Last Updated
Affiliate links
Some links in this article are partner links (reklamelinks). If you click through and sign up or make a purchase, ExpatFinance.dk may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This helps cover the cost of running the site and keeping the content free. It doesn’t affect which products we cover or what we say about them.
Quick Summary
Håndværkerfradraget today only covers grøn istandsættelse, green renovation work such as insulation, windows, heat pumps, and solar panels, not general craftsman jobs.
It’s relevant to homeowners and holiday-home owners who paid for renovation work in 2025 or later. Work paid for between April 2022 and the end of 2024 was never covered and can’t be claimed now.
In 2026 you can deduct labour costs up to DKK 9,000 per person for green renovation, on top of DKK 18,300 per person for the separate servicefradrag covering cleaning and garden work.
Håndværkerfradraget used to cover almost any craftsman job in the home: painting, roof repairs, bathroom work, all of it. That version of the scheme was abolished on 1 April 2022. When håndværkerfradraget came back on 1 January 2025, it came back narrower. Only work classified as grøn istandsættelse, green renovation, qualifies now.
If a renovation doesn’t cut your home’s energy use or generate renewable energy, it almost certainly doesn’t get the deduction anymore, however skilled the håndværker doing it.
There’s also a dead zone worth knowing about. Work paid for between 1 April 2022 and 31 December 2024 never qualified, and there’s no way to claim it retroactively now. If an old invoice from that window is still sitting in a drawer somewhere, it stays there.
In Short
Håndværkerfradraget since 2025 covers green renovation only: insulation, windows, heat pumps, solar, and similar work. General repairs, painting, and most everyday craftsman jobs don’t qualify anymore.
What Counts as Grøn Istandsættelse
The eligible categories come from bilag 1 to ligningsloven, and the list is exhaustive. If a job isn’t named in it, it doesn’t qualify, no matter how energy-efficient it feels. Here’s what’s confirmed for 2026.
Skattestyrelsen keeps the current version on info.skat.dk, including the list of Tax Council rulings on specific edge cases.
| Category | What’s included | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Insulation | Roof, loft, external walls (including cavity walls), and ground floor (terrændæk, crawl space) | — |
| Windows & exterior doors | Replacing existing windows, glazing, exterior doors, and glazed terrace doors (majority glass) | Every source describes this as udskiftning, replacement. None mentions creating brand new openings, so a full renovation that adds a window isn’t covered for that part of the work. |
| Chimney & wood stove | Chimney repair or relining tied to bringing an old brændeovn or pejs up to current age rules, plus decommissioning a stove entirely | — |
| Heating controls & pipework | Thermostatic valves, weather-compensation controls, timers, circulation pumps, and installing or replacing radiators and underfloor heating pipes | — |
| Heat pumps & district heating | Installing, repairing, or replacing air-to-air, air-to-water, and ground-source (brine-to-water) heat pumps, plus district heating units (fjernvarmeunits) including hot water tanks | Routine servicing is treated differently, see below |
| Solar & wind | Installing, repairing, or replacing solar panels and household wind turbines (husstandsvindmøller) | — |
| Home batteries | Installing a battery system | Only qualifies when paired with solar panels or a wind turbine already on the property |
| Solar thermal | Solar collectors (solfangere), including hot water tanks | — |
| Drainage & ventilation | Improving drainage and sewage installations on the property (including pipe replacement), plus ventilation repairs | Routine ventilation servicing and duct cleaning don’t qualify, see below |
CASE STUDY: TWO ADULTS, ONE RENOVATION
James and Louise, a couple in Aarhus, replace every window in their home with new triple-glazed units. The total invoice comes to DKK 138,000, with the håndværker listing labour separately at DKK 20,000.
Since they’re both on the invoice, they split the labour cost evenly: DKK 10,000 each. But the 2026 cap per person is DKK 9,000, so each of them can only claim DKK 9,000, not the full DKK 10,000. The extra DKK 1,000 apiece isn’t deductible.
Between them, they claim DKK 18,000 in total. At roughly 26% tax value, that’s about DKK 4,680 back, separate from whatever servicefradrag they might also use that year for cleaning or garden help.
Where the Rules Get Tricky
Skatterådet, the Tax Council, has ruled on plenty of edge cases, and the pattern is worth knowing before committing to a project. Installing a heat pump qualifies outright. Servicing one, the annual check-up most manufacturers require, doesn’t. The Tax Council decided it’s neither grøn istandsættelse nor almindelig rengøring (ordinary cleaning) under servicefradraget, so it falls into a gap between both schemes.
