The advance statement is a calculation of a person’s expected income and tax for the coming year, prepared by the tax authorities. The statement forms the basis for advance tax payments, which are paid on an ongoing basis throughout the year. Any changes in income, deductions or other tax circumstances can be reported to the tax authorities to update the advance statement and ensure correct tax payment.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Advance Statement
What is an advance statement?
The advance statement sets the basis for your tax card and your ongoing tax withholding.
A correct and continuously updated advance statement reduces the risk of both underpaid tax and overpaid tax – and helps avoid both too low and too high tax withholding during the year.
In practice, the advance statement is the Danish Tax Agency’s budget for your tax in the coming year. It is based on your expected income and deductions and determines how much tax is withheld on an ongoing basis.
Why is it important to update the advance statement?
A correct advance statement gives you stable net salaries and minimises the risk of underpaid tax. If the figures are wrong, you may experience an unexpected additional tax bill or too much tax withheld, which you only get back the following year.
By updating the statement when your situation changes, you ensure that your tax card reflects your actual income and deductions – and that your tax withholding is as accurate as possible.
When and where do I find my advance statement?
The new advance statement for the coming year usually opens in November of the preceding year, and you can find it in TastSelv at skat.dk.
When you correct the information, your tax card is automatically updated – for example withholding rate and deductions – and the changes are sent digitally to your payers such as employer, pension provider or the Danish student grant authority (SU).
If you have several payers, it is important to allocate main card, secondary card and tax-free card correctly. This appears from the advance statement, but it is your responsibility to ensure that they are placed correctly.
Which changes should I correct in the advance statement?
You should correct everything that significantly changes your financial situation. Typical examples are:
- Change of job or salary (up or down)
- Start or end of pension payments
- Start or end of unemployment benefits, SU or other public benefits
- New interest expenses on loans or changes in existing loans
- Purchase or sale of real estate, or start/stop of rental
- Significant changes in commuting, trade union fees or other deductions
How do I change my advance statement?
You change it by logging into TastSelv at skat.dk, entering realistic annual amounts and saving the changes.
It is a good idea to check your next payslip to see that the withholding rate and deductions have been updated.
If there are changes during the year, you should correct the statement immediately so that the advance statement continuously reflects your actual situation.
What happens if I do not update my advance statement?
If you do not continuously update your income and deductions in the advance statement, you risk incorrect tax withholding and thus either underpaid tax (with interest/surcharge) or overpaid tax – which is only paid out when the annual tax assessment is issued.
Can the Danish Tax Agency change my advance statement automatically?
The Danish Tax Agency can in some cases auto-correct your advance statement based on reported information, for example salary or pension, but the responsibility for correct figures is always yours.
You must be notified by the Danish Tax Agency when they auto-correct your advance statement. You should therefore check these corrections and consider not approving the changes if they are not accurate (for example significant changes in salary, pension, deductions, interest expenses or rental income).
Disclaimer
As the above is for guidance purposes only, we accept no liability for decisions that may be made based on the above without prior individual advice. We accept no liability for errors and omissions.