Fishing with only seafarers' wages
You can get a deduction in your tax for expenses relating to your seafarers' wages.
Does this apply to me?
This applies to you if you're fishing or a crew member on a fishing vessel and receive only seafarers' wages (salary).
What you need to do
- Remember to check your tax deduction card. You must enter the seafarers' wages as salary income.
- Check which deductions you're entitled to.
- Keep vouchers and other documents proving the expenses for which you’re claiming a deduction.
- Check that the pre-filled tax return includes the deductions you're entitled to and that the amounts are correct.
- If you find errors, you can change the information in your tax return.
Fishermen's allowance
If fishing on the coast or the sea has been your main type of work for at least 130 days in the year, you're entitled to a fishermen's allowance (special allowance for fishermen and hunters).
The fishermen's allowance is 30 percent of your total income from seafarers' wages. The maximum deduction is NOK 154,000.
The fishermen's allowance is automatically calculated, but you must check that the operating time (number of workdays) is correct, and that income and expenses have been entered with the correct amounts.
The 130 days of work do not need to be in a consecutive period. If you work less than 130 days on board due to starting or quitting, or unforeseen interruptions in the fishing activity, you may still be entitled to the fishermen's allowance.
When you have started or quit during the income year
You're entitled to the fishermen's allowance if you have worked less than 130 days and:
- start working as a fisherman and it’s likely that you will fulfil the requirement the following year
or - quit working as a fisherman during the income year and have fulfilled the requirement in previous years
When you work as both a fisherman and seafarer
If you work partially as a fisherman and partially as a seafarer, it is enough to work a total of 130 days during the year. You must check that the total operating time (number of workdays) is correct in your tax return.
The fishermen's allowance is calculated using your total income from fishing as a basis. Sickness benefits and holiday pay from work on the fishing vessel is also included in the calculation basis.
Income from work onshore is generally not included in the calculation of the allowance (it’s entered as onshore income).
Expenses you had that are related to the fishing is deducted from the calculation basis, however, the following expenses do not reduce the calculation basis:
- the minimum standard deduction
- travel expenses to/from a fishing vessel
- extra expenses in connection with work-related stays away from home
- interest expenses
- expenses for national insurance premiums
If you're entitled to both the seafarers' allowance (special deduction for seafarers) and the fishermen's allowance in the same income year and these exceed the maximum of NOK 154,000, the fishermen's allowance is reduced. This is calculated automatically in your tax return.
Example:
Jens earns NOK 300,000 per year, which entitles him to a seafarers' allowance, and NOK 250,000 per year as seafarers' wages from a fishing vessel, which entitles him to a fishermen's allowance. Jens has no expenses.
Since Jens is entitled to seafarer's allowance, this will be calculated first. The seafarers' allowance is 30 percent of the income and is limited to NOK 83,000. 30 percent of the income of NOK 300,000 as a seafarer is NOK 90,000. Jens will therefore only get a seafarer's allowance of NOK 83,000.
Jens will then get the fishermen's allowance in his seafarer's wages from fishing. 30 percent of the income of NOK 250,000 is NOK 75,000.
The total deduction cannot exceed NOK 154,000. Since Jens gets a seafarer's allowance of NOK 83,000, he can get a maximum fishermen's allowance of NOK 71,000 (154,000 - 83,000 = 71,000)
Minimum standard deduction
You will automatically receive a minimum standard deduction that is deducted from your seafarer's wages. The minimum standard deduction is in addition to the fishermen's allowance.
The minimum standard deduction is meant to cover your actual expenses related to the seafarer's wages, for example, expenses for work clothes.
If your actual expenses related to your seafarer's wages exceed your calculated minimum standard deduction, you can enter a deduction for these instead.
What to do if you
Board
If you have had expenses for food that was not covered by shared meals aboard the vessel, you can deduct these expenses.
If you participate in fisheries where you spend the night at home and cannot prove your expenses, you can use the applicable rate of NOK 106 per day.
Lodging
If you have expenses for lodging because you must spend the night away from home or aboard the fishing vessel in connection with a fishing trip or travels to/from a fishing trip, you can in some cases claim a deduction for the expenses. See the rates for board and lodging.
Remuneration and reimbursement of expenses for lodging
If the owner of the vessel covers your expenses for lodging on a fishing trip where you only receive seafarers' wages, this coverage is not considered salary income. In such cases, you cannot claim a deduction for these expenses.
You may be entitled to a deduction for transportation/travel expenses.
How much you can deduct depends on if you regularly travel to/from the fishing vessel or not.
You could be entitled to a deduction for transport/travel expenses if:
- you travel from your home or a lodging to a fishing vessel that is in a fixed place for a continuous period of more than 2 weeks.
and - you do not spend the night aboard the fishing vessel
See rates for the travel deduction
You get a distance-based deduction instead of a deduction for actual transportation expenses. This means that the deduction is calculated based on the distance you travel. The travel distance between your home or lodging and the fishing vessel must be at least 2.5 kilometres each way.
There are no requirements regarding having incurred expenses for transportation or how you travel to and from the fishing vessel.
In addition to the distance-based deduction, you may also be entitled to a deduction for road toll or ferry expenses.
Calculate your deduction for travel
Remuneration and reimbursements for work travel
If the owner of the vessel covers your expenses for work travel, the coverage is considered salary.
You can still claim a deduction for travel expenses pursuant to the rules for work travel.
The coverage is considered income, but you do not lose the right to claim the distance-based deduction.
If your travel to/from the fishing vessel is not in accordance with the rules on work travel in the paragraph above, your transportation to/from the fishing vessel will be considered business travel and the expenses are covered by the minimum standard deduction.
Remuneration and reimbursements for business travel
If the amount the owner of the fishing vessel covers is higher that your actual expenses, the excess is considered income.
Example:
If you have expenses of NOK 1,000 and your employer gives you NOK 2,000 to cover the expenses, you have NOK 1,000 in excess that you must pay tax on.
You're entitled to a deduction for expenses for premiums paid for the pension insurance managed by the Norwegian Guarantee Fund for Fishermen) or other pension premiums.
Make sure the pension premium is stated in your tax return.
You’re entitled to a deduction for fees to national membership organisations, such as the Norwegian Fishermen’s Association.
There are limitations on the size of the deduction. The maximum deduction for 2023 is NOK 7,700.
If you pay fees to several trade unions, the total deduction cannot be higher than the maximum deduction.
Supporting documentation
You do not need to send us any documentation, but you must be able to present supporting documents for any expenses that you claim deductions for if we ask you to.