EV electricity tax and refunds in Denmark, 2026-2028

What changed?

Elafgift is the duty the state puts on every kWh you use. Until the end of 2025 it was the single biggest item on many households' electricity bills. Following a political decision in 2025, it was cut to the EU minimum for two years. The Danish Tax Agency puts it plainly: for the two years from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027, the rate is set at 0.8 øre per kWh.

The cut covers all the power your household uses, not just what goes into the car. You still pay the spot price, the grid tariff and VAT, so the bill doesn't disappear. What a kWh and a full charge cost today is worked out in the guide to what it costs to charge a Tesla.

How the refund worked

Before 2026, EV owners who charged on a wallbox could get most of the electricity tax on the car's power back. As a private person you can't claim it from the tax authority yourself. It has to go through a registered charging operator, which meters the wallbox, receives the refund and passes it on to you. In return the operator usually charged a fixed fee, according to the Danish motorists' association FDM typically DKK 49-99 a month.

That made sense while the tax was high. With around 90 øre per kWh to claw back, fifty kroner a month was easy to justify. With 1 øre, it isn't.

What it means if you have a Tesla and a wallbox

How much you save depends on what you were doing before:

• You had a refund. You were already paying little tax on the car's electricity, so the saving on the power itself is small. The real gain is that you can drop the fee. At DKK 49-99 a month that's DKK 600-1,200 a year.
• You didn't have a refund. Then you feel it most. Drive 15,000 km a year at 16-18 kWh per 100 km and that's 2,400-2,700 kWh. With almost 90 øre less tax per kWh, it comes to a little over DKK 2,000 a year.
• You mostly charge away from home. According to FDM, public chargers already paid the lowest rate, so the cut makes little difference there. The operator sets the price, and on the Superchargers that's Tesla. Current prices are in the guide to the Supercharger network in Denmark.

These are worked examples, not a promise of what you'll save. Your own figure depends on your mileage, consumption and electricity contract.

Should you cancel your charging subscription?

Plenty of charging operators have already cut their fee or dropped it, but not all of them. Look at your agreement and ask yourself these questions before you cancel:

• What are you paying for? If it's only the refund, there's little reason to keep it until the end of 2027. A flat monthly price for all your charging is a different kind of deal, and there the question is whether the flat rate still beats what the power now costs you.
• Is there a minimum term? FDM has said charging agreements typically run six months at a time. Check the notice period before you count on saving from next month.
• Is servicing included? Some subscriptions also cover servicing the wallbox. Cancel that and keeping the box working is up to you, and a repair can easily cost more than a year of fees.
• What about 2028? Once the tax goes back up, a refund will probably be worth having again. There's nothing wrong with cancelling now and signing up again then, but put a reminder in your calendar for autumn 2027.

What happens in 2028?

Under the current rules the cut expires on 31 December 2027, and the electricity tax goes up again from 1 January 2028. In June 2026 the energy minister, Martin Lidegaard, told the business daily Børsen that the government has no plans to make the low rate permanent. Mobilsiden.dk expects refund schemes to return, and operators' prices may rise with them.

The Tax Agency's notice on the cut doesn't give the 2028 rate, and politics can still change, so I'm not putting a number on it here. If you're thinking of buying a Tesla now, work out the running costs on an electricity price that still holds after 2027. I do that in the guide to Tesla total cost of ownership.

Getting the most out of the low tax

With the tax out of the way, it's the spot price and the grid tariff that decide what your charging costs. That makes timing matter more than before: charge at night on an hourly-price contract and use the car's schedule in the app so you don't have to remember. How to set it up is in the guide to home charging. The grid tariff is usually highest in the late afternoon and early evening, so those are the hours to avoid.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Danish electricity tax in 2026? 0.8 øre per kWh before VAT, or 1 øre including VAT. According to the Danish Tax Agency that rate applies from 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027. In 2025 the tax was around 90 øre per kWh including VAT.

Do I still need an electricity tax refund on my wallbox? In 2026 and 2027 there is almost nothing to refund, because the tax is already at the EU minimum. If you pay a separate monthly fee just for the refund, you are in effect paying for nothing during that period.

Can I cancel my charging subscription? Often yes, but check three things first: the notice period, whether the agreement also covers servicing the wallbox, and whether you will want the refund again from 2028. If you cancel a service agreement, keeping the wallbox working is up to you.

When does the electricity tax go up again? Under the current rules on 1 January 2028, when the temporary cut expires. The government has said it has no plans to make the low rate permanent, but parliament could still change that.

Will Supercharging cost more when the tax goes back up? Nobody knows yet. Tesla sets Supercharger prices itself, and the refund scheme for private wallboxes has nothing to do with them. The current price is in the Tesla app.

Sources: Danish Tax Agency (1 January 2026, in Danish), FDM (August 2025, in Danish) and mobilsiden.dk (June 2026). Tax rates are set by the Danish parliament and may change; check the Danish Tax Agency for the rules that apply.