Norway Payroll Information – Deel Global Payroll

Updated on: 2025/08/04 14:35 (UTC)

Overview

Norway is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system, and is primarily located in the Scandinavian Peninsula in northern Europe. Although Norway is not part of the European Union, it is a member of the European Economic Area (EEA) and has, through its membership in the EEA, adopted most EU laws and regulations. In addition to Norway’s mainland, which shares a land border with Sweden to Sweden’s west and Finland to Finland’s north, Norway includes the territory of Svalbard, an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean that includes the settlement of Longyearbyen, the northernmost permanently inhabited population center with at least 1,000 residents. Norway also includes the island of Jan Mayen in the Arctic Ocean and a group of territories in the Antarctic, all of which do not have permanent residents.

Norway’s currency is the Norwegian krone.

The Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten), administers the income tax, which consists of multiple components. The income tax law is largely set forth in the Tax Act, Tax Assessment Act and Tax Payment Act. Norway has no locally imposed income taxes, although portions of the income tax enacted by Parliament are imposed for the specific benefit of counties and municipalities.

Employers also are responsible for withholding National Insurance contributions from employees and making separate contributions to the program.

Much of Norway’s employment law is set forth in the Act Relating to Working Environment, Working Hours and Employment Protection (also known as the Working Environment Act), which is administered by the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority. The Act applies to all employees in Norwegian territory except those who work in shipping, hunting and fishing and military aviation.

Foreign workers are entitled to the same rights as Norwegian citizens and generally are covered by the same tax and workplace laws, although foreign workers are taxed only on their income from Norwegian sources. Visa requirements depend on the worker’s home country and the type of work to be performed in Norway.

Norwegian residents working in the United States are covered by U.S. tax law with possible treaty and work status exclusions applying. Work within the U.S. states and territories is covered by various labor laws.

CURRENCY DETAILS

The currency of Norway is the Norwegian krone (NOK), also known as the Norwegian crown and also known in Noway simply as the krone. The internationally recognized three-letter currency code for the Norwegian krone is NOK, which also is one of the currency’s commonly used currency symbols. The plural form of Norwegian krone is Norwegian kroner.

When an amount of Norwegian kroner is written using the currency symbol NOK, as is commonly done in English, the symbol precedes the numerical value with a space between the numerical value and symbol.

There is a set of currency symbols applicable to crown currencies, which are currencies whose name contains a word that translates to crown, including the words koruna, krona, króna, and krone. When an amount of Norwegian kroner is written using the currency symbol Nkr. or one of its variants (Nkr, NKr., NKr, NKR., and NKR) to distinguish Norwegian kroner from other crown currencies, and when Norwegian documents use the general crown currency symbol kr. or one of its variants (kr, Kr., Kr, KR., and KR) to refer to Norwegian kroner, the symbol either precedes or follows the numerical value with a space between the numerical value and symbol.

One hundredth ( ¹ ⁄ ₁₀₀ ) of a Norwegian krone is referred to as an øre, which has the same plural form as its singular form.

When amounts of Norwegian kroner are written in Norwegian, the comma that in English separates the thousands place from the hundreds place instead is rendered as a dot (.) or as a space, and the dot that in English separates the ones place from the tenths place instead is rendered as a comma.

Digital Currencies: Norway treats digital currencies as capital property for tax purposes and does not recognize digital currencies as travel or foreign currencies.

Treatment of digital currencies as capital property allows for deductions for losses and taxes on gains. Services relating to the exchange of digital currency are excluded from financial services in the VAT Act, which governs value-added taxes. Digital currencies are subject to the wealth and sales taxes, so gains and losses must be reported to the tax administration.

TAXES

Norwegian income tax is administered by the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten).

Norway also imposes taxes to fund the National Insurance program. Certain employers in the financial sector also are subject to a tax on wage amounts. These taxes also is administered by the Norwegian Tax Administration.

Norway’s tax year is the calendar year, Jan. 1 to Dec. 31.

Coronavirus (Covid-19) Guidance: Employers that have difficulty making tax payments because of the coronavirus pandemic could postpone them until June 30, 2021. The deferral program was restarted for tax payments due from Jan. 1 to March 31, 2022, and postponed payments may be made in installments through Dec. 30, 2022. The program includes employer National Insurance contributions but does not apply to income tax withholding deposits. To participate, the employer must not have any outstanding income tax withholding payments; must not have outstanding tax payments that were originally due before Dec. 1, 2021, except if the payment has a payment plan; and must have filed all required returns from Jan. 1, 2021, through submission of the application.

Effective until Dec. 31, 2021, foreign employers that did not otherwise have a presence in Norway were exempted from income tax withholding and associated reporting requirements for employees working from home in Norway who normally work in another country and worked for the same employer immediately before the pandemic.

Employer National Insurance contribution rates were reduced by four percentage points, effective for May and June 2020, but employers were to continue to calculate contributions as normal when filing returns, with the Norwegian Tax Administration calculating the reduction. Additionally, the deadline for National Insurance returns and deposits due July 15, 2020, was postponed to Oct. 15. The reduction also applied to the reduced employer tax rate paid by employers of workers posted to Norway from the U.S. and Canada. In Zone 5, where the employer National Insurance tax rate is already zero, employers instead received a subsidy of 4% of their wages subject to social tax, as calculated by the Norwegian Tax Administration, by Sept. 1, 2020.

Income Taxes

The Norwegian income tax, administered by the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten), consists of a general income tax, which is a flat tax on net income, plus a progressive personal income tax, which applies to gross income above certain amounts.

Coverage: All resident and nonresident employees are subject to income tax.

Employees: Employees who are residents of Norway are subject to income tax on their worldwide income, while nonresidents are subject to Norwegian income tax only on income from Norwegian sources.

