Selling an inherited home

In Denmark, an inheritance is generally not taxed as income, but the estate must pay estate tax (boafgift) at fixed rates, with a tax-free allowance (bundfradrag) that changes every year. If you later sell the home at a profit, you may have to pay tax on the gain, unless the sale is exempt under the main residence exemption (parcelhusreglen). The sale can only go through once the probate court (skifteretten) has decided on the estate and the probate court certificate (skifteretsattest) has been issued. Until then, as a rule, the home may not be cleared or sold.

When you sell an inherited home, the steps come in this order:

1. The form of administration is chosen.

2. The property is valued.

3. The sale goes through.

4. The estate is settled.

Each step has its own deadlines and documentation requirements, and the rest of this article goes through each part with specific figures and dates.

Estate tax and the tax-free allowance when selling an inherited home

Estate tax is not charged on the full value of the estate. You only pay on the part above the tax-free allowance. The home is included in the calculation on an equal footing with the estate’s other assets, but only the amount above the allowance is taxed.

The tax-free allowance in 2026 is 392.300 kr. The allowance applies to the estate as a whole, not to each heir, so several heirs share the same allowance. However, if the deceased had been living in an undivided estate (uskiftet bo), the estate gets two allowances, one for each spouse. Estate tax of 15 per cent is then calculated on the part of the estate’s value above the allowance. The rate is the same whether the estate consists of cash, securities or a home that is to be sold.

What you end up paying depends on who inherits:

• For siblings, nieces, nephews and others outside the immediate family, an additional estate tax (tillægsboafgift) of 25 per cent is added on top, so the total tax can reach 36,25 per cent. For siblings, the additional estate tax is abolished for deaths on or after 1 January 2027, so they will pay only the 15 per cent. The same change has been proposed for nieces and nephews.

• Spouses and registered partners do not pay estate tax.

• Approved charitable institutions are fully exempt from estate tax.

Here is a concrete example. Imagine an inheritance of 1.000.000 kr. to be shared between two children in 2026. First, the tax-free allowance is deducted: 1.000.000 − 392.300 = 607.700 kr. Then the estate tax of 15 per cent is calculated on the 607.700 kr., which comes to 91.155 kr. That amount must be paid before the inheritance can be paid out to the children, and it needs to be part of your calculations when you plan the sale of an inherited home.

Tax on selling an inherited home and the main residence exemption

The main residence exemption (parcelhusreglen) in section 8(1) of the Danish Property Gains Taxation Act (ejendomsavancebeskatningsloven) means that the profit from selling one- and two-family houses and owner-occupied flats is not taxed if the home has served as a residence for the owner or their household for part or all of the period of ownership. The rule also covers holiday homes as well as cooperative and share-owned flats. It is not reserved for homes the owner has lived in the whole time. It is enough that the property has been lived in as a home for a period.

For one- and two-family houses, the main residence exemption sets a requirement for the size of the plot. The plot must normally be under 1.400 m², and this requirement does not apply to owner-occupied flats. There are two exceptions where a larger plot can still be covered. The first is that subdivision is not possible under a decision by a public authority, as certified by the municipality. The second is that subdivision would reduce the value of the remaining land or the existing buildings by more than 20 per cent, as certified by the Danish Tax Agency (Skattestyrelsen).

If the estate sells the home, the profit is tax-free if the deceased could have sold it tax-free under the main residence exemption. If, on the other hand, the home is transferred to you from the estate and you later sell it without having lived in it yourself, your sale is not covered by the rule. Instead, the profit is calculated from the value at which the home was transferred to you in the estate, and it is taxed as capital income at up to 42 per cent. This applies no matter how little time passes between the distribution of the estate and the sale. In a sale to a third party, the sale price less the costs of the sale is used.

If the estate wants to use the main residence exemption and avoid tax on the gain, it must be clear that the conditions for the exemption are met, including that the property served as the deceased’s home. The Danish Tax Agency looks at several specific factors:

• The deceased’s registered address (folkeregisteradresse) must have been at the property.

• Electricity and water consumption must show that the home was in everyday use.

• Furniture and personal belongings must indicate that someone lived there.

• It must be clear where the family actually lived.

A change of address alone is not enough. Gather the documentation early. If you are unsure how the sale of an inherited home will be taxed in your situation, get tax advice before you sign anything.

