Rental Income Tax Allowance 2026: Amounts and Examples

Short answer: Rent out privately and the allowance (bundfradrag) is 13,800 kr. in 2026, with only 60% of the rest taxed (section 15 Q). Via a reporting platform, it's 35,100 kr. If the same tenant stays at least 4 months, section 15 P gives tenants ⅔ of their annual rent and owners 1⅓% of the property value, at least 24,000 kr.

Line is going on a study stay in Buenos Aires from 1 February to 30 September. Meanwhile she lets her flat to a tenant who pays 9,000 kr. a month including utilities – 72,000 kr. over 8 months. How much of that is taxed depends on which allowance she chooses, and on whether she owns or rents the flat herself. In the example below, the difference can be more than 26,000 kr. of taxable income.

The fixed allowance (section 15 Q of ligningsloven)

Anyone can use the fixed allowance under section 15 Q of the Danish Tax Assessment Act (ligningsloven) – owners, tenants and cooperative members alike – for rooms however long the let, and for the whole home for less than 12 months. The amount depends on whether the rental income is reported to Skattestyrelsen (the Danish Tax Agency) by a third party, such as a rental platform or an agency:

The amounts are adjusted annually. From the part of the rental income that exceeds the allowance, you deduct a further 40%, so only 60% is taxed – as capital income (kapitalindkomst).

From the 2026 income year onwards, the higher allowance requires that the rental income has actually been reported to Skattestyrelsen (or received from a foreign tax authority). Only for 2023–2025 was it enough that the platform was obliged to report.

The section 15 P allowance: when the tenant stays at least 4 months

If you let to the same tenant for at least 4 consecutive months – and, for the whole home, for less than 12 months – you can choose section 15 P instead:

• Owner: 1⅓% of the full property value (ejendomsværdi) that your property value tax (ejendomsværdiskat) is based on – not the reduced 80% tax base (beskatningsgrundlag) – but at least 24,000 kr.
• Tenant or cooperative member (andelshaver): ⅔ of your own annual rent or housing charge.

There's no extra 40% deduction here, and the surplus is capital income for owners but personal income (personlig indkomst) for tenants and cooperative members. The 24,000 kr. minimum is fixed in the law and isn't adjusted. If you've only owned or rented the home for part of the year, the allowance is reduced proportionally. You must be able to document the 4 months, for example with the lease – if the tenant moves out sooner, you can't use section 15 P.

Worked example: the whole home let for 8 months

Line lets her home from 1 February to 30 September 2026 to the same tenant for 9,000 kr. a month – 72,000 kr. in total, including utilities. The letting period is between 4 and 12 months, so she can choose between section 15 Q and section 15 P. She has owned or rented the home for the whole year and doesn't let it at any other time.

If Line owns the home

The property value is 3,000,000 kr., so the section 15 P allowance is 1⅓% = 40,000 kr.

Both are capital income. Here section 15 P gives slightly less taxable income, because the property value is above about 2.78 million kr. If it's lower, section 15 Q gives the better result at the same rent.

If Line rents the home herself

As a tenant, she may only sublet the whole home when her absence is temporary and due to e.g. a study stay, illness or work – and the landlord can refuse, e.g. in buildings with fewer than 13 flats (section 158 of the Danish Rent Act, lejeloven).

Line pays 8,000 kr. a month in rent herself, i.e. 96,000 kr. a year. The section 15 P allowance is ⅔ of the whole year's rent, 64,000 kr. – even though she only sublets for 8 months.

Under section 15 P, the 8,000 kr. is personal income; under section 15 Q, the 34,920 kr. is capital income. For a tenant subletting the whole home for several months, section 15 P typically gives by far the lowest taxable income.

Via a platform that actually reports the rent, section 15 Q would give 72,000 − 35,100 = 36,900 kr., of which 60%, i.e. 22,140 kr., is taxable. That doesn't apply when you find your tenant via LejLet.nu (see below). If you're renting out a room, there's a worked example in Do You Pay Tax When You Rent Out a Room?.

The figures are for illustration only – use the calculator on skat.dk for your own situation.

What counts as rental income?

• Everything the tenant pays: rent plus payment for electricity, water, heating and internet.
• The allowance can't exceed the rental income, so it can't create a loss.
• As a rule there's one allowance per home. If you own the home together, it's split by ownership share; if you rent together, by your share of the rent. If each resident has their own lease, each gets a full allowance.
• If you let for both shorter and longer periods in the same year, the allowance is split proportionally.

When do accounts pay off?

Instead of an allowance, you can declare the full rental income and deduct your actual, documented expenses: your share of electricity, water and heating, maintenance of and depreciation on furniture (but not major appliances), and advertising. As an owner, you can also deduct a proportional share of your land tax (grundskyld) if you let at least 10% of the home, and you don't pay property value tax on the part you let – or, when you let the whole home, for the letting period. As a tenant or cooperative member, you can deduct the part of your own rent that corresponds to what you let. Maintenance of the property itself, insurance and refuse collection can't be deducted.

Accounts can pay off if your expenses are high relative to the rent – but the choice is final: once you've used accounts, you can't later switch to an allowance. For the overview of all the rules, see Tax on Renting Out Your Home.

Renting out via LejLet.nu?

LejLet.nu handles no payments and doesn't report rental income to Skattestyrelsen. If you let to a tenant you found via LejLet.nu, the letting is therefore private for tax purposes, and the fixed allowance is 13,800 kr. (2026) – not 35,100 kr. You can use section 15 P and accounts on the same terms as anyone else.

Sources

• Skattestyrelsen: Renting out a room or a home you live in yourself (in Danish) (opens in a new tab)
• Den juridiske vejledning (the tax agency's legal guide): section 15 P (in Danish) (opens in a new tab)
• Den juridiske vejledning: section 15 Q (in Danish) (opens in a new tab)
• The Danish Tax Assessment Act (ligningsloven) on retsinformation.dk (opens in a new tab)