The Folketing passed two bills on Thursday that abolish Denmark’s coffee tax from 1 January 2027 and remove VAT on books from 1 July 2027.
A broad majority in parliament backed the package, which also raises the employment deduction for seniors. According to Kristeligt Dagblad, reporting Ritzau’s coverage of the vote, coffee gets cheaper from January and books from July.
The legislation is bill L 36, which the Folketing split into two parts. The Folketing’s bill page lists L 36 A as the coffee tax part and L 36 B as the book VAT part. The same page confirms the 1 January and 1 July 2027 effective dates.
Senior deduction and a new exercise deduction
The extended senior deduction gives a tax cut of up to 9,500 kroner a year in the last five years before the state pension age. The Folketing’s bill page states that the extra employment deduction for seniors is both raised and widened from two to five years before pension age.
Camilla Schjølin, private economist at the pension company PFA, described the change as a noticeable tax cut for seniors. As reported by Ritzau, she said seniors can get around 800 kroner more per month in hand, and that recipients must be in employment.
Parliament also adopted a new exercise deduction. It is meant to compensate people who exercise, after EU court rulings meant VAT had to be added to services such as group classes in fitness centers. The accounting firm Dansk Revision set out the same three elements in its October 2026 summary of L 36.
Why the vote happened now
The measures began with the former SVM government, as part of the agreement on this year’s Finance Act. They were not adopted before the general election on 24 March 2026, and were re-tabled after the new government took office in June. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen called the election on 26 February, which caused the original bills to lapse.
DR has noted that the government does not hold a majority on its own, so backing had to be found among other parties in the Folketing. One element did not survive the change of government. The planned abolition of the tax on chocolate and sugar was dropped, according to Ritzau.
What the new prices and deductions mean for internationals
Denmark’s standard VAT rate, moms, is 25 percent and currently applies to books. From 1 July 2027 the rate on books becomes zero, so the saving shows up in shop and online prices rather than on a tax return. Dansk Revision stated that the zero rate covers physical books and e-books, and that streaming of books is not covered, while Juicynet reported on the same day that printed books, audiobooks and e-books are included.
The coffee tax, kaffeafgift, is an excise duty collected before products reach the shelf, so its removal from 1 January 2027 also works through retail prices. The senior deduction works differently, because deductions in Denmark reduce taxable income through your preliminary income assessment and annual statement at skat.dk. As reported by Ritzau, the senior tax cut requires being in employment in the last five years before the state pension age, which applies on the same terms to foreign nationals working and taxed in Denmark.
