Use of vans
This information applies to ordinary vans on yellow plates. It does not apply to personnel carriers or specially designed vans with, for example, goods compartment fitted with fixed shelves, tools or other material.
As a general rule, you can only use a van for business purposes and not for private purposes. Private use is defined as driving not performed in the interest of the business.
See examples of private and business use below.
For more information about this type of vehicles please visit Yellow plates.
Examples of business use are when you or your employees:
- drive to a place to eat or pick up food during working hours.
- drive home in the vehicle up to 25 times a year when the vehicle is to be used for a business purpose the following day (e.g. driving to a meeting or course location) or the employees drive from home to work the day after the vehicle has been used for business purposes. Even if both trips are to and from one single event, they count as two separate trips.
- pick up or drop off colleagues in connection with driving between home and work. It is a condition that the employer has ordered this.
Examples of private use are when you or your employees:
- drive to leisure activities.
- transport or lend the van to family members or other persons who are not employed with the business.
- shop for private items (e.g. driving to the border for shopping).
- drive children to and from institutions like day care.
- carry private items (e.g. furniture, camper or garden waste).
if you want to use your van for private purposes, you have two options:
- If you only need to use your van for private purposes up to 20 days a year, you can use one-day permits.
- If you need to use your van for private purposes more than 20 days a year, you must re-register the van for combined private/commercial use.
If you or your employee are going to use your van for private purposes, you must order a one-day permit.
With a one-day permit, you can legally drive privately in a vehicle with yellow plates registered for commercial goods transport and with a total weight of up to 4 tonnes.
- The one-day permits must be purchased for the number of days for which the vehicle is available for private use. If, for example, you drive on a skiing holiday in a vehicle with yellow plates on a Friday and do not return home until the following Friday, you must buy eight (8) one-day permits.
- You can buy 20 one-day permits for the same vehicle in a calendar year.
- The one-day permit must be purchased at least five minutes before use and at the earliest 45 days before use.
- One-day permits are non-refundable and cannot be switched to other days.
You can buy your one-day permit in the Danish Register of Motor Vehicles (Motorregistret - only in Danish) or in our app ’Dagsbevis’. Download the app from App Store or Google Play. You need MitID to buy one-day permits.
If you pay an employee’s one-day permit, the employee must pay tax on the amount. This is A-income, and A-tax and labour market contribution must be withheld due to special taxation of company car.
If you use your van with yellow plates for private purposes, it must be registered for full or partial private use. You must pay duty for private use of company vehicle and have parrot plates.
- A set of parrot number plates costs DKK 1,180.
- You can purchase the number plates in one of our Vehicle Registration Offices or at a number plate operator.
Duty for private use of company vehicle is collected together with vehicle taxes, and the duty depends on how you use the vehicle.
- If you use the vehicle for both private and business trips, you pay half the duty for private use of company vehicle.
- If you only use the car for private trips, you pay the full duty.
When your employees use a vehicle with parrot plates for private purposes, they must pay tax on the value of the entire company car.
When, an employer, use a car with parrot plates for private use, you cannot deduct all the expenses in the financial statements of your business. You will also be liable to repay the VAT you deducted when purchasing the vehicle if the vehicle was originally registered for business goods transport.
It may have consequences for both the company and the employee if the rules for private use of a vehicle on yellow plates are not met.
The consequences may be that:
- the company must repay the VAT for which a deduction was claimed when the car was purchased.
- the company must pay duty for private use of company vehicle. The duty is collected retroactively from the time of the compliance check.
- the employee may be charged tax on company car for the years in which the business has had the vehicle.
- the company may be fined for failing to comply with the legislation on taxes and duties.