Do I have to file at home while living in Denmark?
For most people the answer turns on whether the ties that made them resident have actually ended. For a US citizen or green-card holder it does not: the return is due in Denmark exactly as it would be at home. Everything else on the file follows from which of those you are.
Is there a treaty between my country and Denmark?
Treaty networks change with each protocol and each multilateral-instrument position, so we confirm the treaty in force for your specific year with the issuing authority rather than relying on a published summary. Where there is none, unilateral relief and domestic law do the work instead.
I own property in Denmark. Where is the rent taxed?
Rent from immovable property is almost always taxable where the property is situated, frequently by withholding on the gross amount, with your home country taxing the same income and giving credit. A net-basis election, where one exists, is usually the difference between tax on profit and tax on turnover.
Should I elect into the Danish scheme for inbound key employees?
Not automatically. Denmark has operated an elective scheme for certain inbound researchers and key employees, and it is genuinely attractive to some people and worth nothing to others. It carries entry conditions, it runs for a limited period, and the election has consequences that are hard to unwind. The part usually missed is that a lower Danish charge does not always mean a lower overall charge, because if your home country still taxes you on the same income, the credit it gives is limited to the Danish tax you actually paid. Work the two sides together before electing, not after.
Does the Danish expat scheme reduce my Canadian foreign tax credit?
It can, and that is the point people find counter-intuitive. A foreign tax credit relieves foreign tax actually paid. If an election reduces the Danish tax on a salary, it reduces the credit available at home in step. For someone who has genuinely ceased to be resident in Canada that does not matter, because the salary is not on a Canadian return at all. For someone still resident, or resident for part of the year, the saving in Denmark can be substantially or wholly absorbed by extra tax at home. The residence position has to be settled before the election is evaluated.
When do I stop being resident at home if I take a Danish assignment?
When the facts change, which is often later than the assignment start date and sometimes never during the assignment at all. The relevant facts are where your home is and whether it was kept available, where a spouse and children live, what cover and memberships were retained, and how the days actually fall. An employer's mobility policy has no bearing on it. Assignees frequently arrive believing the position was settled by the transfer letter, and a treaty tie-breaker then has to be applied to a year in which both countries have a claim. Documenting the ties as they move is what makes that arguable later.
Which deductions on my Danish payslip count as income tax at home?
Only the ones that genuinely are income tax. A Danish payslip shows income tax alongside other statutory deductions, and a credit claimed at home relieves income tax only. Contributions of a social character are handled under a different route, usually a social security agreement where one is in force between the two countries, which is about which system you contribute to rather than about credit. Take the figures from the annual statement rather than adding up the deduction column, and keep that statement, because a credit claim rests on evidence of what was actually paid and to which charge.
I am Danish and live in Canada. Does Denmark still tax my pension?
It may, and the answer depends on the type of pension and on how the treaty article deals with it. Treaties handle pensions separately from employment income, and they commonly distinguish a government-service pension from a private or occupational one, sometimes treating social security payments differently again. Within one household two pensions from different sources can end up assigned to different countries. There is also usually withholding at source to deal with, which means paperwork lodged with the payer rather than a claim made later. Read the article against the specific pension before the first payment, not after.
My employer equalises my tax. Do I still have to file myself?
Yes. Tax equalisation is a contractual arrangement between you and your employer about who ultimately bears the cost. It does not transfer the filing obligation, which remains personal in every country involved, and it does not stop an authority coming to you rather than to the company. What equalisation does change is the arithmetic, because payments made on your behalf can themselves be taxable, and the settlement calculation at the end of an assignment often arrives long after the returns it relates to. Read the policy alongside the filings rather than treating the two as separate matters.
Do I have to file in both countries?
Frequently yes, and the two filings do different jobs. The country where the income arises taxes it at source; the country where you are resident taxes your worldwide income and then gives credit for the tax already paid. Filing only one side is what leaves relief unclaimed — the credit has to be asked for on a return. We prepare both sides so the numbers agree. See dual filing.
How long do I have to be out of the country to stop being resident?
There is no single period that settles it. Canada looks at whether your ties were actually severed, not at a day count; the United States taxes citizens regardless of where they live; India applies day-count thresholds with a second limb reaching back over earlier years. Time abroad is evidence, not a rule — what decides it is where your home, family and economic life sit. See tax residency.
