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Quick Summary
Denmark allows annual tax-free gifts up to DKK 80,600 to most close relatives before gaveafgift (gift tax) applies at 15%. The thresholds apply whether the money comes from abroad or not: if you’re Danish tax resident and your parents send you DKK 150,000 from abroad, you owe gift tax on the amount above DKK 80,600. Denmark has inheritance and gift tax treaties with Germany, the US, Switzerland, Italy, and the Nordic countries, but not the UK, meaning British expats receiving large gifts from UK-resident parents face a genuine double-tax risk.
The Thresholds at a Glance
Denmark allows you to give cash or other gifts to close family members each year without any tax, up to a threshold. Exceed it, and the recipient pays gaveafgift on the amount above.
The thresholds depend entirely on the relationship between giver and recipient.
| Recipient | Tax-free amount (2026) | Tax on excess |
| Spouse (not legally separated) | Unlimited | None |
| Children, stepchildren, grandchildren, great-grandchildren | DKK 80,600 | 15% |
| Parents | DKK 80,600 | 15% |
| Cohabitant (same address 2+ years) | DKK 80,600 | 15% |
| Foster children (5+ years, placed before age 15) | DKK 80,600 | 15% |
| Stepparents and grandparents | DKK 80,600 | 36.25% |
| Sons-in-law and daughters-in-law (svigerbørn) | — | 15% |
| Siblings, nieces, nephews, friends | No threshold | Full income tax |
These are per giver, per recipient, per calendar year. Both parents can each give DKK 80,600 to the same child in the same year: a combined DKK 161,200 tax-free between them. The threshold applies to the total of all gifts from one person to another during the year, not per transaction.
Tip
The DKK 80,600 threshold applies per giver, per recipient, per year. Two parents can each give the full amount to the same child. Gifts to siblings and other non-relatives are subject to ordinary income tax, not gift tax, until 2027.
How the Tax Works in Practice
Gift tax (gaveafgift) is paid by the recipient. It’s a flat rate applied only to the portion that exceeds the tax-free amount.
The rate is 15% for most close relatives. The 36.25% rate applies specifically to gifts going to stepparents and grandparents, not the other way around. Gifts from grandparents to grandchildren are taxed at 15%. Gifts from grandchildren to grandparents are taxed at 36.25%. The direction matters.
Gifts to anyone outside the defined family circle, siblings, friends, colleagues, unmarried partners of children, aren’t subject to gift tax at all. Instead, the recipient adds the full gift value to their personal income and pays ordinary income tax on it. Depending on their marginal rate, that’s roughly 37-52% of the gift.
Examples
Example 1. A parent gives DKK 130,000 to their adult child. The first DKK 80,600 is tax-free. Gift tax of 15% applies to the remaining DKK 49,400. The child pays DKK 7,410 in gaveafgift. If both parents give DKK 130,000 each (DKK 260,000 total), each parent’s gift is calculated separately: the child pays 15% on DKK 49,400 twice, so DKK 14,820 total.
Example 2. A mother gives DKK 50,000 to her daughter-in-law (svigerdatter). The tax-free threshold for svigerbørn is —. Gift tax of 15% applies to the remaining amount above that. Note: svigerbarn status requires legal marriage to the child. An unmarried partner doesn’t qualify: they fall outside the family circle, and the gift is taxed as ordinary income.
Example 3. Grandparents each give DKK 80,600 separately to a grandchild. Both gifts are within the threshold. No tax, no reporting required.
Spouses: No Limit
Gifts between spouses who aren’t legally separated are completely exempt from gift tax, with no ceiling. Any amount is fine.
For large transfers, it’s worth documenting the gift with a gaveægtepagt (gift marital property agreement), particularly if you want the transferred assets to remain the recipient’s separate property in the event of a future divorce. This isn’t a tax question; it’s a matrimonial property question. Worth asking a lawyer about if the amounts are significant.
Gifts Involving Non-Cash Assets
Cash is simple. Non-cash gifts require a market value assessment, and that’s where things get complicated.