Ventilation systems follow a similar split. Repairing one counts as green renovation. Routine servicing and duct cleaning count as neither.
Batteries have their own rule worth remembering. A home battery only qualifies when it’s tied to solar panels or a wind turbine already on the property. Install one on its own, even for a legitimate energy-storage reason, and the Tax Council has confirmed it doesn’t count.
None of this is guesswork on Skattestyrelsen’s side, bilag 1 is meant to be exhaustive. But plenty of real renovations sit close to a line like this: a heat pump bundled with duct work, a battery installed alongside solar panels a year later, a terrace rebuild that’s part repair and part new construction. For anything that doesn’t map cleanly onto the categories above, especially before signing a contract for an expensive job, it’s worth checking Skattestyrelsen’s published bindende svar (binding rulings) or asking an accountant first. Getting the classification wrong doesn’t just cost the deduction: Skattestyrelsen can claw it back later if the work turns out not to qualify.
Tip
Ask your håndværker to split the invoice into labour and materials before the job starts, not after. Only the labour line is deductible, and a vague lump-sum invoice can hold up a claim later. If it’s time to line up quotes, a service like 3byggetilbud.dk (partnerlink/reklamelink) gets you three offers from Danish CVR-registered tradespeople to compare before you commit.
Servicefradraget is the other half of BoligJobordningen, and it’s easy to confuse with håndværkerfradraget since both run through the same annual indberetning on skat.dk. Servicefradraget has nothing to do with green renovation, though. It covers everyday help around the house: cleaning, window washing, childcare, and ordinary garden work, plus a batch of services added in 2025: appliance repair (only through 2027), burglar alarm (tyverialarm) installation, paving (belægningsarbejde), new lawns, gutter (tagrender) cleaning, and tree felling (træfældning).
The two deductions stack. In 2026, claim up to DKK 9,000 for green renovation and DKK 18,300 for services, a combined DKK 27,300 per person if both are used in full. Two adults in the same household each have their own limit, so a couple can double every figure here, provided the invoice is split between them and each partner enters their own share on their årsopgørelse.
What Counts as a Serviceydelse
| Category | Examples | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Household help | Cleaning, window washing, childcare | — |
| Garden & outdoor | Ordinary gardening, snow clearing, new lawns, tree felling and removal, paving | — |
| Appliance repair | Cookers, ovens, microwaves, fridges, freezers, dishwashers, washing machines, dryers, drying cabinets, extractor hoods | Only for work done 2025 through 2027 |
| Home security & maintenance | Burglar alarm installation, gutter cleaning | — |
One category worth flagging on its own: connecting a home to broadband (tilslutning til bredbånd) qualified under the old, pre-2022 håndværkerfradrag alongside burglar alarm installation. Neither was carried into the 2025 reinstatement in the same form. Alarm installation came back, but as a servicefradrag item (see below). Broadband connection wasn’t reintroduced under either deduction: the current law text lists only serviceydelser and grøn istandsættelse, with no mention of bredbånd.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does servicing a heat pump qualify for håndværkerfradraget?
No. Installing, repairing, or replacing a heat pump qualifies. The Tax Council has ruled that routine servicing, the annual check-up most manufacturers require, is neither grøn istandsættelse nor almindelig rengøring (ordinary cleaning) under servicefradraget, so it falls outside both schemes.
Do you have to own your home to claim håndværkerfradraget?
Not necessarily, for a primary residence. The rule requires fast bopæl, that you actually live there, at the time the work is done, not ownership. For a holiday home, the requirement is stricter: you need to own it and pay ejendomsværdiskat on it.
Can renters claim it?
In principle, yes, if you have fast bopæl in the property and pay for qualifying work yourself. In practice this is rare, since most renters don’t have the authority, or the incentive, to pay for insulation or window replacement on a home they don’t own.
Can my partner and I both claim for the same renovation?
Yes, provided you’re both on the invoice and each pay your own share. Two adults in the same household each have their own annual cap, so splitting the invoice lets a couple claim up to double the per-person limit.
Does a full kitchen or bathroom renovation qualify?
Only the parts of it that match the eligible list. A general remodel doesn’t qualify just because it happens in a home. New insulation or a heat pump installed as part of the project would qualify; new cabinets or tiling wouldn’t.
Bottom Line
Håndværkerfradraget is worth claiming when a renovation genuinely fits the green list: insulation, windows, heat pumps, solar, and the handful of categories around them. It isn’t a general subsidy for home improvement, and treating it like one is the fastest way to have a claim rejected. When work straddles categories or sits close to the line, check the primary source or a professional before signing the contract, not after.
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.
