Denmark Tax Card Guide (Primary Card, Secondary Card, Frikort)

What Is a Danish Tax Card

A Danish tax card is a digital document issued by SKAT that tells your employer how much tax to deduct from your pay each month. It contains three key pieces of information:

• — Trækprocent (withholding rate): The percentage of your gross salary that should be withheld as tax. This is calculated from your forskudsopgørelse estimates.
• — Personfradrag (personal allowance): The monthly tax-free amount you can earn before tax is withheld. In 2026, the annual personal allowance is approximately 49,700 DKK, divided across 12 months (~4,142 DKK/month).
• — Korttype (card type): Whether this is a primary card (hovedkort), secondary card (bikort), or exemption card (frikort).

Tax cards are no longer physical cards — they are transmitted electronically from SKAT to your employer via the eIndkomst system. When you start a new job, you provide your CPR number and your expected annual income, and your employer retrieves your tax card digitally. You never need to hand over a physical card or document to your employer.

The tax card is employer-specific — each employer receives only the card relevant to them (your hovedkort goes to your main employer, while a bikort goes to a second employer). You cannot reuse a tax card across multiple employers for the same month.

Primary Tax Card (Hovedkort)

The hovedkort (primary tax card) is the most important tax card. It is the card that includes your full personal allowance (personfradrag) and your base withholding rate (trækprocent). It is issued to your main employer — the one that pays you the largest salary.

Characteristics of the hovedkort:

• — Includes your monthly personfradrag: The first ~4,142 DKK you earn each month (assuming the ~49,700 DKK annual allowance) is tax-free. This allowance is applied through the hovedkort only.
• — Lower withholding rate: Because the allowance is applied here, the effective tax rate on the hovedkort is lower than on a bikort (which has no allowance).
• — Linked to your primary employment: Your main employer uses the hovedkort. If you have only one job, you use only the hovedkort.
• — Automatically allocated: SKAT automatically assigns the highest-paying job to the hovedkort. If you start a new job that pays more, the primary card may automatically shift to the new employer.

You should always ensure that your highest-paying job is on the hovedkort and your second job (if any) is on the bikort. If the allocation is wrong — for example, your side job gets the hovedkort — you risk under-withholding, because the allowance is not maximised against your highest income.

Secondary Tax Card (Bikort)

The bikort (secondary tax card) is used for supplementary employment — a second job, a part-time role, or any additional employer beyond your main one. It has distinct characteristics:

• — No monthly allowance (personfradrag): Your personal allowance is fully allocated to the hovedkort. The bikort applies tax from the first krone earned.
• — Higher withholding rate: Typically 8 percentage points higher than the rate on your hovedkort. This compensates for the absence of the personal allowance. The exact rate depends on your marginal tax bracket.
• — Used for extra jobs: If you have a second job, your second employer receives the bikort from SKAT. You do not need to provide it manually — it is transmitted digitally.
• — Multiple bikort: In theory, you can have more than one secondary job, each with its own bikort. However, having multiple bikort increases the risk of under-withholding because each employer applies a rate based on incomplete information.

If you have a second job that pays less than your main job, the bikort ensures that sufficient tax is withheld. Without the bikort, you would owe significant restskat at year end because no personal allowance was applied to the main job and no tax was withheld from the second job at all.

If your second job is very small (e.g., a few hours a month), you may prefer to have it without a tax card (uden skattekort), which triggers a 55% withholding rate. This is an option if the income is minimal and you want to avoid the complexity of a bikort.

Exemption Card (Frikort)

The frikort (exemption card) is a special tax card for individuals with very low annual income — typically students, young people, or part-time workers earning below the personal allowance threshold.

Key features of the frikort:

• — 0% withholding up to the threshold: If your total annual income is expected to be below approximately 49,700 DKK (the 2026 personfradrag), you can use a frikort. Up to that amount, 0% tax is withheld. This means you keep 100% of your earnings.
• — 38% rate above the threshold: Once your income exceeds the personal allowance, the withholding rate jumps to 38% on the excess. This is the standard rate applied when the frikort limit is exhausted.
• — Automatic issuance: SKAT automatically issues a frikort if your forskudsopgørelse shows income below the threshold. You can also request one manually through TastSelv.
• — Ideal for students and part-time workers: If you are a student with a part-time job (e.g., in a cafe, retail, or as a research assistant), the frikort ensures you do not overpay tax during the year.
• — No separate card type: The frikort essentially replaces the hovedkort when your income is low enough. It uses the same infrastructure but applies a 0% rate.

If you have a frikort and your income exceeds the threshold, your employer will automatically switch to withholding at 38% once the limit is reached. You should monitor your income and, if it looks likely to exceed the threshold significantly, update your forskudsopgørelse to ensure correct withholding.

