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Front-page of the Norwegian Tax Administration
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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
      • 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
      • Changes in municipal or county structure
  • 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
    • Net salary For employers who have employees with net salary
    • The PAYE scheme
    • Withholding tax on pensions Tax on pension payments for persons who are not tax resident 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
    • Svalbard For persons who are covered by the Svalbard Tax Act
    • Jan Mayen and the Norwegian dependencies For persons who are covered by the Jan Mayen Tax Act
  1. The a-melding guide
  2. Special groups

Norwegian employers with foreign relations

  • Updated: 02 February 2022

Norwegian employers with employees abroad or with foreign employees in Norway must submit an a-melding.

    Reporting obligation in the a-melding 

    Norwegian employers have a reporting obligation in the a-melding. This also applies to Norwegian employers with:  

    • foreign employees in Norway
    • Norwegian employees abroad
    • foreign employees abroad

    For employers with foreign employees abroad, there's a limited reporting obligation. See the Tax Administration Regulation, Section 7-2-7 c).

     

    Important information

    Norwegian employees abroad: Employees who are tax residents of Norway and who perform work abroad. This includes public sector employees who are posted abroad.

    Foreign employees abroad: Employees who aren't tax residents of Norway and who perform work abroad.

    Foreign employees in Norway: Employees who aren't tax residents in Norway and who perform work in Norway.

     

    See also the explanatory information concerning:

    Tax liability for Norwegian employees abroad

    What it means to be tax resident

    Reporting obligation when using foreign labour

    Tax Payment Regulation (Section 7-2-7)

    Employees with a tax deduction card with payroll withholding tax on salary

     

    The information you must provide

    In the a-melding, you must provide information concerning:

    • employment
    • salary and other benefits
    • deductions
    • withholding tax 
    • employer’s national insurance contributions

     

    Important information

    If you use foreign ID to identify your employees (income recipients), you must subsequently change to a valid Norwegian ID number.

     

    What about withholding tax

    You must specify withholding tax for salaries and other benefits earned in Norway or abroad. If you have applied for and been granted an exemption from withholding tax or an exemption under the Nordic Tax Withholding Agreement in Norway for some of your employees, you must not state the advance tax deduction in the a-melding. If you have employees with a tax deduction card with payroll withholding tax on salary, you must only deduct withholding tax from taxable benefits. For more information, see employees with a tax deduction card with payroll withholding tax on salary.

     

    What about employer’s national insurance contributions

    You must specify employer’s national insurance contributions for salaries and other benefits earned in Norway or abroad.

    Exemptions
    You can only omit to calculate national insurance contributions when the income recipient is not a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme.

    This applies, for example, 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 isn't a member of the National Insurance Scheme and who works on the Norwegian continental shelf or in Norwegian territorial waters
    • Is a foreign employee who isn't a member of the National Insurance Scheme and the work is done abroad

    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.

    See also the explanatory information concerning: Employer’s national insurance contributions for Norwegian employees abroad

     

    When you must submit reports

    You must submit an a-melding every month you make payments and deductions, and as long as the employment lasts. You mustn't combine reporting for several months.

    See deadlines concerning the a-melding

    See more information concerning end dates for employment

     

    How to submit the a-melding

    You can submit the a-melding at skatteetaten.no, or you can submit it from a payroll system (A02) that is integrated with Altinn.

    See explanatory information concerning the various ways in which you can submit the a-melding

    You must contact us if you need to report salary or other benefits earned before 1 January 2015.

     

    What we use the information for

    NAV uses information from the a-melding to calculate unemployment benefit and to check benefits such as sickness benefit, parental benefit, disability benefit and advance payment of child maintenance .

    The Norwegian Tax Administration uses the information in connection with the tax return.

    Statistics Norway (SSB) uses the information for statistical purposes.

     

    Applicable regulations

    These regulations are only available in Norwegian.

    • A-opplysningsforskriften

    • Skatteforvaltningsloven § 7-2

    • Skatteforvaltningsforskriften § 7-2-7

    • Folketrygdloven § 25-1

    • Folketrygdloven § 23-2a

    • Statistikkloven § 10

    • Skatteloven § 20-1

    • Skatteloven § 19-6

     

    To top

    A-melding – a collaboration between:

     

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