Valuing a home in an estate

The starting point for valuing a home in an estate is its market value, the amount the property could be sold for in the current market, but there is a more lenient route. The valuation circular (værdiansættelsescirkulæret) allows a property to be transferred at the public property valuation with a margin of +/- 15 per cent. If the property has received a new property valuation, the limit is +/- 20 per cent instead. You do not have to hit the market value exactly, as long as you stay within the range that applies to that particular property.

If you want the estate tax to be as low as possible, use the bottom end of the range. In practice, this means taking the public property valuation and deducting 15 per cent, or 20 per cent if there is a new valuation. The lower transfer value is used directly in calculating the estate tax, and the difference can be significant when the estate includes a home of some value. You do not have to be a close relative of the deceased to use this method.

There is, however, a trap you need to know about before you order any valuations. If the heirs obtain a valuation from an estate agent, they are bound to use it. An expert valuation is binding, and you cannot change your mind afterwards and fall back on the range around the public valuation. This means that an estate agent’s valuation that comes in above the bottom end of the range can prove expensive for the estate. You should therefore think carefully before deciding to obtain a valuation, ideally before anyone has signed anything.

As a rule, the tax authorities must accept the value you arrive at as long as it falls within the range, but there is one exception. In special circumstances, they can set the valuation aside and demand an expert valuation. This may be the case, for example, if a loan has recently been taken out against the property, or if the home changed hands shortly before.

Private administration of an estate with a home, and the sales process

In a private administration (privat skifte) of an estate that includes a home, the heirs handle the entire administration themselves, without an estate administrator (bobestyrer) taking over. All the heirs must apply for private administration, at least one of them must be able to act without a guardian or a special guardian for the estate, and the estate must be solvent, meaning it has enough assets to cover its debts. If even one heir objects, the estate must instead be administered by an estate administrator.

Write the deadlines down straight away. As a rule, the property must be sold no later than the 1-year anniversary of the death, and the estate’s final accounts must be submitted to the probate court no later than 15 months after the death. That gives you 12 months to find a buyer and a further 3 months to settle the estate.

When you sell a home from an estate, the process looks like this:

1. Wait until the probate court has decided how the estate is to be administered. Until then, as a rule, the house may not be sold and nothing may be removed from it.

2. Once the probate court certificate has been issued, the heirs can sell the home, either jointly or through a power of attorney that covers the sale.

3. Once a buyer has been found, the purchase agreement is drawn up, usually by the estate agent. It is a good idea for the estate to have a lawyer review it before anything is signed.

4. The purchase price belongs to the estate and must cover mortgages, debts and the costs of the sale before the rest is distributed to the heirs.

The money is not yours the moment it is paid. You have to allow for paying off the mortgages, the estate’s other debts and the costs of the sale. Only when the estate’s final accounts show what is actually left can the heirs have their share paid out.

If the estate sells to an ordinary consumer, you can only free yourself from the normal liability for defects by using the home inspection scheme (huseftersynsordningen). A condition report and an electrical installation report must be obtained, and the estate must offer to pay half of a change-of-ownership insurance policy. A plain “sold as seen” clause has only limited effect against a consumer buyer, so it cannot stand alone if you want to avoid claims later.

Get the sale of your inherited home safely over the line with help from Brikk

The tax-free allowance for estate tax and the main residence exemption are what mainly decide the financial outcome when you sell an inherited home. How they work out for your particular estate depends on who inherits and whether the property served as the deceased’s home.

Here are a few things you need to get right when you take over an inherited home and sell it on:

• Valuing the home within +/- 15 per cent or +/- 20 per cent of the public valuation can reduce the estate tax without you having to document the market value.

• Private administration gives the heirs control, but also responsibility for deadlines and the sale.

• Administration by an estate administrator may be necessary if the heirs do not agree.

If the heirs agree and the estate is solvent, private administration can work well, provided the deadlines are met. If there is disagreement, or none of the heirs can act without a guardian, an estate administrator takes over and assesses the terms of the sale. The timing of the sale then depends on that assessment.

If you are selling an inherited home, you need to know the order of things: the form of administration first, then the valuation, then the sale and finally the estate’s final accounts. Once the form of administration is in place, you can book a free, no-obligation valuation with Brikk. A local agent will visit and value the home, so you have a realistic estimate of the sale price to plan around.