An individual becomes a resident of Norway for tax purposes if he or she is present in Norway for more than 183 days during any 12-month period, or more than 270 days during any 36-month period. After a person becomes resident in Norway, that person does not lose Norwegian residency unless he or she becomes a permanent resident elsewhere, spends no more than 61 days total in Norway during a tax year and neither the person nor a closely related party has a home available in Norway. If the person has been resident in Norway for 10 years or more, residency does not terminate until the end of the third year that all such requirements are met.

Rates and Thresholds: Employees in Norway are subject to two separate types of income tax: a flat income tax that is referred to in the country as a tax on ordinary income (skatt på alminnelig inntekt) or general income tax, and a progressive income tax that is referred to in the country as a step tax (trinnskatt) or bracket tax.

The flat personal income tax consists of components for state, county, and municipal funding. The standard flat rate of income tax is in effect for the vast majority of the country, but a lower flat rate is in effect for employment income of residents of Norway’s Action Zone (Tiltakssonen), which consists of the county of Finnmark and seven of the nine municipalities in the district of Nord-Troms in the county of Troms, and an even lower flat rate is in effect for employment income of residents of Norway’s territory of Svalbard.

Effective for 2022, unchanged from 2021, the standard flat rate of income tax is 22%.

Local exceptions to the standard flat rate of income tax are available in the State/Jurisdiction Taxes section of this primer.

Individual income earned by employees in Norway generally also is subject to a bracket tax, which is levied on a progressive scale. Bracket taxes are inapplicable to income earned in Norway’s territory of Svalbard.

Effective for 2022, Norway’s bracket tax rates and thresholds of annual personal income for each tax bracket are as follows:

Range of Annual Income (Norwegian Kroner)	Income Tax Rate	Name of Tax Bracket
Up to NOK 190,350	Zero	Range Before Steps
More than NOK 190,350 and up to NOK 267,900	1.7%	Step 1
More than NOK 267,900 and up to NOK 643,800	4.0%	Step 2
More than NOK 643,800 and up to NOK 969,200	13.4%	Step 3
More than NOK 969,200 and up to NOK 2,000,000	16.4%	Step 4
More than NOK 2,000,000	17.4%	Step 5

Effective for 2021, Norway’s bracket tax rates and thresholds of annual personal income for each tax bracket were as follows:

Range of Annual Income (Norwegian Kroner)	Income Tax Rate	Name of Tax Bracket
Up to NOK 184,800	Zero	Range Before Steps
More than NOK 184,800 and up to NOK 260,100	1.7%	Step 1
More than NOK 260,100 and up to NOK 651,250	4.0%	Step 2
More than NOK 651,250 and up to NOK 1,021,550	13.2%	Step 3
More than NOK 1,021,550	16.2%	Step 4

Effective since Jan. 1, 2019, nonresident foreign workers may choose to be taxed at a flat tax rate of 25%, with no income tax deductions available to them if they choose this option. The rate of 25% includes the standard National Insurance contribution rate for employees of 8%. More information regarding the optional flat rate is available in the Foreign Workers section of this primer.

Registration: All businesses operating in Norway must register with the Register of Business Enterprises, the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities (CCR) and the local tax office, by filing the Coordinated Registration Notification (BR-1010). Every registered business is issued an organization number, which must be included on all business documents.

Online registration to fulfill these registration requirements is available through the Brønnøysund Register Centre, which is part of the country’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries.

Taxable Amounts: The general income tax applies to earned income, business income and capital income, on a net basis. Earned income includes all cash and non-cash benefits attributable to personal efforts, including all employment wages and benefits. Business income includes all cash and noncash benefits attributable to business operations, and capital income includes all cash and non-cash benefits attributable to capital.

The personal income tax applies only to earned income and business income, on a gross basis. Thus, all capital gains are subject only to the flat general income tax.

Withholding Methods: Employers must withhold tax from wages in the amounts set forth in the employee’s tax deduction card. If the employee fails to provide a tax deduction card, the withholding rate is 50% until the employee provides his or her tax deduction card. Employees of Norwegian employers receive a tax deduction card from the local tax office. Employees of foreign employers receive a tax deduction card from the Central Office—Foreign Tax Affairs, based on information provided by the employee in form RF-1209.

Tax withheld from wages is applied to the employee’s ultimate income tax liability and will be refunded to the extent the amount withheld exceeds tax liability.

Returns and Remittance: Employers must report withheld taxes and National Insurance contributions monthly, by the 5th of the following month, and must make payments six times per year, by Jan. 15, March 15, May 15, July 15, Sept. 15, and Nov. 15. A Norwegian employer must transmit its payment record forms to the municipal treasurer where its headquarters is located, while foreign employers must transmit their payment record forms to the International Tax Collection Authority.

Employers also must submit annual certificates of pay and tax deducted (end of year certificates). The deadline for submissions made electronically through the Altinn system, Norway’s dedicated reporting system for submission of business information to the government, or in machine-readable format, is Jan. 31, while employers who submit paper forms must do so by Jan. 20. Employers in fisheries and related fields have until Feb. 20. The employer must provide each employee with a copy of the certificate no later than Feb. 1, or Feb. 21 for employees in fisheries or related fields.

All employees who work in Norway receive a tax return in late March or early April, which contains pre-entered information on income reported by employers and banks. Each employee must check the information against his or her end of year certificate, make any necessary changes to income and deductions and submit the return no later than April 30. If the employee has no changes, the return need not be filed, as it will be deemed to have been filed on the basis of the pre-entered information. If the employee also receives a provisional tax assessment showing that too little tax has been withheld, the employee must pay the assessment by May 31 to avoid imposition of interest.

Employee Share Plans: According to the Norwegian Tax Administration, options from an employee share plan are subject to income tax on the spread of the option at acquisition. Any gain from an option is also taxed as income.

Recordkeeping: Tax records must be kept for five years. The Tax Assessment Act and Tax Payment Act grant the tax authorities the right to inspect, at any time, documents relating to tax assessment.

