Pay Tax in Norway for the First Time (2026)

When paying tax in Norway for the first time, your employer does most of the work. Tax is deducted automatically from your salary each month. You only pay yourself if the tax settlement shows remaining tax – and there are fixed deadlines, a dedicated account number and help if you cannot pay.

This guide follows the money through your entire first tax year: from your first salary, via the tax return, to the invoice that may arrive. All rates and dates apply as of July 2026. On SamfunnPrep's tool pages, you will find more free resources for people new to Norway.

Pay Tax in Norway for the First Time: How the Money Flows

As an ordinary employee, you almost never pay tax directly to the state yourself. Your employer deducts tax from your salary each month and sends the money to Skatteetaten, the Norwegian tax authority. Here is how the journey looks:

• Before your first salary: you get a tax card.
• Throughout the year: your employer deducts tax automatically – you do nothing.
• March–April the following year: you check your tax return.
• June–November the following year: the tax settlement shows whether you get money back or must pay remaining tax (tax you owe).

The first invoice you may receive thus comes only the year after you started working – if you receive one at all.

Step 1: Get a Tax Card – Otherwise 50 Per Cent is Deducted

Without a tax card, your employer must deduct 50 per cent of your salary in tax (as of July 2026). The tax card is an electronic message that tells your employer how much tax should be deducted.

Your employer can apply for a tax card for you (form RF-1355), even before you have received a personal identification number or d-number. However, you must yourself attend ID verification at a tax office. After ID verification, it normally takes up to four working days before the tax card is ready. Was 50 per cent deducted in the meantime? The money is not lost – too much deduction comes back in the tax settlement. Read more in the guide about tax card and how to avoid trouble. If you expect to earn less than 100 000 kroner in 2026, you may instead be entitled to a free card – a tax card with no deduction.

Are You in PAYE? Then Tax is Already Paid

Many new foreign employees are automatically registered in tax deduction on salary (PAYE) – a simplified scheme where your employer deducts 25 per cent flat from your gross salary (the 2026 rate). Then tax is fully paid at once. You do not submit a tax return, do not receive a tax settlement and can never have remaining tax. Instead, you receive a receipt showing what you have paid. Many newcomers wait for a tax return that never comes – this is completely normal in PAYE.

The rate includes national insurance contribution, meaning membership in the national insurance system which gives you rights with NAV (the Labour and Welfare Service). The scheme applies to income up to 725 050 kroner in 2026. If you would rather have ordinary taxation with deductions, you can choose that – read how in the article about tax deduction on salary for foreign employees.

Spring After: the Tax Return – and Your Chance to Avoid Interest

If you are in the ordinary scheme, you will receive your tax return in the spring following your first working year. It is a pre-filled overview of income, deductions and expenses – check it, do not just accept it. SamfunnPrep has its own guide to the tax return in Norway with deadlines and common mistakes.

One trap in the first year: the standard deduction (a fixed deduction everyone gets) is calculated in twelfths based on how many months you have lived in Norway. If you arrived in August, you only get a deduction for five months. Do not count on a large automatic refund.

Does your tax return show that you will owe remaining tax? Then you can pay an additional prepayment – a voluntary extra payment. If you pay by 31 May 2026 (for the income year 2025), you avoid the interest addition entirely. Create a KID number (a payment reference that identifies your payment) at skatteetaten.no under «Create KID for additional prepayment and advance tax», and pay to account 7694 05 24802.

When Must I Pay Remaining Tax in 2026?

If you received your tax settlement before about 1 July, remaining tax is due 20 August 2026. If it is 1 000 kroner or more, it is automatically divided into two equal invoices with due dates 20 August and 24 September 2026 – an interest-free instalment payment you do not need to request. If the settlement comes later, the deadlines are 3 and 8 weeks after the settlement date (the Tax Payment Act § 10-21, Lovdata). Exactly when your tax settlement arrives depends on which batch you are in.

And a rule few know: remaining tax under 100 kroner is never collected. You simply pay nothing.

How to pay: Create a KID number at skatteetaten.no («Create KID number for remaining tax») and pay from your online bank to account number 7694 05 24802. You can also set up an eInvoice agreement with Skatteetaten in your online bank. Vipps and card are not supported for remaining tax.

Remember: Remaining tax is not a penalty. It only means that the deduction during the year was a bit too low – very common when you pay tax in Norway for the first time.

How Do You Pay Tax from Abroad?

From abroad, you pay to IBAN NO4276940524802 with BIC/SWIFT DNBANOKKXXX (DNB Bank ASA, Oslo), and use the KID number as your payment reference. This is practical if you moved from Norway before the first tax settlement arrived – a common situation in the first year. You create the KID number at skatteetaten.no in the same way as usual.

What If You Cannot Pay the Remaining Tax?

Then you can apply to Skatteetaten for a payment arrangement. The simplified scheme for individuals applies when the claims are under 100 000 kroner, you pay down within 12 months and at least 500 kroner per month (as of July 2026). You apply online and must show that you cannot pay in the ordinary way.

Be aware that default interest continues to run: 12,00 per cent per year from 1 January 2026, set by the Financial Supervisory Authority (the rate is adjusted every six months). If you do not pay and do not have an agreement, Skatteetaten can collect the money, for example through wage deduction. Contact them early – there is no cost to apply for an arrangement.

Do You Have a Sole Proprietorship? Then You Pay Advance Tax Yourself

If you run a sole proprietorship, there is no employer to deduct tax for you. Instead, you pay advance tax in four equal instalments: 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December (the Tax Payment Act § 10-20). If the date falls on a weekend, the deadline moves to the next working day. Important: If you do not pay one instalment, the rest of the year's advance tax is due immediately. If you are unsure about the business form, you can see the comparison freelancer or sole proprietorship.

Tax and welfare are part of the syllabus for the Norwegian citizenship test. If you want to understand the system you are now part of, you can practise free on SamfunnPrep.