July 1 Deadline: Report Foreign Shares or Lose Deductions

Femi Ajakaye

June 24, 2026
4:04 pm

Danish residents who bought shares or funds in foreign brokerage accounts during 2025 have until July 1, 2026 to report those purchases to the Danish Tax Agency, or they permanently lose the right to claim tax deductions on any future losses. No exceptions, no extensions, and no mercy from SKAT.

The July 1 deadline is not a suggestion. It’s a hard cut in Danish tax law that trips up thousands of private investors every year, according to PwC. And it applies equally to long term residents and newcomers to Denmark who arrived in 2025 with an existing foreign portfolio.

“We often see private investors assume that information about foreign investments automatically appears on their annual tax statement, because that’s what happens with Danish brokerage accounts,” says Søren Thorvaldsen Svane Keller, partner and tax expert at PwC. “But when the account is abroad, you have to report it yourself. And it can get expensive if you don’t.”

Why the Danish Tax Agency Doesn’t Know About Your Foreign Shares

The reason is simple. Danish banks and brokers automatically report your holdings, purchases, sales, dividends and capital gains to SKAT every year. Foreign platforms do not. Whether you’re trading through a German discount broker, an American platform, or a British investment app, none of that data flows to Copenhagen unless you manually enter it.

That puts the burden entirely on you. Miss the deadline, and Danish law strips you of the right to deduct losses on those securities. Forever. Even if you report them later, even if you dutifully pay tax on any gains, you still cannot claim relief on losses.

The rule applies to listed stocks, bonds, and investment funds held in foreign accounts. It does not apply to unlisted foreign shares, which fall under different rules.

Expats and Returnees Are Caught Too

This isn’t just a rule for Danes who dabble in foreign markets. If you moved to Denmark in 2025 and brought a foreign brokerage account with you, the same deadline applies. A ruling earlier this year from Denmark’s National Tax Tribunal confirmed that newcomers lose the right to future loss deductions if they don’t report by July 1.

I’ve lived here long enough to know that Denmark’s tax system assumes you know the rules, even when they’re buried in administrative guidance that most people never read. The system is not designed to catch you up. It’s designed to penalize you for not keeping up.

For expats, this can be especially brutal. You arrive, you’re juggling residence permits and Danish bank accounts, and somewhere in the fine print is a rule that says: report your foreign shares by July 1 or forfeit your right to tax relief on losses. It feels like a trap, even if technically it’s just compliance.

How to Actually Report

Reporting happens through your annual tax return on skat.dk. You log in, select “Ret årsopgørelsen” or the information form, then navigate to “Udenlandsk indkomst” (foreign income). There, you manually enter details for each foreign security: country, holding value, gains or losses, and any foreign withholding tax already paid.

If you held shares in three different countries and made dozens of trades, this can turn into an afternoon of data entry. Danish brokers do this automatically. Foreign ones leave you with spreadsheets and PDFs to parse yourself.

The Tax Agency says you can contact them via TastSelv messages or by phone if you’re unsure. But the responsibility is yours. There is no dispensation process if you miss the deadline.

What Happens to Gains and Dividends

Here’s the twist. Even if you never report your foreign holdings, you still owe Danish tax on any gains or dividends. The loss deduction rule is one way. You lose the right to relief, but not the obligation to pay tax.

For dividends, most foreign brokers withhold tax at source, typically 15 percent under double taxation treaties. Denmark then taxes the dividend again, up to the Danish rate of 27 or 42 percent depending on your total investment income. You get credit for the foreign withholding tax, but only up to the treaty limit. And only if you can document it.

PwC recommends keeping receipts, account statements, and annual summaries from your platforms. You’ll need them when you correct your tax return. Without documentation, SKAT won’t give you credit for foreign tax you’ve already paid.

Why Denmark Designed It This Way

The strict reporting rules exist because Denmark has no automatic way to verify foreign investments. The OECD’s Common Reporting Standard helps, but it doesn’t capture acquisition costs or individual trade level detail. So Denmark uses a carrot and stick approach. Report correctly and on time, and you get full tax treatment. Don’t, and you lose the right to offset losses.

It’s a blunt instrument. And it works, at least from the Tax Agency’s perspective. It forces disclosure by making non compliance expensive.

From an investor’s perspective, it’s a compliance minefield. Especially for people who moved here from countries where tax reporting is simpler or more automated.