Kunstnermoms — artist VAT on Danish invoices

What is kunstnermoms?

Kunstnermoms (artist VAT) is a reduced-base VAT scheme under Momsloven § 30, stk. 4. It applies specifically to artists selling original works of visual art for the first time — typically the artist's own paintings, sculptures, graphic prints, photographs, or similar one-of-a-kind or limited-edition pieces.

The logic behind the scheme is that the artist typically has high material costs relative to the sale price of a unique work. The reduced taxable base (only 20% of the price) effectively lowers the artist's VAT burden from 25% to 5% of the gross price.

How the calculation works

The taxable base (afgiftsgrundlaget) is 20% of the sale price. VAT is then 25% of that base. This gives an effective VAT rate of 5% of the total price.

The taxable base and VAT amount must both appear as separate lines on the invoice — this is a documentary requirement under Momsbekendtgørelsen / Den juridiske vejledning A.B.3.3.1.2.

The required invoice note

Your invoice must state the legal basis for the reduced base. PennaPay adds this note automatically when you select "Kunstnermoms" in the tax type dropdown:

Who can use kunstnermoms?

The scheme applies to VAT-registered artists selling their own original works directly. Key conditions:

• You must be the creator — not a gallery reselling on your behalf under their own VAT number
• It applies to the first sale of the original work (resale is not covered by this scheme)
• Works must be original visual art — not mass-produced prints or commercial licensing
• You must be VAT-registered. For artists selling their own original works, the VAT-registration threshold is DKK 300,000, measured over the current or preceding calendar year (Momsloven § 71 e); any other commercial activity stays under the general DKK 50,000 calendar-year limit

Kunstnermoms calculator

If you want to quickly calculate the VAT amount for any sale price, use PennaPay's dedicated calculator:

→ Kunstnermoms calculator — free tool