Important information

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Foreign artists and athletes

Foreign artists and must pay artist tax when they perform or participate at events in Norway. The person responsible for deducting tax must deduct and pay the artist tax. The current rate for artist tax is 15 percent.

Responsibility and tasks

  • The artist or athlete who performs or participates in an event in Norway must pay tax under the Foreign Artist Tax Act unless they are tax resident in Norway.
  • Before the event, the person who’s required to report must report to the Norwegian Tax Administration. You have a reporting obligation if you hire a foreign artist/athlete, or organise events where foreign artists/athletes take part.
  • The person responsible for deducting tax must deduct and pay the artist tax to the Norwegian Tax Administration. As a rule, the Norwegian organiser who pays the artist’s fee is responsible for deducting tax.

Does this apply to me?

This page is for you if you’re either:

  • a foreign artist or athlete
  • the person who’s required to report
    • You have a reporting obligation if you hire a foreign artist/athlete, or organise events where foreign artists/athletes take part.​
  • the person responsible for deducting tax
    • You’re the person responsible for deducting tax if you’re responsible for deducting and paying tax . As a rule, the person paying the artist's fee (the employer or organiser) is  responsible for deducting tax. 
    • If there is no Norwegian organiser for the event, the person who makes the venue available is responsible for deducting tax.

  • carry out activity as an artist or athlete in Norway, on a Norwegian-registered vessel, or on the Norwegian continental shelf, and
  • are not a tax resident in Norway
    • If you travel to Norway for short work assignments (less than 183 days in a 12-month period or less than 270 days in a 36-month period), you must pay artist tax.

You can combine artist tax with general tax if you have multiple roles (other or shared activity).

Artists: Individuals who work in music, dance, acting, circus, and similar activities. The term also includes individuals who receive remunerations for performing at events with a religious, political, social, or charitable content.

Athletes: Football players, hockey players, skiers, motorsport drivers, pool players, chess players, bridge players, and other disciplines.

Both professionals and amateurs must pay artist tax when they receive a remuneration for performing or participating at an event.

As a rule, the following individuals/professions are not liable to tax under the Foreign Artist Tax Act:

  • Office and technical employees ("road crew", riggers, camera operators, film and stage directors, choreographers, coaches, and members of a judging panel)
  • Understudies who do not have to step in
  • Individuals who have art as their occupation in life (such as painters, sculptors, and tattoo artists) 
  • Models and mannequins

Artists and athletes liable to artist tax only:

  • are not required to apply for a D number or tax deduction card
  • are not required to submit a tax return
  • will not receive an ordinary tax assessment, but can request a confirmation that artist tax has been paid

Basis for the calculation of artist tax

The basis for the calculation of artist tax is the artist’s gross income for the performances in Norway. This includes any income directly related to the performance, whether payment is in advance, during, or after the event. 

Examples of income included in the tax basis:
Fees for rehearsal in Norway before the performance for the audience, or bonus paid after the performance in Norway.​

All costs covered by the organiser must be included in the tax basis. The only exception is the organiser’s coverage of the artist’s expenses for transport (travel), board, and lodging. If the artist pays these costs themselves, they can claim deductions in the tax basis by presenting supporting documents.

The obligation to report and pay artist tax on the income applies, regardless of whether  the artist, their representative, or a business gets the income. The duty to pay tax applies regardless of whether the fee is paid via invoice or not.

Example: The duty to pay tax also applies to royalties paid by the organiser via third parties to the artist who is both the performer and the author.​

Gross income must not be reported in the a-melding and does not constitute a basis for national insurance contributions.

If the fees are agreed upon as an amount after tax (net amount), the fees must be stated as if the artist had paid the tax themselves. This means that the amount must be upward adjusted (grossed up) to the amount before tax.

