Your car to Denmark: the tax that changes everything

For most emigration destinations the car is a logistical question: how do I get it there, and what does the transport cost. For Denmark it's a tax question, and the answer often decides whether it comes along at all.

The registreringsafgift: three brackets and a CO₂ surcharge

At the first registration of every car — new or used, imported or bought locally — Denmark levies the registreringsafgift. It is calculated on the Danish market value of the car, in three brackets: in 2026 that's 25% on the first DKK 76,400, 85% up to DKK 237,400, and 150% on everything above that. On top comes a CO₂ surcharge per gram, which rises the more the car emits, and a fixed deduction comes off.

Two things make the sum different for Dutch people from what it seems. First, Denmark calculates with the Danish market value — and because of that same tax it is higher than the Dutch current value. Second, there is no exemption for removal goods. The scheme that movers from outside the EU know doesn't apply to the registration tax, and for EU immigrants there's nothing at all. Whoever settles in Denmark pays the full rate — the only more lenient route is for people who are demonstrably there temporarily.

Electric softens the sum considerably: in 2026 zero-emission cars pay only 40% of the calculated tax, with an extra deduction of well over DKK 160,000. For a small or mid-sized EV the levy can therefore turn out modest; the scheme is being phased out step by step until 2036.

The deadline: thirty days, and then it's over

From the moment you settle in Denmark you have thirty days to register the car in Denmark. After that you may no longer drive it on Dutch plates. The procedure: a toldsyn (extended inspection) at an approved inspection station, the tax declaration in the Motorregister — you can declare yourself or have Motorstyrelsen do the valuation — and after payment collect the plates. Whoever wants to know for certain where they stand can request a binding valuation in advance.

The other side: what the Netherlands refunds

On export the Netherlands refunds the remaining BPM, for cars registered after 16 October 2006. The conditions are clear: register the car with the RDW for export, and make sure it is durably registered in Denmark within thirteen weeks. Those thirteen weeks and the Danish thirty days fit into each other amply — but only if you don't push the Danish registration ahead of you.

The refund and the levy are two separate taxes that don't offset each other at all. You get the remaining BPM back and you pay the full Danish rate. For almost every petrol or diesel car the Danish levy is (much) higher than the refund.

The sum you have to do

Put four numbers in a row: the Danish registreringsafgift (check it on Motorstyrelsen's rates page, or let the step-by-step plan do the sum), the BPM refund, the Dutch sale proceeds, and the price of a comparable car in Denmark. For most households the same answer comes out: sell the car in the Netherlands, take the refund and the proceeds with you, and buy or lease one in Denmark — Danish used cars already have the tax in their price, so you pay it either way, but then without inspection, paperwork and thirty-day clock.

The exceptions exist too: a small electric car with a large Dutch refund, or a car with mainly emotional value that is allowed to lose the sum. But do the sum before you leave — whoever only does it in Denmark does it under time pressure.