Frequently asked questions
Answers to the most common questions about the Danish salary calculation, the AM contribution, state tax and municipal tax.
- What is the difference between gross and net?
- Gross is your salary before deductions; net is what actually reaches your account. The difference is ATP, the AM contribution and income tax, which your employer withholds and pays for you.
- What is the AM contribution, and when is it taken?
- The labour-market contribution is 8,00 % of your pay after ATP and is taken before income tax. ATP is a fixed amount (99,00 kr. a month full-time) taken first and exempt from the AM contribution.
- What is the difference between personal and taxable income?
- State tax is charged on personal income (pay after the AM contribution), while municipal and church tax are charged on taxable income — income after the employment and job allowances. That is why the two bases are not the same.
- Why do I have to choose a municipality?
- Because municipal tax varies from one municipality to another (with the rates in force from 23,39 % to 26,30 %). If you do not choose one, the calculator uses the national average of 25,00 % and says so clearly — it is never silently wrong.
- How does the personal allowance work?
- The personal allowance (54.100 kr. a year) is a tax-free base amount that works as a tax value: it is subtracted from the calculated tax at the bottom-tax, municipal and church rate separately, and so pushes your net pay up.
- Do I have to pay church tax?
- Only if you are a member of the national church. Church tax is collected together with the municipal tax (national average around 0,87 %) and is off by default in the calculator.
- Does Denmark have a minimum wage?
- No. Denmark has no statutory minimum wage; pay levels are agreed in collective bargaining between unions and employer associations — the Danish model. That is why there is no minimum-wage page here.
- Who is the calculator for?
- For the standard situation: an adult full-time employee (ATP A-rate), with no occupational pension and no capital income. Occupational pension, the researcher scheme, the commuting allowance and other personal allowances are deliberately out of scope.
- Why can the result differ from my payslip?
- A few reasons. This version does not include occupational pension, which many payslips do, and uses the national average if you do not choose a municipality. It is a good order-of-magnitude estimate, not a replacement for your payslip.
- Are the figures in the calculator correct?
- The rates are those in force for 2026, sourced from the official figures; the result is still an estimate. No guarantee of accuracy — the authority’s own decision is what governs.