clare87

hi. i am moving to denmark as an au pair next month and will be living there with my fiance after the aupair has finished and i will be going to university.
i want to take my car with me, i know i have to get danish plates put on, does anyone know how easy this is, or how much it will cost me?
i have tried contacting "SKAT" but they dont speak very good english... even in the "help in english" section

MrBiscuits

From what I am told by a Danish friend, if you take a foreign registered car to Denmark and have Danish plates put on, you have to pay a tax equivalent to 180% of the value of the car in Denmark (or presumably the left hand version of the car).

I would reckon you are better off selling the car in England and buying a left hander out there. You'll only end up paying a huge tax bill, then being unable to sell it due to it being an import.

More pain than it's worth...

clare87

ok thank your for your reply... this it knind of annoying... i have only had the car for 4 months and its got 5 year finance on it! looks like i will have to pay for it as i cant take it back now and i am driving from the uk to denmark

MrBiscuits

Oooo... That sucks

What car is it? Have a look into how much it'll cost you to exit from the finance arrangement, it may very well work out to be cheaper than taking it.

Car ownership in Denmark seems to be polarised. Nice cars for those who can afford to lay the money down for a new one, and clangers for everyone else... There is no middle ground!

clare87

its a 2008 citroen c1

cant afford to get rid of it and pay for another one. it cost £3500

Rasmus

To vindicate Danes as a whole, SKAT can't speak Danish either ;-)

I am in no way defending the Danish taxation, or the politician practise of forcing underlings to behave as you please. But the thing is: Why on earth would an au pair need a car? I bought my first car, when I left Denmark. I have one (1) Danish friend with a car, and she's got it because of a disability.

Get a bike :-P

mikelincs

but, according to post 2, you might well have to pay a further £5000 in taxes just to get it changed to Danish plates.

Rasmus

Myeah, I've done the calculation. It's between 2400-3200 £, depending on the properties of the car. Diesel/petrol, airbags, fuel consumption, safety rating etc. Plus annual fees.

clare87

i need a car because i will be driving every weekend from the au pair house to my partners house and also, part of the job will be driving the children to school etc, i know its different in england... but here, everyone has a car

mikelincs

If that is correct, then surely you employers should provide the car, or at least pay for you to bring your own car over and make it legal.

MrBiscuits

Agreed. You wouldn't expect it in England... If part of your job was driving, you wouldn't expect to have to use your own car.

And you would still be better off selling your UK car and getting something else in Denmark. The numbers just don't stack up...

Rasmus

Have you spoken to the agency or the host family? In almost all other European languages, the active verb in "driving [a car]" and "riding [a bike]" is the same word. In Danish "køre [bil]" and "køre [på cykel]". If language interests you, the English verb "ride" is rooted in the Norse & Germanic words for riding a horse.

I'm asking because I've never met anyone, who was chauffeured to school by an au pair :-) Generally "driving the kids to school" means having them on / in your bike, or at an older age following their bike, and making sure they look back and signal before turning.


If the host family is expecting you to provide chauffeured motor transport, the import fee is lower, but I'm pondering if you would need an extended drivers license. I think so.

Re transport to your partner's house, have you looked into public transport? It's most often cheaper and faster. When I studied in Nottigham, I almost bought a car. Only because they are so incredibly cheap, and public transport is insanely expensive :-P

Try typing the two addresses in here, and see how much that'd be.

clare87

ok.. i finally spoken to someone in SKAT that can speak decent english

apparently its 60% of the cars value in denmark...

anyone know how much a 2008 citroen c1 costs in denmark?

Rasmus

Depending on the aforementioned criteria, it is between 55,300 - 68,700 DKK, but it is an individual evaluation. You can find the latest at http://www.skat.dk/SKAT.aspx?oId=171.

There are two prices. The price as new, and the current trading price. I spoke to SKAT about this, and they pay no regard to the actual prices. They use the ones above.

With the numbers from the link above, you can calculate the import duty on this page.