Musicians
If you're a self-employed musician, you must pay tax on your income, and you can claim a deduction for expenses related to your musical activities. The same applies to commercial bands or orchestras.
Does this apply to me?
This applies to musicians, whether you're an independent performer or a member of a band or orchestra.
You must be self-employed. If you're in a band or orchestra, the business must be a commercial activity. Learn more about what counts as commercial activity.
A musician is someone who creates or performs music. Musicians can play instruments, sing, conduct, arrange, or teach music.
You can be an independent performer or a member of a band or orchestra.
Independent performers can have a sole proprietorship (ENK) or a private limited company (AS).
A band or orchestra can be organised as a private limited company or a business assessed as a partnership (SDF).
Read more about types of legal structure (Altinn).
Specific information for businesses assessed as partnerships
Band and orchestra musicians who share profits according to an agreed distribution key or have expensive shared equipment are a business assessed as a partnership.
Specific information for private limited companies
When independent performers, bands, and orchestras organise their business as an AS company, the company is the employer.
The musicians are employed by the company and receive a salary.
What you need to do
Tax deduction card and advance tax
Check your tax deduction card, and remember to pay advance tax. You must pay advance tax on the expected profit from the business.
Accounting
You must keep accounts. Record the business's income and expenses continuously throughout the year. The accounts form the basis for completing the business information.
Income and expenses
Self-employed musicians must enter income and expenses in the accounts.
Sales revenue
Examples of sales revenue: fees, ticket income, performance income, income from music via Tono and Gramo, sales of physical CDs/LPs and promotional items (merch), royalties from record companies or distributors for music recordings.
Sales of used equipment that is not depreciated, such as used sound equipment, must also be included as sales revenue.
Other income
Grants, awards, and competition prizes. Subsidies for touring and travel activities.
Grants received to cover specified costs must be included as income for the portion that exceeds the cost the grant is intended to cover.
Expenses
Operating costs
Expenses to cover, for example:
studio, rehearsal space, home office, car, phone, internet, insurance, office supplies, memberships, fees, and travel expenses.
Other operating costs can include:
- the purchase of CDs/LPs and merch (tote bags, t-shirts, etc.) for resale
- payment to hired musicians, sound and light technicians, and photographers
You can deduct expenses for special clothing and costumes that are not suitable for private use and are only used during performances. Clothing that can be used privately, like jeans and t-shirts, cannot be deducted.
More about relevant deductions: Topics and deductions for businesses
Equipment and assets in the business
Examples of equipment and other assets include microphones, cables, strings, computer equipment, and band vehicles or buses.
You can continuously deduct expenses for musical instruments, equipment, and other assets that cost less than NOK 30,000.
Amount limit
- from and including the 2024 income year: NOK 30,000
If the instrument or equipment costs NOK 30,000 or more, you can claim deductions for depreciations. Depreciation means you can claim deductions for the purchase price as the asset is used and worn out. You will not be entitled to a deduction for the entire purchase price in the accounts in the year of purchase, but over several years.
More about Deductions for acquisitions (purchases, etc.) – The Norwegian Tax Administration
Stock
Stock includes merch, CDs, and LPs that are purchased or produced for sale as part of the business but are not sold by December 31.
The value of the stock for purchased goods is the purchase price, plus customs, freight, shipping, and transport costs.
For self-produced goods, such as a record, the sum of the production costs is used.
Examples of production costs include expenses for recording and material costs for LPs or CDs.
Tax return
You must submit the tax return with the business information by 31 May at the latest.
The tax return for private limited companies and other types of companies must be submitted through an accounting or annual accounts system.
The tax return for sole proprietorships can be submitted through an accounting or annual accounts system or directly at skatteetaten.no. Sole proprietorships with an audit obligation ordforklaring must submit through an accounting or annual accounts system.
Specific information for sole proprietorships
If you have a sole proprietorship, you must calculate and report personal income for your business activity.
Specific information for businesses assessed as partnerships
Remuneration for work to participants in the business is taxed as personal income at the gross amount.
Value added tax
If you’re registered in the Value Added Tax Register, you must submit VAT returns. You must also submit a VAT return for periods when you have no income.
You do not have to pay value added tax on:
You do not have to pay value added tax on income from concerts.
If you only have income from performances, you should not register the business in the Value Added Tax Register. In that case, there is no deduction for value added tax on goods and services you purchase to perform the concert.
More information about value added tax: How VAT works - The Norwegian Tax Administration.
Your own music is text or melody you have written, possibly produced alone or with others. You must own the music rights yourself. You cannot have transferred the rights to your own private limited company.
