Tax and payslips in Norway: tax deduction card, 2026 rates and a worked example

The tax deduction card and how to get it

Everyone with income in Norway needs a tax deduction card (skattekort) or an exemption card (frikort). The card tells your employer how much tax to deduct before your salary is paid out (forskuddstrekk). It is electronic: your employer collects it from Skatteetaten. Without a card, your employer has to deduct 50 percent.

If you have a Norwegian national identity number (fødselsnummer) or a D-number and BankID, you order the card on skatteetaten.no. If you come from abroad and have neither, book an ID check at one of the tax offices that carry them out, and bring your passport or national ID card and the completed form RF-1209. After the check you get a D-number (or a fødselsnummer if you register a move to Norway), and the card is issued. A D-number that is five years old or more needs a new ID check.

If you earn 100,000 kroner or less in a year, you get a frikort and pay no tax. If you have several employers, you split the frikort amount between them yourself.

Table deduction or percentage deduction?

Your card shows either a table number (tabelltrekk) or a fixed percentage (prosenttrekk). A table suits one permanent employer: it automatically deducts more if you get a pay rise. A percentage is better with several employers, commission and bonus, big swings in income or a short, well-paid summer job.

With a table deduction, the tax on wages is spread over 10.5 months: no tax in June and half tax in November or December. But you only get a fully tax-free June if the same employer paid you for the whole previous year, so in a new job June may be taxed as normal. Overtime and bonuses are taxed in full, also in December.

Check your card in January and whenever your income changes, otherwise you risk back tax (restskatt) the following year. You change it on skatteetaten.no, and your employer gets the new card automatically.

The tax rates for 2026

On wages you pay three main taxes in 2026. The national insurance contribution (trygdeavgift) is 7.6 percent of gross pay, but nothing if your income is below 99,650 kroner. Tax on ordinary income (alminnelig inntekt) is 22 percent, calculated after deductions. Bracket tax (trinnskatt) is calculated on gross pay.

The bracket tax for 2026 is 1.7 percent of income between 226,100 and 318,300 kroner, 4.0 percent up to 725,050 kroner, 13.7 percent up to 980,100 kroner, 16.8 percent up to 1,467,200 kroner and 17.8 percent above that.

The standard deduction (minstefradrag) is 46 percent of wage income, but no more than 95,700 kroner. The personal allowance (personfradrag) is 114,540 kroner and is subtracted before the 22 percent is calculated. Union dues are deductible up to 8,700 kroner. Employer’s contributions (arbeidsgiveravgift, 14.1 percent in zone I) are not taken from your pay.

In the state budget presented on 7 October 2026, the government proposes for 2027 a personal allowance of 120,180 kroner and a lower national insurance contribution. Parliament (Stortinget) decides in December 2026.

PAYE: a flat 25 percent for foreign workers

If you are new in Norway and apply for a tax deduction card, you are usually put in the PAYE scheme (kildeskatt på lønn) automatically. You pay 25 percent tax on your salary, or 17.4 percent in 2026 if you are exempt from Norwegian national insurance, for example with an A1 form from another EEA country. There are no deductions, no tax return and no tax assessment.

In 2026 you must earn less than 725,050 kroner and either not be tax resident in Norway (short stays: under 183 days in 12 months or under 270 days in 36 months) or be in your first year as a tax resident. PAYE is not possible after more than a year as a resident, or if you also have benefits from Nav such as sickness or unemployment benefit, business income or capital income above 10,000 kroner.

PAYE is voluntary, and you can opt out. That can pay off with large deductions, and as the example below shows, the ordinary rules also give lower tax on 500,000 kroner for someone who lives here all year.

The tax return in spring

Under the ordinary rules you get a tax return (skattemelding) in spring. In 2026 it was sent out between 9 and 30 March, with a deadline of 30 April for employees. It is pre-filled, but you are responsible for the figures: check pay from all employers, interest on loans, union dues and travel between home and work.

You can apply for up to 30 days’ extension. Most people get their tax settlement between April and June, and back tax from a settlement before the summer is due on 20 August. Refunds go to the account Skatteetaten has registered for you.

How to read your payslip line by line

At the top you find the period, the employer, your employee number and your table number or percentage.

Bruttolønn, fastlønn or timelønn is your pay before tax: the monthly salary or hours times the hourly rate. Then come additions such as overtime (overtid), evening and weekend supplements or a bonus.

Forskuddstrekk or skattetrekk is the tax deducted according to your card. Other deductions can be union dues, the canteen or parking. Mandatory occupational pension (OTP) is paid by the employer – at least 2 percent of pay up to 12 G, where G is 136,549 kroner from 1 May 2026 – and does not reduce your pay. In the state sector, Statens pensjonskasse deducts 2 percent of your pay.

Holiday pay (feriepenger) is at least 10.2 percent of last year’s pay, 12 percent with five weeks’ holiday under a collective agreement and 12.5 percent from the year you turn 60. It is usually paid in June, while your salary is reduced for the holiday days. «Feriepengegrunnlag» shows what you have earned towards it this year. At the bottom is the amount paid into your account.

Worked example: 500,000 kroner in 2026

Our example: a person who lives in Norway all of 2026, earns 500,000 kroner (holiday pay included) and has only the standard deductions. National insurance: 7.6 percent of 500,000 = 38,000 kroner. Bracket tax: 1.7 percent of 92,200 = 1,567 kroner, plus 4.0 percent of 181,700 = 7,268 kroner, in total 8,835 kroner. The standard deduction hits the cap of 95,700 kroner, so ordinary income is 404,300 kroner. Minus the personal allowance of 114,540 kroner, 289,760 kroner remain, and 22 percent of that is 63,747 kroner. Total tax: about 110,583 kroner, 22.1 percent of gross pay. You keep about 389,417 kroner a year, on average 32,451 kroner a month.

With a table deduction, that tax is spread over 10.5 months: about 10,530 kroner in a normal month (the real table may differ slightly). The marginal tax is 33.6 percent (22 + 7.6 + 4.0), so you keep 664 kroner of every extra 1,000. Under PAYE the tax would be 125,000 kroner – about 14,400 kroner more.

Sources: Skatteetaten, forskuddsutskrivingen 2026, PAYE, the figures on the tax deduction card, tabelltrekk and prosenttrekk, frikort, tax return, holiday pay, union dues deduction, employer’s contributions and form RF-1209; regjeringen.no, tax rates 2026 and state budget 2027 from A to Z; Nav, the basic amount (G) 2026; lovdata.no, Mandatory Occupational Pensions Act; Arbeidstilsynet, holiday pay; Statens pensjonskasse.

Useful phrases

Jeg har ikke fått skattekort ennå.I haven’t got a tax deduction card yet.
Jeg må bestille time til ID-kontroll.I need to book an appointment for an ID check.
Hvorfor er det trukket 50 prosent skatt?Why has 50 percent tax been deducted?
Kan du forklare lønnsslippen min?Can you explain my payslip?
Når blir feriepengene utbetalt?When is the holiday pay paid out?
Jeg vil endre skattekortet mitt.I want to change my tax deduction card.
Jeg har fått restskatt.I have back tax to pay.
Jeg får penger tilbake på skatten.I’m getting a tax refund.
Er jeg med i PAYE-ordningen?Am I in the PAYE scheme?
Hvor mye får jeg utbetalt etter skatt?How much do I get paid after tax?