Income Tax in Norway 2025

Discover how income tax works in Norway before you get any nasty surprises. Find out how much tax you can expect to pay from your salary this year with our handy guide.

If there’s one topic that always kick-starts a debate here on Life in Norway, it’s Norwegian tax. In fact, at a recent in-person talk, I was challenged by a British man who insisted that everyone in Norway pays more than 50% tax.

Nothing I said would disuade him, because he “once knew someone who worked in Norway 20 years ago”! Needless to say, no, we don’t hand over 50% of our income to the state. You can’t convince everyone, so I didn’t try!

Given my role as owner of this website, many people contact me asking how much tax they should be paying. Without knowing their salary details 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 higher your salary, 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. Most of them are in Norwegian, but they’re pretty simple to figure out. Links below.

But in this article, I’d like to explain a bit of the background to the Norwegian tax system and how your tax bill is calculated. Ready? Let’s dive in!

What is Income Tax Used For?

In Norway, income tax is one of the most important sources of revenue for the state and is used to fund public services such as healthcare, education, transportation, and welfare programs.

The taxes collected are used to fund a wide range of public services:

• Healthcare: Covers hospitals, general practitioners, specialist services, and medication support.
• Education: Funds schools, universities, scholarship programs, and research.
• Infrastructure: Roads, railways, and public transportation.
• Welfare Programs: Pensions, child benefits, unemployment benefits, and sick pay.
• Defense and Law Enforcement: Funding for national security, the judicial system, and crime prevention.

In Norway, income tax deductions also cover what many other countries call council tax. Municipalities receive a portion of income tax revenue, funding local services like schools, healthcare, roads, and waste management.

While some municipalities charge a small amount for other services such as waste collection, most local services are covered by this national and municipal income tax.

The Basics of Norwegian Income Tax

Norway’s income tax system is progressive, meaning that those who earn more pay a higher percentage of their income in taxes. Unlike Britain’s crazy setup, the Norwegian tax year runs January to December.

Your total tax payment is estimated for the year based on your expected annual income. From this, the monthly deductions are calculated. At the beginning of every year, you get a tax deduction card, which outlines your monthly deduction rate.

Credit Cards: After living in Norway for a few years, you’re eligible to apply for a credit card to help you manage your finances.

Check Out Our Guide to Credit Cards in Norway

I say card, but these days the tax deduction card is entirely digital. It’s easy to access via Norway’s digital services, and easy to update if required too.

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.

If you end up paying too much or little, the difference is settled on the personal tax return the following year.

Your Tax Basis

Income tax is split into various elements, and the basis for calculating these taxes is different. To fully understand your situation, you need to calculate these two figures:

Personal Income: Your total income.

Tax Basis: This basis for taxation is your personal income minus any deductions that you are entitled to. These vary. However, everyone receives a standard deduction (minstefradrag).

In 2025, the standard deduction for employment income is set at 46% of the income, with an upper limit of NOK 92,000. For pension income, the standard deduction is 40%, with an upper limit of NOK 73,150.

The personal deduction is a general base deduction in ordinary income, meaning it applies to all types of income, including salary, pension, capital, and business income. The personal deduction is set at NOK 108,550 in 2025.

An important note for foreign taxpayers: If a person is only residing or staying in Norway for part of the year, the personal deduction is reduced proportionally.

Remember, these so-called ‘deductions' are simply a method to work out your taxable income, or your “tax basis”.

Income Tax Rates in Norway in 2025

Income tax in Norway is split into a base rate and a step tax, allowing 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 a reduced rate of 18.5%.

In addition, there is a so-called step tax (trinnskatt), sometimes called bracket tax, which is a progressive tax applied at different income levels.

For the first NOK 217,400 of your personal income, you will not pay any step tax. After this, the following rates apply:

• 1.7% step tax on income between NOK 217,401 and NOK 306,050
• 4.0% step tax on income between NOK 306,051 and NOK 697,150
• 13.7% step tax on income between NOK 697,151 and NOK 942,400 (reduced for residents of Finnmark and Nord-Troms)
• 16.7% step tax on income between NOK 942,40 and NOK 1,410,750
• 17.7% step tax on all income above NOK 1,410,751

These higher tax brackets have been adjusted in recent years, leading to increased taxation for high-income earners in Norway.

Social Security Payments in Norway

One of the reasons income tax in Norway is often perceived as high is that social security contributions (trygdeavgift) are deducted from wages at the same time as income tax.

Most employees see one large deduction on their payslip, but this covers both taxes and social security contributions.

As with step tax, national insurance contributions are calculated based on your personal income—your gross income before any deductions.

Do you live in Norway? Managing your credit is important, and new arrivals are especially at risk from issues with their credit and even identity theft.

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For 2025, the standard national insurance contribution rate is 7.9% of personal income. If your income is below NOK 69,650, you do not pay any contributions. The rates for self-employed people are different.

This contribution helps fund Norway’s welfare system, including healthcare, pensions, and other social benefits.

How Much Income Tax Will I Pay in Norway in 2025?

As I said before, the final amount you pay will be determined by many factors based on your personal circumstances. 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 circumstances, 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 NOK 700,000 would pay a total of NOK 181,320 in tax deductions, which includes NOK 53,900 social security payment. The same person earning NOK 1,200,000 would pay a total of NOK 406,048.

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

So, on the NOK 700,000 salary, the snnual tax deduction is approximately 25.9% On the NOK 1,200,000 salary, it’s 33.8%. But we’re not quite finished yet!

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 the same percentage.

Monthly Tax Payments in Norway

That’s because 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.

All this means your effective monthly tax deduction is a few percentage points higher than your annual one, to account for the months where you pay zero tax and half tax. This is one of the reasons why people believe tax is so high in Norway.

How to Change Your Tax Deduction Card

As I said earlier, at the beginning of every year, the tax authorities give a ‘tax deduction card' to your employer to let them know how much to deduct each month. This is estimated 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 deduction 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.

Other Taxes in Norway

Of course, there are other taxes in Norway. As in other countries, MVA (VAT) is charged on goods and services.

There’s also a controversial wealth tax. This is well worth reading about if you are a high earner, with an annual income of at least NOK 1.2 million.

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.

Please do not ask personal questions in the comments, and do not share any personal information!

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.