New Danish VAT rules on ferry combination tickets have pushed high-season car fares to Samsø up by 25 to 40 percent, leaving the island’s ferry company to cover a shortfall of 1.9 million kroner.
DR reports that Samsø Rederi has raised prices on the route between Hou in Jutland and Sælvig on Samsø. The company, which operates the ferry M/F Prinsesse Isabella, had to find 1.9 million kroner after the new VAT rules on so-called kombi tickets, covering a car and its passengers.
According to DR, the price of driving aboard during the high season has risen by between 25 and 40 percent. Cheaper tickets previously offered in weeks 26, 27 and 32 are gone. Traffic director Carsten Kruse said passenger numbers in those weeks fell by 5 to 10 percent this year.
The ferry company is owned by Samsø Kommune, so the municipality must cover the money. Mayor Per Urban Olsen, of the Conservative party, told DR the sum is substantial for a small island. Scaled to neighboring Aarhus Kommune, roughly 100 times larger, it would equal about 200 million kroner.
Olsen argues the new rules work against the landevejsprincip, under which a ferry crossing should cost about the same as driving an equivalent distance by road. He noted that traffic rose when fares were lowered, and said higher fares will hit the island’s businesses. All ferries sailing within Danish borders are affected, DR reports.
The industry association Danske Rederier is critical of the change. Deputy chief executive Jacob Clasen told DR that the practice leads to higher prices for passengers, and called on politicians to look at the rules again to find a less costly solution.
The rule behind the increase
The change stems from Skattestyrelsen guidance SKM2025.457.SKST, which took effect on January 1, 2026. As described in a Fanø Kommune decision document from October 2025, operators can no longer base the VAT-free share of a combination ticket on the actual average number of passengers. Instead the calculation must use only the driver plus a standard passenger ticket.
In a joint consultation response to Skattestyrelsen, Fanø, Læsø and Samsø municipalities estimated an annual net extra cost of about 4.4 million kroner for Samsø. They projected fare increases of 8 to 9.5 percent, with the Samsø high-season kombi ticket rising from 515 to 564 kroner in 2026.
Maritime Danmark reported that the three island municipalities together face around 10 million kroner in extra annual costs. Based on 2024 data, Fanø’s operator projected increases of about 6.4 percent for car tickets and 3.3 percent for buses, covering 3.9 million kroner in additional VAT.
Samsø Færgen announced in March 2026 that the Hou to Sælvig route would have a single high-season price band from June 27 to August 9, 2026. The high season had previously been split into three price levels, including the cheaper weeks now removed for summer holidays.
