Tax deduction cards for withholding tax on pension and disability benefits

Each year you’ll receive a new tax deduction card or exemption card based on the information we have about your tax liability. 

Withholding tax on pension or disability benefits

You must pay withholding tax on pension and disability benefits when you live abroad and you’re not a tax resident in Norway. This applies both when you receive the pension/disability benefit from Nav, and when you receive a pension/disability benefit from other schemes.

The pension/disability benefit provider must deduct 15 percent tax unless you’ve applied for a new tax deduction card where you’re deducted less tax.

We’ll send you information about your tax deduction card. Here you’ll find, among other things, information about the calculated tax to be deducted or an exemption card for the relevant income year.

Exception

If you have a D number, this must be active for you to be entitled to a tax deduction card. The D number is inactivated every 5 years. To reactivate the D number, you must send us valid identification.

Applications

You can apply for an exemption card if your pension or disability benefit is not taxable in Norway according to the provisions in a tax treaty.

What you need to do

You must send us a written enquiry, either online or by post to:

Skatteetaten
Postboks 9200 Grønland
NO – 0134 OSLO

 

In your application, you must:
  • State who pays the pension/disability benefit.
  • Attach a Certificate of Residence. The Certificate of Residence must be issued by the tax authorities in your country of residence. The Certificate of Residence must clearly state that you’re a resident in that country under the tax treaty. The Certificate of Residence must be the original copy and no more than six months old.

You can apply for a reduced tax deduction rate if parts of your pension or disability benefit are not taxable in Norway.

What you need to do

To apply for a tax deduction card with a tax rate under 15 percent, you must send us a written enquiry, either online or by post to:

Skatteetaten
Postboks 9200 Grønland
NO – 0134 OSLO

 
In your application, you must:
  • State who pays your pension/disability benefit, the type of pension and how the gross income is split between the different benefits.
  • State whether you’ve worked for a Norwegian public sector employer and how many years you’ve been employed in the public sector and how many years you’ve been employed in the private sector and/or been self-employed. This applies when you receive a pension.
  • Attach supporting documents showing how much of the pension is not to be taxed in Norway when the pension is paid by Nav. This applies when you receive a pension.
  • Attach a Certificate of Residence. The Certificate of Residence must be issued by the tax authorities in your country of residence. The Certificate of Residence must clearly state that you’re a resident in that country under the tax treaty. The Certificate of Residence must be the original copy and no more than six months old.

There are special rules for when you must apply for a new tax deduction card.

What you need to do

If you live in Thailand, you must apply for a new tax deduction card if:

  • you’re not staying in Thailand for at least 180 days in the income year
  • you’re stating a different amount for taxation in Thailand for the relevant income year than the previous year

If you’re a resident of an EU/EEA country, you have withholding tax on your pension/disability benefits, and you want to request to have your tax calculated as if you were a resident of Norway, you must:

You must submit the tax return and request that your tax is calculated according to the same rules that apply to people who live in Norway, even when you have had an exemption card or a tax deduction card with a lower deduction rate than 15 percent.

If too much tax has been deducted, this will be repaid to you in the tax assessment for the relevant income year. If there are special circumstances, you can apply to have the deducted tax repaid to you earlier.

If your circumstances have changed

You must apply for a new tax deduction card when:

  • you move to a new country
  • you’re no longer a resident for tax purposes in the country you last sent us a Certificate of Residence from
  • you start receiving new pensions/disability benefits from Norway
    • this also applies if you start receiving another pension/disability benefit from the same pension provider
  • you’ve previously had your tax calculated based on the rules that apply to persons who are resident in Norway and your income has changed so that you’re no longer tax liable to Norway for at least 90 percent of your income

If you change your address

You must notify us in writing if you get a new postal address.

If you want to contact us

All enquiries must either be sent online or by post to:

Skatteetaten
Postboks 9200 Grønland
NO – 0134 OSLO