Penalties: If an employer fails to deduct and pay withholding from wages, the employer will be held liable for the amount that should have been withheld. Employers also may be held criminally liable, under the Tax Payment Act, for fines and imprisonment of up to six months, or up to one year for deliberate repeat offenses.

Failure to timely provide end of year certificates may result in a daily fine under the Tax Assessment Act until the certificates are delivered.

Filing incorrect or incomplete tax returns may trigger penalties of 30% of the evaded tax. The penalties can be reduced to 15% in excusable circumstances, or doubled to 60% in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct. Criminal tax fraud is punishable by imprisonment of up to six years.

Social Taxes

Coverage: Employers must withhold National Insurance contributions for all employees in Norway, except those who are insured under the scheme of another country with which Norway has a national insurance agreement and who have documented such coverage by filing form E101/A1 or submitting other equivalent documentation from the home country’s national insurance scheme.

Employees covered by National Insurance are entitled to various benefits, including old age, survivors’ and disability pensions; occupational injury benefits; a work assessment allowance; cash benefits for sickness, maternity, adoption and unemployment; medical benefits; benefits for single parents; and funeral benefits.

Rates and Thresholds: The amount of employment income paid to an employee upon which National Insurance contributions may be assessed is not subject to a maximum amount, although there is a minimum amount of annual wages applicable to National Insurance contributions. If an employee’s income for a year would be lower than the minimum amount of annual wages, the employee’s income is treated as the minimum amount of annual wages for calculations of National Insurance contributions.

Effective for 2022, the minimum amount of annual wages upon which National Insurance contributions are assessed is NOK 64,650. Effective for 2021, the minimum amount of annual wages upon which National Insurance contributions are assessed was NOK 59,650.

Effective since Jan. 1, 2022, the standard National Insurance contribution rate for employees is 8% and is applicable to employees who are ages 17 to 69. Employees who are younger than 17 or older than 69 are subject to a National Insurance contribution rate of 5.1%. Effective until Dec. 31, 2021, the standard National Insurance contribution rate for employees was 8.2%.

The standard National Insurance contribution rate for employers is 14.1%, although employers’ rates may vary from the standard contribution rate if they are located in selected municipalities or are within selected industrial sectors, and qualify for differentiated social insurance tax rates. The National Insurance contributions rates range from zero to 14.1%, plus an additional contribution of 2% for a mandatory occupational pension. The mandatory occupational pension contribution applies only to gross income from one to 12 times the National Insurance base amount (grunnbeløpet). Effective since May 1, 2021, the base amount is NOK 106,399. Effective from May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021, the base amount was NOK 101,351. Effective from May 1, 2019, to April 30, 2020, the base amount was NOK 99,858. The base amount is generally subject to annual adjustment on May 1 of each year.

Municipalities in Norway are assigned to National Insurance contribution zones, and each zone is assigned a standard contribution rate, with some zones having exceptions to the standard rate. An employer’s zone for determining the applicable National Insurance contribution rate is the one where the employer principally conducted business at the time when the employment income was paid upon which the National Insurance contribution would be assessed. For this determination, the principal business location is the location that the employer was required to register as its business location in the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities (CCR).

As employers with business operations in multiple National Insurance contribution zones or in multiple industries and that are not itinerant enterprises must register each of its business locations in another zone or industry as a separate sub-entity, the employer National Insurance contribution rate applicable to employment income paid for work performed for the sub-entity is the rate for the zone containing the location indicated in the CCR as the sub-entity’s registration location. Itinerant enterprises are those that the Norwegian Tax Administration recognizes as enterprises whose business by its nature involves work being performed in locations other than the CCR registration location. However, an itinerant enterprise employer whose CCR registration is for a location in a zone with a lower National Insurance contribution rate than the rate applicable to another zone where the employer has operations may be required by the tax administration to pay National Insurance contributions for the entirety of its business operations across the zones where it operates using the highest National Insurance contribution rate among the zones where it operates.

Norway’s National Insurance contribution rates for each zone are as follows:

Zone Number	National Insurance Contribution Rate
Zone 1	14.1%
Zone 1a	10.6%
Zone 2	10.6%
Zone 3	6.4%
Zone 4	5.1%
Zone 4a	7.9% (5.1% for employers in the agriculture and fishery sectors)
Zone 5	Zero

A National Insurance contribution rate of 14.1% applies to Zone 1a employers once the difference between the contribution that is paid with a 10.6% contribution rate and the contribution which would have been paid with a 14.1% contribution rate reaches NOK 500,000, or NOK 250,000 for employers in the freight transportation by road industry.

Zone allocations for municipalities are available from Norway’s tax administration’s zone subdivision webpage.

Registration: The National Insurance Act requires the employer to notify the Register of Employers and Employees (AA Register) whenever it hires and terminates an employee. Notification of hiring must be made by the end of the employee’s first week of work. Notification of termination must be made by the end of the week after the employee’s last day of work.

Taxable Amounts: National Insurance contributions are based on gross income.

According to firms White and Case LLP and DLA Piper, employee share plan stock options are subject to social tax on the spread upon exercise of the option.

Penalties: If an employer fails to deduct and pay National Insurance contributions from wages, the employer will be held liable for the amount that should have been withheld, and also may be held criminally liable, under the Tax Payment Act, for fines and imprisonment of up to six months, or up to one year for deliberate repeat offenses.

Other Taxes

Effective since Jan. 1, 2017, some financial-sector employers are subject to a payroll tax of 5% on employee wages known as the financial activity tax or financial tax (finansskatt). The tax is reported and paid together with withheld income taxes and National Insurance contributions.

