Taxes in Norway for foreign workers

Everyone who works in Norway needs a tax card (skattekort) before their first payday. Apply to Skatteetaten using your Norwegian identity number if you already have one — and if you do not, the same application requests a D-number for you, so there is nothing to wait for first. New arrivals are usually placed on PAYE, a flat 25% that already includes national insurance and requires no tax return. Ordinary taxation, with deductions and an annual skattemelding, applies once you opt out of PAYE or earn above the scheme's income ceiling.

Written by the NorgeStart editorial team · Figures checked against official sources on 2026-08-02 · Report an error

NorgeStart is an independent private service. It is not a government agency and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or operated by any Norwegian public authority. NorgeStart brings information from many official Norwegian sources together in one place, and we work to keep it up to date. Even so, rules, rates and amounts can change at any time, and we cannot guarantee that a page here always matches the authority's latest wording. Always confirm with the responsible authority before you act. We give general information, not professional advice on legal, tax, immigration or medical matters, and we take no responsibility for differences between this page and the official source, or for decisions taken on the basis of it.

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Tax card (skattekort) — your first task

Everyone working in Norway needs a tax card — order it at Skatteetaten with passport and work contract (ID check in person the first time).
No tax card = employer must withhold 50%.
The tax card tells the employer what % to deduct. Update it whenever your income changes: skatteetaten.no.

Skattekort, half tax in December and when the higher rates start

Your tax card arrives on 15 December for the year ahead, by email or SMS. You never hand it to your employer — they fetch it from Skatteetaten electronically, and any change you make is sent on automatically.
Change it whenever your situation changes, as often as you like: new salary, second job, a mortgage, a long commute. Too low a rate means a bill next autumn; too high means you lend the state money for free.
Earning under 100 000 kr in the year? You pay no tax and get a frikort automatically from age 13. If you have several employers you can split the frikort between them.
Why December is "half tax": your tax card spreads the whole year's tax over about 10,5 months. That is what pays for no deduction on holiday pay in June and only half the usual deduction in December — it is not a bonus or a tax-free month, just the same yearly tax collected unevenly.
Feriepenger are paid without any deduction for the same reason. The tax on them is already built into the rate taken from your other months.
When do the higher rates start? Trinnskatt begins at 226 100 kr a year — far lower than most people expect — and steps up at 318 300, 725 050, 980 100 and 1 467 200 kr. What most people mean by "toppskatt" is the jump to 13,7% at 725 050 kr.
Your marginal rate — what you keep from the next krone earned — reaches about 47,4% at the top step, not the 50%+ people often assume.

A tax card that is too low is the most common cause of a large restskatt bill. If you change job, get a raise or take a second job, update the card the same week — it takes two minutes on skatteetaten.no.

PAYE — the 25% flat scheme for new workers

New foreign workers automatically start in PAYE (kildeskatt på lønn): flat 25% (includes national insurance), nothing more to do, no tax return.
Applies your first year, if income is under 725 050.
You can opt out into ordinary taxation — usually worth it if you: commute to family abroad, pay loan interest, earn under ~NOK 300k, or have other deductions. Once you opt out for a year you can't go back for that year.

How ordinary tax works (simple version)

Three parts: 22% on income after deductions + bracket tax (1.7–17.8% on higher salary slices) + 7.6% national insurance.
Automatic deductions: minimum standard deduction (minstefradrag) and personal allowance — you get these without doing anything.
Rule of thumb: a normal full-time salary pays 25–35% in total. Use the Tools tab to estimate your net pay.

