Tax in Norway

UiB collects tax information electronically from the Tax Administration. As long as no tax information exists, 50% tax is deducted. For UiB to collect information about your tax deduction card, you are required to send an email with your Norwegian ID number (D-number or personal number) to the Payroll Office.

Application for a tax card

EU/EEA citizen: Book an appointment with the Tax Administration and take with you the required documentation. You can read more about it at sua.no. 

Non-EU/EEA citizen: As part of the immigration process, you must book an appointment with the Police through UDI and afterwards get your Norwegian ID by post. Next step is to become an online user and apply for the tax deduction card online.

Notice that:

• Guest lecturers whose stay in Norway does not exceed one day, are usually not taxed.
• International employees working or partly working in another country than Norway, must apply for a tax clarification due to Norwegian tax agreements with other countries. You might get a tax exemption. You need to contact your local HR.
• If you are coming to Norway to work, UiB will not apply for a tax deduction card for you. 

PAYE

Most foreign workers who are new in Norway will automatically become part of a voluntary tax scheme called PAYE (Pay As You Earn) when you apply for a tax deduction card. Under this scheme, you are taxed at a fixed percentage that your employer deducts from your salary.

If you are part of the PAYE scheme, your tax is completed after your salary has been paid to you. You do not submit a tax return, nor do you receive a tax assessment notice. Instead, you’ll receive a receipt for PAYE tax, which shows how much salary and tax your employer has reported to the Tax Administration for the work you did last year.

To be able to stay on this scheme, you need to meet some criteria. It is important that you check if you meet all the requirements, even if you are automatically a part of the scheme.

You can read more about this scheme here. 

Ordinary tax

General tax in Norway is calculated according to a tax rate that varies based on how much you earn during the year. The tax rate is adjusted according to your income and deductions. If you earn less, you pay less tax, and if you earn more, you pay more tax.

If you pay tax under the general rules, you’ll get a tax return the year after you’ve worked. The tax return is, amongst other things, a summary of your income. In your tax return, you can claim deductions for expenses you’ve had in connection with your work in Norway. After you’ve received your tax return, you’ll receive a tax assessment notice. The tax assessment notice will show whether you’ve paid too much or too little tax. If you’ve paid too little tax, you must pay what you owe. If you’ve paid too much tax, you’ll receive a refund into your bank account.

Which scheme should I choose?

If you are unsure of which scheme to use, you can calculate how much tax you would pay under the general tax rules, using the tax calculator. To find out which deductions you’re entitled to, you can use the deduction wizard.

Everyone on the ordinary tax scheme will receive a tax return. It is an outline of your income, deductions, wealth and debt. To make sure that you do not pay too much tax, you must check that the information in your tax return is correct. The deadline for submitting the tax return is 30 April every year.  If you discover errors or receive new or delayed information, you can still change and submit the tax return after this date. 

When you have opened the tax return, you must:

1. Check if everything is correct: salary, paid tax, pensions, debts, capital wealth, etc. 
2. Change your tax return if the information is wrong or missing.
3. Submit your tax return before the deadline. 

After you’ve submitted:

1. Tax refund, or underpaid tax: In the tax return, you'll find a provisional tax calculation. This may be changed after you’ve submitted. When you’ve submitted your tax return, we’ll go through all the information. You’ll see whether you have to pay more tax or if you're entitled to a refund in your tax assessment. 
2. Change account number: make sure the tax administration has the correct account information. 

If you are on the PAYE scheme, you will receive a tax receipt between June and August, instead of a tax return. Because of this, you will not be able to deduct anything or adjust your taxes (commuting, loans, social security abroad when working in more than one country, etc.). To be able to adjust your tax return, you will have to opt out of the PAYE scheme.  

Once the tax administration has processed your tax return, you will receive a tax assessment notice. The processing time for this varies. You’ll be notified by email or text message when your tax assessment notice is ready. The tax assessment states how much money you’ll be refunded if you overpaid tax, or how much money you’ll have to pay to the Tax administration because of underpaid tax. Tax assessment notices are issued almost all year - from March to November.

It is a necessary step for you to be able to check all the information regarding your taxes. You need it to be able to check and submit your tax return, change your tax deduction card and report a move within Norway or when you are leaving the country. You can also communicate with the Tax Administration. Here you can read how to become an online user. 

We offer two different types of tax seminars. 

• Introduction to the tax system in Norway/Paying tax in Norway: in this seminar we go through the basics of the tax system in Norway and is useful for everyone working for UiB. We hold this seminar two times per month. 
• Tax return: in this seminar, hold by tax lawyers, we go through how to report things correctly in your tax return. We hold this seminar 1 time per year, usually in April.

Check our calendar to sign up for the seminars.