Royalty income
You do not have to pay value added tax on royalty income from, for example, Tono and Gramo. The same applies to royalty income you receive from record companies.
Sale of rights to your own music
You do not have to pay value added tax on income from the sale of rights to your own music to, for example, a record company.
Royalty income and sale of rights to your own music will be subject to value added tax if you sell this from a private limited company.
If you run a private limited company and the company owns the rights to your music, the value added tax exemption for royalty income and sale of music rights does not apply. The exemption only applies as long as the rights are personally owned by the creator of the music.
If you have income from teaching music, you do not have to calculate and pay value added tax. Teaching is exempt from value added tax.
You must pay value added tax on:
If you sell goods or services in addition to performing, you may be required to register in the Value Added Tax Register for this income. If sales exceed NOK 50,000 in a twelve-month period, you must register the business in the Value Added Tax Register. Once you have received confirmation that the business is registered, you must calculate and pay value added tax.
For example, if you sell CDs/LPs and merch (tote bags, t-shirts, etc.), this is vatable sales.
If you’re unsure whether you should register in the Value Added Tax Register for all or part of your business, you can contact the Tax Administration.
You can deduct value added tax for:
If you must calculate and pay value added tax on income, you can claim deductions for the value added tax you pay on purchases in this part of the business.
You’ll be entitled to a deduction of value added tax on purchases you make for this part of the business.
Proportional deduction of paid value added tax on purchases
If you have expenses on purchases that are only related to income that you must calculate and pay value added tax on, you’ll be entitled to a deduction for the entire amount you pay in value added tax on the purchases.
If the purchases are linked to both vatable and non-vatable income, you’ll only be entitled to a deduction for value added tax for the portion that applies to the vatable income.
The allocation must be proportional to how much you have actually used the purchases in the vatable and non-vatable part of the business.
If it’s difficult to allocate value added tax to purchases based on actual use, you can allocate according to the size of vatable and non-vatable turnover.
More about deductions and allocation of value added tax. Here are also good examples of how to allocate the value added tax.
Specific information if you
If you are a foreign musician and participate in an event or perform in Norway, you must pay tax according to the Foreign Artist Tax Act if you are not tax resident in Norway.
The person who hires you or arranges the performance you participate in must calculate how much tax you should pay. The client deducts the calculated tax and pays it to the Norwegian authorities before you receive your fee.
More about: Foreign artists and sportspersons - The Norwegian Tax Administration
You must determine whether the assignments together constitute business activity: Am I self-employed? - the Norwegian Tax Administration
Employment income must be included in the tax return. Expenses you have to cover yourself related to the income can be deducted if they exceed the minimum deduction. The minimum standard deduction is automatically calculated in the tax return: The Minimum standard deduction - The Norwegian Tax Administration
Performance income in the form of fees and income from having your music played abroad is taxable in Norway if you're a tax resident in Norway or the company is tax resident in Norway.
If you or the company have paid tax abroad on the income, you can claim a deduction in Norwegian tax for the foreign tax according to the rules on credit deductions. More about Credit deductions for sole proprietorships and persons and Companies and credit deductions.
Income from having your music played abroad is included in the settlements from Gramo or Tono via their foreign partners.
Receive a work grant or guaranteed salary from the state
For musicians who have received a work grant or guaranteed salary from the state, the amount will automatically be filled in the tax return. This income must not be entered into the business information.
Receive grants and must pay tax
The general rule is that musician grants are taxable when they are related to musician activities.
You can save tax by claiming equalisation of personal income when you have income from rights to your own music as a lyricist, composer, or producer (intellectual property income). Examples of income include royalties and the sale of rights to your own music.
The need for equalisation can arise when this year's personal income is significantly higher than the average personal income of the last two years.
Conditions for claiming equalisation of personal income:
- Part of the increase in total personal income must be due to income from rights to your own music.
- The income from rights to your own music must be a significant part of this year's total personal income.
Examples where equalisation may be relevant:
You release a music recording where you are the lyricist and composer. The music recording becomes the jazz song of the year with many plays and high streaming numbers. Your income this year becomes significantly higher than the previous two years.
You must include an attachment to your tax return to equalise tax
In the attachment, you can write that you wish to split personal income into equal amounts each year, according to the rules for the sale of music rights (intellectual property).
You write this as a simple document and attach it to the tax return.
If the tax on personal income is lower, the Tax Administration will recalculate the tax for the last three years. The reduction in this year's tax will result in a slight increase in tax in the two previous years.
Supporting documents
You do not need to send us any supporting documents, but you must be able to provide them if we ask for them.