Your Danish payslip shows how your earnings become the amount paid into your account. Use the Danish labels below to check the deductions, follow a complete calculation and write to payroll if something does not match.
- Match the pay period, hours and rate to your contract and timesheet.
- Separate your pension and ATP deductions from the employer’s contributions.
- Check which tax card was used, then compare “Til udbetaling” with the bank payment.
Find the Danish words on your payslip
First find lønperiode (pay period). A payslip received in September can include overtime from an earlier cut-off period. Compare like with like, and keep denne periode (this period) separate from år til dato (year to date).
| Danish label | Meaning and what to check |
|---|---|
| Bruttoløn | Gross pay before deductions. For hourly work, check timer (hours), sats (rate), tillæg (supplements) and overarbejde (overtime). |
| Pension, egen andel | Your pension contribution, deducted from pay. Arbejdsgiverandel is the employer’s share; keep the two amounts separate. |
| ATP | A separate supplementary pension contribution. Check the employee share for your pay frequency and hours. |
| AM-bidrag | Labour market contribution. AM-grundlag is the amount on which it is calculated. |
| A-skat | Income tax withheld. Trækprocent is your withholding rate; fradrag is the tax-card allowance for the pay period. |
| Feriepenge / ferietillæg | Holiday pay or holiday supplement. Optjent means earned; afholdt means used. A balance shown here is not necessarily paid with this salary. |
| Til udbetaling | Net pay: the amount to match against your bank payment. |
Danish amounts use a comma for decimals: 31.299,00 kr. means DKK 31,299.00. A rate of 12,5 % means 12.5%. See the Tax Agency’s English explanation of payslip information.
From gross pay to net pay: a complete example
The order matters: the employer deducts your ATP and own pension contribution before calculating AM-bidrag, then calculates A-skat. The tax-card allowance reduces the A-skat calculation, not the AM-bidrag calculation. See Skattestyrelsen’s explanation of the deduction order.
Example: a monthly payslip
Alex is 30 and earns DKK 31,299 in cash gross pay. This example uses DKK 1,200 in deductible employee pension, DKK 99 in employee ATP, a 38% withholding rate and a DKK 5,600 monthly allowance on the primary tax card. There are no taxable benefits, expense repayments or other deductions.
- AM basis: 31,299 − 1,200 − 99 = DKK 30,000.
- AM-bidrag: 8% × 30,000 = DKK 2,400.
- Amount subject to A-skat: 30,000 − 2,400 − 5,600 = DKK 22,000.
- A-skat: 38% × 22,000 = DKK 8,360.
The DKK 5,600 allowance is used only to calculate tax. It is not another deduction from Alex’s bank payment.
| Item | DKK |
|---|---|
| Cash gross pay | 31,299 |
| Employee pension | −1,200 |
| Employee ATP | −99 |
| AM-bidrag | −2,400 |
| A-skat | −8,360 |
| Net payment | 19,240 |
For your own payslip, use its actual rate, allowance and calculation bases. A canteen deduction lowers the transfer; a reimbursed expense may increase it. A taxable benefit, such as an employer-paid phone, can increase the tax basis without being extra cash paid into your account.
AM-bidrag and ATP: two different deductions
AM-bidrag is 8%. From 2026, it applies from the calendar year you turn 18. Someone turning 18 in November 2026 pays it from January 2026; someone turning 18 in 2027 does not pay it in 2026. Having a frikort does not by itself remove AM-bidrag.
ATP depends on hours and pay frequency. For a monthly-paid employee on the standard A rate with at least 117 hours in the month, the employee share is DKK 99 and the employer share DKK 198: DKK 297 in total. Do not deduct the full DKK 297 from your cash salary. Lower hours and other pay frequencies have different amounts; some public-sector arrangements use other rates. Compare with ATP’s current contribution table.
Check the tax card—and ask payroll to retrieve it
Your digital skattekort appears in your preliminary income assessment, forskudsopgørelse, in TastSelv. The three types are:
- Hovedkort: the primary card includes a rate and allowance. Use it with only one payer, normally where you receive the most income.
- Bikort: the secondary card has a rate but no allowance. Other employers can use it.
- Frikort: a tax-exemption card for income within your individual exemption amount. More than one payer can use it.
If two payers use the primary card, the allowance may be used twice and too little tax withheld. A secondary card at your only job can instead mean the allowance is not used in that payment. Check the actual card rather than judging from net pay alone.
- Log in to TastSelv and open Indkomstoplysninger fra eIndkomst (income information).
- Choose the year under Vis eSkattekort for år and select Hent oplysning.
- Ask the payer using the wrong card to retrieve the correct one. You cannot change a payer’s card selection yourself in TastSelv.
These are the steps in Skattestyrelsen’s tax-card guidance. Its English tax-card guide explains the same labels.
