More than 600,000 Danes hold an aktiesparekonto (share savings account, or ASK), and in 2026 you can keep up to 174,200 DKK on it. The flat 17 % tax is attractive — but what does the account type actually mean for the rest of your portfolio?

Most guides about aktiesparekonto explain what it is. This one goes a step further and explains what it means for your GAK (average cost basis), your rebalancing strategy and your overall tax picture when — as most Danish investors do — you also hold a regular taxable account on the side.

We’ll cover:

  • what the share savings account is and how it is taxed
  • what mark-to-market taxation looks like in practice — with concrete numbers
  • how ASK and a taxable account interact around GAK
  • why rebalancing looks very different on the two account types
  • when ASK is the right choice, and when a taxable account wins
  • the questions that come up most often

What is an aktiesparekonto?

The aktiesparekonto (ASK) is a special Danish account type for investing in listed shares and equity-based investment funds. It was introduced in Denmark in 2019 to make it simpler and cheaper to invest small amounts in equities.

The defining feature is taxation:

  • Returns (capital gains and dividends) are taxed at a flat rate of 17 %.
  • Tax is assessed on a mark-to-market basis — that is, every year, regardless of whether you’ve sold anything.

For comparison, returns in a taxable account are taxed at 27 % up to the progression threshold and 42 % above it (Danish share income tax), and typically only when you actually sell.

Who can have one?

  • Any individual over 18 with Danish tax residency.
  • You can only hold one ASK in total — not one per bank.

Where can you open one?

At most Danish banks and brokers, including Nordnet, Saxo Bank, Nordea, Danske Bank, Jyske Bank and several others.

What can you invest in?

  • Listed shares
  • Equity-based investment funds (certain ETFs and UCITS funds, provided they are equity-based and listed on a regulated market)

You cannot hold pure bonds, bond funds, commodities or cryptocurrency on an ASK.

The aktiesparekonto limit in 2026

In 2026, the cap on the share savings account is 174,200 DKK (up from 166,200 DKK in 2025).

It’s important to understand what the cap covers:

The cap is a holdings cap — measured against the market value of the account at the time of contribution — not a contribution cap.

This means that if the shares on your ASK rise in value and together exceed the cap, you don’t have to sell anything. You just can’t contribute more money until the account’s value falls back below the threshold.

Withdrawing cash or securities from the account does not automatically create “room” to contribute more — the account’s value on the contribution date is what determines whether you’re allowed to top it up.

There is one exception: under the Danish Share Savings Account Act (ASKL § 9(2)), you may always deposit an amount specifically to cover the annual mark-to-market tax charged on the account — even if it is otherwise at the cap. This means you can choose to fund the tax payment in cash rather than having your broker sell shares to cover it.

How is the aktiesparekonto taxed?

The low 17 % rate is only half the story. The other half is how the tax is calculated.

Mark-to-market taxation — what it means in practice

The aktiesparekonto is taxed on a mark-to-market basis (in Danish: lagerbeskatning). This means:

You are taxed every year on the year’s change in value — including gains you have not realised by selling.

The opposite is realisation-based taxation (realisationsbeskatning), which applies to most shares in a regular taxable account. There, you pay tax only when you actually sell.

Concrete example:

You contribute 100,000 DKK and buy shares for the full amount in January. By the end of the year, the shares are worth 120,000 DKK. You haven’t sold a single share.

The Danish tax authority still sees a gain of 20,000 DKK and charges:

0.17×20,000=3,400 DKK0.17 \times 20{,}000 = 3{,}400 \text{ DKK}

The tax is normally drawn automatically from the account early in the following year.

Negative years generate a deduction

Mark-to-market taxation works in both directions. If the account falls from 100,000 to 90,000 DKK during the year, you have a 10,000 DKK loss.

The loss can only be offset against future gains on the share savings account itself — not against capital gains in your taxable account or any other income. It is automatically carried forward to next year’s calculation.

When is ASK tax-efficient?

Looking purely at the numbers, ASK is favourable when:

  • you expect high, long-term returns (17 % is well below 27–42 %)
  • you intend to hold for a long time (you escape the 42 % progression in your taxable account)
  • you would normally be above the progression threshold in your taxable account

ASK is less favourable when:

  • your horizon is short and returns are choppy (you pay tax in good years and wait for the deduction in bad ones)
  • you invest in highly volatile assets — you can end up paying tax on a gain that then disappears again
  • you expect to realise losses you’d like to use against gains outside of ASK

Rule of thumb: the longer the horizon and the higher the expected return, the more ASK makes sense.

Aktiesparekonto and GAK — what other guides leave out

This is where things get interesting if you hold both an ASK and a taxable account.

In a taxable account, gains on a sale are calculated against your GAK (average cost basis). The crucial Danish rule is:

GAK is determined per person and per security — across all your taxable accounts.

If you hold Novo Nordisk at two different banks, it is a single pool for tax purposes with one shared GAK. We go into the details in the GAK guide.

ASK is an exception

The share savings account sits outside the common GAK calculation. It is its own tax subject with its own assessment.

In practice this means:

  • The shares on your ASK do not feed into the GAK calculation for the same shares in your taxable account.
  • If you own Novo Nordisk both on ASK and in a taxable account, the two holdings are two separate tax entities.
  • ASK is settled on a mark-to-market basis, so GAK is not relevant on the account itself — the purchase price only enters the first year’s mark-to-market calculation.

A trap to avoid: moving shares in

You cannot simply move shares from your taxable account onto your ASK. Doing so is treated as a sale from the taxable account and a fresh purchase on ASK — triggering realisation tax on any unrealised gain.

