Before you start

Identity number and a tax deduction card (skattekort)
BankID for Skatteetaten's portal
A decision, conscious rather than default, about PAYE versus ordinary taxation
Records of foreign assets, which the wealth tax reaches

Step-by-step

1
Order a tax deduction card before your first salary
Without a skattekort your employer withholds at a punitive default rate. Order it from Skatteetaten as soon as you have an identity number; the amount withheld corrects itself once the card is in place, but only going forward.
OnlineWho: YouBefore first payday
2
Check whether you have been put into PAYE, and whether you should stay
Most short stays and most first years of residence default into PAYE at a flat 25%, or 17.4% in 2026 if national insurance does not apply to you. There are no deductions and no return. You cannot use it if you earn more than NOK 725,050 in 2026, and you may opt out into ordinary taxation.
OnlineWho: YouFirst months
3
Run the comparison if you have deductible costs
Ordinary taxation allows deductions for mortgage interest, commuting above a threshold, trade union fees and pension savings. Someone with a Norwegian mortgage or a long commute is usually better off outside PAYE. Someone with a straightforward salary and no deductions usually is not. It is arithmetic, and almost nobody does it.
OnlineWho: You
4
Understand the national insurance contribution as a separate line
Trygdeavgift is charged on salary in addition to income tax and funds folketrygden. It is not folded into the headline rate, which is why comparisons with Sweden and Denmark that use only income tax rates understate Norway.
OnlineWho: You
5
Declare worldwide assets for the wealth tax
Norwegian tax residents are liable to an annual wealth tax on net assets above a threshold, wherever those assets are. Foreign property, investment accounts and business holdings all count, with their own valuation rules. Rates and thresholds are set each year in the national budget.
OnlineWho: You
6
Check the pre-filled return each spring
Skatteetaten sends a pre-filled tax return in spring for the previous calendar year, drawing on employer, bank and registry reporting. You check and amend rather than compile. PAYE taxpayers do not file at all.
OnlineWho: YouMarch–April

Documents you’ll need

Identity number and skattekort
BankID
Employer's annual statement
Documentation of foreign property, accounts and shareholdings
Records of deductible costs, if you leave PAYE

Things most newcomers don’t know

PAYE is the default and it is not always the better deal.

Most foreign workers are placed into the flat-rate scheme automatically for short stays and for their first year of residence, and it is genuinely simple — no deductions, no return, one rate. But it also means no deduction for mortgage interest, commuting or union fees, and it is capped at NOK 725,050 of income in 2026. Someone who buys a flat in their first year, or commutes a long distance, is often better off opting out. The scheme is voluntary and the choice can be made, but only by someone who knows it exists.

Source: Skatteetaten

Norway taxes net wealth, and it reaches everything you own anywhere.

Norway is one of a handful of countries still levying an annual wealth tax on individuals, charged at around one per cent of net assets above a threshold with a higher rate above a much larger one. For a Norwegian tax resident it applies to worldwide assets: a flat in another country, a foreign brokerage account, shares in a business abroad. Valuation rules differ sharply by asset class and unlisted shares are treated in a way that surprises founders. Anyone arriving with meaningful assets should take advice before becoming resident, because the exposure begins with residence rather than with any transaction.

Source: Skatteetaten

The national insurance contribution sits outside the income tax rate, which distorts comparisons.

Trygdeavgift funds folketrygden and is charged on salary in addition to the 22% general income tax and the stepped bracket tax. Almost every casual comparison of Nordic tax rates quotes Norway's income tax alone and therefore understates the deduction from a payslip, which is one reason people arriving from Sweden or Denmark find the difference smaller than expected. Read a Norwegian payslip line by line before drawing conclusions from a headline rate.

Source: Skatteetaten

Leaving Norway with unrealised gains is not free.

Norway operates an exit tax on unrealised gains on shares and similar assets when a tax resident emigrates, and the rules were tightened in recent years. It is calculated on departure rather than on sale, with arrangements for deferral in some cases. Anyone with a meaningful share portfolio or founder equity should understand the position before moving to Norway, because the exit charge is a consequence of having become resident at all.

Source: Skatteetaten

Common mistakes to avoid

Starting work without a tax deduction card and being withheld at the default rate.
Staying in PAYE by default while carrying deductible mortgage interest or commuting costs.
Overlooking the wealth tax on assets held outside Norway.
Comparing Nordic tax burdens using income tax alone and ignoring trygdeavgift.
Moving to Norway with a large unrealised share position without checking the exit tax rules.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.