State/Jurisdiction Taxes

Some parts of Norway have personal income tax treatment regarding employment income that differs from Norway’s generally applicable income tax treatment for employment income. Additionally, while employees in these parts of Norway are assessed either the standard National Insurance contribution rate of 8.2% or the reduced rate of 5.1% if they are younger than 17 years of age or more than 69 years of age, employers in these areas might not be liable for National Insurance contributions.

Action Zone: Norway’s Action Zone consists of the northernmost part of the country’s mainland, comprising the county of Finnmark and seven of the nine municipalities in the district of Nord-Troms in the county of Troms: Karlsøy, Kvænangen, Kåfjord, Lyngen, Nordreisa, Skjervøy, and Storfjord. The Nord-Troms municipalities of Balsfjord and Tromsø are not included. The Action Zone has a flat income tax rate lower than the standard flat income tax rate. Employees in the Action Zone also are assessed bracket taxes in the same manner as employees in the rest of the mainland, except the Bracket Tax Step 3 rate (the second-highest bracket tax rate) for employees in the Action Zone is lower than the rate generally in effect.

Effective for 2022, unchanged from 2021, the flat rate of income tax for the county of Finnmark and the applicable municipalities in the district of Nord-Troms in the county of Troms is 18.5%.

The Bracket Tax Step 3 rate for the county of Finnmark and the applicable municipalities in the district of Nord-Troms in the county of Troms is 2 percentage points lower than the rate for Step 3 that is generally applicable in Norway.

Effective for 2022, the bracket tax rate for the county of Finnmark and the applicable municipalities in the district of Nord-Troms in the county of Troms applicable to annual income of more than NOK 643,800 and up to NOK 969,200 is 11.4% instead of the rate of 13.4% generally in effect. Effective for 2021, the bracket tax rate for the county of Finnmark and the applicable municipalities in the district of Nord-Troms in the county of Troms applicable to annual income of more than NOK 651,250 and up to NOK 1,021,550 was 11.2% instead of the rate of 13.2% generally in effect.

As all of the municipalities in the Action Zone are in National Insurance Contribution Zone 5, the National Insurance contribution rate is zero for employment income paid by employers whose principal business location as required to be registered in the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities is located in the Action Zone.

Svalbard: Employees in Norway’s territory of Svalbard are assessed a flat income tax rate lower than the standard flat income tax rate and the flat income tax rate applicable to the Action Zone, and are not assessed bracket taxes.

Svalbard’s flat income tax rate applicable to employment income is 8%.

Employers domiciled on Svalbard are not assessed National Insurance contributions based on employment income paid to employees for work performed on Svalbard.

COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS

The Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority is responsible for administering Norway’s various wage and hour and work-related benefit programs under the Working Environment Act. Many worker-protection requirements nevertheless are addressed in collective bargaining agreements, including minimum wage.

Retirement benefits are covered under social taxes.

Coronavirus (Covid-19) Guidance: Employers that temporarily laid off employees Aug. 31, 2020, or earlier, were allowed to apply to the Labor and Welfare Administration (Arbeids- og velferdsforvaltninga, abbreviated as NAV) until Dec. 31, 2020, for a subsidy to be paid to those employees, starting from the third day for a maximum of 18 days, with the employer paying the first two days. The subsidy paid the employee’s full salary, up to a daily maximum limit of the National Insurance base amount multiplied by six and then divided by 260, or NOK 2,338.87. The subsidy was prorated if employees were partially laid off.

Effective for days missed from March 16, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2021, employers could apply to NAV for reimbursement of the fourth through 16th days of sick leave paid to employees who have or were suspected to have Covid-19, but are still expected to pay 16 days of sick leave. Effective for days missed from Dec. 1, 2021, to Jan. 31, 2022, employers may apply for reimbursement of the sixth through 16th days of sick leave under the same requirements.

Employers that take back workers they previously laid off could collect wage support (lønnsstøtte) of up to NOK 25,000 per full-time employee per month through Norway’s tax agency, Skatteetaten. Employees must be re-employed from May 1 to June 30, 2021, or March 15 to April 30, 2021. The program previously provided support for July, August, and October-December 2020.

To qualify, employers must have experienced at least a 15% drop in turnover. Larger decreases in turnover correlate with larger support payments, up to NOK 25,000 for a 70% decrease in turnover. Employees must have been registered as laid off, partially or fully, on both March 5, 2021, and at least one of these dates: Jan. 15, 2021, Dec. 1, 15, or 31, 2020, or Nov. 15, 2020.

Applications were taken from May 3-31, 2021, and Sept. 1-30, 2021, and the periods for which support could be received were March 15 to April 30, 2021, and May 1 to June 30, 2021.

Minimum Wage

Norway does not have a statutory minimum wage, but minimum wages are often addressed in collective agreements. A minimum wage established in a sectoral collective agreement will apply to all workers in that sector of employment, even those who are not members of the union that negotiated the agreement.

Overtime

Overtime is paid at 140% of regular pay for all time worked that exceeds normal working hours, or, if the employer and employee agree in writing, the employee may receive compensatory time off. Overtime work is permitted only where there is an exceptional and time-limited need for it. An employee is not permitted to work overtime in excess of 10 hours per week, 25 hours in a four-week period, or 200 hours per year, except as agreed in a collective pay agreement, as authorized by the Labour Inspection Authority, or with the agreement of the particular employee. An employee’s total working hours, including overtime, may not exceed 13 hours per day and 48 hours per week, although the weekly limit may be calculated as an average over an eight-week period.

An employer who willfully or negligently fails to pay overtime may be fined, found guilty of a misdemeanor and imprisoned for up to three months, or both. In particularly aggravating circumstances, the term of imprisonment may be extended to two years.

Hours of Work

Normal working hours may not exceed nine hours per day and 40 hours per week. If the work is mainly passive in nature, the work day may be extended to 11 hours, but the maximum work week may not exceed 48 hours. For particularly passive work, the Labour Inspection Authority may authorize work of up to 13 hours per day. Special rules apply to shift workers, persons who work underground, persons who are required to work on Sundays or at night and persons under the age of 18.

