How to apply for a Norwegian 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.

NorgeStart editorial team · checked at source 2026-08-02 · Report an error

CostFree, however often you change it

Do it byYour first payday

Who needs itAnyone earning over 100,000 kr a year

Who this applies to

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.

Step by step

Order it from SkatteetatenUse 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.
Attend the ID check if you are asked toFirst-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.
Choose PAYE or ordinary taxationThe application asks. If you do nothing, most new foreign workers are placed on PAYE. The comparison below is the whole decision.
Check that your employer has retrieved itEmployers 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%.
Update it when your income changesA 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 you need 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.

Common mistakes

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

	PAYE (kildeskatt på lønn)	Ordinary taxation
Rate	Flat 25% of gross salary, national insurance included. 17.4% in 2026 if you are exempt from Norwegian national insurance.	Progressive: 22% general income tax plus bracket tax, minus deductions and allowances.
Deductions	None at all. That is the trade.	Commuting, interest, union fees, parental deduction, and more.
Tax return	None. You get a receipt showing what was paid, not a tax return or an assessment notice.	A skattemelding every spring, and a skatteoppgjør that can mean money back or money owed.
Income limit	You must earn under 725,050 kroner in 2026.	No limit.
Who cannot use it	Anyone tax-resident in Norway more than a year, anyone with business income, public benefits, or capital gains over 10,000 kroner, and salary covered by a Nordic tax agreement.	—

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.

What to do next

Norway salary calculator — see your pay after tax →
Compare a PAYE flat rate against ordinary taxation on your own salary before you choose.

Every rule on this page, at its official source

Skatteetaten — tax deduction card ↗Skatteetaten — order a tax deduction card ↗Skatteetaten — PAYE (kildeskatt på lønn) ↗Skatteetaten — tax deduction cards for foreign workers ↗Skatteetaten — tax deduction cards, for employers ↗

This page brings official Norwegian information together in one place and explains it in plain English. Rules and amounts change, and your own situation may differ — check anything that matters against the official source above, and treat this as general information, not legal or tax advice.

Published 2026-08-02 · last checked against official sources 2026-08-02 · how NorgeStart researches and corrects its guides