How Tax Cards Work with Multiple Jobs

Having multiple jobs is common in Denmark, especially among students and freelancers. The tax card system is designed to handle this, but you must understand the allocation rules:

• — One primary card only: You can have only one hovedkort at a time. It must go to your highest-paying employer (or the one you want to allocate your personal allowance to).
• — Allocate allowance to highest income: Always ensure the hovedkort (with the personfradrag) is allocated to the job with the highest expected income. This maximises the benefit of the tax-free allowance.
• — Second job on bikort: Your second employer receives the bikort. Because the bikort has no allowance, tax is deducted from the first krone at a rate ~8 percentage points higher than the hovedkort.
• — Avoiding under-withholding: If you have three jobs, the third job may have no valid tax card, triggering a 55% withholding rate (uden skattekort). This is a safety mechanism but can lead to over-withholding.
• — Changing jobs: When you change jobs, your hovedkort automatically follows you to the new employer (if the new job is higher-paying). You can also manually reassign the hovedkort through TastSelv.

If you have multiple jobs and your total income is significant, check the combined withholding across all jobs by reviewing your monthly payslips. If the total tax withheld seems too low compared to your expected tax rate, update your forskudsopgørelse or manually adjust your withholding.

Changing and Correcting Tax Cards

Mistakes happen — you might have the wrong card type, incorrect withholding rate, or your personal allowance may be misallocated. Correcting your tax card is straightforward:

Step-by-step correction process:

• — Log in to skat.dk with MitID
• — Navigate to TastSelv and select “Skattekort”
• — View your current cards: hovedkort, bikort, and any frikort
• — To change the card type, update your forskudsopgørelse — specifically, adjust the “main employer” field or update expected income for each job
• — SKAT automatically recalculates and reissues the tax cards to your employers
• — The new card takes effect for the next pay period (usually the following month)

Common corrections:

• — Wrong employer has hovedkort: Go to the forskudsopgørelse and change which employer is listed as your main employment
• — Incorrect trækprocent: Update your estimated income or deductions on the forskudsopgørelse — the rate will recalculate
• — Missing bikort for second job: Add the second job to your forskudsopgørelse, and SKAT will issue a bikort automatically
• — Frikort no longer applicable: Update your expected income on the forskudsopgørelse — if it exceeds the threshold, SKAT will convert to a hovedkort with a standard rate

Employers receive the updated cards digitally via eIndkomst within 24 hours. You do not need to contact your employer or provide any physical document. The entire process is handled electronically by SKAT.

For a comprehensive understanding of how your tax card interacts with your preliminary income assessment, see our preliminary income assessment guide →. For B-income and freelancing situations, the B-income guide → explains how tax cards handle side income.

FAQs

What is the difference between hovedkort and bikort?

The hovedkort (primary card) includes your personal allowance (personfradrag) and has your base withholding rate. It goes to your main employer. The bikort (secondary card) does not include the personal allowance — tax is applied from the first krone earned, at a rate approximately 8 percentage points higher than the hovedkort. The bikort is used for second jobs or part-time employment beyond your main role.

How do I get a frikort (exemption card)?

SKAT issues a frikort automatically if your forskudsopgørelse shows expected annual income below the personal allowance threshold (~49,700 DKK in 2026). You can also request a frikort manually through TastSelv by setting your expected income to zero or below the threshold. The frikort allows 0% withholding up to the threshold. Once your income exceeds it, withholding automatically switches to 38%. It is ideal for students and part-time workers with low earnings.

My tax card is wrong — what do I do?

Log in to skat.dk with MitID, go to TastSelv, and update your forskudsopgørelse. The most common fixes are: correcting your expected salary (field 11), changing which employer is the main one, or adding a second job. SKAT recalculates your tax card and sends the updated version to your employer digitally within 24 hours. You do not need to provide any physical document to your employer.

Can I have two tax cards at the same time?

Yes. If you have two jobs, you will have a hovedkort (primary) for your main job and a bikort (secondary) for your second job. You can also have more than one bikort if you have three or more jobs, but this increases the risk of under-withholding. Each employer receives only the relevant card from SKAT. The hovedkort must be allocated to the highest-paying job to ensure correct withholding.

What is the withholding rate when no tax card is available?

If an employer cannot retrieve a valid tax card for you, they are required to withhold tax at 55% of your gross salary. This is called uden skattekort (without a tax card). It is a safety mechanism to prevent under-withholding. If this happens, you should immediately check your forskudsopgørelse and ensure your tax cards are correctly set up. The 55% rate is significantly higher than most people’s marginal rate, so you will likely receive a refund when the årsopgørelse is finalised.