Employees are entitled to flexible working hours if such a schedule would not impose major inconvenience on the employer. In addition, employees who are 62 or older have the right to reduce their working hours if it can be arranged without major inconvenience to the employer.

Employees are entitled to continuous off duty time of at least 11 hours between shifts and 35 hours per week, except as agreed otherwise in a collective pay agreement.

Holidays

The following days are statutory public holidays in Norway:

New Year’s Day (Jan. 1);
Maundy Thursday (Thursday before Easter);
Good Friday (Friday before Easter);
Easter Sunday;
Easter Monday (day after Easter);
Labor Day (May 1);
Constitution Day (May 17);
Ascension (sixth Thursday after Easter);
Pentecost (also known as Whit Sunday) (seventh Sunday after Easter);
Monday after Pentecost;
Christmas Day (Dec. 25); and
Boxing Day (Dec. 26).

The law on the May 1 and May 17 holidays expressly establishes them as paid holidays. The law that establishes the remainder of the holidays is silent on the issue of pay.

Leave

Employees are entitled to 25 working days’ paid annual leave. Employees who are age 60 or over by Sept. 1 of a given calendar year are entitled to an additional 6 working days’ paid leave. “Working days” are defined to include all days except Sundays and statutory public holidays, and the length of periods of annual leave is calculated using a six-day week.

During annual leave, employees are entitled to a holiday allowance of 10.2% of the employee’s wages in the previous year. For employees age 60 or over, the holiday allowance is 12.5% of the employee’s wages. Holiday allowances are ordinarily due on the last normal pay day before the leave is taken, but an employee is entitled to demand that payment be made one week before the leave begins.

If employees are entitled to five weeks of annual leave through a collective bargaining agreement, they must receive a holiday allowance of 12% of their wages in the previous year, or 14.3% of wages for employees age 60 or over.

Employers are required to discuss annual leave dates with each employee, but if they cannot agree, the employer may set the dates. However, employees are entitled to take three weeks of their annual leave during the period between June 1 and September 30, and may take the remainder of their leave in one period. All annual leave must be taken in one calendar year, with the exception that the parties may agree in writing that up to 12 days of annual leave may be carried over to the following year.

Educational leave: An employee who has worked for at least three years, the last two of which are with the same employer, is entitled to take full or partial leave in order to attend organized vocational studies, as long as such leave does not interfere with the employer’s planning of operations and personnel assignment. An employee who has already taken education leave may not take it again until the time since commencement of the prior leave is:

at least twice the duration of the leave, and
at least one year (unless the original leave was for less than a month).

Leave to care for dying relatives: An employee taking care of a close relative in the home who is terminal is entitled to 20 days’ leave for that purpose.

Leave for official duties: An employee is entitled to a leave of absence to the extent necessary to comply with statutory requirements regarding attendance in public bodies.

Parental leave: Employees who earn at least 50% of the National Insurance base amount and who have worked at least six months in the previous 10 months are entitled to paid parental leave, often called a parental benefit or allowance (foreldrepengene). Norway provides for 49 weeks of paid leave, or 59 weeks of leave at 80% pay. Parental leave is also provided for adopted children, with a period of 46 weeks of paid leave or 56 weeks of leave at 80% pay. The leave period is extended by 17 weeks, or by 21 weeks at 80% pay, if two children are born or adopted at once, and is extended by 46 weeks, or 56 weeks at 80% pay, if three or more children are born or adopted at once. The maximum benefit for the period of leave is six times the National Insurance base amount.

Of the total period of leave, 15 weeks are reserved for each parent, or 19 weeks at 80% pay, if both parents are eligible for leave. The remaining 16 weeks, or 18 weeks at 80% pay, may be shared by both parents. The mother must take between three and 12 weeks of leave before the expected birth date, and six weeks immediately after the child is born. The parents may postpone taking a portion of the leave, but all leave must be taken within three years. A one-time parental grant is available for persons who do not qualify for parental leave.

Parental care leave: Each parent is entitled to 10 days per year paid leave to care for a sick child under the age of 12. If there are two or more children, the amount of leave is increased to 15 days. If the child is under age 18 and is disabled or chronically ill, the amount of leave is increased to 20 days. The leave periods are doubled for single parents. If the child is under age 18 and has a potentially life-threatening illness, each parent may take as much leave as is necessary for the child’s treatment.

Prenatal examinations leave: Pregnant employees are entitled to paid leave for prenatal examinations that cannot reasonably take place outside working hours.

Religious leave: Employees who are not members of the Church of Norway are entitled to a maximum of two days of unpaid leave per year to celebrate religious holidays. Employers may require employees to work extra hours, without overtime pay, to compensate for the religious leave taken. Employees who wish to take religious leave must provide 14 days notice to the employer.

Sick leave: Employees are entitled to up to 52 weeks of paid sick leave. All employees are entitled to sick leave paid by the employer for the first 16 calendar days of the illness. Thereafter, employees with at least four weeks of employment and who earn at least 50% of the National Insurance base amount are entitled to sick leave paid by National Insurance. National Insurance pays 100% of the employee’s earnings, up to six times the National Insurance base amount.

Military service leave: An employee is entitled to a leave of absence for military service, but must notify the employer before commencement of such service if the employee wishes to return to his or her employment after completing military service. The employer is not required to permit the employee to resume his or her duties until one month after receiving notification of the date on which the employee can resume work.

Wage Payment

Salary must be paid at last twice per month, unless otherwise agreed. At the time salary is paid, or shortly thereafter, the employer must provide the employee with a written statement of how wages, any holiday pay, and any deductions from pay were calculated.

Termination Pay

Before terminating an employee, the employer must discuss the matter with the employee and his or her elected representatives, unless the employee does not wish to discuss it. Special consultation requirements apply to collective dismissals. Employees may not be terminated without objective justification.

