Frequently asked questions about self-employment

You are self-employed if you wholly or partly own a business for the purpose of making money and if you perform work related to running the business.

A business is considered independent if at least one of the following conditions is met:

• CVR number: The company is registered with the Danish Business Authority with a CVR or SE number.
• Taxation: Profits or losses are taxed as a self-employed business.
• A-income: You receive a salary from a company in which you have a decisive influence. 
• B income: You receive B income, which you report as a self-employed business to SKAT.

Yes, it is a good idea to have unemployment insurance, even if you are self-employed. Unemployment insurance is your financial safety net. We can advise you on your options for receiving supplementary unemployment benefits if you start a business or if you are forced to close your business.

It is a good idea to be a member of a trade union, even if you are self-employed. Many trade unions have special offers for self-employed people, and you will be able to benefit from their knowledge.

We recommend that you choose a union that knows your field and works to protect your terms and conditions and rights.

See which trade unions we collaborate with.

The membership fee is a personal expense and therefore cannot be deducted in the company's accounts. However, your membership fee to the unemployment insurance fund is tax deductible for you as a private individual.

Yes, you can. However, it depends on your situation and whether your business is your main occupation or a secondary occupation.

Read more about main occupation and secondary occupation.

It depends on whether your business is your main occupation or a secondary occupation.

Read more about main occupation and secondary occupation.

You must state how many hours and minutes you have spent on your business on your daily allowance card. This applies to all work tasks, including outreach work, administration, and transportation, regardless of when the work was performed and whether it generated income. All hours will be deducted from your daily allowance.

Read more about how to fill out your unemployment benefit card.

You can receive supplementary unemployment benefits for up to 160.33 hours per month. This means that if, for example, you work 80 hours in a month, you can receive supplementary unemployment benefits for 80.33 hours.

If you work more than 145.6 hours in a month, we cannot pay you supplementary unemployment benefits for that month. This is because there is a minimum limit for how little we can pay in unemployment benefits. The limit is 14.8 hours in a month.

Read more about supplementary unemployment benefits.

We calculate your daily allowance rate based on your business's profits and any salary income. We calculate the daily allowance rate based on your 12 best months within the last 24 months before you register as unemployed.

When applying for unemployment benefits on the basis of termination of self-employment, you must submit:

• A declaration of unemployment for self-employed persons (AR256). You can find the form in Self-service.
• Documentation of the termination of your business.

If your business has closed, you must also submit documentation of deregistration from the Danish Business Authority and the Danish Tax Agency. Contact us if you are unsure about what documentation applies in your situation.

Go to Self-service. 

All the hours you spend on your business will be deducted from your daily allowance. This applies regardless of when the work is done and whether or not the work generates income for the business.

You must state your working hours at the company on your daily allowance card.

If you want to stop running your own business as your main occupation and would like to receive unemployment benefits, you must document that the business has ceased trading. This means that:

• The company must be deregistered from the CVR
• The tax liabilities have been transferred or settled.
• We have documentation from the Danish Business Authority and SKAT. 

If you sell, transfer, or lease the business, you must submit documentation of this. Please note that this cannot be done to a spouse, cohabitant, or minor children.

If the business is continued by your spouse or other co-owners, different rules apply. We recommend that you contact us in this situation.

Please contact us.

As a rule, you can only receive unemployment benefits the first time you cease self-employment within an unemployment benefit period. If you close a business more than once, you lose your right to unemployment benefits the second time.

You can regain the right to terminate a business when you have met the income or employment requirement and at the same time regained the right to supplementary unemployment benefits.

If you cease your business in connection with receiving new unemployment benefits, this cessation will not be counted as the first cessation.

Read more about supplementary unemployment benefits. 

You cannot receive unemployment benefits if you only temporarily cease your self-employed business. To receive unemployment benefits, you must cease your business completely.

It depends on what you were previously unemployed from. If you received unemployment benefits due to the termination of self-employment as your main occupation, you must wait at least six months before you can start a business again.

If your business was a secondary occupation, you can resume it if:

• you are still entitled to supplementary unemployment benefits.
• you are fully available for work.

Please note that you cannot receive unemployment benefits after your second termination within the same unemployment benefit period.

It depends on your situation.

If you receive unemployment benefits because you have ceased to operate a self-employed business as your main occupation, you must wait at least six months before you can start a new business.

If your previous job was a secondary occupation, you can resume it if you have not exhausted your entitlement to supplementary unemployment benefits. Please note that you cannot receive unemployment benefits after your second termination within the same unemployment benefit period.

If you start a new business while receiving unemployment benefits, you must submit form ‘AK320’ to us. You can find the form in Self-service. Once we have received the form, we will assess whether you are entitled to unemployment benefits.

Go to Self-service.