Airbnb tax in 2026: 35,100 kr tax free, and what you pay on the rest

Updated 22 July 2026. Written by Nico Rossetti, Arnor.

If you rent out your Copenhagen home on Airbnb, the tax is easy to understand once you know three numbers: a 35,100 kr tax-free allowance, an extra 40 percent deduction, and roughly 35 percent tax on what is left. In practice, a typical host with 70 rental nights pays around 13 percent of the total rental income in tax. Here is the full 2026 calculation, the new condition introduced this year, and what applies depending on whether you own, rent, or hold an andel share.

The 2026 allowance: 35,100 kr, but only if the platform reports

There are two standard allowances for short-term rental of your primary home. If you rent out through a platform that reports your income to the Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen), the first 35,100 kr are tax free in 2026, up from 33,500 kr in 2025. Airbnb reports automatically, so as an Airbnb host you qualify for the high allowance. If you rent out privately, without a platform, the allowance is only 13,800 kr.

From 2026 the rule has been tightened slightly. In 2023 to 2025 it was enough that the platform was obliged to report. From 2026 the report must actually have been filed before you can use the 35,100 kr. You can check what Airbnb has reported in E-tax (TastSelv) under Skatteoplysninger. If the amount is missing or wrong, have Airbnb correct it well before your tax assessment is finalised.

Three details many hosts miss. The allowance applies per home, not per person: if you own the home with someone else, you split it by ownership share, typically 17,550 kr each. The allowance can never exceed the rental income. And if you rent out both through Airbnb and outside it, the allowance must be used against the platform income first.

How the tax is calculated

The gross rental income is everything the guest pays for the stay: rent, cleaning fee, and payments for electricity, heating and internet. In practice you can start from the amount Airbnb has reported to Skattestyrelsen. From that amount you subtract the allowance. From the rest you subtract another 40 percent, and only the remaining 60 percent is taxed as capital income. The rate depends on your overall finances, typically 33 to 42 percent; we use roughly 35 here.

A worked example, using the same flat as in our income guide, a two-room flat in Vesterbro with 70 nights at an average of 1,300 kr:

Effective tax: around 13 percent of the total rental income. If you earn less than 35,100 kr, you pay 0 kr in tax. At 50,000 kr the tax is roughly 3,100 kr, and at 126,000 kr roughly 19,100 kr.

Owner, andel holder or tenant: same tax on short-term rental

This is where many get it wrong, including professional sites. For short-term rental of the home you live in, the profit is taxed as capital income whether you are an owner, an andel holder or a tenant with permission to sublet. It is stated directly in the Tax Agency's legal guide: the result is included as capital income for owners and sublessors, and andel holders in private housing cooperatives are treated as tenants.

The difference only appears with long rentals. If you rent to the same person for 12 months or more, the income is personal income for tenants and andel holders, and between 4 and 12 months you can choose. That is worth knowing if you are considering mid-term rental to, say, a visiting researcher or a relocating family.

And remember that tax is only half the story. Whether your housing association or your landlord allows short-term rental at all is a separate question. We cover that in our guide to housing associations and in our guide to the 70 nights and the residency rules.

Renting out without a platform costs you

The same example without a platform: 91,000 kr minus 13,800 kr leaves 77,200 kr, and 60 percent of that is 46,320 kr to be taxed. That comes to roughly 16,200 kr in tax, about 4,500 kr more than through Airbnb. The logic is simple: the Tax Agency rewards rentals where the income is reported automatically. On top of that, private rentals outside a platform come without insurance or a payment system behind them.

The accounting deduction: do the maths before choosing it

Instead of the standard allowance, you can choose to deduct your actual documented costs: the proportional share of electricity, water and heating during the rental period, advertising, maintenance and depreciation of furnishings, and a proportional share of the land tax if you rent out at least 10 percent of the home. You cannot deduct maintenance of the property itself, insurance or waste collection.

The choice is binding. Once you have used the accounting method for a home, you cannot go back to the standard allowance later. For a typical host with 70 nights in their own home, the standard allowance nearly always wins: 35,100 kr plus the 40 percent deduction is more than the actual costs can match, and you avoid keeping receipts for every bulb and towel.

The practical part: your tax assessment

Airbnb reports your rental income to Skattestyrelsen under the EU rules for digital platforms. Check the amount yourself in E-tax anyway. As an owner, the profit goes in box 37 of the tax assessment (årsopgørelsen), field 218 of the preliminary assessment (forskudsopgørelsen). If you expect a larger rental income this year, enter it in your preliminary assessment now and avoid a tax bill next spring.

Three quick questions

What does this mean for your home?

The tax is the predictable part. The real difference lies in what your home can earn per night and what Airbnb's fees and the daily operation take. We prepare a free estimate for your home in Copenhagen or Frederiksberg: expected annual income, before and after fees, operations and tax, with no obligations. That way you know what you can realistically earn before you decide. You can also start with our Airbnb calculator.

Sources: the Danish Tax Agency, skat.dk on renting out a room or a home you live in (updated March 2026); the legal guide C.H.3.4.1.1.2 on section 15 Q of the Danish Tax Assessment Act; section 4 of the Personal Income Tax Act.

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