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Frontpage of the norwegian tax administration
Startside til skatteetaten
To the a-melding

The a-melding guide

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The a-melding guide

Table of content

Guidance cover page
  • Error messages (MAGNET/EDAG) and feedback List of error messages, feedback and how to make corrections
    • Overview of error messages (MAGNET/EDAG) Severity and how to correct mistakes
    • Feedback What is feedback
    • Replacement a-melding or new a-melding Two ways of submitting an a-melding when you have to make corrections
  • Organisation number Employer, pension company or others you're submitting the a-melding for
    • Organisation number for the main entity and sub-entities Which number should you use when submitting the a-melding
    • Organisation number in public sector Applies to public sector
  • Pension scheme arrangement (mandatory occupational pension scheme) Private arbeidsgiver skal oppgi pensjonsselskap eller pensjonskasse det er inngått avtale om sparing med
  • National identity number, D number or international ID (income recipient) Identifies employees, pensioners and others who receive salary and benefits
  • Employment Type of employment, start and end date, leave, change of payroll system, etc.
    • Type of employment Whether the employment is ordinary, maritime or other, and how to change in the event of an error
      • Ordinary employment Employee who receive salary (applies to the vast majority)
      • Maritime employment Employee who works at sea, on a vessel or a mobile installation
      • Exceptions for ordinary and maritime employment Examples of when you do not need to provide information about ordinary or maritime working conditions.
      • Pensions or other benefits Person who receives a pension and other benefits without being employed or on assignment
      • Freelancers, contractors and fee recipients Person who works on an assignment without being employed
      • Select the correct employment type When you're uncertain which employment type you should select
      • Change the employment type Examples of how to switch from one employment type to another.
    • Information on employment Start and end date, FTE percentage, leave and other information
      • Employment start date
      • Employment end date
      • Cause of end date
      • Percentage employment (FTE percentage)
      • Date of change in FTE percentage
      • Hours per week for a full-time position
      • Working hours arrangement
      • Date for change of salary
      • Type of appointment (permanent or temporary)
      • Wage seniority
      • Pay grade
      • Occupation code
      • Employment ID
      • Leave
      • Layoffs
      • Remuneration type
    • Special circumstances Changing payroll system, merger, acquisition etc.
      • Employment in the case of salary to employee who has left
      • Change of payroll system
      • Change jobs with the same employer
      • Demerger
      • Mergers
      • Acquisition, change of owner or transfer of enterprise
      • Municipality and county mergers
  • Salary and benefits Cash benefit, expense allowances, payments in kind, national insurance contributions, pension, etc.
    • Overview of salary and other benefits Descriptions of salary and other benefits you can use
    • Correcting errors in salary and benefits Incorrect amount or description, paid too much or too little
  • Deductions Trade union fees , premiums for pension schemes and other deductions
    • Trade union fees
    • Premium for pension schemes
    • Premiums for foreign pension schemes
    • National Insurance premiums and education and development fund premiums
    • Portacabin rent
  • Withholding tax How to state obligation to deduct withholding tax, calculate and pay advance tax deduction
  • Attachment of earnings How to state obligation to attachement of earnings, calculate and pay attachment of earnings
  • Employer’s national insurance contributions and financial activity tax How to calculate, what you have to specify and pay
    • Employer’s National Insurance contributions Calculation codes, rates, zones and payment
    • Employer’s Additional National Insurance contributions Calculation codes, rates, zones and payment
    • Financial activity tax on salary Applies to the finance and insurance sector
  • Special groups International, seafarers, tax-free organisation, withholding tax on pensions, net salary, Jan Mayen and Svalbard
    • Abroad Foreign employers with assignments in Norway
    • Foreign relations Norwegian employers with employees abroad or with foreign employees in Norway
    • Special allowance for seafarers For seafarers who require a special allowance
    • Tax-free organisation How to specify salary and benefits for employees in tax-free organisations
    • Withholding tax on pensions Tax on pension payments for persons who are not tax resident in Norway
    • Net salary For employers who have employees with net salary
    • Jan Mayen and the Norwegian dependencies For persons who are covered by the Jan Mayen Tax Act
    • Svalbard For persons who are covered by the Svalbard Tax Act
  1. The a-melding guide
  2. Employment
  3. Type of employment
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Select the applicable employment type

  • Updated: 30 November 2021

Find the applicable employment type. The choice will affect the rights and obligations of the income recipient and the information that you must provide in the a-melding.

