Norway residency: the 183-day & 270-day tests

Norway is one of the few countries where newcomers can choose a flat tax on their salary. In your first year as a resident, or on short work stays, the PAYE scheme takes 25% of your pay and that's the end of it: no tax return, no deductions, national insurance included.

The catch is that it only works for modest salaries, and everything else about Norway's tax system is demanding. It has a wealth tax, an effective 37.84% tax on dividends, a three-year rule that can keep long-term residents taxable after they leave, and an exit tax on shares.

This guide covers Norwegian personal tax for people moving to or living in Norway in the 2026 tax year (the calendar year), from the 183-day and 270-day residence tests to the PAYE scheme, the 2026 rates and the wealth tax.

What's changed: for 2026 the personal allowance rose from NOK 108,550 to NOK 114,540 and every bracket tax threshold went up. The top two bracket rates rose by 0.1 point to 16.8% and 17.8%. National insurance fell from 7.7% to 7.6% on salaries and from 10.9% to 10.8% on self-employed income. The wealth tax threshold rose from NOK 1.76 million to NOK 1.9 million, with the combined rate still 1.0% (1.1% above NOK 21.5 million). The PAYE salary limit rose from NOK 697,150 to NOK 725,050. The government's 2027 budget, published on 7 October 2026, would cut national insurance on salaries to 7.4% and raise the personal allowance to NOK 120,180 and the wealth tax threshold to NOK 1.99 million. Proposed, not law.

📋 Norway tax at a glance for 2026

US dollar figures use NOK 9.5 to US$1 (Norges Bank's rate was NOK 9.50 on 15 October 2026).

The PAYE scheme for foreign workers

What is Norway's PAYE scheme? It's a simplified, voluntary way of paying tax on a salary for foreign workers who are new to Norway. Your employer deducts a fixed 25% from your gross pay, and you don't receive a tax return or a tax assessment notice.

Image 1 — new arrivals can pay a flat 25% on salary

You can use PAYE in 2026 if:

• you earn less than NOK 725,050 in 2026 (about US$76,000), and

• you're not tax resident in Norway because your work stays are short (no more than 183 days in 12 months or 270 days in 36 months), or it's your first year as a tax resident

Most foreign workers who qualify join the scheme automatically when they apply for a tax deduction card. The 25% covers both income tax and national insurance. If you're exempt from Norwegian national insurance, for example because you hold an A1 certificate from another EEA country, the rate is 17.4%.

PAYE is about simplicity, not a tax break. You pay on your gross salary and can't claim any deductions. On a full year's salary of NOK 600,000, the general rules would cost about NOK 144,000 (24%) against NOK 150,000 under PAYE. You can opt out and be taxed under the general rules instead, up to 31 December three years after the income year, but you can't rejoin for the same year.

👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: PAYE (Pay As You Earn) for foreign workers

When you become tax resident in Norway

You're tax resident in Norway if you stay there:

• for more than 183 days in any 12-month period, or

• for more than 270 days in any 36-month period

Every day you spend in Norway counts, including part days. The days don't need to be in a row, and the reason for your stay doesn't matter.

If you spend more than 183 days in Norway in the year you arrive, you're resident from the first day. If your days are split across two years, you become resident from 1 January of the second year. Under the 270-day test, you're resident from 1 January of the year your total passes 270 days. In practice, you can average 90 days a year without becoming resident.

Once you're resident, you're taxed on your worldwide income and wealth. If another country also treats you as resident, the tax treaty decides which comes first.

👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: when you're tax resident in Norway

How you stop being resident

Leaving Norway is harder than arriving. Reporting your move to the National Population Register doesn't end your tax residence. You stay taxable on your worldwide income until you're granted tax emigration, which you claim in your tax return.

If you've lived in Norway for less than 10 years, your Norwegian tax residence can end in the year you meet all three conditions:

• you've moved abroad permanently

• you spend no more than 61 days in Norway in that year

• neither you nor your spouse, partner or children under 18 have access to a home in Norway (a holiday home is allowed)

If you've lived in Norway for 10 years or more, the three-year rule applies. You stay tax resident in the year you move and for at least three more years. You must meet the 61-day and no-home conditions in each of those years.

👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: tax emigration and the three-year rule

The exit tax

When you leave, Norway can also tax the gains on your shares that built up while you lived there. The exit tax covers shares in Norwegian and foreign companies, fund units, share savings accounts, employee options and similar assets, including some foreign pension accounts such as IRAs and 401(k)s.

For moves from 20 March 2024, the first NOK 3 million of net gains is deducted, and only the excess is taxed. You can pay at once, in instalments over 12 years, or defer the whole amount for 12 years. Moving back to Norway within 12 years cancels it. If you defer and receive dividends, 70% of each dividend goes towards the tax.

👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: exit tax

Income tax rates for 2026

Norway taxes salaries and pensions in two layers. First, 22% on your general income: your total income after deductions such as the personal allowance of NOK 114,540 and the minimum standard deduction (46% of salary, up to NOK 95,700). Second, bracket tax on your gross pay or pension, with no deductions.

Norway bracket tax rates for 2026

Bracket tax comes on top of 22% tax on general income and national insurance. Source: Norwegian Tax Administration and Ministry of Finance rates for 2026.

Worked example

• You're single, live in Oslo and earn NOK 950,000 (about US$100k) under the general rules.

• Your general income is NOK 739,760 after the NOK 95,700 minimum standard deduction and the NOK 114,540 personal allowance. Tax at 22% is NOK 162,747.

• Bracket tax on NOK 950,000 is NOK 48,656, and national insurance at 7.6% is NOK 72,200.

Your all-in bill is about NOK 283,600, or 29.9% of your salary. That salary is too high for the PAYE scheme. Your employer also pays employer's national insurance on top of your pay (14.1% in Oslo), but that doesn't come out of your salary.

👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: bracket tax rates

👉 Ministry of Finance: tax rates for 2026 (in Norwegian)

Freelancing in Norway

Most freelancers work through a sole proprietorship. Your profit is taxed at 22% after the personal allowance, bracket tax applies to it as personal income, and you pay national insurance at 10.8%. There's no minimum standard deduction for business income, but you deduct your business expenses.

On US$100k of profit (NOK 950,000), that comes to about NOK 335,000, or 35% all-in. The PAYE scheme only covers salaries, so it doesn't help the self-employed.

You pay advance tax during the year, usually in four instalments due on 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December.

👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: advance tax for sole proprietorships

Crypto, investments and pensions

How is crypto taxed in Norway? Gains on virtual assets are capital income, taxed at 22%, and losses are deductible at the same rate. Selling and swapping one crypto-asset for another both count as a realisation. Mining rewards and tokens from forks are income when you receive them. Your holdings also count for wealth tax, at their market value on 1 January of the following year.

👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: tax rules for virtual assets

Shares, funds and the shareholder model

Dividends and gains on shares and fund units are taxed under the shareholder model. You first deduct a risk-free return allowance, based on what you paid for the shares and set each year from Treasury bill rates. Anything above it is multiplied by 1.72 and taxed at 22%, an effective rate of 37.84% in 2026. Foreign shares are treated the same way, and foreign withholding tax can be credited. Interest is taxed at 22%.

👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: the 1.72 factor and the 37.84% rate for 2026

👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: the shareholder model

Wealth tax

Norway is one of the few European countries that still taxes wealth. In 2026, net wealth above NOK 1.9 million (about US$200,000) is taxed at 1.0%: 0.35% to your municipality and 0.65% to the state. Above NOK 21.5 million, the state rate rises to 0.75%, for 1.1% in total. Married couples have double the thresholds.

Some assets are valued at a discount. Shares are counted at 80% of their value and your main home at 25% (70% above NOK 14 million). A second home counts in full.

👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: wealth tax rates

Pensions and inheritance

Foreign pensions are taxed as pension income. You get a minimum standard deduction of 40%, up to NOK 75,400, then pay 22% on general income, bracket tax and 5.1% national insurance. A special tax reduction for pensioners, worth up to NOK 37,100, only covers Norwegian state and similar pensions, or equivalent pensions from another EEA country.

