Taxes are a part of life, so it is worthwhile making sense of them all! If the Eskimos have hundreds of words for “snow”, the Norwegians have nearly as many for “tax”. This includes Moms, TVA, avgift, toll, bom, and Skatt to name a few!

What to know

Taxes are a big deal here. Norway towers at the top of the rankings for tax revenue as a percentage of GDP. Everything you never wanted to know about taxes in Norway is available through the state tax office, Skatteetaten. Taxes in Norway pay for services of general interest, like health care, education, and other valuable programmes. They may be high, but Norway is not at the top of the list, and if you are here long enough, you may see some benefit from this. **

First things

The first thing you will find out is that you need something called a skattekort, or “tax card” in English. The skattekort determines the percentage of your salary you will pay in taxes, and is based on forecasts of revenue and expenditure in the current year. You can order your tax card online or visit the local office. Stavanger’s is called Skattvest.

Don’t avoid getting this card if you are working, because your employer is obligated under law to deduct tax from your salary before paying you. If they don’t have your skattekort on file, they will deduct the default 50% from your salary in taxes.The same goes for non-renewal. You need to get a new skattekort at the beginning of each calendar year, regardless of when you started your job. Chances are you won’t be in a tax bracket that high, so it is in your interest to find out.

I learned this by doing it. Or not doing it, as it were. After two months of having 50% of my income deducted for taxes, I asked the skatt office why, and they told me the rules and how it all worked. It would have been nice if HR at work had told me in advance, but then I would be without my vivid learning moment, right?

I was actually able to get the extra back in my March paycheck, so there are ways to make up for it without having to live on bony sardines and pre-sliced bread from Coop!

Filing your taxes

The time table for filing taxes for both companies and individuals is listed on the official website. If there is a discrepancy between the taxes you have paid and what you should have paid, this will be adjusted at this time of the year (April/May). If it is your first time filing, you may not get your refund until October. This is a warning I received at least – it probably is not true for most filers.

Taxpayers should receive tax papers in mid-to-late March with all of the information they need on their tax liabilities in Norway included in the documentation. I believe this is received from the employer. To file your tax return online at www.altinn.no – you will need your sheet of PIN codes to log in. That should have been delivered to you in October/November of the previous years. The services is available in Norwegian and English.

Minside – filing online

I filed mine online, and I found it surprisingly easy with the help of a native Speaker sitting next to me. I am the type of person to hire someone to do my taxes, but being new and not knowing where to turn for assistance, I had to learn a new way to do things.

In preparation I called the tax office (800 80 000) and explained it was my first time filing, and they were able to walk me through it a bit, and even helped me save an extra 10% on my taxes due to the fact I am a foreigner here. (Note: this is a line item not on the standard form – you have to either search for it when you file online, or add it to the “tilleg” section of your paper taxes) This is because for the first full two years a foreigner works in Norway, you are allowed a 10% deduction. Since I started mid-year, I will get the first 3 years off. That was no small chunk of change!

The Long Underwear Discount – 10% off Income Taxes

The reasoning behind that, according to the person I spoke with via the skatt hotline, was that there are many extra costs to foreigners living in Norway. Then you put it in your “long underwear” fund. I figure you need at least 10 percent of your income to buy all of the cold weather clothes and accessories (the list is long – don’t forget the studded tyres you’ll be needing for your car or cycle) you may not already own for survival. I’m only half kidding!

The interesting side to databases

Ahh, the fun part! In a country this organised, there is a database for everyone. Take the Skattelisten, which is a publicly-accessible database that both shocks and humbles non-Norwegians everywhere. The Skattelisten, or Tax List, is a database listing the name, age, commune of residency, amount of money any resident in Norway earned in the preceeding year, the amount of taxes they paid on their earnings, and the value of their “Formue”, i.e. assets.

Every year at the Skatt List publishing time the public waits with bated breath for the new lists. Who pays the most tax? Who is earning the most money? How much is the neighbour pulling?

The skattelisten is big business for the media, too. Every newspaper in Norway has a link to the skattelisten, and before it is released each year, journalists are given access and the “top earners” lists are printed on their front pages.

Other types of taxes

• Value Added Tax (VAT or TVA) is paid on sales of most goods and services. The rate is generally 25 percent.
• For food products, the rate is 14 prosent.
• Cinema tickets and transport (i.e. the bus) and room rentals are taxed at 8 prosent.
• Newspapers, interestingly, have a zero percent tax rate if they fulfill specific cultural requirements. Se og Hor does not count. Your local daily probably does.
• The corporate tax rate hovers at 28%.
• Taxes on alcoholic depend on alcohol content. For drinks with an alcohol content between seven  and 15 per cent  by volume – the rate is Kr 3.61 per percentage point alcohol by volume and litre.

Automobiles and petrol are probably the highest taxed items in Norway. Seventy-five per cent of the cost of a litre of petrol is comprised of taxes, and cars have a 100 per cent Value Added Tax, as well as a carbon tax and a high yearly road tax fee.

See how your home tax rates compare by viewing the Tax rates around the World article at wikipedia.

** Unless you don’t have children.  Or aren’t really ill, or old. Then it really might just feel like high taxes you pay for everyone else’s kids, old people and the ill. If you pay into the pension scheme in Norway, you will get paid out through it when you reach retirement age though. And plus, it is nice to live in a place where people who are little, old or sick are cared for.

Please leave comments if you have any advice or knowledge about tax-related issues in Norway!