Deduction for extra expenses when you work in Norway and live in another EEA country

To be considered a commuter when your home is in another EEA country, you must:

• own or rent a residential property in your home country that is not rented out to anyone
• be registered at this property’s address by the population register authority in your home country
• have an independent dwelling in your home country

An independent dwelling is a property that:

• is of at least 30 square metres gross living area, and at least 20 square metres extra per person over the age of 15 who lives there in addition to you
• has a water supply and sewage
• you have free access to every day during a period of at least 12 months

If your commuter accommodation in Norway is not an independent dwelling, your property in your home country does not have to meet the requirements of being an independent dwelling either.

Requirements for the number of home visits

The required number of home visits depends on who you share your home with in your home country.

If you’re a family commuter

• If you share a home with your spouse or your own children under 22 years of age in your home country, there are no requirements for the number of home visits. It’s a requirement that your family continues to live in your shared home in your home country.
  
  
• If your family lives with you in Norway, you must normally have 4 home visits per year. If your home is in Sweden, Denmark or Finland, you must normally have 8 home visits per year.

If you’re a single commuter

• If you do not have a shared home with your spouse or your own children under 22 years of age in your home country, you must normally have at least 4 home visits per year. If your home is in Sweden, Denmark or Finland, you must normally have 8 home visits per year

In addition to meeting the commuter conditions, you must also meet the requirements for claiming each of the deductions for board, lodging, and travel expenses. As a commuter, you can, for example, only deduct extra expenses for board and lodging for up to 24 months from the time you were first granted a deduction for these expenses. To be entitled to a deduction for lodging, it’s a requirement that you must have paid expenses related to your residential property in your home country.

Read more about the conditions for deductions for commuters.

To claim a commuter deduction, you must be able to submit proof that you meet the requirements. You do not need to include any supporting documentes when you submit your tax return, but if we later ask you to, you must submit:

• a marriage certificate if you live with your spouse
• your child’s birth certificate if you live with your own children under the age of 22
• a letter or certificate issued by the population register authority in your home country, confirming your registered residential address. The letter must confirm the names of all residents at the address. The confirmation must be dated during the relevant income year.
• a rental or purchase agreement for your residential property in your home country
• a rental or purchase agreement for your commuter accommodation in Norway
• property plans, an appraiser’s report or other proof of the living area of your residential property in your home country and your commuter accommodation in Norway, if this is not stated in the rental or purchase agreement
• an overview of your home visits with dates for your journeys, outbound and inbound
• tickets or receipts showing your paid travel expenses

In addition, you must be able to document the actual expenses you’re claiming deductions for. You must, for example, prove your rental expenses or expenses you’ve had for your own property. This can be receipts, bank statements or similar, or payslips showing that the rent has been deducted by your employer.

You can read more about the rules in the guide Skatte-ABC (in Norwegian only).

If you have any questions, you can contact us.