Norway has no inheritance tax or gift tax. Both were abolished from 1 January 2014.

👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: inheritance tax is abolished

Social security

National insurance contributions are collected alongside your income tax. The rates for 2026 are:

• 7.6% on salary

• 10.8% on self-employed income (7.6% for fishing, hunting and childminding)

• 5.1% on pensions, and on any income if you're under 17 or over 69

Nothing is due on income under NOK 99,650, and just above that level the contribution is capped at 25% of the excess. There's no upper limit on earnings.

If you're exempt from Norwegian national insurance, for example because you stay covered by another EEA country's social security, you don't pay these contributions, and the PAYE rate falls to 17.4%.

👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: national insurance contribution rates

Double tax treaties

Does Norway have double tax treaties? Yes. Norway has treaties in force covering more than 80 countries and territories, including the UK, the United States, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Poland, India, China, Canada, Australia and Japan. Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands share a single Nordic treaty. Treaties with Hong Kong and Ghana are signed but not yet in force.

👉 Ministry of Finance: general tax conventions between Norway and other states

Is there a digital nomad visa?

No. Norway has no digital nomad visa. The immigration authority says that, as a general rule, you can't work for your employer in your home country while you're in Norway on a visit or holiday.

EU and EEA citizens don't need a residence permit to work in Norway. Other nationals need a residence permit to work in Norway, and there's no permit designed for remote work for a foreign employer.

👉 Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI): remote work in Norway

Who is Norway good for?

How does Norway compare for different kinds of mover? Ratings are relative to the 150+ countries TaxPilot covers, based on the 2026 tax year and the all-in cost including national insurance and wealth tax.

☑️ Who is Norway good for? Tax ratings for expats in 2026

Filing and deadlines

Most people receive a pre-filled tax return in the spring. For the 2026 tax year, the deadline is 30 April 2027 for employees and pensioners, and 31 May 2027 for the self-employed. You can apply for a 30-day extension, but you must apply by 30 April. If you don't submit, the pre-filled return counts as submitted, so check your foreign income and wealth are on it.

If you're on the PAYE scheme, you don't receive a tax return at all. Employers deduct tax from salaries during the year using your tax deduction card.

👉 Norwegian Tax Administration: the tax return and deadlines

Frequently asked questions

What is the PAYE scheme in Norway?

It's a voluntary flat tax for foreign workers on short work stays or in their first year as a Norwegian tax resident. Your employer deducts 25% of your gross salary, including national insurance, and you don't file a tax return. In 2026 you must earn less than NOK 725,050.

How many days make you tax resident in Norway?

You're tax resident if you stay in Norway for more than 183 days in any 12-month period, or more than 270 days in any 36-month period. Every part day counts, so you can average about 90 days a year without becoming resident.

What are the income tax rates in Norway in 2026?

You pay 22% on general income after the NOK 114,540 personal allowance and other deductions, plus bracket tax of 1.7% to 17.8% on pay above NOK 226,100. Employees also pay 7.6% national insurance.

Does Norway have a wealth tax?

Yes. In 2026, net wealth above NOK 1.9 million is taxed at 1.0%, rising to 1.1% above NOK 21.5 million. Shares are valued at 80% and your main home at 25%. Couples get double thresholds.

How is crypto taxed in Norway?

Gains on crypto are capital income taxed at 22%, and losses are deductible. Swapping one crypto for another counts as a realisation. Your holdings also count towards wealth tax at their 1 January market value.

Can I stop being tax resident when I leave Norway?

If you lived there for under 10 years, yes, once you've moved abroad permanently, spend no more than 61 days a year in Norway and have no home there. After 10 years or more, you stay resident for at least three more years after the year you move.

Where to go next

👉 Hardest countries to stop being tax resident

👉 Special tax regimes for new residents

👉 Countries with a wealth tax

👉 Countries with an exit tax

👉 Lowest-tax countries for expats: 153 ranked