    Four types of employment in the a-melding

    In the a-melding there are four types of employment.

    It is important that you specify the correct employment type because this will affect:

    • the information that you must provide
    • the rights and obligations of both the employer and the employee with respect to the Norwegian Tax Administration, NAV and other parties who use the information


    Select from amongst the following types:

    • Ordinary employment (covers most employees)
    • Maritime employment
    • Freelancers, contractors and fee recipients, etc.
    • Pension or other benefits

     

    1. Ordinary employment

    Select this employment type if you have an employee who works for you (your business) and receives a salary or other remuneration; see Section 1-8 of the National Insurance Act.

    This applies to:

    • most employees who receive a salary from a business or organisation
    • persons on labour market schemes with a salary

     
    This does not apply:

    • if the work is performed at sea, on vessels or on mobile installations such as a drilling rig

    The employment is registered in the Aa Register.

    Read more about ordinary employment

     

    Examples of when you should select ordinary (or maritime) employment

    Employee representative on a board of directors
    Employee who receives temporary or permanentwage subsidy
    When the employer/initiative organiser pays the employee a salary and NAV pays all or some of the amount as wage subsidy to the enterprise.
    Employee and pensioner
    Employee who receives remuneration both as an employee and as a pensioner from the same enterprise. You must specify this as combined employment.
    Casual assistant, seasonal worker, etc.

     

    Examples of when you should select ordinary employment

    Offshore worker on fixed installation
    Offshore worker who works on a fixed installation such as a drilling platform which is secured in position.
    Support contacts and relief staff

     

    2. Maritime employment

    Select this employment type when you have an employee who works for you (your enterprise) and who receives a salary or other remuneration and the work is performed at sea, on a vessel or on a mobile installation such as a drilling rig; see Section 1-8 of the National Insurance Act.

    The employment is registered in the Aa Register. 

    Read more about maritime employment

     

    Examples of when you should select maritime (or ordinary) employment

    Employee who receives a wage subsidy
    When the employer/initiative organiser pays the employee a salary and NAV pays the enterprise a wage subsidy.
    Employee representative on a board of directors
    Employee and pensioner
    Employee who receives remuneration both as an employee and as a pensioner from the same enterprise. Specify this as combined employment.
    Casual assistant, seasonal worker, etc.

     

    Examples of when you should select maritime employment

    Offshore worker who works on a mobile installation/drilling rig

      

    Note!
    In the case of offshore workers who work on fixed installations, e.g. drilling platforms which are secured in position, you must select ordinary employment.

    In the case of fishermen and hunters who are recorded in a census (fishermen's census), you must select pension or other non-employment benefits, or not specify the employment type at all.

     

    3. Freelancers, contractors and fee recipients

    Select this employment type when the person who works for you performs work or assignments for a salary or other non-employment remuneration (not as an employee).

    This does not apply to:

    • Self-employed persons; Section 1-9 of the National Insurance Act
    • General practitioners and therapeutic health personnel who receive a public basic grant or operating subsidy

    The employment is registered in the Aa Register. 

    Read more about freelancers, contractors and fee recipients

     

    Examples of when you must select freelancers, contractors and fee recipients

    Freelancers
    Professional groups such as musicians, scriptwriters, actors, journalists and translators are often considered to be freelancers/contractors.
    Elected officials
    Politicians in municipal authorities, county councils and the Norwegian Parliament who receive remuneration for their political work.
    Foster parents and persons who receive care pay
    Salary and other remuneration for helping persons with special needs or persons with care needs.

    Positions of trust
    Remuneration for work and reimbursement of expenses within voluntary and charitable organisations or other positions of trust.

    Examples of positions of trust: participation in general meetings and other councils, committees and posts linked to the job.

    Exceptions: Elected representatives and members of voluntary and charitable organisations who are only course participants but receive reimbursement for lost earnings. These must be reported with employment type pensions or other benefits.

    Board members
    Persons who only sit on the board of directors of a company and who are not an employee.

    Exceptions: Employee representative on a board of directors. In this case, the employee is in ordinary or maritime employment and the board fees must be reported under the ordinary or maritime employment.

     

    4. Pensions and other benefits (benefits from surrendered property, RF-1199)

    Select this option if the payment concerns a pension or other benefit/remuneration to an income recipient, where the benefit is not linked to employment pursuant to the National Insurance Act.