The employer also must formally notify the employee in writing of the dismissal. Such written notice must be provided to the employee in person or by registered mail. If the employee demands it, the employer also must state the reasons for dismissal.

Unless the employee is being dismissed for gross negligence or other serious breach of the employment agreement, the employer must provide notice before dismissal is effective. The period of notice depends on the length of employment, and runs from the first day of the month after the month in which notice is given.

There is no requirement in the Act for termination pay other than that earned during the notice period and pay for unused annual leave.

An employee who is dismissed is entitled to a written reference from the employer, containing, at minimum, the employee’s name, date of birth, duration of employment and nature of work. If the employee has been summarily dismissed, the employer may say so in the written reference without giving the reasons for the dismissal.

Workers’ Compensation

Under the National Insurance scheme, employees who suffer a disabling work-related illness or injury are entitled to up to 50 weeks of leave at full pay (up to six times the National Insurance base amount) from the first day of disability. There is no qualifying period for benefits. After 50 weeks, the employee may be entitled to a temporary or permanent disability pension of up to 100% of the National Insurance base amount, based on degree of disability as assessed by the National Insurance Administration.

Bonuses and Special Benefits

Norway does not require employers to provide bonus payments to employees.

Recordkeeping

Employers must keep records of the hours worked by each employee, which must be accessible to the Labour Inspection Authority and the employees’ elected representatives. The employer also must keep records of absence due to illness of the employee or the employee’s child. The Working Environment Act does not require such records to be kept for any particular length of time.

FOREIGN WORKERS

Foreign workers are entitled to the same rights as Norwegian citizens and are generally covered by the same tax and workplace laws.

Employers have a duty under the Tax Assessment Act to report to the tax authorities when they award a contract to a foreign contractor that is to be performed in Norway. No later than 14 days after work begins, employers must file forms RF-1199 and RF-1198 with the Central Office—Foreign Tax Affairs and provide information about the contractor and the employees of the contractor that are used on the contract. Failure to comply may result in imposition of a daily fine until the information is provided and the employer also may be held responsible for any tax or National Insurance contributions the contractor and its employees fail to pay.

Visas: Requirements for foreign workers depend on the worker’s home country and the type of work to be performed in Norway.

EU/EEA/EFTA nationals: Citizens of EU, EEA, or EFTA countries who wish to work in Norway do not need to apply for a residence permit, but must register online as a jobseeker at selfservice.udi.no, and then report in person to the nearest Norwegian police district or Service Center for Foreign Workers within three months of arriving in Norway. The applicant must present a valid passport or ID card, demonstrate advance registration online and provide information that he or she is a job seeker. The police will determine whether the applicant will be registered in the database of foreign nationals. If the applicant is not registered, he or she is permitted to stay in Norway for no more than three months after arrival. Persons who are registered will not receive a registration certificate, but will be entitled to stay in Norway for six months after arrival; if the jobseeker does not find a job within that time, he or she can apply to the police for an extension, with proof that he or she has prospects of employment and is likely to be employed soon. Once the job seeker obtains employment, he or she must return to the police to obtain a registration certificate, which is valid indefinitely. EU/EEA/EFTA nationals who reside continuously in Norway for at least five years may apply for permanent residence. Special rules apply to jobseekers from Bulgaria and Romania.

Citizens of other countries: Citizens of other countries generally must have a residence permit in order to work in Norway, which usually must be issued before the citizen’s arrival in Norway. Requirements for residence permits depend on the type of work.

Skilled workers must have a concrete offer of employment for a specific full-time position from an employer in Norway, which must state the position, wage (which must not be less than the typical wage for that type of position in that location), number of working hours per week and the duration of the offer of employment.

The job also must require the particular expertise possessed by the skilled worker. The term “skilled worker” encompasses persons with: a university degree; at least three years specialized vocational training corresponding to the upper secondary education level; a foreign craft certificate resulting in the same level of expertise as a Norwegian craft certificate; or, in exceptional circumstances and with thorough documentation, specialized expertise obtained through work. The application must be submitted to the Norwegian embassy or consulate in the applicant’s home country or the country where the applicant has had a residence permit for the previous six months. In some countries that do not have a Norwegian embassy, the application may be submitted to the Swedish or Danish embassy.

Special rules apply to the following types of applications for residence permit:

researchers with own funds;
job seekers who are newly qualified or researchers;
service provider, seconded employees;
service provider, self-employed contractors;
skilled workers seeking to enroll in Norwegian language studies;
skilled workers seeking additional education or work experience needed for their education to be recognized in Norway;
persons employed by international companies;
seafarers on board foreign ships;
self-employed persons;
persons seeking employment on the Norwegian continental shelf;
ethnic cooks;
athletes and trainers;
unskilled seasonal workers;
students;
vocational trainees;
artists, musicians, and performers;
au pairs;
working guests in agriculture;
journalists;
diplomats; and
persons working in various cultural, non-profit, or exchange programs.

The residence permit for specialists has been repealed as of Jan. 15, 2013, although persons currently holding a specialist residence permit may renew it if they continue to work for the same employer.

Once a residence permit is granted, foreign workers must appear in person at the tax office, within eight days after arrival in Norway, for registration in the National Population Register and assignment of a Norwegian personal ID number, which is used to identify the worker for life. Foreign workers who intend to remain in Norway for less than six months are assigned a “D-number” instead of a personal ID number, which can be used in all circumstances in which the personal ID number is requested.

Taxes: In general, nonresident employees are subject to Norwegian income tax only on income from Norwegian sources. An employee generally remains a nonresident if he or she does not stay in Norway for more than 183 days during a 12-month period or 270 days during a 36-month period.

