Residence pursuant to a tax treaty

Where you’re resident pursuant to a tax treaty determines which income and wealth you must pay tax in Norway for. We distinguish between tax residence in another country pursuant to a tax treaty and tax residence in Norway pursuant to a tax treaty.

Does this apply to me?

This applies to you if you’ve moved from or to Norway and you’re resident for tax purposes both in Norway and in another country.

When are you tax resident pursuant to a tax treaty?

When you move to a new country, you normally still have tax liability in the country you have moved from, while you can establish tax liability in the country you move to as well. The tax treaty between the countries has stipulations on which country has the right to tax you as a resident.

Most tax treaties consider you resident of the country where your permanent residence is located.
If you have a residential property in both countries, the decisive factor is where you have your strongest personal and financial interests.
If you do not have a residential property in any of the countries, or if the place where you have your strongest personal and financial interests cannot be determined, we consider you resident of the country where you normally stay.

How to claim residence pursuant to a tax treaty

Once you're logged in, search for "residence under a tax treaty", select "Claim for tax treaty residence in another country", and fill in the information.

Taxable income as a tax resident pursuant to a tax treaty

The tax treaty between Norway and your current country of residence decides the parts of your income that are taxable in Norway.

We distinguish between tax residence in another country pursuant to a tax treaty and tax residence in Norway pursuant to a tax treaty.

If you’re resident in Norway for tax purposes pursuant to Norwegian taxation legislation but resident in another country pursuant to a tax treaty, you’re generally only liable to pay tax to Norway on income that the tax treaty entitles Norway to charge tax on as the source state. Examples:

salary earned in Norway
Norwegian pensions and disability benefits
real estate property or business income in Norway
dividends from Norwegian companies

If this applies to you, you have a limited tax liability to Norway pursuant to the tax treaty.

This is what you must do

You must yourself claim residence pursuant to a tax treaty in another country. If you claim limited tax liability to Norway because you’re resident in another country pursuant to a tax treaty, you must claim this when you’re logged in to your tax return. You must mark all the income and wealth that you believe exempt from taxation in Norway as "non-taxable" and enter the reason for the change "tax treaty residence in another country". You must also specify this under "Other circumstances". You can search for and add "Claim for tax treaty residence in another country" in the search field at the top of your tax return.

Norway’s right to tax the different types of income will vary from tax treaty to tax treaty.

If a tax treaty does not have any provisions regarding wealth, Norway can tax all your wealth, both in Norway and abroad.

Some tax treaties allocate taxation rights to Norway on income from sources outside of your country of residence. This applies to income that is not transferred to this country and therefore is not taxed in the other country. The term for this is “remittance”, and this applies to the tax treaties between Norway and the following countries: United Kingdom, Singapore, Thailand, Malta, Ireland, South Africa, and The Gambia.

If you’re resident of Norway according to both the Taxation Act and the tax treaty with the other country, you are as a rule liable to pay tax to Norway on all your wealth and income. If the other country also has the right to tax income or wealth from a source in that country, you may be subject to double taxation. In such cases, it’s Norway that will remedy the double taxation.

If you live partly in Thailand and partly in Norway, you're usually liable to pay tax in both countries. Both countries can then claim the right to tax your income according to their internal tax laws.

To determine which country is to tax your income under the tax treaty, an assessment must be made of where you're resident for tax purposes under the tax treaty.

The criteria that determine which country you should pay tax to are:

Where you have a permanent home at your disposal. If you have a permanent home at your disposal in both countries, the next point in the tax treaty will be considered.
What personal and financial relationships you have with each country. This includes information about your spouse, cohabitant and/or minor children, sources of income, bank connections, and any business activity.
Where you have your habitual abode. This involves assessing periods of residence and life patterns.
Citizenship.

It is not sufficient to show that you've paid tax in Thailand and stayed there for "at least 180 days."

What you need to do

To ensure the processing of your tax return is as efficient as possible and to receive a tax assessment notice without delays or errors, you must log in to your tax return and enter information about the criteria listed above. The information can be uploaded as an attachment to your tax return.

Conclusion

If it has been clarified that you're tax resident in Thailand under the tax treaty, the following applies:

Pension is taxed in Thailand. However, the tax exemption in Norway is limited to the part of the pension that is taxed in Thailand. You can claim tax exemption in Norway for the part of your pension that is taxed in Thailand.
Disability benefits from the National Insurance Scheme and disability benefits from annuities (IPA/IPS) are taxed in Thailand. However, the tax exemption in Norway is limited to the part of the disability benefit that is taxed in Thailand. You can claim a tax exemption for the part that is taxed in Thailand.
Disability benefits from public and private occupational pension schemes and other private pension schemes (that are not annuities) are taxed in Norway.

To prove how much of the Norwegian pension or disability benefit is taxed in Thailand, you must submit Income Tax Payment Certificate: R.O.21 and Certificate of Residence: R.O.22 from the Thai tax authorities.

You must submit an original document showing your residence in another country. The document you must submit is called a Certificate of (Fiscal) Residence. The document must:

be issued by the competent tax authority in the country in which you claim to be resident
show that you’re liable to pay tax as a resident of this country pursuant to a tax treaty with Norway for the period in question, and
country outside the Nordic region, it must be issued in English or you must submit an English translation.

You can upload the document as an attachment to your tax return to prove your claim of residence under a tax treaty in another country.

If you have paid tax to two countries - double taxation

Du skal ikke betale full skatt til to land for samme inntekt. Skatteavtalen mellom Norge og det andre landet beskriver hvordan du unngår dobbeltbeskatning.

Du må ta kontakt med skattemyndighetene i det landet du mener har gjort feil, for å få gjort om og for å få tilbake pengene som er feilaktig trukket i skatt. Blir ikke dobbeltbeskatningen løst, kan du sende inn en søknad og be skattemyndighetene i de to landene bli enige om hvem som har rett til å skattlegge deg.