ApS or Enkeltmandsvirksomhed: How a Danish Influencer Should Structure Their Business

Sole proprietorship or ApS: the short answer

Once you're self-employed as an influencer, the next question isn't whether to register a business — it's which structure. (If you haven't already confirmed you're over the hobby threshold in the first place, see hobbyvirksomhed or enkeltmandsvirksomhed: when a Danish influencer must register a real business first.) A sole proprietorship (enkeltmandsvirksomhed) is free to set up and needs no starting capital, but you're personally liable for the business's debts with your entire private wealth. A private limited company, or ApS (anpartsselskab), requires DKK 20,000 in share capital plus a DKK 670 registration fee to the Danish Business Authority (Erhvervsstyrelsen), but limits your liability to what you've paid in. For most influencers with moderate turnover, a sole proprietorship is the right starting point — an ApS only earns its extra administration once income, risk or growth plans justify it.

What is a sole proprietorship (enkeltmandsvirksomhed)?

A sole proprietorship is Denmark's simplest business structure. You register it for free on virk.dk, you can hire employees, but there's only ever one owner. The core characteristics:

• Personal liability. Legally, you and the business are the same entity. If the business runs a loss or gets sued, you're liable with your entire private wealth — savings, your car, ultimately your home.
• No capital requirement. You don't need to pay in any money to set one up.
• Bookkeeping duty, but no public annual report. You must keep accounts under the Danish Bookkeeping Act and be able to document your result to Skattestyrelsen, but — unlike an ApS — you don't file a public annual report with Erhvervsstyrelsen.
• Taxed as personal income. Profit is, by default, taxed as your personal income in the year it's earned, whether or not you actually withdraw the cash.

What is an ApS (private limited company)?

An ApS is a legal entity separate from you as a person — the company, not you, owns the assets, signs the contracts and carries the debt. The core characteristics:

• Limited liability. Your financial exposure is generally capped at the capital you've paid in — private assets sit outside creditors' reach as a rule. (In practice, banks often require a personal guarantee for a loan to a small ApS, which narrows this advantage.)
• DKK 20,000 minimum share capital. The required capital was halved from DKK 40,000 to DKK 20,000 effective 27 February 2025, per multiple independent Danish legal and accounting sources — Erhvervsstyrelsen's own guidance page could not be fetched directly during research for this article. The full amount must be paid in at formation, either in cash or as a non-cash contribution.
• DKK 670 registration fee to Erhvervsstyrelsen (2026 rate), on top of the share capital itself.
• 22% corporate tax (selskabsskat) on the year's profit, whether or not that profit stays in the company.
• A public annual report every year. An ApS must file an annual report with Erhvervsstyrelsen — publicly visible, unlike a sole proprietorship's accounts.
• Audit only above a size threshold. A small (Class B) ApS can opt out of a statutory audit if it doesn't exceed two of three thresholds in two consecutive financial years: a balance sheet total of DKK 4 million, net revenue of DKK 8 million, and an average of 12 full-time employees. Most influencer-run companies sit well below those, and can file unaudited accounts.

Sole proprietorship vs. ApS, side by side

The tax wildcard: virksomhedsordningen

The most common assumption — that an ApS is "taxed lower" than a sole proprietorship — is incomplete. A sole proprietor can also opt into virksomhedsordningen (the business tax scheme, VSO), which, per Skattestyrelsen's own legal guide (info.skat.dk, section C.C.5.2.1), lets you pay a provisional business tax of 22% on any profit you choose to leave in the business rather than withdraw — the exact same rate as ApS corporate tax. Tax on the retained profit is deferred until you actually withdraw it, at which point the 22% already paid is credited against your final personal tax bill.

That means the tax rate difference on retained profit between the two structures is, in practice, zero — provided the sole proprietorship uses virksomhedsordningen. The real difference only shows up once the money leaves the business and lands in your personal account.

Worked example (hypothetical)

The figures below are made up for illustration only — not a real customer case or a specific accounting scenario.

Profit left in the business: Say an influencer leaves DKK 150,000 of the year's profit in the business for reinvestment (new camera equipment, a buffer for next year's tax bill). Under virksomhedsordningen, the sole proprietorship pays 22% provisional tax = DKK 33,000. Under an ApS, the company pays 22% corporate tax on the same amount = DKK 33,000. Identical result.

Profit withdrawn for personal use: Money paid out as a dividend from an ApS has already had 22% corporate tax deducted before dividend tax applies on top: 27% on the first DKK 79,400 (the 2026 threshold for a single person) and 42% above it. As a combined rate on the company's original profit, that works out to 22% + 27% × (100% − 22%) = 43.06% in the low dividend-tax band, and 22% + 42% × (100% − 22%) = 54.76% in the high band. For comparison, Danish personal income tax is progressive — including the labour-market contribution, municipal tax and middle/top tax, the marginal rate on the highest slice of a large personal income can also run above 50%. The two routes for money you actually withdraw often land closer together than a blanket "an ApS pays less tax" claim suggests — the real answer depends on your municipality, your total income level and how much you draw out each year, and is worth running through an accountant for your specific numbers rather than settling on the basis of this article alone.

When does an ApS actually make sense?

