Income Tax in Norway 2023 (2024)

How income tax works in Norway. Find out how much tax you can expect to pay from your salary this year in Norway with our handy guide.

If there’s one topic that always kick-starts a debate here on Life in Norway and on all our social media channels, it’s Norwegian tax.

Many people contact me asking how much tax they should be paying. Without knowing their salary and a bunch of other personal information, it’s a difficult question to answer.

That’s because like many other countries, Norway operates a progressive system for income tax. That means the more you earn, the more tax you pay on a percentage basis.

However, it's possible to work out your expected tax bill by doing a few calculations. There's plenty of online calculators to help you along the way, too.

How Norwegian income tax works

Income tax is deducted from your monthly salary by the employer on behalf of the Norwegian state. The tax-year runs January-December and your estimated annual tax bill is worked out at the beginning of the year.

From this, the monthly deductions are calculated. If you pay too much or little, the difference is settled on the personal tax return the following year.

Read more: Credit cards in Norway

If you know you’ll be earning more or less than estimated during the year, you are able to make changes to these figures. This helps prevent a big tax bill at tax return time.

Income tax rates in Norway in 2023

Income tax is split into a base rate and a step tax, to allow for progressive taxation.

The base rate (alminnelig inntekt)of income tax in Norway is 22%. Those who live in Finnmark or Nord-Troms will pay 18.5%.There is a then a so-called step tax (trinnskatt), sometimes called bracket tax. This is a progressive tax rate based on four levels, as follows.

For the first 198,349kr of your personal income, you will not pay any step tax.Then, 1.7% step tax is owed on the amount between 198,350kr and 279,149kr. Then, there is a 4% step tax on the amount between 279,150kr to 642,949kr. Over and above this amount, the step tax increases significantly.

You will pay 13.5% step tax on the amount between 642,950kr and 926,799kr. For those living in Finnmark and Nord-Troms, this level of step tax is reduced to 11.5%. For all income between 926,800kr and 1,499,999kr, a 16.5% step tax is charged. Finally, everything above 1.5 million kroner is taxed at 17.5%.

These top brackets have been lowered in recent years while the rates have stayed the same or slightly increased. This has led to quite a tax hike for the highest earners in Norway.

Social security payments in Norway

One of the reasons income tax is often perceived as high is that social security or national insurance payments are taken from wages at the same time as income tax.

How much income tax will I pay in Norway in 2023?

As I said before, the final amount you pay will be determined by many factors based on your personal circ*mstances. However, with the bands outlined above you have all the information you need to get a rough estimate.

If maths isn't your thing or you have unique individual circ*mstances, check out the income tax calculator offered by the Norwegian Tax Administration. Simply fill in your estimated income, wealth and any relevant deductions. You'll then see an estimate of the tax you have to pay.

For example, a single person born in 1981 earning 600,000kr would pay a total of 153,117kr in tax deductions, which includes 47,400kr social security payment. The same person earning 1,000,000kr would pay a total of 324,832 kr.

These examples do not take into account any personal circ*mstances such as property ownership, debt and interest payments, personal wealth etc.

Note that filling in figures here does not do anything to change the amount of tax you pay. It's simply an estimation tool. To change the amount of tax you pay, you'll need to request a new tax card, also from the Norwegian Tax Administration.

Monthly tax payments in Norway

It’s relatively straightforward to calculate a rough estimate of your annual tax liability in Norway. However, that doesn’t mean your monthly tax liability will be 1/12 of that amount. Norway uses a 10.5 month system of taxation, rather than a 12 month one.

You pay half the normal monthly tax in December and zero tax in June.In fact, most employees don't receive normal salary in June. That month is when you receive the holiday pay accrued from the year before.

That payment is not taxed, so typically you'll receive a higher monthly payment in June. Here's how holiday pay in Norway works. It's a good article to read, as the process is quite different from many other countries and confuses many newcomers.

What if I'm paying too much tax?

At the beginning of every year, the tax authorities give a ‘tax card' to your employer to let them know how much to deduct each month. This code is based on your previous year's income.

If you believe you're paying too much tax, you have two options. Firstly, you can log on to the Skatteetaten website and request a new tax card.

You're able to see your expected annual income, expected yearly tax liability, plus how much you have paid to date. You're able to adjust your expected annual income so that your employer receives a correct tax card.

Alternatively, you can just wait! If you have indeed paid too much tax during the course of a year, you'll receive a rebate through the following year's tax return process.

An important note

Please understand, I am not a qualified accountant. This means I will not be able to answer any questions pertaining to your tax situation!I've simply written this article based on published facts and figures from Norway's tax authorities.

As your own personal tax rate, there are many other factors that could impact the final amount. Things such as whether you own a house or not, your level of pension contributions, and a whole range of other factors can all make a difference.

That being said, I hope this article helps you to understand the tax system a little better.