Summer holidays begin, Copenhagen jazz, and government fast tracks commuter tax break and property valuation bills. Here’s what changes in Denmark in July 2026.
Summer holidays begin
Most schools in Denmark break up for the summer on Friday June 27th, so the summer holidays arrive with the first week of July.
This obviously applies for schools and preschools, but also to a high degree for people working in the Nordic country.
Of the five standard weeks or (normally 25 days) of paid vacation covered by Denmark’s Holiday Act (The Holiday Act), the “main holiday period” begins on May 1st and ends on September 30th. During this time, three weeks’ consecutive vacation may be taken out of the five weeks.
For those in full or part-time employment who are covered by the Danish holiday laws, many will take three weeks off in July, especially if they have children.
The traditional Danish industry holiday, also known as industrial holiday, takes place in Weeks 28, 29 and 30 (July 6th to July 24th).
This is why you are likely to hear Danish colleagues who work full time wishing each other a “good summer holiday” in late June as if it’s the end of the school term.
READ ALSO: Why do the Danes take such long summer holidays?
Commuter tax rebate
Denmark’s government has announced plans to increase the commuter tax deduction (transport deduction) for the rest of the year to ease the impact of high fuel prices caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The government hopes to pass this proposal in parliament before the summer holidays, so in the last week of June or early July, so that taxpayers can change their advance tax return during the summer and thus benefit from the increased travel allowance in their paycheck during the 2026 tax year.
New rules make it easier to hold share options
New rules on the taxation of share options which come into force on July 1st will make it more attractive for companies to give shares to their employees, with employees from July 1st only taxed when they sell their shares and not taxed annually on any gains in their value.
Employees in startups with a basic annual salary of at least DKK 265,300 will now be able to receive an unlimited number of employee shares, including warrants and options. The shares will only be taxed when they are sold again.
The new rules apply to small and medium-sized companies that are not listed on the stock exchange, are less than ten years old, have fewer than 150 employees, and have less than 200 million kroner in net revenue.
Property valuations to be calculated differently
Denmark’s new government also hopes to fast track a bill changing how property valuations are calculated, so that it is passed before the summer holidays start in July.
Under the bill, new property valuations for 2026 and 2027 will be replaced by a simpler system based on existing assessments from 2022 and 2023, with the authorities adjusting previous assessments in line with changes in property prices in the local area.
Tax Minister Jakob Engel-Schmidt said in a press release that the proposal would reduce the risk of homeowners receiving large unexpected tax bills and allow staff to focus on clearing backlogs and processing delayed valuations.
EU to slap €3 customs duty on small parcels
Ordering parcels online from non-European Union countries will cost you a little more in future with a new EU customs duty coming into force on July 1st.
The €3 duty, which will be applied from July 1st 2026, will apply to all goods arriving from non-EU sellers registered in the EU’s import one-stop shop (IOSS) for value-added tax purposes.
It will be applied to packages valued less than €150 arriving in the EU from third countries.
This represents 93 per cent of all e-commerce flows to the European Union, according to EU data.
Copenhagen Jazz Festival
The streets of Copenhagen will hum with the groovy sound of summer jazz as the latest edition of the Copenhagen Jazz Festival begins on July 3rd and continues for ten days until July 12th.
The annual festival is unique in that it does not have a specific location, but is played out in parks, on squares and in bars (and, of course, jazz clubs) across the capital. The size of the venues ranges equally from intimate and spontaneous to major concert halls.
Over 1,200 concerts are scheduled to take place at 120 different locations and you can check out the program on the event’s website.
Cheap summer rail travel
Denmark’s rail operator DSB has scrapped a popular summer travel pass, the Rejsepas, which it offered in recent years, but all is not lost if you’re on the lookout for a heavily discounted train trip this summer.
DSB’s limited availability Orange tickets, which offer heavily discounted rail travel across the country, have been given extended release for the summer, particularly in July.
Orange tickets are reduced-price tickets for set departure times, made available by DSB on a first-come, first-served basis.
The tickets offer highly discounted travel between any two stations in Denmark for a maximum price of 99 kroner.
READ ALSO: How to save on rail travel in Denmark this summer
Update to Positive List
The Positive List is a list of professions for which immigration authorities can issue work permits because Denmark is experiencing a shortage of qualified professionals in those fields.
People who are offered a job included in the Positive List can apply for a Danish residence and work permit based on the Positive List Scheme. An educational background in the relevant field is required.
The Positive List Scheme is one of a number of business schemes used to grant work permits for non-EU and EEA nationals who are unable to move to Denmark under the EU’s right to free movement.
The list is updated twice a year, on January 1st and July 1st.
The updated lists can be viewed on the website of the Danish Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI).
Save money by clearing tax arrears
Some 800,000 taxpayers in Denmark are in the position of owing money to the country’s tax authority (Skattestyrelsen), which must be paid back by July 1st.
If you have to pay money back, you can save a certain amount by doing so in advance of the deadline on July 1st, which applies to the 2025 tax statements released in March.
This is because interest applied by the Danish Tax Authority on overdue tax switches to a higher rate from July 1st, with the higher rate being backdated throughout the year.
You can find a full explanation in our earlier article here.
Tax deadline for businesses
If you are a business owner in Denmark you must register your results for 2025 at the beginning of July.
For most companies, this means information can be submitted up to and including June 30th although for self-employed people and small companies, information submitted up to and including July 1st will be considered submitted on time
More information can be found on the Danish Tax Agency’s website.
Temporary border control with Germany extended
Justice Minister Nicolai Wammen announced on June 12th that Denmark would yet again extend its temporary border controls with Germany, with the extended controls beginning on July 12th, with the extension limited to four months.
“The security situation here at home is serious, and we continue to see a terrorist and sabotage threat directed at Denmark,” Wammen said. “Therefore, it is important that we have border controls with Germany. Against this background, we are now extending the temporary border controls with Germany, so that we continue to give the police the right tools in the fight against cross-border crime.”
Denmark has had temporary border controls with Germany since January 2016.
