Restskat has arrived: what it is and how to pay it
In short
means one thing: during the year less tax was taken from you than should have been. It is not a fine and not an accusation — most often it is the result of a that described a different year from the one you actually lived.
The main thing to understand: 1 July is not “pay or else”. It is the line between cheap and expensive. After it a surcharge is added to the amount, and it does not go away again.
the interest and the surcharge on restskat cannot be claimed as a fradrag
Does this apply to me?
Yes, if the very first line of your says restskat. The amount there is already final — if you agree with the data.
Steps
First check whether it is even true
Before you pay, check the income and the tax withheld in the årsopgørelse against your for the year. The December one is the easiest — it has the “År til dato” column.
If the data is wrong, correct the årsopgørelse instead of paying. The amount recalculates itself.
Guide: how to check and correct your årsopgørelse →Work out which window you are in
The price of your debt depends only on the date you pay. There are three windows:
Pay through TastSelv
TastSelv has a payment section: there you can pay the whole amount or part of it and see straight away how much interest has built up. You pay by Dankort, through MobilePay or by bank transfer.
the receipt then sits under Betaling → Betalingshistorik
Pay with the betalings-ID from TastSelv — otherwise the payment will not attach itself to your debt.
Did nothing? Then it gets decided for you
If you simply do not pay, SKAT does not forget — it splits the debt into two parts.
that built-in debt is exactly why people later cannot work out why their pay got smaller
Do not miss those three bills
This is where it really does get unpleasant. Unpaid rater are handed over to Gældsstyrelsen — the debt collection agency. It has the right to take money straight from your salary and it adds interest of its own.
Turning that back around is much harder than simply paying on time.
Make sure this does not happen next year
Restskat is almost always a symptom, not the disease. The disease is a wrong forskudsopgørelse. Go into it the same day and correct the income and the fradrag for the current year.
Guide: forskudsopgørelse for next year →What you will need
- MitID on your phone
- The årsopgørelse with the restskat amount
- Lønsedler for the year — to check against
- The betalings-ID from TastSelv
- Dankort or MobilePay
Danish words you will see
- Restskat
- Tax you underpaid during the year. You can see it in your årsopgørelse.
- Overskydende skat
- Overpaid tax that will be refunded to you.
- Årsopgørelse
- The annual tax statement: your income and tax for last year, summed up.
- Forskudsopgørelse
- The preliminary tax assessment for the year. It opens in November.
- NemKonto
- Your account, the one the state sends all payments to.
Common mistakes
- Treating 1 July as the last day. It is the line between cheap and expensive, not a collection date. Nothing is taken from you on 2 July.
- Mixing up the correction deadline with the payment deadline. You can usually correct the årsopgørelse until 1 May. Paying cheaply means before 1 July. These are different dates.
- Paying into some random SKAT account. Without the betalings-ID the money will not find your debt.
- Missing one of the three autumn bills. After that the case goes to Gældsstyrelsen — with deductions straight from your salary.
- Paying up and not correcting this year’s forecast. Then the same letter arrives next spring.
Need to talk to a human?
You can ask SKAT for a payment plan — but only while the debt is still with them and not with Gældsstyrelsen. Call with your CPR and the årsopgørelse number to hand.
Where to turn and what to say →Where this information comes from
- Checked against sources: 21.09.2026
- Sources: skat.dk — Pay outstanding tax, skat.dk — Relevante datoer for årsopgørelsen, skat.dk — Renter og procenttillæg (SKM)
This is an explanation in plain words, not legal advice. The final word always belongs to the authority. How we check
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