Every forgotten deduction is money given away. As a self-employed tradesperson in Denmark you can deduct every expense necessary to run your business — but only if it's recorded with a receipt. This guide covers the most important deductions for trades businesses, and the pitfalls that most often trigger questions from the Danish Tax Agency.
Contents
- Which deductions can tradespeople claim?
- Vehicle and mileage
- Tools, machinery and workwear
- Phone, software and office
- Depreciation: when equipment is expensive
- What you cannot deduct
- FAQ
Which deductions can tradespeople claim?
The basic rule: expenses that are necessary to acquire, secure and maintain the income are deductible. For a trades business the big items are typically materials, the van and mileage, tools and machinery, workwear, insurance, phone, software and accounting. VAT-registered businesses also recover the input VAT on most of these — deduction and VAT go hand in hand, and both require a receipt.
Vehicle and mileage
- Commercial van (yellow plates), business use only: all running costs — fuel, service, insurance, weight tax — are fully deductible, and VAT can generally be recovered.
- Mixed use: costs are split between business and private, typically based on a mileage log.
- Private car used for business: deduct business kilometres at the Tax Agency's current rate instead — this requires a mileage log with date, destination and purpose.
The pitfall is private driving in a van where VAT was fully recovered — one of the areas the Tax Agency audits most among tradespeople. If in doubt, have your accountant confirm the setup before you choose.
Tools, machinery and workwear
- Minor acquisitions below the Tax Agency's threshold are fully deductible in the year of purchase — which covers most hand and power tools.
- Larger machinery above the threshold is depreciated over several years instead.
- Workwear is deductible when it is genuine work clothing — safety shoes, work trousers, logo jackets. Ordinary clothes that could be worn privately are not.
Phone, software and office
- Phone and internet: deductible; private use is taxed under the free-phone rules.
- Software and subscriptions: invoicing, time tracking and accounting tools are fully deductible.
- Accounting and advisory fees: ordinary, fully deductible operating costs.
- Home office: requires a room used exclusively for business — rarely approved in practice, so don't count on it without advice.
Depreciation: when equipment is expensive
Equipment above the minor-acquisition threshold — an excavator, an expensive compressor, a van — is not expensed at once but depreciated using the declining-balance method, up to 25% of the remaining value per year. The expense still reaches your tax return; it's just spread over the years the equipment is used. Buying major equipment late in the year still lets depreciation start in the purchase year — one of the places where a little planning with your accountant visibly moves the year's tax.
What you cannot deduct
- Private expenses — even when paid with the company card
- Ordinary clothing that can be worn privately
- Fines and parking tickets — including those received during work
- Expenses without receipts — however real they were
- Entertainment expenses are only partially deductible under special rules
Capture every deduction — without thinking about it
Revisor Svend records your receipts continuously and makes sure deductions and VAT are claimed correctly. For sole proprietorships and ApS companies, at fixed prices.
See Revisor Svend pricing →FAQ
Can I deduct workwear?
Yes, when it's genuine work clothing: safety shoes, work trousers, gloves and clothing with your company logo. Ordinary clothes — jeans, sneakers, a nice shirt — are not deductible, even if only worn at work.
How much mileage can I deduct as self-employed?
Business driving in your private car is deductible at the Tax Agency's current per-kilometre rate, provided you keep a mileage log. In a company van you deduct actual running costs instead. Rates are adjusted yearly — check the current figures with the Danish Tax Agency.
Do I have to keep every receipt?
Yes — the Bookkeeping Act requires documentation to be kept for 5 years, and without the receipt you lose both the deduction and the VAT recovery. Photograph receipts immediately so they're stored digitally.
Deductions come down to discipline: receipts for everything, recorded continuously, with the right rules applied. To make sure nothing slips, let Revisor Svend keep the books — and read our guides to accounting for sole proprietorships and VAT for tradespeople.