TenderProff / Christmas gifts for employees 2026
Guide · Corporate gifts
In Denmark a Christmas gift to an employee is tax-free in 2026 if it is a gift in kind and costs at most DKK 1,000. That holds even if the employee has received other minor staff benefits worth more than DKK 1,400 during the year. Here are the rules, with worked examples and sources.
Updated 11 September 2026
There are two amounts to keep track of. The threshold for minor staff benefits (bagatelgrænsen) is DKK 1,400 a year in 2026, the same as in 2025. If the total value of the year's minor benefits goes above the threshold, the whole amount is taxable, not just the part above it.
Christmas gifts have a special rule on top: a Christmas gift costing at most DKK 1,000 is not taxed, even when the threshold has been exceeded. If the Christmas gift costs more than DKK 1,000, the special rule does not apply and the gift counts towards the threshold like any other gift.
The examples are the Danish Tax Agency's own. Another staff benefit is, for example, a birthday present or another small gift in the same year.
| Christmas gift | Other staff benefit | Tax |
|---|---|---|
| DKK 1,000 | None | No tax |
| DKK 1,400 | None | No tax, because the gift is not above the threshold |
| DKK 900 | DKK 500 | No tax, because DKK 1,400 is not above the threshold |
| DKK 900 | DKK 600 | Tax on DKK 600: the threshold is exceeded, but the Christmas gift is under DKK 1,000 |
| DKK 1,010 | DKK 400 | Tax on DKK 1,410: both the threshold and the Christmas-gift ceiling are exceeded |
Cash gifts are always taxable. A gift card is also taxable if it can be exchanged for cash or can be used broadly, for example in a department store. According to skat.dk, digital gift cards can always be exchanged for cash and are therefore taxable.
Skat.dk names three kinds of gift voucher that are tax-free, as long as they stay within the threshold:
If the gift needs a logo or individual packing, allow 2–3 weeks for printing and packing. Suppliers get busy from mid-October, so collect quotes in early October while stock is still available.
Write how many you are and what the gift may cost, for example 45 Christmas gifts at most DKK 1,000 incl. VAT, with logo, delivered in week 48. TenderProff invites Danish gift suppliers and collects their quotes in one place.
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At most DKK 1,000 if it is to be tax-free whatever else the employee has received. If the Christmas gift is the only gift of the year, a gift in kind of up to DKK 1,400 is also tax-free, because it stays within the threshold.
Only if it cannot be exchanged for cash and has a narrow use, for example a few selected gifts from one provider or one named restaurant with a set menu. Department-store gift cards and digital gift cards are taxable.
Then the Christmas-gift rule does not apply, and the gift counts towards the DKK 1,400 threshold. If the total value of the year's minor gifts is higher than DKK 1,400, the whole amount is taxable.
Yes. According to skat.dk, the cost of the gift can be deducted in the company's tax accounts.
If the gift needs a logo or individual packing, allow 2–3 weeks for printing and packing, and collect quotes in early October. Suppliers get busy from mid-October.
This guide is general information about the Danish rules for 2026, not tax advice. If you are unsure about a specific gift, ask your accountant or the Danish Tax Agency.