Effective since Jan. 1, 2019, foreign workers who are not tax residents of Norway but perform work in the country may choose to be taxed at an optional flat rate of 25% as part of Norway’s simplified tax scheme instead of being assessed income tax under the standard flat rate of income tax and bracket tax rates applicable under the country’s general tax rules. No income tax deductions are available to nonresident foreign workers who choose to be covered by the simplified tax scheme. The optional flat rate of 25% includes an income tax component and the standard National Insurance contribution rate for employees of 8%. Foreign workers whose home country has a totalization agreement with Norway that enables them to not need to pay the full amount of the National Insurance contribution may be eligible for a flat rate under the simplified tax scheme that is lower than 25%.

The Norwegian Tax Administration also refers to the simplified tax scheme as a Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme because employers deduct the optional flat rate directly from covered nonresident foreign workers’ salaries, with covered workers not needing to submit an individual tax return to the tax administration. Foreign workers are ineligible to be covered by the simplified tax scheme during a year if they expect that their total income for the year, when including the taxable value of benefits and holiday pay, would exceed the minimum amount of income applicable to Bracket Tax Step 3. Foreign workers who chose to be covered by the simplified tax scheme because they did not expect that their annual income for a year would exceed the minimum amount for Bracket Tax Step 3 but whose income for the year exceeded that amount are issued a revised tax deduction card by the tax administration and their income for the year retroactively is subject to the general tax rules.

Effective for 2022, the minimum amount of annual income applicable to Bracket Tax Step 3 is NOK 643,800. Effective for 2021, the minimum amount of annual income applicable to Bracket Tax Step 3 was NOK 651,250.

Foreign workers are automatically covered by the simplified tax scheme when they apply for a tax deduction card if the tax administration determines that they fulfill the eligibility criteria based on nonresidency and level of income. However, foreign workers who would be eligible for the simplified tax scheme but that want to be covered by the general tax rules instead may choose to opt out of the simplified tax scheme when they apply for the tax deduction card by selecting the box on the card that designates the card as associated with the general taxation rules. Foreign workers who opt out of the simplified tax scheme during a year cannot choose to be covered by the simplified tax scheme later that year even if they otherwise would fulfill the eligibility conditions, but they can choose to join the scheme for the next year by applying for a new tax deduction card.

Norway’s territory of Svalbard has different provisions than those of the rest of the country regarding applicability of taxation based on residence. Individuals who live in Svalbard for at least 12 months, and individuals who live in Svalbard for fewer than 12 months but who earn employment income while residing in Svalbard for at least 30 consecutive days, are subject to Svalbard’s income tax provisions, and tax returns detailing their income and assessments on the income generally must be submitted to the Svalbard Tax Office. Individuals who generally are not residents of Norway but are considered tax residents of Svalbard based on work they perform in the territory may not be considered nonresident foreign workers for considerations of eligibility for the optional flat rate of the simplified tax scheme.

Reduced social tax rates apply to workers posted to Norway from the U.S. and Canada and their employers, as these workers are exempt from National Insurance pension coverage, but are covered by National Insurance’s health insurance and associated benefits, including paid sick leave, parental leave or one-time grants, and parental care leave. Effective for 2022, unchanged from 2021, the employee National Insurance tax rate for these workers is 5.1%, or 6.8% if the employee’s income is not taxable in Norway, and the employer tax rate is 7%.

Wages/Payments: There are no special requirements for payment of wages to foreign workers.

WORKING IN THE UNITED STATES

Foreign workers from Norway must meet general visa requirements and be certified to be employed in the U.S. General visa requirements for the U.S. are included in the separate chapter “Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visas.”

Norway is eligible for the visa waiver program for business visitors, which allows Norwegian citizens to travel to the U.S. for 90 days or less for business-specific purposes without having to obtain a B-1 business visa. Stays longer than 90 days will require a visa. Individuals may return to the U.S. under the visa waiver program if a “reasonable length of time” has passed. The determination for a reasonable length of time is at the discretion of the Department of Homeland Security.

Norwegian workers are eligible to work in the U.S. under H-2B visas, which cover labor or services of a temporary or seasonal nature in occupations other than agriculture or registered nursing. The number of H-2B visas issued each year is limited by U.S. law.

U.S. employers also must check the names of all new-hires and employees against the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List, administered by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). Because OFAC prohibits financial transactions with individuals on the list, employers cannot employ them and may face fines for failing to comply.

For tax purposes, Norwegian citizens are subject to U.S. employment-based taxation on income earned in the U.S. unless they can claim an exemption under certain tax treaty provisions or they work under specific visa types that exempt earnings from taxes. Norway has both a tax treaty and a social tax totalization agreement with the U.S.

State and local taxation of Norwegian workers also can apply, although some states within the U.S. recognize international tax treaties that can eliminate that income tax liability for foreign workers.

The U.S. labor laws apply to all workers employed and providing services in the country.

Work eligibility as an employee is contingent upon Department of Homeland Security and Labor Department approval and the employee receiving a U.S. Social Security number from the Social Security Administration.

Tax Residency: In general, employees working in the U.S. on a temporary basis are considered nonresidents for tax purposes unless they qualify for resident status. Employees can be granted permanent resident status through the so-called green card test or if they meet the substantial presence test under the U.S. tax code. More information on these requirements is in the

Permanent residents are subject to U.S. tax requirements the same as U.S. citizens and are taxed under the U.S. system on their worldwide earnings.

Income Taxes:

Generally, nonresidents in the U.S. who are from Norway and are working in the U.S. are subject to U.S. taxes based on their U.S.-sourced income. Income is taxed differently based on whether it is categorized as wage income or nonwage income, which includes interest and dividends.

A Form W-4, Employee’s Withholding Certificate, must be filed by each employee with their employer. All nonresidents in the U.S. who are from Norway and are working in the U.S. must claim “single” in Step 1c, regardless of marital status; write “Nonresident Alien” or “NRA” in the space under Step 4c of the form; and may not claim “exempt” in the space under Step 4c.

