Self-employed persons who die
If the deceased was self-employed, there are a number of things you must consider, and tasks you or an accountant must do.
If the deceased had a sole proprietorship
At the end of March, we’ll send the tax return by post to the contact person for the decedent's estate. The contact person must complete and submit the tax return for businesses by 31 May.
Send the tax return to
Skatteetaten
Postboks 9357, Grønland
0135 Oslo
The basis for tax must be entered in the field “Is anything missing? Add it here”, that is:
- profits or deficits
- calculated personal income at the time of death, that is from 1 January of the year the person died up to and including the day before the death
- any wealth that has not been entered in other fields
You can also access the tax return on My tax
On My tax, the contact person for the decedent's estate can read and print out the deceased person’s tax return and other tax documents.
For the time being, however, you must submit the tax return to us on paper.
Provide information about the business income
If the deceased person did not keep accounts, you must make an overview of taxable income, expenses, and any depreciations and wealth from the sole proprietorship. You submit this overview together with the tax return to specify how you have arrived at the basis for tax.
If the deceased had an accounting system, you submit a printout of the profit and loss statement and any balance sheets. You do not have to send us any vouchers.
Hvis du som arving har reservert deg mot digital kommunikasjon, kan du levere skattemeldingen på papir. Hvis dere er flere arvinger, kan den som har fullmakt til å representere dødsboet sende inn skattemeldingen.
Du kan ikke benytte deg av næringspesifikasjonen hvis du leverer skattemeldingen på papir.
Slik leverer du skattemeldingen:
Grunnlaget for skatt skal du føre i feltet “Noe som mangler? Legg til her”, det vil si:
- overskudd eller underskudd
- beregnet personinntekt til dødstidspunktet, dvs. fra og med 1. januar det året vedkommende døde til og med dagen før dødsfallet
- eventuell formue som ikke er oppført i andre poster
Legg ved informasjon om næringsinntekt
Hvis den avdøde ikke har ført et regnskap, må du lage en oversikt over skattepliktige inntekter, kostnader, eventuelle avskrivinger og formue fra enkeltpersonforetaket. Denne oversikten sender du inn sammen med skattemeldingen for å spesifisere hvordan du har kommet fram til grunnlaget for skatt.
Hvis den avdøde hadde regnskapssystem, sender du inn utskrift av resultatregnskapet og eventuell balanse. Du trenger ikke å sende inn bilag.
Send skattemelding med endringer til:
Skatteetaten
Postboks 9200 Grønland
0134 Oslo
Du må kontrollere skattemeldingen og endre den hvis opplysningene er feil eller noe mangler.
Når du har fått skattemeldingen for dødsåret, må du
- sjekke at opplysningene stemmer med dokumentasjonen du har mottatt fra arbeidsgiver, NAV, banker og liknende
- endre skattemeldingen hvis du oppdager feil eller mangler
- legge inn opplysninger i næringsspesifikasjonen
- Hvis den avdøde hadde regnskapssystem, kan du legge ved resultatregnskapet og eventuell balanse. Du trenger ikke å sende inn bilag.
- Du må levere skattemeldingen selv om avdøde ikke har hatt omsetning. Dette gjelder også om næringsvirksomheten har startet nylig eller er avsluttet.
If you have not received the tax return for the deceased by 15 April, you must contact us.
If you need an extended submission deadline, you can apply for it via our contact form.
Du må sjekke at kontonummeret for utbetaling av skattepengene er riktig.
Before you can settle the decedent's estate, we must calculate the tax. If there is more than one heir, you may want to settle the decedent’s estate as soon as possible. You can request an advance tax assessment of the decedent’s estate.
An advance tax assessment means that you can submit the tax return as soon as the assets and wealth have been divided between the heirs. You do not need to wait until the ordinary tax return has been produced in the month of March. After we’ve processed the tax return, you’ll receive a tax assessment notice. Any tax refund will be paid.
How to request an advance tax assessment
If you want an advance tax assessment, you must collect information about the deceased person’s income and deductions from the bank and any employers/pension providers.
You must enter the information in the tax return for advance tax assessment. We do not have a pre-filled tax return that we can send you.
You must attach:
- the probate certificate
- a Power of Attorney from all responsible heirs listed in the probate certificate
You must calculate and document any gain/loss on the sale of securities or residential property, in the form of transaction receipts, contracts, transaction overviews, etc.
You can submit the tax return for advance tax assessment as an attachment in the contact form.
If the enterprise is registered in the Value Added Tax Register (the VAT Register), the estate of the deceased person will receive a letter asking whether the enterprise will continue to operate. If the enterprise is to continue to operate, you must answer the letter. If we do not receive an answer by the deadline, we will deregister the enterprise from the VAT Register.
As long as the enterprise is registered in the VAT Register, you must submit VAT returns on behalf of the enterprise.
The deceased’s spouse gains access to the VAT return when the spouse is in possession of the undivided estate. The spouse can submit the VAT return online.
The accountant can submit the VAT return online.
Other heirs must first choose a responsible person or authorised representative for the estate. The responsible person, or someone who has power of attorney, must submit the information via our contact form.
You must send us the information about purchases and sales specified by the VAT codes that apply to the business. You can find the information in the enterprise’s accounts. See overview of VAT codes.
You can also submit by post:
Skatteetaten
Postboks 9200 – Grønland
0134 Oslo
If the company has employees, you as the contact person for the estate must submit the a-melding.
Advance tax
Everyone who runs a business, must pay advance tax on expected profits four times a year.
If you receive an invoice for advance tax for the deceased, it must be paid.
If the advance tax is incorrect, you must change the tax deduction card for the deceased.
Underpaid tax, value added tax and other claims
If the deceased has received an underpaid tax, excise duty or value added tax claim, we’ll send a claim for payment to the person who is the contact person for the estate.
To strike off a sole proprietorship in the Register of Business Enterprises, you as the person responsible for the estate, must complete and sign the paper form for striking off. You must attach a probate certificate or a certificate of undivided possession of the estate.
You’ll find more information about this topic at the Brønnøysund Register Centre:
Important information
If the deceased had an accountant, you can contact the accountant to clarify which tasks he or she can do for the company.
If the deceased had a private limited company
Private limited companies have legal obligations that must be met, even if the owner, board member or general manager dies.
This means, among other things, that the private limited company must still submit a tax return, submit a shareholder register statement, submit VAT returns and submit the A-melding if the company has employees.
Those who inherit the shares will become the new owners of the company.
A private limited company must have a board consisting of at least one member. The board is elected by the owners at the general meeting.
The owners should call an extraordinary general meeting as soon as possible.
A board member may take over temporarily as chair of the board under exceptional circumstances, such as death.
The board should call an extraordinary general meeting as soon as possible.
We offer free courses for new businesses where we inform you about what you must do when you run a private limited company.
Closing a business
Read more about how to close a business.