Employees’ purchases of shares/primary capital certificates at a discount
Concerns situations where employees purchase shares or primary capital certificates at a discount.
Brief information concerning employees’ purchases of shares/primary capital certificates at a discount
Specify the benefit for the employee through purchases of shares/primary capital certificates at a discount.
This benefit will generally amount to the difference between the sales value of the share at the time of acquisition and the price that the employee paid for the share, where appropriate.
Tax exemption under a general scheme
The tax exemption for the purchase of shares at a discount has been removed from 2022 onwards. The benefit of purchasing shares at a discount is fully taxable.
See also the Tax ABC concerning employee's acquisition of shares at a discount (in Norwegian only)
The information you must provide
| Amount | NOK x |
| Type of salary or benefit | Payment in kind, shares/primary capital certificates at a discount |
| Liability for withholding tax | Yes |
| Basis for employer's national insurance contributions | Yes/No |
| Tax and contribution rules | If relevant |
| Additional information | - |
Amount
Specify the taxable benefit
The shares must normally be valued at their estimated sales value. If the true value of the shares cannot be determined in any other way, you can calculate it from the stock exchange value or a quotation on a broker's list or you can set it as equal to the share's component of the company's full capital value for tax purposes.
|
The taxable benefit is calculated as follows: |
|
| Sales value at the time of acquisition | |
| - | Payment by employee |
| = | Taxable benefit |
Example
All employees of a consultancy firm are offered the chance to purchase 65 shares at a price of NOK 3,000. William, who works for the company, takes up the offer and buys 65 shares on 7 January 2023.
The stock exchange listing at the time of acquisition is NOK 150.
| 65 x 150 | 9,750 | |
| - | Purchase price | 3,000 |
| = | Taxable benefit | 6,750 |
| Information in the a-melding: | |
| Amount | 6,750 |
| Type of income | Payment in kind, shares or primary capital certificates at a discount |
| Liability for withholding tax | Yes |
| Basis for employer's national insurance contributions | Yes |
Type of salary or benefit
Specify “Payment in kind” and “Shares/primary capital certificates at a discount”.
Subject to withholding tax
The benefit must always be specified as subject to withholding tax.
You don't have to make withholding tax deductions if the amount to be deducted is less than the minimum threshold for withholding tax.
In the case of payments in kind, you must make the deduction from the cash benefits as far as possible. You must notify the tax office via Altinn if the total withholding tax deductions exceed the cash benefits.
Basis for employer's national insurance contributions
You must calculate employer’s national insurance contributions on this benefit.
Exemption:
You don't have to calculate employer’s national insurance contributions when the income recipient:
- is covered by the national insurance legislation of another country in accordance with a convention or the EEA Agreement
- is a foreign employee who is not a member of the Norwegian National Insurance scheme and who works on the Norwegian continental shelf or in Norwegian territorial waters
In some cases, the employee has a confirmation of a membership that is being maintained by their national insurance authority (A1 or another form). The Labour and Welfare Administration’s division for membership and contributions to the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, NAV Medlemskap og avgift, will consider all documentation, register any exceptions from membership in the National Insurance Scheme and the relevant periods of exception, as well as whether the exception applies to all or parts of the National Insurance Scheme. Registered exceptions from membership in the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme are sendt electronically from NAV to the Tax Administration.
Only exceptions registered with the Tax Administration will allow the employer to omit calculation of employer's national insurance contributions for an employee.
The Tax Administration may assess employer's national insurance contributions if there is no exception registered for the employee, and if the reported salary or benefit is not included in the taxable basis.
The employer or the employee can contact NAV regarding questions about whether an exception from the membership in the National Insurance Scheme is registered.
Tax and contribution rule
If the income recipient fulfils the conditions, you must use the following tax and contribution rules:
This tax and contribution rule concerns:
- seafarers who are entitled to a special deduction (seafarer's allowance) from their salary and other benefits,
- when it is earned through work on-board a vessel in service.
If the income recipient fulfils the relevant conditions, you must specify “special allowance for seafarers” for salary and other benefits.
See also the detailed information concerning the special allowance for seafarers
This tax and contribution rule concerns:
- income recipients who are covered by the Jan Mayen Tax Act.
If the income recipient fulfils the relevant conditions, you must specify “Jan Mayen and the Norwegian dependencies” for salary and other benefits.
You must also specify “Jan Mayen and the Norwegian dependencies” for the associated withholding tax.
See detailed information on withholding tax in the a-melding
Remember also to specify the correct deduction descriptions for Jan Mayen and the Norwegian dependencies regarding trade union fees and premium for pension scheme.
See also the detailed information concerning Jan Mayen and the Norwegian dependencies
This tax and contribution rule concerns:
- income recipients who are covered by the Svalbard Tax Act.
If the income recipient fulfils the relevant conditions, you must specify “Svalbard” for salary and other benefits.
You must also specify "Svalbard" for the associated withholding tax.
See detailed information on withholding tax in the a-melding
Remember also to specify the correct deduction descriptions for Svalbard regarding trade union fees, premium for pension scheme, National Insurance premiums and education and development fund premiums and portacabin rent.
Additional information
No additional information.
Earnings period (voluntary)
You can specify the earnings period for all types of salary and other benefits in the a-melding. Both the start date and the end date of the earnings period must fall within the same reporting month.
See also the explanatory information concerning the earnings period
When you must submit reports
Specify the benefit in the month in which the shares are acquired. This applies regardless of any clauses concerning restrictions on right of disposal, for example a prohibition on sale and mortgaging for a number of years.
Correcting errors
| MAGNET_EDAG-114 Invalid value |
| MAGNET_EDAG-114B Invalid value for this calendar month |
| MAGNET_EDAG-200 This income has been reported with incorrect information and is invalid |
| MAGNET_EDAG-230B Invalid value |
| MAGNET_EDAG-243 Information on earnings period is invalid |
| MAGNET_EDAG-298 This income has been reported with incorrect information and is invalid |
What do we use the information for
NAV uses information concerning salary and other benefits to calculate unemployment benefits and to check benefits such as sickness benefit, parental benefit, disability benefit and advance child maintenance payments.
The Norwegian Tax Administration uses information concerning employees’ purchases of shares/primary capital certificates at a discount in order to pre-complete the tax return and for control purposes.
Statistics Norway (SSB) uses the information for statistical purposes.
Applicable regulations
These regulations are only available in Norwegian.
