Danish tax agency admits failure to inform parents about children’s tax assessments

The Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen) has acknowledged it failed to properly inform parents that all children, regardless of age, would receive an annual tax assessment this year if they had potential taxable income, DR reports.

Underdirector Ulrick Junge admitted the agency had not communicated the new practice effectively. “We admit we could have done better,” he told DR. “We should have communicated this more clearly to parents, and we will improve this going forward.”

The admission follows confusion among parents after nearly four million Danes received tax refunds on Tuesday. Some reported receiving notifications for infants as young as eight months old to check their tax assessments—including one case where a child’s three kroner in interest income was flagged.

Junge explained that around half a million children under 15 have received assessments this year, often due to taxable income from sources like bank interest or investment gifts. “It could be interest on a savings account or securities given as a christening or confirmation gift,” he said. Older children might also have earnings from part-time jobs or activities like acting or influencing.

While such income is technically taxable, Junge noted it rarely exceeds the personal allowance (around 50,000 kroner), meaning no tax is typically owed. The change stems from increased reporting by banks on children’s financial activity.

Parents unsure about their child’s assessment can review it via skat.dk using their MitID credentials and the child’s CPR number.