Nonresident alien employees may adjust withholding using Step 2b or 2c of the Form W-4; certain employees also may be able to use Steps 3, 4a, or 4b. More information about Form W-4 requirements for nonresident alien employees is available in the

Although the versions of Form W-4 issued in 2020 or later significantly differ from the versions issued in 2019 or earlier, nonresident employees that filed a valid version of Form W-4 from 2019 or earlier with their employer do not need to file another Form W-4 with the employer unless they need to implement a change for their withholding. On Forms W-4 issued in 2019 or earlier, nonresident alien employees were required to check the “single” box on line 3, regardless of marital status; write “Nonresident Alien” or “NRA” above the dotted line on line 6; and were not permitted to claim “exempt” on line 7 of the form.

An additional amount is added to a nonresident alien employee’s wages for calculating federal income tax withholding, with the amount based on pay period frequency and the date of the employee’s most recently filed Form W-4. The table of additional amounts applicable to Forms W-4 from 2020 or later and the table applicable to Forms W-4 issued before 2020 are available in the

Nonwage income and self-employed foreign workers can be subject to income tax withholding at a flat rate of 30%.

Additionally, foreign workers may be taxed differently based on the specific type of visa they hold.

Tax treaties: Norway and the U.S. have a tax treaty with provisions addressing host country taxation of the nonresident workers. and a summary of those provisions is included in al, with the employer.

Students, trainees and teachers in particular must include a statement with Form 8233 to claim a tax treaty exemption from withholding of tax on compensation for dependent personal services. This statement affirms that the student, trainee, teacher or researcher is temporarily in the U.S. for purposes of studying or has accepted an invitation by the U.S. government (or by a political subdivision or local authority) for the purpose of teaching or engaging in research for a period not expected to exceed two years for teachers and five years for students by a university or other recognized educational institution in the U.S. It also must affirm that the individual will receive compensation for services performed in the U.S. The student exemption is not to exceed $5,000 a year; no limit is placed on the teacher compensation for Norwegian residents.

Examples of the statements necessary to claim a treaty exemption from U.S. taxes are included in Internal Revenue Service Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens.

Social Taxes: Most foreign workers are subject to paying into the U.S. Social Security system. Foreign nationals who are exempt from paying income tax and who do not have the eligibility to receive a social security number may not be required to pay social taxes. Foreign workers contributing to Social Security for a certain time period may be eligible to receive benefits.

Generally, foreign workers in the U.S. that have specific visas as exchange visitors or students or who are temporarily in the U.S. for agricultural work are not subject to social taxes on income that is obtained from the purpose in which they originally entered the U.S.

Totalization Agreements: Social Security totalization agreements can allow foreign workers and U.S. nationals working abroad to avoid paying into two social security systems while being subjected to losing benefits for their home country system. Under totalization agreements, generally, foreign workers will only pay into one of the social security systems- either the home or the foreign system- but not both. Foreign nationals, utilizing a totalization agreement, also can count years of contributions paid to different social security systems to all of the systems they have contributed to in order to be eligible for benefits in one country.

Norway and the U.S. have entered into a totalization agreement and a summary of those provisions and a summary of those provisions is included in

Wage Payment: Under certain visas for certain types of employment, employers are required to pay foreign workers the higher of either the prevailing wage or the actual wage that is paid to U.S. workers that have similar skills and qualifications.

There are no particular requirements that employees be paid in U.S. dollars.

TREATY ARRANGEMENTS

Norway has entered into more than 80 income tax treaties, including an income tax treaty with the United States.

A multilateral income tax treaty, the Convention Between the Nordic Countries for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital, is in effect for Norway and five other jurisdictions. The treaty also is known as the Nordic Convention or Nordic Double Taxation Treaty (NDTT).

Norway also has more than 15 totalization agreements for social tax coverage purposes, including an agreement with the United States.

Norway’s tax treaties are available in

RESOURCES

In English, unless otherwise noted.

General

Government of Norway

CIA World Factbook: Norway

U.S. State Department: U.S. Relations With Norway

Currency Details

Unicode Consortium: Currency Symbols

Currency Codes - ISO 4217

United Nations: United Nations Terminology Database: Norway

Taxes

Income Tax Act (Norwegian)

Tax Administration Act (Norwegian)

Tax Payment Act (Norwegian)

Law on Mandatory Occupational Pensions (Norwegian)

Tax Administration:

National Insurance Contributions (Norwegian)
Financial Activity Tax

Brønnøysund Register Centre (Norwegian)

National Insurance Act (Norwegian)

Exemption from Income Tax Withholding Requirements for Foreign Employers of Remote Workers (Norwegian)

Compensation and Benefits

Working Environment Act

Jussformidlingen: An Introduction to Employment Law

Law on May 1 and 17 Holidays (Norwegian)

Law on Children and Parents (Norwegian)

Labour Inspection Authority: Guide to Working Conditions (Norwegian)

Foreign Workers

Nordisk eTax (joint portal compiled by Scandinavian tax administrations regarding individual taxes)

Immigration Act

Directorate of Immigration

Labour Inspection Authority: Workers Posted to Norway

Tax Administration: PAYE (Pay As You Earn) for Foreign Workers

Directorate of Immigration: Pay and Working Conditions in Norway

Working in the United States

U.S. Internal Revenue Service:

IRS Notice 1392, Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens
IRS Publication 15, Circular E, Employer’s Tax Guide
IRS Publication 515, Withholding of Tax on Nonresident Aliens and Foreign Entities
IRS Publication 519, U.S. Tax Guide for Aliens
IRS Publication 901, U.S. Tax Treaties

U.S. Labor Department, Foreign Labor Certification

Hiring Foreign Workers

U.S. Department of State, Visa Waiver Program

Treaty Arrangements