Det du ser på denne siden er en test-versjon. Denne er under arbeid, og testes og kvalitetssikres nå internt i Skatteetaten.

Bonds

Companies that own bonds must pay tax on any gains and on interest income. If you sell bonds at a loss, you'll normally receive a deduction for the loss.

Who this applies to

Companies that own or have sold bonds.

A bond is a debt instrument that shows you have lent money to a government body, a bank, or a company. A bond is a type of debt instrument that can be bought and sold. When you buy a bond, you become the lender, and the borrower pays you interest during the period they borrow your money (also called the term). The value of the bond may rise and fall.

Rates and key figures

You must pay 22 percent tax on gains and interest income from bonds.

What the company must do

If the company owns bonds

The value of any bonds the company owns must be entered in the business information and included in the company’s total wealth in the company's tax return.

Interest income from bonds must be entered both in the business information and under the relevant section for taxation and financial items in the tax return.

If the company has bought bonds

If the company has bought bonds on the secondary market, you may have paid for interest that has accrued from the previous interest payment date until the purchase date. When the company buys a bond, it must pay tax only on interest that accrues after the purchase, even if the company usually receives an interest payment covering the entire interest period. Interest that accrued from the previous interest date until the purchase date must therefore be entered as a receivable in the company’s accounts, and not as part of the cost price of the bond.

Only interest that has accrued after the company bought the bond must be recognised as income.

If the company has sold bonds

If the company has sold bonds at a loss, you can claim a deduction for the loss. If the company has sold at a gain, the gain is taxable. Gains and losses must be reported in the business information and in the tax return under the relevant section for taxation and financial items for the income year in which the bonds were sold.

Only interest that has accrued before the bond is sold must be recognised as income.

Reporting in the business information

Income statement – business information

In the income statement in the business information, gains, losses, interest income, and unrealised value changes from bonds must be entered under the following items:

Profit and loss account:

8074 - Gain on the divestment of shares, equity certificates, and units in funds.
8174 - Loss on the divestment of shares, equity certificates, and units in funds

Interest income:

8090 - Income from other investments/dividends

Unrealised value changes:

8080 - Increase in value of financial instruments carried at fair value
8115 - Write-down of financial assets
8100 - Reduction in value of financial instruments carried at fair value

Gains, losses, unrealised value changes, and interest income recognised in the income statement must be reversed as permanent differences in the business information.

Overview of income statement items and corresponding permanent differences

Income statement item	Corresponding permanent difference
8100 - Reduction in value of financial instruments carried at fair value	Reversal of decrease in value of financial instruments measured at fair value
8115 - Write-down of financial assets	Write-down for accounting purposes of shares and other financial instruments this year Reversal of previous years’ write-down of shares and other financial instruments recognised as income this year
8174 - Loss on the divestment of shares, equity certificates, and units in funds	Accounting loss on realisation of shares and other financial instruments
8074 - Gain on the divestment of shares, equity certificates, and units in funds.	Accounting gain on realisation of shares and other financial instruments
8080 - Increase in value of financial instruments carried at fair value	Reversal of increase in value of financial instruments measured at fair value
8090 - Income from other investments/dividends	Reversal of recognised dividend income

Taxable gains, losses, and interest income from bonds must be included as taxable income or deductible loss under the following permanent differences:

Gains: Taxable gain on realisation of shares and other financial instruments

Interest income: Taxable dividend on shares, etc., including additions under section 16-30, subsection 5, of the Taxation Act

Losses: Deductible loss on realisation of shares and other financial instruments

Depending on the accounting principles used, temporary differences may arise between accounting values and tax values for bonds.

Temporary differences related to bonds must not be reported in the business information. Income statement-recognised unrealised gains or losses must instead be reported as permanent differences.

Reporting in the tax return

In the tax return specifications, you must provide information about bonds the company owns or has realised during the income year.

This includes:

the name of the bonds
the name of the account operator
information about gains
information about losses
interest income

The Tax Administration receives much of this information directly from third parties.

We do not receive information about, for example, some foreign bonds.

We share the information we do receive with annual accounts systems so companies can import it directly.

Check all information

You must check that all information is correct and add or
amend anything that is missing or incorrect before submitting the tax return with its specifications.