In this guide, we’ll break down everything you need to know about how cryptocurrency is taxed in Denmark. By the time you finish reading, you’ll learn how different transactions are taxed, how to calculate your gains and losses, and how to report your cryptocurrency transactions on your taxes in minutes.
In Denmark, cryptocurrencies are considered personal assets rather than currencies like the Danish Kroner or the Euro.
As a result, profits from the sales and disposals of cryptocurrencies are subject to income tax, not capital gains tax.
Personal assets like cryptocurrencies are subject to income tax if one of the following conditions are true.
Investors typically acquire crypto-assets with the expectation of a future return. As a result, cryptocurrency is subject to income tax in the vast majority of cases.
If you believe that your crypto-assets don’t fall into the ‘speculative asset’ category, the burden of proof is on you to prove that you acquired your crypto without the intention to make a future profit.
It’s unlikely that you’ll be able to claim that you acquired your crypto without the expectation of a future return. One investor tried claiming that he originally acquired Dogecoin for humorous purposes, but the Danish Tax Agency ruled that the acquisition was speculative because of Dogecoin’s volatile nature.
In Denmark, income from cryptocurrency and other sources are subject to the following tax.
Denmark has relatively high taxes compared to other countries in the world. This includes the following:
It’s important to note that the sum of your bottom-bracket tax, top-bracket tax, and municipal taxes cannot exceed 52.07% of your income. Including labour market tax, the top rate is 55.9%.
The labor market tax is a flat 8% on your entire income and is paid before any other taxes.
After accounting for labor market tax and your personal tax allowance on your first 49,700 DKK of income, all residents of Denmark are required to pay bottom -bracket tax up to 588,900 DKK of income. Income above this amount is subject to top-bracket tax.
In addition to the taxes mentioned above, you may pay local taxes — including municipal tax and labor market tax.
Your municipal tax varies depending on where you live in Denmark. Currently, the average municipal tax rate is around 25%.
It’s been estimated that the average Dane pays an effective income tax rate of 35-45% — though this may vary based on where you live and your total income.
In Denmark, the tax year runs from January 1st to December 31st. You’re required to file your taxes on cryptocurrency and other income sources by May 1st of the following year.
You can request an extension until July 1.
To calculate your gains and losses from crypto, you can use the following formula.
In this case, your cost basis is how much you paid to acquire your cryptocurrency (including fees related to acquisition). Meanwhile, your proceeds are how much you received for disposing of your cryptocurrency (including fees related to disposal).
To better understand how this works, let’s take a look at an example.
Because cryptocurrency transactions are pseudo-anonymous, many investors assume that tax agencies cannot track cryptocurrency gains, losses, and income. This is a myth.
In the past, the Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen) has requested and received information from cryptocurrency exchanges — including trades, names, addresses, and central person registration (CPR) numbers.
Starting in 2026, DAC8 will require cryptocurrency exchanges operating in the EU to provide detailed transaction information to tax authorities — making tax evasion more difficult than ever.
In addition, it’s important to remember that transactions on blockchains like Ethereum and Bitcoin are publicly visible. Tax agencies around the world use data matching to match ‘anonymous’ wallets to known individuals.
While there’s no legal way to evade your cryptocurrency taxes, you can use the following strategies to legally reduce your tax bill.
Individual taxpayers over 18 receive a tax-free allowance of 49,700 DKK. If your full allowance is not used, you can transfer your allowance to your spouse.
Crypto losses can be used to offset cryptocurrency gains.
There may be some circumstances where you acquired cryptocurrency without the intention to make a profit. If this is the case, your transactions are tax-free. You can petition the Danish Tax Agency to assess your individual investments.
The following transactions are tax-free in Denmark.
If you’ve bought your cryptocurrency at multiple price points, you can use the first-in first-out (FIFO) method to calculate your capital gains and losses. That means that the first units of cryptocurrency that you acquired are also the first units that you dispose of.
Buying cryptocurrency with fiat currency like the Danish kroner is considered tax-free.
However, you should keep careful records of your cryptocurrency purchases so that you can calculate your gains and losses in the case of a future disposal.
In situations where you can’t document how much you originally acquired your cryptocurrency for, you’re required to recognize the cost basis as ‘0’. This will result in significantly higher income tax.
At this time, there is no tax for simply holding cryptocurrency. You’ll only be taxed when you dispose of cryptocurrency (such as in the scenarios below).
When you sell cryptocurrency, you recognize income based on how the price of your crypto has changed since you originally received it.
Trading cryptocurrency for other cryptocurrencies is considered a taxable disposal. If the price of the cryptocurrency you’re trading away has gone up since you originally received it, you’ll recognize income subject to income tax.
You’ll recognize income or capital gains depending on whether you’re classified as an investor or a trader.
Transferring crypto between different wallets that you own is considered tax-free.
However, you should keep careful records of the original cost basis of your cryptocurrency so that you can calculate your capital gains and losses in the case of a future disposal.
Any fees directly related to buying and selling cryptocurrency are deductible. This includes exchange fees and blockchain gas fees.