• IF your annual turnover is moderate and you don't carry a real risk of large liability claims THEN a sole proprietorship is probably right — it's free, simple, and skips the annual-report duty.
• IF you carry a genuine risk of being sued or facing a large claim — for example, you sell your own physical product, run a webshop, or sign larger commercial deals with real financial exposure THEN an ApS's limited liability carries real weight.
• IF you're planning to bring in a business partner or investor, or expect to sell the business eventually THEN that requires an ApS — you can't sell ownership stakes in a sole proprietorship the same way.
• IF your earnings are high enough that you genuinely leave a meaningful share of profit in the business year after year, and your personal marginal tax rate is high THEN it's worth having an accountant run the actual numbers on whether combined corporate-plus-dividend tax comes out lower for you than personal taxation.
• IF you're unsure THEN a sole proprietorship is the cheapest, most reversible place to start — you can convert to an ApS later.

Can I switch from a sole proprietorship to an ApS later?

Yes. Denmark's tax-free business conversion rules (skattefri virksomhedsomdannelse) let you convert a sole proprietorship into an ApS without triggering tax on the value the business has already built up — that value rolls forward into the new company instead. Among the conditions: the entire business must be transferred to the company, the consideration must consist entirely of shares, and you generally need to hold onto those shares for at least three years afterward (the holding requirement). One mistake worth knowing about in advance: you can't simply close the sole proprietorship and open a new ApS that continues the same activity — Skattestyrelsen can treat that as a taxable sale, even if that wasn't the intent.

Things that apply regardless of structure

Some obligations don't depend at all on whether you choose a sole proprietorship or an ApS. Platforms you work with or sell through report your income to the tax authorities under DAC7 regardless of business structure — that doesn't change your tax classification, but it's worth knowing about, see DAC7: what it means for influencer and creator platforms. If, alongside brand deals, you also sell your own digital products directly to consumers in other EU countries, a separate EU-wide €10,000/year threshold applies no matter whether you invoice as a sole proprietorship or an ApS — see VAT One Stop Shop (OSS). And if a brand doesn't pay on time, as a registered business — either structure — you have the same rights under Danish interest law, including the fixed statutory compensation fee; see what happens if a brand doesn't pay on time.

Common mistakes

• Assuming an ApS always pays less tax. The tax on retained profit is identical — 22% — if the sole proprietorship uses virksomhedsordningen. The difference is in what happens when the money is withdrawn.
• Overestimating limited liability. Banks and landlords often require a personal guarantee from the owner of a small ApS, which can erode the practical value of limited liability.
• Closing the sole proprietorship and starting a fresh ApS "just to switch." That can trigger tax a properly executed business conversion would have avoided.
• Forgetting the annual-report duty. An ApS files an annual report every year regardless of size — a recurring administrative task, not a one-off at formation.
• Waiting too long to decide. The earlier the structure is settled, the easier the bookkeeping — and the less pressure there is if a conversion later becomes necessary.

Make Influence's perspective

Make Influence contracts with creators as independent partners whether they invoice as a sole proprietorship or an ApS — we don't recommend or require either structure. What we see in practice is that the question usually only becomes relevant to a creator once earnings from several concurrent brand deals — the money involved, not the post count — start making personal liability a real concern, or once profit is large enough that it's worth having the tax difference actually run through the numbers. That's a question for an accountant, not one we settle on a creator's behalf.

FAQ

How much does it cost to set up each structure?

A sole proprietorship is free to register on virk.dk. An ApS requires DKK 20,000 in share capital plus a DKK 670 registration fee (2026 rate) to Erhvervsstyrelsen.

Am I personally liable for debt if I have an ApS?

Generally no — your liability is capped at the paid-in share capital. One important exception: banks often require a personal guarantee for a loan to a small ApS, which makes you personally responsible for that specific debt regardless.

Does an ApS always pay less tax than a sole proprietorship?

No. Tax on profit left inside the business is the same 22% if the sole proprietorship uses virksomhedsordningen. The difference emerges once the money is withdrawn for personal use — which route ends up cheaper depends on your specific income and is worth running through an accountant.

Can a sole proprietorship get the same 22% tax rate as an ApS?

Yes, on retained profit, if you opt into virksomhedsordningen (VSO) — a voluntary tax scheme for the self-employed, described in Skattestyrelsen's own legal guide.

Do all ApS companies need an auditor?

No. A Class B (small) ApS can opt out of an audit if it doesn't exceed two of three thresholds in two consecutive financial years: a DKK 4 million balance sheet total, DKK 8 million net revenue, and an average of 12 full-time employees.

Can I switch from a sole proprietorship to an ApS later if I start out with the wrong structure?

Yes, via the tax-free business conversion rules, which let you roll the business's existing value into a new ApS without triggering immediate tax — with a requirement that you generally hold onto the resulting shares for at least three years.

Does the DKK 50,000 VAT threshold apply differently to the two structures?

No, the VAT registration duty kicks in at the same threshold regardless of business structure — see affiliate influencer marketing in Denmark for how that threshold works in practice for influencer income.

Does my choice of business structure affect whether I can combine influencer income with unemployment benefits (dagpenge)?

No — for a-kasse purposes, what matters is that Skattestyrelsen recognises the activity as a genuine self-employed business, not whether it's structured as a sole proprietorship or an ApS. See does influencer income affect Danish unemployment benefits (dagpenge)? for the a-kasse approval process, the 30-week cap on supplementary benefits, and the separate income requirement for dagpenge eligibility.

Do I need to confirm I've crossed the hobby threshold before choosing between these two structures?

Yes — both structures assume the activity already qualifies as commercial business activity, not a hobby. See hobbyvirksomhed or enkeltmandsvirksomhed: when a Danish influencer must register a real business for the profitability and intensity criteria that decide that first question.