Can My Children Inherit My Shares and the Business?

Yes, your children can inherit shares and a personally owned business — but the rules for how it's taxed differ from an ordinary sale, and there are special rules that can make inheriting an active business cheaper than inheriting other forms of wealth.

Succession: does the estate avoid capital gains tax?

Under Section 33C of the Danish Withholding Tax Act, shares and a personally owned business can in many cases be transferred with tax succession to close relatives — including children. This means capital gains tax isn't triggered for the person transferring (or the estate of someone who has died), but instead the recipient "takes over" the original acquisition cost and, with it, the deferred tax. The tax isn't gone — it's shifted to your children and only triggered once they themselves sell at some point.

Estate duty: what inheritance tax is due?

Beyond the tax succession, estate duty is generally due on the inheritance. For close relatives, including children, the standard estate duty is 15%. For active businesses transferred to close family, the estate duty has been reduced to 10% since January 1, 2025, when the conditions for succession are also met — a relief specifically designed to make it cheaper to pass a business on within the family, rather than selling it outside the family or closing it.

How does this differ from selling to your children while you're alive?

A generational transfer while you're alive, and an inheritance after your death, can both happen with succession under largely the same principles — the difference lies in the timing, and in the fact that a sale during your lifetime lets you help steer the transition yourself and possibly stay on as an advisor to the next generation for a period. Read more about that model in our guide on generational transfer of a business to the next generation.

What should you do now, if this is relevant to you?

• Get it clarified whether your business and shares meet the conditions for succession — it isn't automatically the case in every situation.
• Consider whether a will or ownership agreement should be updated, so it's clear what should happen to the business if you die while you still own it.
• Talk to an advisor well in advance — succession and estate duty rules are technical, and the right choices depend on your specific family and ownership structure.

Want to hear more about how to approach a generational transfer or inheritance plan? Book a call under Advisory & Mediation.