    Also applies to certain payments made to self-employed persons. For example, payments made to a childminder who minds children in  the childminder's own home.

    The employment is not registered in the Aa Register. 

    Read more about pensions or other non-employment benefits

     

    Examples of when you should select pensions or other benefits

    Employee on measures other than temporary or permanent wage subsidy from NAV
    For example, work experience schemes in ordinary or protected enterprises. Salary and other remuneration which the enterprise has paid must be reported.
    Employment which is neither ordinary or maritime employment nor a freelancer/assignment relationship
    Fishermen and hunters who are recorded in a census (fishermen’s census)
    Benefits from surrendered property/right of occupancy
    When the purchaser of real property settles the purchase price in such a way that  the seller receives full or partial payment in the form of future annual benefits (limited to the lifetime of the recipient), which may consist of payments in kind, such as right of occupancy, such an arrangement does not constitute ordinary subsistence, but rather benefits from surrendered property (right of occupancy).
    Crew share recipients and owners on-board fishing and hunting vessels

    Assignments given to foreign contractors and employees on the contract
    Anyone who awards a contract to a foreign contractor on land or the continental shelf must report the contract and report information on the employees who work on the assignment in Assignment and employee register. The information must not be submitted on the a-melding.

    The duty applies to Norwegian and foreign businesses and to public agencies. Private individuals are not obliged to submit information.

    Incentive payments
    Payments to persons participating in work training measures for the occupationally disabled when the pay is defined as receipt of incentive payments. For example, permanently adapted work.
    Pension
    Benefits to pensioners who are not in employment.
    Payments from NAV’s Wage Guarantee Fund
    Bankruptcy estates which pay outstanding salaries to employees of an enterprise that has been declared bankrupt and received coverage from the Wage Guarantee Fund.
    Salary of employee who has left (holiday pay, back payments of salary etc.)
    Course participants who receive reimbursement for lost earnings
    Applies to course participants who are not employed by the course administrator. For example, member organisations which arrange courses for their members and where the participants are given unpaid leave by their employer. Salary (lost earnings) and other allowances which the course administrator has paid must be reported via the a-ordning scheme.
    Persons only receiving expense allowance
    State employment type "pesions or other benefits" or no employment type at all for persons only receiving expense allowance but no salary, fees etc.

    Recently arrived refugees receiving introduction support
    State employment type "pesions or other benefits" or no employment type at all for recently arrived refugees receiving introduction support.

    Witnesses
    State employment type "pesions or other benefits" or no employment type at all for people who are witnesses in court.

    Persons who are neither employed by you nor have assignments for you
    If you have payments to persons who are neither employed by you nor have assignments for you, and who are subject to obligation to report in the A-ordning scheme, you must report this without providing employment information. If your payroll and personnel system requires that you provide a type of employment, select" Pension or other benefits". 

    An example of this could be the payment of travel allowance to a person who has been to a job inteview. 

     

    Is it mandatory

    Yes, it is mandatory to provide information on the employment type for ordinary and maritime employment, and for freelancers, contractors and fee recipients, with some exceptions.

    For pensions and other non-employment benefits, it is mandatory if you submit the a-melding directly in Altinn (A01) or from a payroll system where you are required to provide information on the employment type.

     

    What do we use the information for

    NAV uses information on employment type to distinguish between ordinary and maritime employment. We also use the information to assess membership of the Norwegian National Insurance scheme. In addition, we use information concerning employment to calculate and retrospectively audit benefits. This applies for example to sickness benefit, unemployment benefit and parental benefits.

    Statistics Norway (SSB) uses the information to prepare statistics concerning trends in salaries, employment and sickness absence  

    Information on ordinary, maritime employment and freelancers, contractors and fee recipients is transferred to the Aa Register. NAV distributes information concerning employment from the Aa Register to private and public sector companies and organisations that are permitted to receive it.  Examples of such organisations are the Norwegian Tax Administration and the Norwegian Labour Inspection Authority.

     

    Applicable regulations

    These regulations are only available in Norwegian.

    • A-opplysningsloven

    • A-opplysningsforskriften

    • Folketrygdloven § 1-8

    • Folketrygdloven §1-9

    • Folketrygdloven § 25-1

    • Forskrift om AA-registeret § 3

    • Statistikkloven § 10

    • Forskrift om opplysningsplikt til lønnsstatistikken

     

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