What eIndkomst does—and what it does not
eIndkomst, called E-income in English, is Denmark’s national income register. Employers use it to report employee identity, salary, withholding, hours, pension, holiday and other income information to the Danish Tax Agency.
More than 150 public authorities use the register when calculating public benefits, grants and other income-dependent amounts. A missing employee, duplicated salary, incorrect payment date or rejected submission can therefore affect tax liabilities, the employee’s annual tax assessment and public benefits.
Reporting is one output of payroll
A file upload does not by itself prove that payroll is complete. eIndkomst does not automatically:
- decide whether a foreign company has a Danish withholding obligation;
- validate employment terms, social security or work permissions;
- calculate every payroll item correctly;
- pay net salary or every employer liability; or
- reconcile payroll with the bank and general ledger.
Confirm the reporting route first
The employment contract, employer registration, payroll records, eIndkomst submission and accounting journal should identify the same legal employer. Before the first submission, confirm the employing company, the CVR or SE number used for reporting, the employer-registration start date, who approves payroll, who submits the report, and who releases and reconciles payments.
A Danish CVR or SE number does not by itself determine permanent establishment, employee tax, social security or every employer obligation. If the reporting route has not been established, start with the broader payroll setup guide and the guide to hiring through a foreign employer.
Align the employer before configuring payroll.
Registration, contract, payslip, eIndkomst report, payment instructions and accounting entries should all follow the agreed legal-employer model.
Set up access and employee information
Before an internal user can report through TastSelv Erhverv, the company’s MitID Erhverv Rights Administrator must enable the relevant eIndkomst menu and assign the necessary rights. The Danish Tax Agency provides a current access and authorisation guide. Advisers, accountants and payroll providers may use a separate authorisation route.
Do not share personal MitID credentials or rely on an untraceable generic payroll user. Record who may prepare, submit, review and inquire about payroll data, and remove access when responsibilities change.
Employee identification requirements
| Employee situation | Identification information | Important control |
|---|---|---|
| Lives in Denmark | CPR number or applicable SE number | Match the identifier to the legal name, employment record and payroll master data. |
| Lives outside Denmark | Name, address, town or city, country, gender, date of birth, foreign TIN and TIN country code | Supplementary personal data are required even when the employee has a valid Danish CPR number. |
| Foreign TIN not yet issued | Report the remaining payroll and supplementary personal data; leave the TIN fields blank | Do not invent or substitute a number. Add the TIN in future reports once issued. |
Since 1 January 2024, employers must also report the foreign TIN and country code for an income recipient registered at an address outside Denmark. The requirement is described in the Tax Agency’s official employee-identification guidance.
Do not send identity and payroll data through a public contact form.
Use a controlled document channel after the engagement, access permissions and responsibilities have been agreed.
A controlled monthly eIndkomst process
The exact timetable depends on the employer’s pay date and registered deadline class, but the operating sequence should remain consistent.
Approve inputs
Freeze starters, leavers, hours, salary changes, benefits, leave and corrections.
Calculate payroll
Calculate gross-to-net pay using approved inputs and the applicable electronic tax card.
Review and approve
Check employee count, movements, taxes, contributions and the separate net-pay total.
Report
Submit online, upload a structured file or report through the selected payroll solution.
Check status and pay
Confirm the accepted population, save the receipt and arrange payments by the applicable deadline.
Reconcile
Match payroll, bank, eIndkomst, Tax Account and accounting entries before closing the month.
Freeze and approve the inputs
Collect starters, leavers, salary changes, hours, overtime, bonus, absence, benefits, pension, holiday data, address changes, foreign TIN changes and prior-period corrections through an agreed process. Every change should have an effective date and an approver.
Review more than net pay
Review employee count, gross pay, A-income, A-tax, AM-bidrag, hours, pension, ATP, holiday pay, benefits and corrections. The net-pay total and statutory report should be approved separately: a plausible employee payment does not prove that the reported fields are correct.
Close the month with evidence
Save the final receipt and accepted employee population. Reconcile the approved payroll to the net-pay bank file, tax and contribution payments, pension or holiday outputs and payroll entries in the general ledger. For the wider accounting workflow, see NordicEstab’s accounting services.
Use the correct dates, reporting method and fields
The payroll period and the reporting month are not always the same. As a practical rule, the date on which the employee can access the pay determines the eIndkomst reporting month and tax year. The underlying work period still belongs in the pay-period fields.
Work period and reporting month
An employee works from 20 August to 19 September and is paid on 30 September. The work period is reported as 20 August–19 September, while the payment belongs to the September reporting month.
Employers can report directly in TastSelv Erhverv, upload a file, use payroll software or authorise a provider. LetLøn may be suitable for some simple payroll arrangements. The right route depends on payroll volume, internal controls and the complexity of the workforce.
| Method | Typical fit | Control point |
|---|---|---|
| Online entry | Very small or occasional payroll | Manual input and four-eye review |
| File upload | Structured payroll prepared outside eIndkomst | Validate file format and rejected rows |
| Payroll software | Recurring payroll with integrations | Confirm mapping, authorisation and submission status |
| Authorised provider | Foreign employers needing local support | Keep approval, payment and responsibility lines clear |
| LetLøn | Eligible, relatively simple payroll | Check that the service fits the actual employment setup |
Map payroll data before the first submission
Typical mappings cover gross cash pay, pension, benefits, holiday pay, A-tax, labour-market contributions, working hours and the applicable income type. The correct combination depends on the employment and payroll facts; field numbers should be taken from the current official eIndkomst guidance and the chosen payroll system.
