction. SKAT: employment and commuting deductions

Field 417 and box 51 serve different purposes

Field 417 in the preliminary income assessment is for the expected commuting deduction. Amend it when your workplace or expected travel days change. Box 51 in the annual tax assessment concerns the actual circumstances of the year that has ended. SKAT's step-by-step guide shows the calculator beside that box. Preliminary-assessment changes · Annual-assessment guide

Have your calendar, addresses and employment periods ready before entering the information. Examine the calculated result and complete the approval step in TastSelv. A number written in your private records is not a submitted claim.

SKAT states that the deduction is not automatically transferred from the preliminary assessment to the annual assessment. Its current guidance says the 2026 annual assessment can be amended from March 2027. SKAT: information for 2026

Special rules and help with your calculation

The legal guidance has a separate section on an increased commuting deduction for lower incomes. This is an additional part of the calculation, distinct from eligibility for the ordinary distance-based deduction. Increased deduction for lower incomes

An employer's mileage allowance for business travel is also a different arrangement from the ordinary home-to-work deduction. Do not substitute mileage-allowance rates for those in the table above. SKAT: mileage allowance

For local assistance, DenmarkGuide has directories of accountants in Copenhagen, accountants in Aarhus and accountants in Odense. These provide contact starting points, not a decision on eligibility. Bring your own calculation so the discussion can concern your actual days and distances.

Official sources

Checked on 12 November 2026. The worked example is calculated from the stated 2026 rates.

SKAT: commuting deduction and reporting

SKAT: calculator

Legal guidance: standard deduction

Legal guidance: transport route

Legal guidance: increased deduction for lower incomes

SKAT: changed income and travel

SKAT: guide to box 51

SKAT: mileage allowance