Tax when you move abroad
If you move abroad, you’re still liable to pay tax to Norway for all your income and wealth. Here you can find out which tax rules you should know about when you move, and when your tax liability to Norway may cease.
Tax liability to Norway after you’ve moved
Even if you reported a move to the National Population Register, it does not mean that your tax liability to Norway ceases. When you move, you’re still considered tax resident in Norway and that means that you must pay tax to Norway for all the income and wealth you have, both in Norway and in the country you move to. You have a global tax liability to Norway.
You’ll get a tax return from Norway as long as you’re tax resident and you must state all your income and wealth.
What you need to do
Report a move
- If you’ve not already done so, you must report a move from Norway to the National Population Register.
Find out what your tax responsibilities are
- Contact the tax authorities in the country you’ve moved to to find out what your tax liability is there. Check whether you must report a move to the country you’ve moved to.
- Find out if you have a tax liability to Norway after moving.
- If you still have a tax liability to Norway, you must find out how to avoid double taxation of your income and wealth.
- Find out if Norway has a tax treaty with the country you’ve moved to and how this impacts your tax – residency pursuant to a tax treaty.
- If your tax liability to Norway changes, you can apply for a new tax deduction card that takes these changes into account.
- You must submit the tax return and inform us about your income and wealth abroad. Remember that you must claim avoidance of double taxation yourself when you submit your tax return.
- Find out when your tax liability to Norway may cease – tax emigration.
- Find out whether you have a tax liability for certain incomes and wealth that comes from Norway – limited tax liability.
Find out whether you must pay national insurance contributions
- Find out whether you’re still a member of the National Insurance Scheme and must pay national insurance contributions to Norway. The membership in the National Insurance Scheme is the key to rights from NAV.
What to do if you
If you’re working abroad and you’re still tax resident in Norway, you must remember to:
- state the income in your tax return
- claim deductions/a reduction to your tax if you’re paying tax on the same income in Norway and the country you’re working in – avoid double taxation
- find out whether you’re still a member of the National Insurance Scheme. It’s the key to rights from NAV. You may be entitled to a voluntary membership in the National Insurance Scheme.
If you're going to live abroad and receive a pension/disability benefit from Norway, you must remember to:
- state the pension/disability benefit in your tax return
- claim deductions/a reduction to your tax if you’re paying tax on the same pension/disability benefit in Norway and the other country – avoid double taxation
- find out whether you’re still a member of the National Insurance Scheme. It’s the key to rights from NAV. You may be entitled to a voluntary membership in the National Insurance Scheme
- claim the right to pay withholding tax on pensions and disability benefits to Norway. Remember that withholding tax only applies to people who have emigrated for tax purposes.
If a pension or disability benefit is taxable in both Norway and the country where you live, it’s the country of residence that must ensure that the income is not taxed twice.
In some cases, students can choose whether to report a move or not.
You remain liable to pay tax to Norway until you emigrate for tax purposes. If you work alongside your studies, you must remember to inform us about your income in your Norwegian tax return. Remember to contact the tax authorities in the country you’re working in to clarify your tax liability.
There are special rules for the membership in the National Insurance Scheme when you study abroad.
Salary income and other benefits that were earned on the basis of your personal work input, but that is not paid before your tax liability in Norway ceased under internal law, must be recognised as of the date your tax liability ceased and be taxed in Norway. This could for example be holiday pay, bonus payments, severance pay (“parachute payments”), etc. It doesn't affect your tax liability if the payment amount isn't determined until after the work has been performed, or that the payment isn't to be made until a certain period of time after the work was performed.
Example:
A person moves to Norway from Sweden in February 2014 and works here in Norway until October 2016. The person then moves back to Sweden and is assigned the status of ‘emigrated from Norway for tax purposes’ with effect from 1 January 2017.
In May of the year after the person emigrated, the person receives a bonus payment from their previous Norwegian employer based on the work they performed in 2016. As the person isn't a tax resident of Norway in the year of payment, the bonus payment must be recognised and taxed in the year of emigration.
If you receive such benefits, you must contact the Norwegian Tax Administration so that the tax assessment and withholding tax for both the year of payment and the year of emigration can be assessed correctly.
You can get a refund for a proportion of the one-off registration tax when you take the car or other vehicle with you.
Find out how much you can get refunded and how to apply for the refund.
Nordisk eTax is for you who live in a Nordic country and have income or assets in another Nordic country.