Deductions — how to legally pay less tax

Two deductions are automatic — you never apply for them: the minstefradrag (46% of salary, capped at 95 700 kr) and the personfradrag (114 540 kr). They are already in your tax card, which is why your effective rate is lower than the headline rates.
Commuting (reisefradrag): 1,90 kr per kilometre for the daily trip between home and work. Only the amount above 12 000 kr counts, and the deduction stops at 120 000 kr — so short commutes give nothing and long ones are worth real money. You must claim it yourself.
Commuter status (pendler) is the big one newcomers miss: if you keep a home in another country or region and travel back, your rent, board and home visits may be deductible. Rules are strict about documentation — keep every receipt and boarding pass.
Childcare (foreldrefradrag): up to 15 000 kr for the first child and 10 000 kr for each additional child in 2026 (reduced from 25 000/15 000 as barnehage prices fell). The older, higher limits still apply for children aged 12+ with a special care need.
Union fees (fagforeningskontingent): up to 8 700 kr a year.
Loan interest is deductible against general income at 22% — including interest on a mortgage abroad, if your income is taxed in Norway and the property is in the EEA.
On the PAYE/kildeskatt scheme you get NO deductions at all — the 25% is flat. If you have a long commute, children in barnehage or a mortgage, ordinary taxation is often cheaper. You can opt out of PAYE; run both numbers before you decide.
Deductions are claimed in the tax return in March–April, not through your employer. Check the pre-filled figures — Skatteetaten fills in what it knows, and it does not know about your commute.

Check the pre-filled tax return line by line. Skatteetaten already knows your salary and your bank interest, but it does not know about your commute, your union fees, childcare you paid abroad or a mortgage in another EEA country — those are the deductions people most often lose by simply not entering them.

Tax return (skattemelding)

Every March/April you get a pre-filled tax return — check it, correct it, claim deductions. Deadline: 30 April.
Deductions people miss: commuter costs to home country (pendlerfradrag), interest on foreign loans, union fees, childcare costs (foreldrefradrag), donations.
After you submit, Skatteetaten calculates your final result — the tax assessment below.

December salary has half tax withholding — that's the system, not a raise. Don't spend it as extra money if you're on a tight budget in spring.

Tax assessment (skatteoppgjør) — money back or money owed

The skatteoppgjør is the yearly settlement: Skatteetaten compares what you already paid through salary deductions with what you actually owed. It arrives digitally between June and October (most people: June).
It says either til gode (you overpaid — money back) or restskatt (you underpaid — you owe).
Overpaid? The refund is paid automatically to your bank account within about 1–2 weeks, with a small interest bonus. Make sure Skatteetaten has your Norwegian account number (profile at skatteetaten.no) — especially if you have left Norway.
Underpaid (restskatt)? Under NOK 100 is waived. Up to about NOK 1 000: one payment, due roughly 3 weeks after your assessment. Over about NOK 1 000: the amount is automatically SPLIT into two installments about 5 weeks apart — two payment claims with KID numbers arrive digitally.
A small interest supplement (rentetillegg, set yearly) is added to restskatt — and paid to you on refunds.

Never ignore a restskatt claim: reminders become forced collection and even direct salary deduction (utleggstrekk). Can't pay? Contact Skatteetaten early — payment plans exist. Scan any tax letter in this app to see exactly what it means and when to act.

Avoid the surprise: advance payments

Fix the cause: update your tax card as soon as your income changes — that keeps the monthly deduction correct.
Already know you will owe for last year? Pay a voluntary additional advance (tilleggsforskudd) by 31 May — amounts paid by then carry no interest supplement at all.
Self-employed, freelancer or rental income? You pay advance tax (forskuddsskatt) during the year in four installments (Skatteetaten sends the claims). Missing one installment can make the whole remaining amount due at once — set reminders.
Everything is paid with KID numbers through your bank — keep the receipts.

Digital life: Altinn & Skatteetaten inbox

All letters from the tax office arrive digitally in Altinn / your Skatteetaten inbox, logged in with BankID. Check it — "I didn't see the letter" doesn't stop deadlines.
Scan any tax letter with this app and it will tell you what it means and what to do.

