Deductions for the self-employed: what can you deduct — and how?

Typical deductions for the self-employed

• Software and subscriptions (accounting, design and trade software, hosting)
• Phone and internet — reduced for the private share
• Office supplies, equipment and tools (larger purchases are depreciated over several years)
• Business mileage in your own car at the state rate (DKK 3.94/km in 2026)
• Marketing, ads and your website
• Professional training that maintains your existing skills
• Bookkeeper and accountant fees — yes, those are themselves deductible
• Rent for business premises; home office only in special cases

Tax deductions and VAT deductions are two different things

A purchase can give both a tax deduction (the cost reduces your profit) and a VAT deduction (the VAT is reclaimed in the VAT return) — but not always both. A white-plate car, for instance, gives no VAT deduction even where the running costs are tax-deductible. Your bookkeeper keeps the two tracks correctly apart.

Documentation is everything

No receipt, no deduction. Keep the invoice or receipt for every purchase — the Bookkeeping Act requires receipts to be kept for 5 years, and from 2026 most businesses must store them digitally in a registered bookkeeping system.

With Numina you just send the receipt via the app, email or Gmail — we book it, apply the right deduction and store it by the rules.

The classic mistakes

• Private costs in the books — clothes, everyday lunches and an unsplit phone bill
• Lost small receipts — DKK 40 of parking becomes many hundreds over a year
• Training that builds new skills (not deductible) mixed up with maintenance of existing skills (deductible)
• No mileage log — without documentation the mileage deduction is lost

Mileage deduction for the self-employed: 2026 rates and rules

If you drive your own car for your business, you can deduct every business kilometre. The 2026 state rate is DKK 3.94 per km — but the deduction requires documentation.

The 2026 rates

The rates are set by the Tax Council and adjusted every year — the 2026 rates rose with the higher costs of running a car.

• DKK 3.94 per km for the first 20,000 business km per year
• DKK 2.28 per km beyond 20,000 km
• DKK 0.64 per km by bicycle, moped or e-scooter

Two methods: state rate or actual costs

As a sole trader using your own car you can either deduct per kilometre at the state rate, or deduct the car's actual business running costs (fuel, service, depreciation — split by kilometres driven). The state rate is by far the simplest and best for most; actual costs can win with an expensive car and heavy business driving.

Note: the choice generally binds you for that car — so choose deliberately from the start.

The requirement: a mileage log

The deduction requires documentation for every trip: date, start and end point, kilometres and the business purpose. An app or a simple spreadsheet is fine — but it must be kept as you go, not reconstructed in December.

Home-to-work is different

Driving between home and a fixed workplace is private by default and belongs under the ordinary commuter deduction — not the business mileage deduction. Client visits, supply runs and driving between changing work sites do count as business mileage.

Running an ApS?

Then the company can pay you tax-free mileage allowance as an employee at the same rates — with the same documentation requirements. Your bookkeeper makes sure the payout is booked and documented so it holds up in an audit.

The terms behind it, briefly explained

Finally a quick glossary of the terms from this article — brief and concrete, the way we explain them to our customers.

What is a fradrag (tax deduction)?

A fradrag is an expense that can be deducted from the business's income before tax — because it was incurred to earn the revenue.

Typical deductions: software, phone, mileage, marketing and your bookkeeper. The requirement is always documentation — and that the expense is genuinely business-related.

What is an afskrivning (depreciation)?

An afskrivning spreads the cost of a larger asset (e.g. a machine or car) over several years instead of deducting it at once.

Small purchases below an annually adjusted limit can be expensed immediately in the purchase year. Your bookkeeper picks the right treatment per purchase.

What is straksafskrivning (immediate expensing)?

Straksafskrivning means deducting an asset fully in the year of purchase instead of depreciating it over several years. It applies to small acquisitions up to the annual limit (around DKK 36,000 in 2026) and assets with a lifespan under 3 years.

The limit applies per asset, but items meant to work together — a PC and a monitor, say — count as one combined asset. Immediate expensing is a tax choice; in the annual report the asset can still be depreciated over several years.

What is kørselsgodtgørelse (mileage allowance)?

Kørselsgodtgørelse is a tax-free allowance for business driving in your own car — in 2026 up to DKK 3.94 per km, and DKK 2.28 beyond 20,000 km a year.

It can be paid to employees — and to company owners driving their private car for the business. It requires a mileage log with date, destination and purpose. Sole proprietors can instead deduct the driving at the same rates.

What is diæter (per diem travel allowance)?

Diæter are tax-free travel allowances for meals and lodging when you travel for work and stay overnight. In 2026 the rate is DKK 625 per day for meals and DKK 268 for lodging.

The trip must last at least 24 hours and be too far away to sleep at home. If the employer covers expenses by receipt instead, 25% of the meal rate can be paid tax-free for incidentals. The self-employed can use the rates as a deduction.

What is fri bil (company car benefit)?

Fri bil is a company car that may also be used privately. The value is taxed as a benefit on top of salary, using a fixed formula based on the car's price and its environmental levy.

The tax applies no matter how little the car is used privately — and commuting counts as private. For many, tax-free mileage allowance in a private car beats a company car; do the maths before putting the car into the company.

What is fri telefon (company phone benefit)?

Fri telefon is a work phone that may also be used privately. The benefit is taxed at a fixed amount — DKK 3,500 a year in 2026 — regardless of actual use.

The amount is added to your salary and taxed as A-income; the employer reports it automatically. If the phone is work-only and you sign a declaration, the tax is avoided. Spouses who are both taxed on a free phone each get a 25% discount.

What is personalegoder (employee benefits)?

Personalegoder are perks employees receive on top of salary — free phone, company car, health insurance, lunch schemes or Christmas gifts. Most benefits are taxable.

Some benefits have their own fixed rates (free phone, company car); others are tax-free under annual de minimis limits — one for small perks like Christmas gifts and a higher one for mainly work-related benefits. The limits are adjusted yearly.

What is an udlæg (out-of-pocket expense)?

An udlæg is an expense paid out of your own pocket on the business's behalf — the owner or an employee covering materials or a flight, say.

With a valid receipt the outlay is reimbursed tax-free, and the business gets its deduction and input VAT as usual. Owner outlays are typically booked via the owner's current account. Fixed monthly allowances without receipts, by contrast, are taxable.