Employers are obliged to pay contributions to the National Insurance scheme on wages and other remuneration for work and assignments carried out in or outside employment in Norway or on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. The obligation to pay employer’s National Insurance contributions is related to the obligation to report pay and other remuneration for work, cf. the National Insurance Act section 23-2 and the Tax Assessment Act section 6-2. The obligation to pay employer’s National Insurance contributions applies even if the employer is not engaged in activity in Norway that is liable for tax and irrespective of whether the employee is liable for tax in Norway.
Employer’s National Insurance contributions are calculated as a percentage of the pay and other remuneration paid for work carried out in Norway or on the Norwegian Continental Shelf. Employer’s National Insurance contributions are differentiated, with rates that vary between different geographical zones. The highest rate applies to Zone 1, which includes the Norwegian Continental Shelf and large areas of southern Norway. The rate for Zone 1 is currently 14.1%. The zone to which an employer belongs is decided on the basis of where he or she is registered. Foreign employers who are only registered with an address abroad in the Central Coordinating Register for Legal Entities must calculate and pay contributions at the rate for Zone 1.
If, however, an employee carries out more than half of his or her work in another zone than the zone in which the employer is registered, the rate in the work zone may apply to this work.
The employer is obliged, at his/her own initiative, to calculate the contributions and pay them six times a year, see 4.2.4.
If the employees are exempt from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme persuant to a national insurance agreement or pursuant to the EEA Agreement, cf. Regulation (EEC) No 1408/71, the employer is exempt from the obligation to pay employer’s National Insurance contributions. Employees can also be exempted from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme on the basis of the National Insurance Act. In such cases, the employer can apply for remission or a reduction of Norwegian National Insurance contributions if it can be documented that corresponding contributions are paid to the employee’s home country on the same wage payments. Applications should be sent to the International Tax Collection Authority.