Denmark’s Standard Audit File for Tax introduced as part of wider certified digital bookkeeping requirements
The Danish Business Authority, Erhvervsstyrelsen, has developed a proposed version of SAF-T reporting for resident businesses to adopt. This is part of the Danish digital bookkeeping requirements being phased in, obliging businesses to use certified accounting software able to produce and receive VAT e-invoices via the via Nemhandel in OIOUBL format1 / Peppol BIS format.
Note: the 2024 to 2026 phased introduction of SAF-T and digital bookkeeping is uncertain following government change.
The proposed requirements obligate certified software to be able to record, store and report the company’s accounting data by generating a standard file, which is the Danish SAF-T Standard that was recently published by Erhvervsstyrelsen.
Danish SAF-T based on OECD v2
The Danish version of SAF-T is based on v2 of the OECD model. Denmark is following 12 other countries to adopt the format for tax authorities to request.
The Danish schema is structured as follows:
- Master File
- General Ledger accounts
- Taxonomies
- Customers
- Suppliers
- Tax table
- UOM table
- Analysis type
- Movement type
- Products
- Physical stock
- Owners
- Assets
- Source Documents – GL entries
- Sales invoices
- Purchase invoices
- Payments
- Movement of goods
- Asset transactions
Read our Danish VAT guide here.
OECD SAF-T standard ledger reporting
Since May 2005, SAF-T is recommended in the following five formats (per v2, 2010):
- General Ledger: journals
- Accounts Receivable: customer master files; invoices; payments
- Accounts Payable: supplier master file; invoices; payments
- Fixed Assets: asset master files; depreciation and revaluation
- Inventory: product master files; movements
If you need to complete SAF-T submissions, our VAT Filer can accurately populate any country submission with verified VAT or GST data from our VAT Calculator or VAT Auditor services
Standard Audit File for Tax SAF-T countries
| Country (click for details) | Date | Scope | |
| 13 | Bulgaria | 2026 | Phased introduction over two years |
| 12 | Ukraine | Jan 2025 | Phased 2025 to 2027 implementation |
| 11 | Denmark | Jan 2024 | Phased implementation from 2024 |
| 10 | Romania | Jan 2022 | Mandatory monthly filings initially large taxpayers (due Jan 2023) |
| 9 | EU OSS & IOSS | Jul 2021 | On-demand for sellers, marketplaces or Intermediaries |
| 8 | Norway | 2020 | Replaced VAT return 2022 |
| 7 | Angola | 2019 | On-demand |
| 6 | Lithuania | 2019 | On-demand; residents and non-residents above €30,000 sales threshold |
| 5 | Poland | 2016 | Mandatory, monthly replaced VAT return Oct 2020 |
| 4 | France | 2014 | On-demand |
| 3 | Luxembourg | 2011 | On-demand |
| 2 | Austria | 2009 | On-demand |
| 1 | Portugal | 2009 | Monthly for residents and non-residents (Jun 2022) |