See the Danish Tax Agency’s eIndkomst reporting guidance for current reporting routes and deadlines.
This guide explains the control process. It is not a field-by-field technical specification for every pay type or employee category.
Check the response and handle exceptions
A file being sent is not the same as every employee row being accepted. Check the response after each submission and resolve exceptions before closing the payroll cycle.
Received
The submission was received. Complete the normal reconciliation and archive the receipt.
Partly received
Some employee rows were rejected. Correct only the affected rows; do not reverse the accepted part of the file.
Rejected
The submission was not accepted. Identify the error, correct the source data and submit again.
The Danish Tax Agency explains the status codes and correction process in its Danish eIndkomst reporting guide.
Use the result to choose the next action
Normal payroll accepted
Reconcile totals, issue payslips, prepare payment and retain the submission receipt.
No salary this month
If the employer registration remains active and no pay is reported, submit a zero entry for the period.
File partly received
Review the rejected employee rows, correct them and submit only the required corrections.
Error discovered later
Correct the original reporting period and retain a documented audit trail showing what changed and why.
An active employer may still need a zero entry
When an employer is registered for payroll withholding but has no salary to report, a zero entry normally prevents a provisional assessment. The Tax Agency states that a late period can trigger a provisional assessment of DKK 1,400 plus interest. See its guidance on provisional assessments.
Corrections belong to the original period
- Identify the employee, field and reporting period affected.
- Correct the original period instead of hiding the adjustment in the current month.
- Reconcile the corrected payroll, eIndkomst response and Tax Account impact.
- Keep evidence of the original submission, the reason for correction and the final accepted result.
Some prior-year fields are restricted after 15 February. Older corrections therefore require extra care and current official instructions before submission.
Reconcile payroll, eIndkomst and the Tax Account
A reliable monthly close connects three records: the approved payroll, the accepted eIndkomst result and the employer’s Tax Account. Gross pay, A-tax, labour-market contributions, pension, benefits and net pay should be traceable from source inputs through accounting entries and payment instructions.
Allow for timing differences. The Tax Agency notes that reported amounts and payments may take two to three working days to appear, and other liabilities on the Tax Account can affect how a payment is allocated. See the official guidance on paying A-tax and labour-market contributions.
Do not close payroll on a submission receipt alone
Confirm accepted employee rows, reconcile reported totals, prepare the correct payments and retain the evidence. Investigate differences before the next payroll cycle.
How NordicEstab can support the process
Depending on the agreed engagement, NordicEstab can help a foreign employer establish a controlled Danish payroll process, including:
- Employer and reporting-readiness checks.
- Coordination of eIndkomst access and authorisations.
- Employee-data and foreign-TIN checklists.
- Input templates, approval steps and payroll cut-off dates.
- Payroll calculations, payslips and reporting support within the agreed scope.
- Review of submission statuses, rejected rows, zero entries and corrections.
- Payment instructions and payroll-to-accounting outputs.
Responsibilities for employee data, approval, funding, submission and payment should be assigned during onboarding. The final scope depends on the company, access arrangement and payroll facts.
Need a controlled Danish payroll process?
Tell NordicEstab about the company, Danish employees, expected first pay date and current registrations. We can clarify the practical next steps and an appropriate scope.
Discuss your payroll setupOfficial sources used for this guide
Sources checked 29 August 2026. Official Danish guidance and legislation may change; verify the current rules for the employer’s actual facts before acting.
This article provides general information and does not replace tax, legal or payroll advice for a specific employer or employee.
Frequently asked questions
Is eIndkomst a payroll system?
No. eIndkomst is Denmark’s income register. The employer still needs a payroll process that calculates pay, tax, labour-market contributions, pension, benefits and net salary before the required data is reported.
Can a payroll provider report for a foreign company?
A provider can report when the required access and authorisation are in place. The employer should still define who approves payroll, funds payments, checks responses and retains the records.
What additional information is needed for employees living abroad?
The report may require supplementary foreign-address and identity information, including the employee’s foreign tax identification number where one has been issued. If the employee’s country has not issued a TIN, the Tax Agency says the field can be left blank while reporting continues.
Which date determines the reporting month?
The date the employee can access the salary generally determines the reporting month and tax year. The work period should still be recorded in the relevant pay-period fields.
Must an employer report when no salary is paid?
If the employer remains registered for payroll withholding and has no pay to report, it will normally need a zero entry for the period. Otherwise the Tax Agency may issue a provisional assessment.
What does a partly received file mean?
It means part of the submission was accepted and some employee rows were rejected. Correct the rejected rows; do not reverse and resend the accepted part without a specific reason.
How should an eIndkomst error be corrected?
Identify the affected employee, field and original reporting period, submit the appropriate correction, then reconcile the accepted result and Tax Account impact. Keep an audit trail showing what changed and why.