The clean way to put the same shares on your ASK is:

  1. Transfer cash to the ASK.
  2. Buy the shares directly on the ASK.

If you keep the matching shares in your taxable account, you now have two separate holdings with separate tax histories.

Rebalancing on ASK vs. a taxable account

Another thing that changes dramatically between the two account types is rebalancing.

In a taxable account, rebalancing has a real cost: every time you sell at a gain you trigger realisation tax — typically 27 % or 42 %. That makes frequent rebalancing expensive and distorts the math you know from international portfolio theory. We go through the dynamics in detail in Rebalancing vs. Danish taxation.

On an aktiesparekonto, the picture is very different:

Rebalancing on ASK does not trigger any extra tax. You’re already taxed on the year’s return — whether you traded or not.

This means:

  • A sale on the ASK doesn’t, by itself, cost you more in tax than holding.
  • Frequent rebalancing is essentially free from a tax perspective on ASK (transaction costs and spreads still apply).
  • If you hold both ASK and a taxable account, it is often more efficient to do your active rebalancing on the ASK and leave the taxable account alone.

A practical strategy

For many Danish investors it makes sense to:

  1. Use the ASK as the active part of the portfolio — the place where you adjust weights, rebalance and switch positions.
  2. Use the taxable account as the passive, long-term sleeve — buy-and-hold to avoid triggering realisation tax.

This only works if you can see your total allocation across both accounts. If you only look at ASK in isolation, it’s easy to over- or under-rebalance, because the taxable account still contributes to total risk.

For a refresher on the mechanics, see What is rebalancing.

Aktiesparekonto vs. taxable account — which goes where?

Lay the two side by side:

AktiesparekontoTaxable account
Tax methodMark-to-marketRealisation-based
Tax rate17 % flat27 % up to the threshold, 42 % above
When you payEvery year on unrealised changesWhen you sell
What you can invest inListed shares and equity-based fundsAlmost anything — shares, funds, bonds, ETFs
Holdings cap174,200 DKK (2026)None
Losses can be offset againstFuture gains on ASKCapital gains (with rules)
GAK calculationNot relevant (mark-to-market)Yes, pooled across taxable accounts
Best forGrowth equities, long horizon, buy-and-hold with high expected returnLarger amounts, bonds, shorter horizons, losses you want to use actively

When does ASK make the most sense?

  • You have a long horizon (10+ years), so the “tax before realisation” smooths out over time.
  • You invest in growth equities or broad equity index funds with high expected returns.
  • You would normally be above the progression threshold for share income in your taxable account (the 42 % bracket).
  • You stay below the holdings cap — or hit it fully and put the rest in a taxable account.

When is the taxable account better?

  • You have a short horizon and volatile assets — you don’t want to pay tax on gains that may not stick.
  • You invest in bonds or bond ETFs that aren’t allowed on ASK anyway.
  • Your total investable amount exceeds 174,200 DKK — anything above that has to live in a taxable account.
  • You expect losses you want to use to offset gains in other shares (something only realisation-based taxation allows).

The conclusion for most investors

For the vast majority of Danish investors, the right answer is both:

The question isn’t “ASK or taxable account?” — it’s “what goes where?”

That’s precisely why you need a consolidated view of both accounts to make sensible decisions about allocation, rebalancing and tax.

How to keep track of both an ASK and a taxable account

If you’re like most Danish investors, this is where the headaches begin:

  • Two tax regimes: mark-to-market on ASK, realisation on the taxable account.
  • Two ways of measuring return: change in value over the year vs. sale price minus GAK.
  • Two rebalancing logics: aggressive on ASK, careful on the taxable account.
  • One total portfolio that you’re ultimately responsible for steering.

Most banks and brokers only show you what’s held with them. Which means your overall picture lives either in a spreadsheet or in your head.

That’s exactly the problem we built Porteføljestyring to solve: one consolidated view across all your accounts — ASK, taxable account, Nordnet, Saxo Bank and others — with correct per-account GAK and a unified tax view that makes it easier to plan your trades across both account types.

Read more about Porteføljestyring — or sign up for early access if you’d rather get your hands on the tool.

Frequently asked questions

What is the aktiesparekonto limit in 2026?

The limit is 174,200 DKK in 2026. It is a holdings cap (market value of the account at the time of contribution) — not a contribution cap. It has been raised gradually every year since 2019, when it was 50,000 DKK.

Can I have an aktiesparekonto at more than one bank?

No. You may only have one ASK in total in Denmark. To switch providers, the existing account must be closed first, or the holdings must be transferred to the new provider in one piece.

What happens if my ASK exceeds the limit?

If the account’s value grows above the cap because the shares rose, nothing happens — you just can’t contribute more money until the value falls back under. If you breach the cap by contributing, your bank or the tax authority will normally flag it and ask you to withdraw the excess.

Can I withdraw money from the aktiesparekonto?

Yes. You can sell your shares and withdraw the cash at any time. But that does not “free up” extra room on the account — the holdings cap is measured against what’s on the account at the time of contribution, so you can’t shuffle money in and out to gain more headroom.

What can I invest in on an aktiesparekonto?

Listed shares and equity-based investment funds that meet certain criteria (typically UCITS funds with an equity share above 50 %, listed on a regulated market). Bonds, commodities and cryptocurrency are not allowed. Always check with your provider whether a specific instrument is ASK-eligible.

Can I deposit to cover the tax even when I’m at the cap?

Yes. Under the Danish Share Savings Account Act (ASKL § 9(2)), you may always deposit an amount specifically to cover the tax charged on the account — even if the account is otherwise at the cap. The exception applies to the tax payment only; fees and other charges do not qualify.