Child support in Denmark

Both parents have a duty to support their child. If the parents of a child are not living together, the parent who is not living with the child may be obliged to pay child support to the parent who provides for the child.

What is child support?

Child support is a contribution paid by one parent to the other, if they do not live together. The parents can agree on the contribution themselves, or apply to the the Agency of Family Law to set it.

Child support must be paid until the child is 18 years of age. If the child is over 18 and in full-time education, education contributions must in some cases be paid until the child is 24.

The parent who provides for the child is also entitled to request supplementary contributions from the other parent in connection with naming/baptism, confirmation or the like, and other special occasions. You can read more at the website of the Agency of Family Law and at borger.dk.

The Agency of Family Law can determine the size of the contribution if the parents cannot agree on this themselves. The Agency of Family Law will only determine contributions if an application is made for them to do so.

The Agency of Family Law sets the size of the contribution on the basis of fixed rates. The contribution will always consist of a basic amount and a flat-rate supplement, together known as the "standard contribution". The standard contribution is adjusted each year on 1 January.

If the parent who pays the contribution to the other parent has a high income, an additional supplement may be payable. The Agency of Family Law calculates the percentage supplement on the basis of the contributor's gross income and the number of children the contributor has to support.

If the contribution is not paid on time, you can in certain situations ask Udbetaling Danmark for an advance payment of child support.

The contribution must have been set by the Agency of Family Law in order for Udbetaling Danmark to pay the contribution in advance. Udbetaling Danmark cannot pay the contribution in advance if there is a private agreement between the parents on the contributions.

If you wish Udbetaling Danmark to assist in getting a contribution paid in advance or recovered, you can contact Udbetaling Danmark via the application form at borger.dk. You must include the contribution decision of the Agency of Family Law, or a copy of any private agreement you have made concerning the contributions.

If the contributor and the recipient live in different Nordic countries, the recipient may choose whether the child support should be determined according to the rules of the country in which the contributor lives, or according to the rules of the country in which the recipient lives.

If one of the parents moves to another Nordic country

If a child support contribution has already been set, it can be recovered in Denmark if the contributor lives there.

If a contribution has not been set, the Agency of Family Law in Denmark may determine the amount on the basis of the contributor’s income. This applies irrespective of whether it is the contributor or the recipient of the contribution who is resident in Denmark.

Udbetaling Danmark cannot pay contributions in advance to a recipient abroad.

The taxation rules in the country in which the contributor lives may influence the amount of the contribution. Contributions to a child living in Denmark are not set lower than the normal contribution.

If you have any questions on this, you can contact the Agency of Family Law.

Tax deductions for child support

You can receive a tax deduction for child support paid to your children under 18 who do not live with you. This requires a written agreement on the payment of child support between the two parties or via the Agency of Family Law.

If you are paying child support to a child living in another Nordic country, you should contact the Tax Agency.