Listed shares are relatively straightforward: market value on the day of transfer. For unlisted company equity, cryptocurrency, or property, Skattestyrelsen can challenge the valuation the parties agree on. If they do, and the revaluation pushes the gift above the threshold, additional gift tax becomes due.
There’s a mitigation tool here: a revocation or correction clause (tilbagekaldelsesklausul) in the gift deed. This allows the gift to be partially unwound or adjusted if Skattestyrelsen applies a higher valuation, eliminating or reducing the increased tax exposure. For anything other than a straightforward cash transfer, a lawyer’s involvement is worth the fee.
Property gifts and the 15% rule. Transferring real estate to close family members (a summerhouse to a child, for instance) can be valued at up to 15% below the most recent public assessment without triggering gift tax on the difference. The Danish Tax Agency has to accept this unless there are special circumstances suggesting the agreed value significantly diverges from market value. This margin is expected to widen to 20% when new property valuations take effect. If you’re considering a property transfer within the family, this valuation window is relevant, and a specialist is worth consulting.
The donor’s tax position. A gift of an appreciated asset can create a capital gains liability for the giver, not just gift tax for the recipient. If your parent is gifting you shares they acquired at a low cost, they may have realised a gain at the moment of transfer, and owe capital gains tax in their home country on that gain. Whether Denmark taxes the donor depends on their Danish tax status. This double-layer exposure (capital gains for the giver, gift tax for the recipient) is genuinely underappreciated. If the gift involves appreciated assets rather than cash, both parties need to consider their tax position, not just the recipient.
Tip
If you’re receiving a non-cash gift, such as shares, crypto, or property, get an independent valuation before the transfer and document it carefully. If Skattestyrelsen later disagrees with the agreed value, having a contemporaneous professional valuation in the file puts you in a far stronger position. A revocation clause in the gift deed gives you a fallback if the valuation dispute goes against you.
Gifts from Abroad: How the Cross-Border Rules Work
This is the section most English-language articles get wrong, or skip entirely.
The starting rule is simple: if you’re a Danish tax resident, you’re subject to Danish gift tax on gifts you receive, regardless of where the money comes from or where the giver lives. Your parents sending DKK 150,000 from the UK, the US, India, or Australia all triggers the same Danish gift tax calculation as if they lived in Copenhagen. The first DKK 80,600 is tax-free; you pay 15% on the rest.
The same applies in reverse. If you’re Danish tax resident and you give a gift to a close family member who lives abroad, Danish gift tax applies to the excess.
There’s also a third scenario: both parties live outside Denmark, but the gift consists of Danish assets, real estate, accessories to real estate, or assets connected to a Danish permanent establishment (such as a business). In that case, Danish gift tax is still owed to Denmark, even though neither party is resident here.
The Double-Tax Problem
Here’s where expats face a risk that Danish citizens rarely encounter.
Some countries impose their own gift taxes that can apply to the same transfer. If your home country’s tax rules follow you (or your parents) internationally, you may owe tax on the same gift in two jurisdictions simultaneously.
Denmark has inheritance and gift tax treaties with a specific, limited set of countries: Germany, the United States, Italy, Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, and Finland. These treaties allocate taxing rights, generally ensuring only one country taxes a given gift.
If your parents live in one of those countries, there’s a framework for relief. The treaty determines which country has primary taxing rights, and the other country must step back or provide a credit.
If your parents live in the UK, Canada, Australia, India, or most other countries, no such treaty exists. Denmark’s gift tax applies in full. If the sending country also imposes a tax (the UK has no gift tax per se, but potential inheritance tax implications exist for large transfers from UK-resident parents within seven years of death), there is no automatic relief between the two systems.
Tip
If you’re receiving a large gift from parents in the UK and the transfer could constitute a potentially exempt transfer for UK inheritance tax purposes, gifts above the nil-rate band within seven years of death carry UK IHT exposure, the two tax systems don’t coordinate. You may owe Danish gift tax when you receive the gift, and your parent’s estate may still face UK IHT on the same transfer if they die within seven years. This isn’t a theoretical edge case. It’s worth a conversation with a cross-border tax specialist before the transfer, not after.
