A letter from your kommune says you received too much income-based daycare subsidy (økonomisk fripladstilskud) and must pay some of it back. Before your stomach drops: this is one of the most common recalculation letters in Denmark, and in many cases nobody did anything wrong — the year's income simply turned out higher than expected. (The exact same logic drives the yearly settlement of housing benefit — that letter is covered in the Udbetaling Danmark guide.) But the letter still has to be READ, because there are two claim types with different rules — and the figures should be checked before anyone pays.
Why does the letter come?
The income-based daycare subsidy is calculated from your expected household income. Once the year is over, the kommune compares the subsidy you got with your actual income from the tax assessment — the yearly recalculation under section 93 a — and larger income jumps during the year can also trigger a recalculation along the way. If the income ended higher than the basis, you received more subsidy than you were entitled to, and the difference is claimed back. No accusation — pure arithmetic. But the arithmetic has to be RIGHT, and checking it is your job. (How the subsidy and the monthly recalculation work is described in English on lifeindenmark.borger.dk.)
The two claim types — and why the difference matters
- 1. The automatic yearly recalculation (section 93 a): A recalculation against the tax assessment. The claim arises regardless of good faith — but it must be built on the right figures and the right months.
- 2. Claims based on missing or incorrect information: If the kommune believes you should have reported a change (say, a new partner moving in, or a substantial income increase) and demands repayment on THAT basis, stricter conditions apply: under the practice of the Danish Appeals Board (Ankestyrelsen), such claims require among other things that the subsidy was received against better knowledge (mod bedre vidende) — that you knew, or should have known, you were getting too much. If the letter mentions a breached duty to report («tilsidesat oplysningspligt»), read extra carefully and consider getting the case assessed.
Checklist: BEFORE you pay
- Find the recalculation figures in the letter — which income did the kommune use, and for which months?
- Compare with your own tax assessment (årsopgørelse, at skat.dk). Do the amounts match? Was household income used for periods where the household actually looked different (divorce, a partner who moved out)?
- Check the months. The recalculation must hit the right periods — a partner who first moved in in September should not count from January.
- Check sibling subsidy and other subsidies (søskendetilskud) — they affect the calculation and are occasionally forgotten in the recalculation.
- If the amount is large: ask the kommune about an instalment plan BEFORE the claim is passed on. Unpaid claims can end up with the Danish Debt Collection Agency (Gældsstyrelsen) for enforcement.
The agterskrivelse trap: the reply deadline is your window
Kommuner often use an agterskrivelse in friplads cases (the Appeals Board has handled many of them): the letter announces the intended claim — and if you do not reply before the deadline, it can become the final decision without a new letter. So if the figures are wrong, they must be pointed out NOW, not after the deadline. How this letter type works is explained in the guide to kommune letters — including a reply template in Danish.
Disagree with the claim? The complaint route
The repayment decision can be appealed — normally within 4 weeks, counted from when the letter was available in your Digital Post. The complaint goes to the kommune, which must reconsider before the Danish Appeals Board (Ankestyrelsen) takes over if needed — the process is described step by step in the kommune letters guide. Strong complaint points: wrong income figures, wrong months or household composition — or an information-duty claim where you neither knew nor should have known the subsidy was too high.
Where this page stops
This is the letter logistics: the claim types, the figures and the deadlines. Whether a specific information-duty claim can be contested in YOUR case is a legal assessment — the citizen adviser (borgerrådgiver) in your kommune, a legal aid clinic (retshjælp) or your union can help with that, free of charge. Sofia meanwhile helps you understand the letter, compare the figures and write a clear reply in Danish before the deadline.
Unsure about the figures in your letter?
Show Sofia the letter (cover names and CPR numbers) — she explains the claim type in plain English, finds your deadline and helps you word the objection or the questions for the kommune, in Danish. Free to try, no login.
Explain my letterFrequently asked questions
Did we do something wrong if we get this letter?
Usually no. The yearly recalculation is automatic: your subsidy was calculated on your EXPECTED income, and if the actual income turned out higher, a claim arises mechanically. Only if the letter is about unreported or incorrect information is there an accusation in it — and stricter conditions apply there.
Do we have to pay even though we acted in good faith?
For the automatic yearly recalculation (section 93 a of the Danish Day Care Act): yes, as a starting point — good faith is not a defence against recalculation. For claims based on missing or incorrect information it is different: there, repayment requires under the Appeals Board's practice that the subsidy was received against better knowledge (mod bedre vidende).
What is the most important thing to check in the letter?
The recalculation figures against your own tax assessment (årsopgørelse): the income amounts, which months are being adjusted, and whether the household is counted correctly in those periods (a partner who moved in or out?). Wrong months and wrong household composition are the classic errors.
Can we get an instalment plan?
Ask the kommune — and do it BEFORE the claim is defaulted on. Unpaid repayment claims can be sent to the Danish Debt Collection Agency (Gældsstyrelsen) for enforcement, and then it becomes both more expensive and more complicated.
How long is the complaint deadline?
Normally 4 weeks from when you received the decision — and the deadline runs from when the letter was available in Digital Post. If you first received an agterskrivelse (notice of intended decision), ITS reply deadline applies for objections; the final decision then has its own complaint deadline.
If the repayment letter is not from your kommune but from Udbetaling Danmark — housing benefit, pension or child allowance — the mechanics and the reply template are in the guide to Udbetaling Danmark letters.