Periodic taxes

As from 1 July 2021, there are three types of periodic tax, depending on when your vehicle was first registered: vehicle weight tax, green vehicle tax and CO2 vehicle tax.

Vehicle weight tax

Vehicle weight tax must be paid for private cars first registered in Denmark before 1 July 1997 and for vans first registered in Denmark before 18 March 2009.

Vehicle weight tax is calculated on the basis of the vehicle’s weight. The heavier the vehicle, the higher the vehicle weight tax.

Green vehicle tax

Green vehicle tax must be paid for private cars (excluding buses) first registered in Denmark between 1 July 1997 and 30 June 2021, and for vans first registered in Denmark during the period between 18 March 2009 and 30 June 2021.

Green vehicle tax is calculated on the basis of how far the vehicle can run per litre of fuel. The further it can run, the lower the green vehicle tax.

The green vehicle tax rate depends on whether your vehicle was registered with Danish number plates for the first time before 2 October 2017 or from 3 October 2017 and onwards.

CO2 vehicle tax

CO2 vehicle tax must be paid for private cars and vans (excluding buses) first registered on or after 1 July 2021, irrespective of whether the first registration took place in Denmark or abroad.

The CO2 tax is calculated on the basis of the number of grammes of CO2 emitted by the vehicle per kilometre. The less CO2 emitted per kilometre, the lower the tax.

If you believe that km/l has been registered incorrectly

If the fuel consumption registered for your vehicle is incorrect, this may be changed by the Danish Motor Vehicle Agency (Motorstyrelsen) if you send us documentation of the correct fuel consumption. You must either submit a declaration from the Danish Car Importers Association (De danske bilimportører), or a CoC document for the vehicle.

Ask the Motor Vehicle Agency to correct incorrectly registered km/l:

1. Log on to E-tax using NemID/MitID
2. Select 'Kontakt' (Contact) and 'Skriv til os' (Write to us).
3. Select ‘Bil og motor’ (Vehicles), then Afgifter (Taxes) and then Ejer- og vægtafgift (Owner and vehicle weight tax).
4. Specify the vehicle.
5. Attach the declaration from the Danish car importer or the CoC document.
6. Click on Send.

You can also contact a vehicle inspection business for correction of the km/l registered. Based on your documentation, the vehicle inspector will assess whether they can correct the km/l registered. If they agree, they will correct the Register of Motor Vehicles directly, after which your periodic tax will be changed automatically.

Find the nearest vehicle inspection business (in Danish)

Calculation of green vehicle tax on electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles

You must pay green vehicle tax on your electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle if it was registered before 1 July 2021. See below how we calculate the green vehicle tax.

If your electric or plug-in hybrid vehicle was registered on or after 1 July, you must pay CO2 vehicle tax.

How we calculate green vehicle tax on electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles:

• The vehicle’s electricity consumption (Wh) per km is converted into number of km per litre of petrol.
• Details of electricity consumption are provided by the vehicle’s manufacturer and entered when the vehicle is registered in the Register of Motor Vehicles.
• The conversion from energy consumption measured in Wh per km to petrol consumption measured in litres per 100 km is made by dividing the reported energy consumption measured in Wh per km by a fixed factor of 91.25.
• If a vehicle’s energy consumption is not stated in Wh/km, we determine the energy consumption measured in litres of petrol per 100 km.
• For most electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles, the lowest rate will be payable, i.e. half-yearly tax of DKK 330 (in 2021).

Example of conversion of electricity consumption into km/l for electric vehicles

The electricity consumption of your electric vehicle is 158 Wh/km. This can be converted to fuel consumption of 57.8 km/l, on which the green vehicle tax will be charged in this example.

Example of conversion of electricity consumption into km/l for plug-in hybrid vehicles running on electricity and petrol

You have a plug-in hybrid vehicle with a fuel consumption of 0.6 l/100 km and an electricity consumption of 115 Wh/km. On conversion, this is equivalent to fuel consumption of 53.8 km/l, on which the green vehicle tax will be charged in this example.

See the current rates on www.skm.dk (in Danish)

Depending on your vehicle type, there may be other taxes you have to pay.

Supplementary tax on private use

You must pay tax for private use if you have a van that:

• weighs up to four tonnes
• was first registered after 2 June 1998
• is registered for ‘private goods transport’ or ‘goods transport private/business’.

Particulate emissions surcharge for diesel vehicles

If you own a diesel-powered private car or a diesel-powered van with a maximum permitted weight of up to 3,500 kg, and the car is not fitted with an approved particulate filter, you must pay an annual particulate emissions surcharge.

You can find the particulate emissions surcharge rates under Alt om bilbeskatning (All about vehicle taxation) on the Danish Ministry of Taxation’s website, either in the Danish Vehicle Weight Tax Act (Vægtafgiftsloven) (if you pay vehicle weight tax), or in the Danish Fuel Consumption Tax Act (Brændstofforbrugsafgiftsloven) (if you pay green vehicle tax).

If you own a van first registered before 18 March 2009 with a maximum permitted weight of up to 3,500 kg, and which is not fitted with an approved particulate filter, as from 2017 you will have to pay the particulate emissions surcharge.

If your car is fitted with an approved particulate filter

If your car has an approved factory- or retro-fitted particulate filter, but you are still charged the particulate emissions surcharge, you'll have to get the filter registered at a vehicle inspection business.

Road use tax (toll) for lorries over 12 tonnes

Read about the road use tax and see the rates via links below.

• Road use tax (our Danish-language legal guide)
• Road use tax rates (Ministry of Taxation website - in Danish)

Compensation tax

If you have a vehicle that runs on diesel or gas, you will have to pay compensation tax.

The compensation tax corrects the difference in the tax on petrol and diesel. When the tax on petrol is increased, the compensation tax is also raised. When the tax on diesel is increased, the compensation tax is lowered.

You can find the current rates under Alt om bilbeskatning (All about vehicle taxation) on the Ministry of Taxation’s website.

Owner or user pays the tax

The person who is registered as the owner of the vehicle will receive the tax charge. If a user has been registered, however, this user will receive the charge. Both are liable to pay the tax.

Payment frequency is 12, 6 or 3 months depending on the type of vehicle. You cannot change the payment frequency.

Paying the tax

Once you have received the giro transfer forms, you can choose to:

• sign up for Nets direct debit service
• pay via online banking: Please use the payment ID stated on the giro transfer form
• have the charge sent electronically (if you are a business with an EAN number (European/International Article Number). You can make this request in the Register of Motor Vehicles (Motorregistret).

Payment from a non-Danish bank account

Please contact us, if you want to pay vehicle taxes from a non-Danish bank account.

This is the contact form you should use.

Pay attention to the payment deadline and the fact that late payment will result in interest and fees.

Late payment

If you miss the payment deadline, we will add interest on a daily basis from the deadline stated on your bill. We will also send you a reminder and charge you a reminder fee of DKK 65.

No payment

If we don’t get your payment by the date stated in the reminder, we may request that the police confiscate your numberplates. We will let you know before we ask the police to do so.
We may also forward your debt to for collection with the Danish Debt Collection Agency (Gældsstyrelsen) without further notice. The Debt Collection Agency may add further charges to your debt.

Tax rates

The tax rates are adjusted annually and you can see the current rates (in Danish) at skm.dk

Change of ownership or deregistration of vehicle

You do not have to pay the tax once you have deregistered your vehicle or when ownership of the vehicle has changed.

Further information on re-registration and change of ownership