New Danish Tax Rules for Software in 2025 – What They Really Mean for Your Business

From 1 January 2025, Denmark introduced a fundamental change to the corporate tax treatment of software investments. Where software costs were previously fully deductible immediately, IT systems can now only be depreciated once they are fully developed and taken into commercial use.

The change has a particularly strong impact on companies developing new software, including AI-based solutions, and can lead to significant liquidity challenges – even when development is financed through EU grants or Danish innovation funding.

After extensive lobbying, an amendment has been adopted with retroactive effect for 2025. This allows the first DKK 5 million per year spent on in-house software development and salaries to be immediately deductible. However, the remaining rules are complex, and many details will be decisive for the 2025 corporate tax return, to be filed in spring 2026.

In this workshop, we will cover:

• When software costs can be deducted or must be capitalised

• How external consultants are treated under the new rules

• What happens when development costs exceed DKK 5 million per year

• Which activities and working hours qualify as development

• The boundary between development and maintenance

• Whether “successful effort” accounting can be applied

The workshop is led by Morten Høgh-Petersen, State Authorised Public Accountant with more than 13 years of experience advising tech companies at DTU. He is a member of the Danish Ministry of Taxation’s expert panel on R&D tax definitions and tax incentive schemes and has been actively involved in shaping the recent rule changes. Morten offers a practical, insider perspective on how companies should navigate the new regulatory landscape – especially when software development relies heavily on external consultants.