PIT Tax Settlement After Denmark: A 2026 Employer Guide

When a Polish construction worker finishes a season on a Danish site and heads home, the administrative story does not end at the border. The worker faces a Polish PIT (personal income tax) settlement obligation in Poland, and the Danish employer sits at the centre of that process whether they realise it or not. Getting this wrong exposes companies to document requests, delays on future projects and, in serious cases, scrutiny from both SKAT and Polish tax authorities. This guide walks owners, site managers and HR teams through every step.

Why the Danish Employer Is Involved in a Polish Tax Filing

Polish residents are taxed in Poland on their worldwide income under the principle of unlimited tax liability. When income is also taxed in Denmark, the applicable double taxation convention between Poland and Denmark determines how relief is granted. Under that treaty, income from employment exercised in Denmark is primarily taxable in Denmark, and Poland then applies an exemption-with-progression method, meaning the Danish earnings affect the rate applied to any remaining Polish income. The worker therefore needs precise figures from the Danish payroll to complete the Polish annual return. Those figures come from the employer.

On the Danish side, SKAT requires employers to report salary payments and withhold preliminary tax (A-skat) correctly. Any mismatch between what SKAT has on record and what the worker declares in Poland can trigger enquiries in both countries. Maintaining clean payroll records is therefore not only a Danish legal duty but a practical shield for the employer.

Documents the Worker Will Ask You For

A Polish worker settling PIT will typically approach the employer or payroll provider for the following:

• Annual pay summary (lønoplysninger): the total gross salary paid in the Danish tax year, broken down by period.
• Proof of Danish tax withheld: the A-skat deducted and remitted to SKAT each month.
• Confirmation of social contributions: ATP and any other statutory deductions. Details of ATP rates and employer obligations are published by ATP.
• Proof of Danish residence or work address: relevant if the worker claims a Danish personal allowance (personfradrag).

These documents must match what was reported to SKAT via the eIndkomst system. Discrepancies, even minor ones, can freeze the Polish tax authority's processing of the return and put the worker in a difficult position through no fault of their own.

Work-Time Records: The Foundation of Every Document

Everything flows from accurate time records. Under Danish law, employers must keep detailed records of working hours for each employee, including posted and agency workers. The rules on what must be retained and for how long are covered in detail in our guide on LOV 89 Work Time Records: What to Keep and Where in 2026. If those records are incomplete, producing a credible annual pay summary becomes difficult and the employer risks being unable to defend a SKAT audit.

Arbejdstilsynet (the Danish Working Environment Authority) can inspect time records at any point, and gaps in documentation are treated as a violation in their own right. Up-to-date digital records are the single most effective preparation a company can make.

The Polish PIT Timeline and What It Means for Your Payroll Cycle

In Poland, the annual PIT return for employment income is submitted by the end of April of the year following the tax year. Workers who returned from Denmark before year-end may need documents covering only part of the Danish tax year, while those who worked a full calendar year will need a complete annual summary. Either way, requests typically arrive in January and February, which coincides with the busiest period for Danish payroll corrections and year-end reporting to SKAT.

HR teams should build a standard procedure: as soon as December payroll is closed, generate individual pay summaries for all foreign workers and store them in a format that can be issued quickly on request. This avoids bottlenecks when dozens of Polish workers ask simultaneously.

Wage Supplements and Their Impact on the Tax Calculation

Danish construction wages include a range of supplements (tillaeg) for overtime, shift work, travel and dirty work. These supplements are fully taxable in Denmark and must appear in the pay summary. If they are omitted or grouped incorrectly, the Polish tax authority may question the totals. Our article on Tillaeg Explained: Wage Supplements for EU Workers in 2026 explains how each supplement category should be coded and reported, which directly affects how the annual summary is structured.

Employers using collective agreements negotiated by 3F should ensure that their payroll system applies the correct supplement codes from the outset, as retroactive corrections are time-consuming and create inconsistencies in the eIndkomst data that SKAT holds.

Risks for the Employer If Records Are Missing

If a worker cannot obtain correct documentation, they may file an estimated return in Poland, which can lead to a Polish tax assessment that conflicts with Danish records. Polish tax authorities can then request information from Danish authorities under the EU mutual assistance framework established by Council Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in taxation. This creates a cross-border audit trail that touches the Danish employer directly.

Separately, if the employer has used agency or subcontracted workers and those arrangements end during the year, the documentation obligations do not disappear. The rules around ending such arrangements are discussed in our guide on Dismissing Agency Workers in Denmark: A 2026 Guide, which also covers the final payslip and record-keeping requirements that feed directly into the worker's tax documentation.

Practical Next Steps for Employers

Based on the obligations described above, the following actions are the most effective use of time for site managers and HR teams heading into the new year:

1. Audit your eIndkomst submissions for all foreign workers before the December payroll closes. Log in via virk.dk to verify that all monthly reports are complete and consistent with payslips.
2. Generate individual annual pay summaries for every Polish and other EU worker as soon as the final payroll of the year is processed. Include gross pay, A-skat withheld, ATP contributions and all supplement categories separately.
3. Establish a document request procedure. Designate one contact person in HR or payroll who handles requests from former workers and responds within a defined number of working days.
4. Cross-check time records against payslips. Any hour that appears in the time log must have a corresponding pay entry. Gaps invite both Arbejdstilsynet and SKAT scrutiny.
5. Brief site managers that workers asking for pay documentation are exercising a legitimate right and that delays can have legal consequences for the company.
6. Consult a cross-border tax adviser if you have workers who split the year between Denmark and Poland, as the allocation of taxing rights in those cases requires careful calculation that affects both the worker's Polish return and your Danish reporting obligations.

Treating the post-season PIT settlement as a routine part of the employment lifecycle, rather than an afterthought, is the mark of a well-run construction business operating across EU borders.