A short Danish request to payroll
Hej lønteam
På min lønseddel for september 2026 står der bikort. Dette er mit eneste job, og ingen anden udbetaler bruger mit hovedkort. Vil I hente mit hovedkort hos Skattestyrelsen og bekræfte, fra hvilken lønkørsel det bliver brugt? Kan I også oplyse, om septemberlønnen kan rettes?
Venlig hilsen
Sam
English meaning: My September payslip uses the secondary card. This is my only job, and no other payer uses my primary card. Please retrieve my primary card, confirm when you will use it and tell me whether September’s pay can be corrected.
Use that wording only if the facts match your situation. If your income estimate is wrong, update your forskudsopgørelse as well; that is a different action from telling payroll which card to retrieve. New to Denmark with no tax card? Follow the Tax Agency’s first steps for non-Danish employees, then ask payroll to confirm it has received the card.
Pension: compare the same salary figures
Find the pension terms in your contract or collective agreement: the calculation base, your percentage and the employer’s percentage. A quoted salary including pension is not the same as cash salary plus employer pension. Do not add an employer contribution a second time if it is already included in a total package.
Read the package before comparing it
If an offer explicitly says “DKK 30,000 cash salary plus DKK 3,000 employer pension”, the package totals DKK 33,000 before any other benefits. It does not mean DKK 33,000 is paid into your bank account. Your own pension contribution can still be deducted from the cash salary.
Compare the payslip with the actual agreement, including when pension contributions start. The official employment-contract guide identifies salary and pension terms as information to look for.
Holiday pay is not always extra money this month
With feriepenge, holiday pay is generally 12.5% of holiday-qualifying pay before AM-bidrag and A-skat. The qualifying amount need not equal every gross-pay line: for example, expense repayments and pay during holiday do not belong in that basis.
With ferie med løn, you receive your normal salary during earned paid holiday and a ferietillæg, normally 1%. A collective agreement can set a different supplement. Monthly pay alone does not settle the question; check the holiday terms, including paid sickness and public holidays. See borger.dk’s explanation of both arrangements.
A holiday balance can fall when you take days off. Check earned, used and remaining days rather than expecting it always to grow. For claiming money, payment dates or leaving Denmark, use our separate English feriepenge guide.
Found missing hours? Send a specific correction
Put the payslip beside your contract and approved timesheet. Identify the pay period, the line that differs, the amount expected and the supporting record. Ask payroll to explain its cut-off period if the hours might be paid later.
In this example, Maya’s September timesheet has 126 hours, but her payslip includes 122. At DKK 175 per hour, the difference is 4 × 175 = DKK 700 gross. That is not a DKK 700 net payment: deductions and any related pension or holiday pay must also be calculated.
Ready-to-use Danish payroll message
Emne: Fire timer mangler på min lønseddel for september 2026
Hej Mette
Min godkendte timeseddel for september viser 126 timer, men lønsedlen viser 122 timer til 175 kr. i timen. Forskellen er fire timer, svarende til 700 kr. før skat.
Jeg vedhæfter timesedlen og lønsedlen. Vil du undersøge, om timerne mangler, eller om de hører til næste lønperiode? Hvis der er en fejl, vil du så rette lønnen og eventuelle tilhørende pensionsbidrag og feriepenge?
Vil du også bekræfte, hvornår jeg får den rettede lønseddel og udbetalingen?
Venlig hilsen
Maya
Medarbejdernummer 2184
What the message says: The approved timesheet shows 126 hours, but the payslip pays 122 at DKK 175. Maya attaches both records, asks whether the four hours are missing or belong to the next period, and requests the correction and payment dates. Replace the example details with your own before sending.
Keep the original payslip, your message and the reply. When a correction arrives, reconcile it with the bank payment so you do not count the original salary twice. For a different issue, the Danish email guide helps you adapt the wording.
Turn a Danish pay line into a clear question
SkrivSikkert can help explain Danish wording and turn your notes into a clear message to payroll. Use the web platform or Chrome extension for reading and writing support. Many functions are free without login.
Try freeFrequently asked questions
Is ATP deducted before AM-bidrag?
Yes. The employer deducts your ATP and own pension contribution before calculating AM-bidrag, then calculates A-skat. The employer’s own ATP share is not another deduction from your cash pay.
Do under-18s pay AM-bidrag in 2026?
It starts in the calendar year you turn 18. If you turn 18 during 2026, it applies from January 2026. If you turn 18 in 2027, you do not pay it in 2026.
Can I switch my employer’s tax card in TastSelv?
You can see which card each payer uses, but you must ask the payer to retrieve the correct card. Updating your income estimate is a separate action.
Why does net pay differ from gross salary minus the tax rate?
Your pension, ATP, AM-bidrag and tax-card allowance affect the calculation before A-skat. Other deductions or repayments may also change the bank transfer. Reconcile each line rather than applying one percentage to gross pay.
Does the holiday-pay balance arrive with my salary?
Not necessarily. It may show money saved for holiday rather than cash paid this month. Check your holiday arrangement and use the net-payment line to reconcile the bank transfer.