It’s important to remember that not all fees can be deducted from income. For example, fees from transferring crypto between wallets you own are not directly related to buying and selling. As a result, it’s reasonable to assume they are not deductible.
In Denmark, losses must be reported separately from gains. They are deductible up to 26% of the value.
In certain cases, you may be able to offset cryptocurrency gains with losses. This only applies in narrow circumstances. The following must be true: the gains and losses are the same type of cryptocurrency, you acquired the units of cryptocurrency you sold at a gain and at a loss at the same time, and you did not acquire additional units of the same cryptocurrency between the purchase and sale(s).
According to the Danish Tax Agency, cryptocurrency gifts are not taxed if they are given for a special occasion — like an anniversary or a birthday celebration. However, these gifts should be considered income if they are ‘larger than what is normally appropriate’.
The Danish Tax Agency does not define what is considered a ‘normal gift’ and what is large enough for you to pay taxes. If you are in doubt, you should contact the Danish Tax Agency.
If you received a cryptocurrency gift outside of a special occasion, it will be taxed as income regardless of its total value.
Cryptocurrency mining rewards are considered income. You’ll pay income tax based on the fair market value of your crypto at the time of receipt.
If you dispose of your mining rewards in the future, you’ll be taxed depending on how the price of your crypto has changed since you originally received it.
According to the Danish Tax Agency, mining cryptocurrency is considered a hobby business due to its high costs. That means you’ll be required to report business profits and losses on your tax return.
Staking rewards are taxed as income based on their fair market value at the time of receipt.
The Danish Tax agency defines ‘time of receipt’ as ‘the date you received the cryptocurrency in your portfolio and can use it’.
By this definition, you should report staking rewards as income based on the time you are able to freely withdraw it and trade it.
If you dispose of your staking rewards, you’ll be taxed depending on how the price of your crypto has changed since you originally received it.
If you receive an airdrop, it’s considered a promotional gift. You will be taxed based on its fair market value at the time of receipt.
If you dispose of your airdrop rewards in the future, you’ll pay additional tax depending on how the price of your crypto has changed since you originally received it.
If you receive new cryptocurrency from a hard fork, it will be considered a new asset with cost basis 0. When you sell/dispose of the asset, your income will be equivalent to the selling price.
Like other cryptocurrencies, stablecoins are subject to income tax in Denmark. It’s likely that profits and losses will be minimal, since stablecoins are pegged to fiat assets.
Unlike other cryptocurrencies, stablecoins are considered ‘financial contracts’. That means gains are taxed as capital income and taxed up to 42%.
In Denmark, NFTs are subject to tax in the following circumstances.
Selling/trading away your NFTs: When you sell/trade away your NFTs, your profits are subject to income tax.
Earning income from NFTs: If you have NFTs that generate rewards (such as NFTs that generate staking/airdrop income), you will recognize income based on its fair market value at the time of receipt.
Creating NFTs: According to the Danish Tax Agency, creating NFTs may be considered business activity and taxed accordingly. Your profits will be subject to income tax.
At this time, the Danish Tax Agency has not put out any guidance on how DeFi is taxed. It’s reasonable to assume that DeFi transactions will be subject to the same rules as other cryptocurrency transactions.
Many DeFi protocols utilize unique transaction structures that make it difficult to tell whether an earning event or disposal occurred. If you have questions about a specific DeFi transaction or protocol, you should reach out to your tax professional.
It’s recommended that you keep records of the following information in case of a cryptocurrency tax audit.
Once you have an accurate record of your cryptocurrency transactions, you can report your taxes and pay your outstanding tax balance on the E-tax online portal. To log in, you’ll need your civil registration number and your E-tax password.
You can report your profits from cryptocurrency in box 20 and your cryptocurrency losses in box 58.
Stablecoins should be reported separately (though gains and losses from stablecoins are typically close to 0). Gains from stablecoins should be reported on box 346, while losses should be reported on box 85.
To accurately report your cryptocurrency taxes, you’ll need to calculate your gains, losses, and income from your transactions. You can do this manually or through crypto tax software.
If you wish to calculate your crypto taxes yourself, you can follow the process below.
It’s important to remember that this approach requires serious effort— especially if you’ve used multiple wallets and exchanges during the tax year. In this case, it may be difficult to track your cost basis and calculate your gains from disposals.
Step 1: Import your transactions from your exchanges and wallets.
.png)
Step 2: Watch the platform calculate your income and capital gains.
.png)
Step 3: Generate your tax report!
.png)
You don’t need to rely on spreadsheets to file your cryptocurrency taxes. CoinLedger is designed to simplify the process!
Try CoinLedger today and see for yourself why more than 700,000 investors around the globe use the platform to take the stress out of tax season!
Let’s cap things off by answering some frequently asked questions about cryptocurrency taxes.
.png)
All CoinLedger articles go through a rigorous review process before publication. Learn more about the CoinLedger Editorial Process.
CoinLedger has strict sourcing guidelines for our content. Our content is based on direct interviews with tax experts, guidance from tax agencies, and articles from reputable news outlets.
This guide breaks down everything you need to know about cryptocurrency taxes, from the high level tax implications to the actual crypto tax forms you need to fill out.