How to get a tax card — and PAYE versus ordinary tax

A tax deduction card (skattekort) tells your employer how much tax to withhold. You must have one if you will earn more than 100,000 kroner in the year, and until your employer can retrieve one for you, they are legally required to deduct 50% of your pay. Order it from Skatteetaten as soon as you have — or are applying for — a Norwegian identification number. New arrivals are usually placed on the PAYE scheme, a flat 25% that is simple but allows no deductions; ordinary taxation is more work and often less tax.
You will earn more than 100,000 kroner in Norway this year. Below that, an exemption card (frikort) may be enough.
You are starting a job in Norway, changing jobs, or taking a second job.
Your income has changed enough that the card you have is wrong — it is your responsibility to update it, not your employer's.
Not you if you are self-employed only: you pay advance tax (forskuddsskatt) instead, which is a different arrangement.
1. Order it from Skatteetaten — Use Skatteetaten's “order a tax deduction card” service. If you already have BankID you can do it online in minutes. If you do not yet have a Norwegian identification number, the same application requests a D-number for you.
2. Attend the ID check if you are asked to — First-time applicants from abroad normally have to appear in person at one of Skatteetaten's selected offices with a passport. This is also the moment at which you can opt out of the PAYE scheme.
3. Choose PAYE or ordinary taxation — The application asks. If you do nothing, most new foreign workers are placed on PAYE. The comparison below is the whole decision.
4. Check that your employer has retrieved it — Employers download the card electronically — you are not given a paper copy to hand over. Skatteetaten has a page showing which employers have retrieved your card. If yours is not listed, they will still be deducting 50%.
5. Update it when your income changes — A card built on a wrong income estimate produces either a nasty bill (restskatt) or an interest-free loan to the state. You can change it as often as you need, free.
What to bring: Your passport or accepted national ID document — see the D-number page for which applies to your citizenship. Your employment contract, or a written job offer showing the expected salary. Your D-number or national identity number, if you already have one. A realistic estimate of your income for the year — the whole card is calculated from it.
What it costs: Ordering, changing and re-ordering a tax deduction card is free, however many times you do it. There is no fee for the ID check either. The expensive thing is not having one: your employer must deduct 50% of your gross pay until they can retrieve a card for you. That money is not lost — it is settled in your tax assessment, or your employer can correct the withholding within the same income year once the card arrives — but you are without it in the months when you have just moved to a new country.
How long it takes: The card itself is issued electronically and your employer retrieves it directly, so there is no posting time to wait for. What takes time is everything in front of it: getting an ID-check appointment, and getting an identification number if you do not have one. Tax cards are issued for a calendar year. If you are still working in Norway in December, check the following year's card in the new year rather than assuming it carried over correctly.
Starting work without applying — The 50% deduction is not a punishment your employer chose — it is what the law requires of them. Apply before your first payday, not after your first payslip shocks you.
Assuming your employer applied for you — Some do, through a separate employer application (RF-1355). Many do not. Ask, and check Skatteetaten's list of employers who have retrieved your card.
Guessing your income low to pay less tax now — It works, right up until the tax assessment, when the difference comes back as restskatt — sometimes with interest, and always at a moment you did not plan for.
Staying on PAYE without checking — PAYE is the default and it is genuinely simpler. It is also more expensive for anyone with real deductions — commuting, a home mortgage, a spouse and children abroad, union fees.
Forgetting the second job — Both employers retrieve the same card. If you take a second job without updating your income estimate, you are under-taxed all year.
PAYE versus ordinary taxation — the actual difference
The honest rule of thumb: if you are here for one season, have no dependants abroad and no mortgage, PAYE is fine and saves you a spring of paperwork. If you commute long distances, support a family in another country, pay interest on a home loan, or earn near the ceiling, ordinary taxation is very often cheaper — sometimes by a lot. You can opt out of PAYE at the ID check, when applying for the card, or afterwards. The deadline to opt out for a given income year is 31 December three years after that year, and you must do it yourself — nobody will move you.

Official sources

Skatteetaten — Foreign workers ↗PAYE scheme ↗Tax return ↗

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