Crop residues left in the field after harvest are an important source for N₂O emissions. The default IPCC emission factor for crop residues is 1.25% of residue N. However, reported emission factors in the literature vary considerably with crop quality (especially C/N ratio) and soil type. We tested the hypothesis that delaying incorporation of crop residue in the soil affects N₂O emissions and denitrification rates through a change in oxygen availability during decomposition. During a 104-day laboratory incubation study, we measured cumulative N₂O fluxes, actual denitrification and soil mineral in crop residue treatments. Incubations were established with residue of both sugar beet (C/N ratio 56.3) and broccoli (C/N ratio 8.1), on a sandy and loamy soil. Treatments included incorporation at day 0, 14 and 42. Cumulative N₂O fluxes on the sandy soil averaged over the three incorporation dates were 0.0% and 9.4% of applied residue-N for sugar beet and broccoli, respectively. On the loamy soil, these fluxes were 0.9% and 6.7%, respectively. On the sandy soil there was no clear effect of later incorporation on N₂O fluxes. However, on the loamy soil N₂O emissions decreased with delayed incorporation for both residues. For incorporation at days 0, 14 and 42, broccoli residue emissions decreased from 8.0% to 6.1% and 6.0%, respectively. For sugar beet residues, these numbers were 1.5%, 0.6% and 0.5%, respectively. Actual denitrification was low until the date of residue incorporation, and peaked for broccoli residue incorporation at day 14. Our results confirm the relation between C/N ratio and N₂O emission. Furthermore, we conclude that delayed incorporation can impact N₂O fluxes as well as actual denitrification and soil mineral N concentrations. Although delaying incorporation resulted in lower N₂O fluxes, future research should also take into account effects such as increased NH₃ volatilization.