Basis for calculating the contributions:

Salary and other remuneration

In addition to ordinary salary, including holiday pay, you have to pay employer’s national insurance contributions on:

• Fees
• Bonus
• Commission
• Redundancy pay in connection with workforce reductions etc.
• Unemployment benefits prepaid by the employer
• Sickness benefit
• Parental benefits

You also have to pay employer’s national insurance contributions on the following benefits, that are not connected to the reporting duty: 

Pensions 

The basis for calculation of employer's national insurance contributions includes the employer’s and the government’s contributions to annuity and pension schemes.

This concerns contributions to collective occupational pensions schemes in insurance companies, contributions to pensions schemes that are arranged technically in the same way as insurance, contributions to public service pension schemes, such asthe Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund (Statens Pensjonskasse), and contributions an employer pays to an annuity scheme where the employees are beneficiaries.

You're required to pay employer’s national insurance contributions on payment of pensions that commenced in 1988 or later and where the pension payment is made by or through you as an employer and is charged as an expense in the operational accounts. Taxable pay after termination of employment does not count as a pension in this regard.

Payments in kind

Payment in kind means any financial benefit earned other than in cash, cheques or any other similar means of payment, see the Norwegian Tax Act section 5-12, subsection 1. You should pay employer’s national insurance contributions on payments in kind, when the benefits in kind are subject to withholding tax. The duty to pay employer’s national insurance contributions, therefore depends on the duty to make withholding tax deductions.

Expense allowances

Expense allowances means benefits that are supposed to cover expenses incurred during performance of work duties, assignments or tasks as mentioned in section 5-10, letters a and b, in the Norwegian Tax Act, see also section 23-2, subsection 3, of the National Insurance Act. You should pay employer’s national insurance contributions on expense allowances, when the expense allowances are subject to withholding tax. The duty to pay employer’s national insurance contributions, therefore depends on the duty to make withholding tax deductions.

Allowances covering other expenses than those incurred during performance of work duties, assignments or tasks, should always be included in the basis for calculation of withholding tax and employer’s national insurance contributions. Examples of such other allowances are those meant to cover daily commute between home and work place, group life insurance premiums paid, employees’ share of pension premium and other private expenses.

Employers are obliged to report benefits received from a third party and pay employer’s national insurance contributions on them. This applies to for instance the value of bonus points earned on flights and hotel stays in connection with business travels and stays, and that are used for private purposes during the income year. This also includes discounts, etc. from the employer’s business connections and partners.

Tips/gratuities

You should pay employer’s national insurance contributions on tips/gratuities, when the tips/gratuities are subject to withholding tax. Currently this is relevant for tips to waiting staff paid on a percentage of turnover basis.

Director's fees and similar remuneration

You should always pay employer’s national insurance contributions on remuneration as a board member, member of a committee of representatives, other committee, council, etc.

The remuneration must be reported even if holding office is part of the recipient’s enterprise.

Exceptions

From this principle, however, there are several clarifications and exceptions.

Among other things, you should not make deductions in the basis for employer’s national insurance contributions for deductions in the basis for withholding tax.

You have to pay employer’s national insurance contributions even if the amount is too low to require reporting, and you're liable to pay employer’s national insurance contributions without regard to the age of the recipient.

For further clarifications, exceptions from and limitations of the liability to pay employer’s national insurance contributions, see the guide Skatte-ABC in the chapter "Arbeidsgiveravgift – avgiftsplikt og grunnlag" (in Norwegian only).