The House Deposit Scenario
One of the most common large-gift situations for expats in Denmark: parents abroad sending money to help fund a property purchase.
Say a parent in Germany transfers DKK 300,000 to help you buy an apartment in Copenhagen. The first DKK 80,600 is tax-free. You owe 15% gift tax on the remaining amount above that. The German-Danish inheritance and gift tax treaty provides a framework to prevent the same transfer being taxed twice, but the treaty allocates taxing rights, it doesn’t eliminate all tax. You still report and pay the Danish gift tax before the May deadline.
For the bank, a large unexplained incoming transfer is also a compliance question, not just a tax one. Danish banks are required to document the source of funds, particularly for mortgage applications. A gavebrev (gift deed) documenting the nature of the transfer, the parties, and the relationship is standard practice and will be asked for. Some mortgage lenders treat gifted equity differently from earned equity when calculating loan-to-value ratios, worth checking with your bank before assuming the gift strengthens your mortgage position in the expected way.
If both parents are contributing, say, each sending DKK 200,000, make two separate transfers and label each clearly as a gift from one parent. This preserves each parent’s separate threshold and avoids any suggestion that the combined transfer is a single gift from one source above the limit.
A practical note on timing: if the gift arrives late in the calendar year and you want to maximise both parents’ thresholds in consecutive years, the gift date is the date the funds are received, not sent. Transfers around year-end should account for international transfer timing.
Reporting and Payment
If the gift stays within the tax-free threshold, you don’t need to report it to Skattestyrelsen. Nothing to file.
Once a gift exceeds the threshold, both the giver and the recipient must report it via skat.dk. Both parties sign the gaveanmeldelse (gift notification). The deadline is 1 May of the year following the year the gift was received: so a gift given in 2026 must be reported by 1 May 2027. The gift tax must be paid on the same day the report is submitted, even if you file before 1 May.
Late reporting can result in interest charges. Late payment on the same day as the report is submitted also triggers interest.
One joint responsibility worth noting: the recipient is primarily liable for the gift tax. If the recipient doesn’t pay, the giver becomes jointly liable. Both parties have an obligation to ensure the gift is reported on time.
Coming in 2027: Siblings and Their Children Included
Legislation passed in May 2025 significantly expands the circle of close relatives for gift tax purposes from 1 January 2027.
From that date, gifts between siblings will be treated as gifts between close relatives, subject to the standard gift tax rules (15% on amounts above the annual threshold) rather than full ordinary income tax. Nieces and nephews are also being brought into the same framework under a separate proposal (L 125) covering siblings’ children.
Until then, including throughout 2026, gifts to siblings remain subject to ordinary income tax. Depending on the sibling’s marginal rate, that’s a meaningful cost difference. A DKK 100,000 gift to a sibling in 2026 costs the recipient roughly DKK 37,000-52,000 in income tax. The same gift given on 1 January 2027 would cost 15% of the amount above the threshold, around DKK 2,910.
If you’re planning a substantial gift to a sibling, the arithmetic of waiting is fairly clear.
Bottom Line
The mechanics of Danish gift tax are straightforward once you have the right thresholds. The complication, for expats specifically, is the cross-border layer: Danish gift tax applies to transfers you receive regardless of the source country, and only a handful of countries, Germany, the US, the Nordic countries, Italy, Switzerland, have treaties with Denmark that prevent double taxation on the same gift. If your family is in the UK or most other countries, both tax systems can apply simultaneously with no automatic offset. For large transfers, particularly those involving non-cash assets or parents in non-treaty countries, a cross-border tax adviser earns their fee before the money moves.
Disclaimer
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, or investment advice. Figures reflect publicly available data at time of writing. Always consult a qualified professional regarding your specific situation. See our full disclaimer.
