As of: July 2026 · Part 6 of the series “Reclaiming Withholding Tax” · Giulia Uggias-Sproß, Steuerberaterin (M.A. Taxation)
Denmark withholds 27% withholding tax on dividends — 12 percentage points are reclaimable. The procedure is fee-free and fully digital, but processing takes time. Since June 2026 a longer deadline than long assumed also applies.
Anyone holding Novo Nordisk, Coloplast, Vestas or Ørsted has fared better procedurally than at almost any other European dividend market:
One thing to bear in mind: payout is made in Danish kroner. Depending on the bank, foreign-currency fees apply that can eat up the benefit for very small amounts. That is the only cost item you should check.
Example — gross dividend of €5,000 from Danish shares:
On interest and capital gains Denmark levies no withholding tax on non-residents. This is solely about dividends.
The Danish deadline was long disputed: the tax administration applied only three years from 2016, other sources cited more. The Danish Supreme Court decided this on 11 June 2026 (case nos. BS-36976/2025-HJR and BS-36974/2025-HJR): a five-year limitation period applies to reclaiming over-withheld dividend tax — not three years. The Danish tax administration has adjusted its statement on skat.dk accordingly.
The deadline runs from the day of the tax deduction.
Five years is generous — but many online guides still cite the old three years. Anyone following them may give away two years of claim. And because processing takes a long time anyway, the same applies here: file early.
The time needed for the application itself is manageable. Reckon on a good hour for the first run, considerably less for each further one.
Denmark suffered billions in damage from mass fraudulent refund applications (the dividend tax scandal from 2015) and tightened scrutiny sharply as a result. Applications have since been processed more carefully and thus more slowly. Reckon regularly on more than a year; for applications received before 1 January 2026 the administration has announced an additional 18-month processing extension. For honest investors this means: complete documents and patience.
In practice this means above all one thing: file early. Anyone who does not defer the application until just before the deadline has the buffer to answer queries from the Danish authority within the deadline.
Amounts are entered in euros. The application works in DKK. Anyone entering euro amounts produces a query — and in a procedure with this processing time, a query is expensive.
Spousal accounts are combined in one application. For jointly held accounts, it must be clarified to whom the income is attributable pro rata and whether separate applications are required. Clarify this before applying.
Anlage KAP is forgotten with foreign custody accounts. With domestic accounts the bank usually applies the creditable withholding tax automatically. With foreign accounts you must declare it yourself. Otherwise you lose the 15 points on top of the 12.
The open application slips out of sight. With over a year of processing, a refund claim easily disappears from view — especially on a change of custodian, a move abroad or in an inheritance. Document the matter so that it is still findable in two years.
Denmark, as an EU member state, falls under the EU directive on withholding tax relief, applicable from 1 January 2030. It provides for relief at source or a fast-track procedure with a legally limited processing deadline. For no country in this series would this be more relevant. For the years up to 2029, today’s procedure nonetheless applies.
Denmark is the case where doing it yourself is most defensible — fee-free, digital, manageable. Professional support pays off here above all where Danish positions are part of a larger international portfolio and the credit in the German Anlage KAP has to be cleanly interlocked with refunds from several countries.
G-Tax Consulting advises on international tax law and the taxation of investments with cross-border ties. We advise in German, English, Russian and Italian.
This article reflects the legal situation as of July 2026 and does not replace individual tax advice.