Example:

  • The agreed fee after tax is NOK 30,000
  • The artist covers the travel expense with their own car 400 km (400 km x applicable tax rate of NOK 3.50 = NOK 1,400)
  • The artist pays NOK 3,000 in agent commission

Net fees to be grossed up:

Fees

NOK 30,000

- deduction for transportation

NOK 1,400

- deduction for agent commission

NOK   3,000

=

NOK 25,600

Grossing-up:

 

NOK 25,600 x 100/85 =

NOK 30,118

 

 

Tax calculation:

 

NOK 30,118 x 0.15 =

NOK   4,518

= artist tax to be deducted is NOK 4,518

The person who’s required to report must notify the event

The person who’s required to report must notify the Norwegian Tax Administration about the event. The notification deadline is three weeks before the event takes place.

If you cannot make the deadline, you must notify us as soon as possible. This also applies after the event.

Submit notification about artists

Based on the information you’ve provided, we'll send the form "Report of withholding tax for foreign artists" (RF-1092) to the person responsible for deducting and paying tax. The case processing time may vary, but most receive the form within three weeks.

The person responsible for deducting tax must deduct, pay, and report artist tax

The person responsible for deducting tax must:

  • calculate and deduct correct artist tax
  • pay the artist tax to the Norwegian Tax Administration
  • report to us how much tax you have deducted

You must pay the tax and submit the "Report of withholding tax for foreign artists" within seven days after deducting the tax.

Paying artist tax

After calculating the tax, you pay the net fee to the artist. This means the fee minus artist tax.

You'll receive payment information for artist tax when we send you the form "Report of withholding tax for foreign artists". It's important that you only use this payment information.​

Submitting the "Report of withholding tax for foreign artists" (RF-1092)

Based on the information we receive in the notification from the organiser, we’ll send you the form "Report of withholding tax for foreign artists", as you're the person responsible for deducting tax. When you receive the form, we'll already have completed fields with information about you, the event, and the artist.

You must fill in the following:

  • the fee, any deductions made, and how much tax you have deducted
  • the date when you paid the fee​

If there is a group of several artists, you can allocate the fee between them in the form.​

You can submit the form online.

Submit the completed form

You can send the report and supporting documents, if any, by post to

Skatteetaten
Postboks 9200 Grønland
0134 Oslo

If you need to correct an already submitted form, you can submit a correction notice. You can only use the correction notice if you’ve already submitted the RF-1092 form for an event. Re-submit the form and tick the box for "Correction notice".

The artist must also receive a copy of the correction notice.

Examples of how a correction might look:

2.4 Date of payment

01.01.2020 + 31.01.2020

2.5 Gross fees before tax

NOK 10,000 + 2,500 = 12,500

2.6 Value of payments in kind

+ NOK

2.7 The artist’s expenses for board and lodging

- NOK

2.8 The artist’s expenses for transportation

- NOK 1,000

2.9 The artist’s expenses for agent services

- NOK

2.10 Deduction basis

= NOK 9,000 + 2,500 = 11,500

2.11 Tax deducted (from the deduction basis in item 2.10) x 15%

= NOK 1,725

Send a copy to the artist

You must make sure that the artist receives a copy of the form as a receipt.

Deductions

 A deduction means that you can deduct some expenses or costs from the income when calculating the tax. The deductions therefore reduce the total amount of artist tax to be paid.

When the person responsible for deducting tax submits the "Report of withholding tax for foreign artists" (RF-1092), deductions can be made for the artist’s own expenses for:

  • transportation for the artist and personal equipment, for example, instruments
  • board and lodging
  • agent commission

The expenses must be supported by supporting documents. It is not possible to claim deductions for other expenses.

If the artist is unable to provide documents showing the exact amount of the expenses, deductions may still be granted according to standard rates, provided it’s likely that such expenses were incurred.

To claim deductions at to standard rates, the expenses must be substantiated by attaching an overview to the form "Report of withholding tax for foreign artists".

The overview must at least contain the following information:

  • Date of departure from and arrival in the country of residence.
  • Date of arrival in and departure from Norway.
  • Means of travel and travel route (copies of tickets must be attached).
  • Name and address of overnight accommodation/landlord. If there is more than one place of stay, the dates for each stay must also be stated.
  • Type of lodging (hotel, boarding house, or other specified lodging).

If the artist has paid for transport, food, and accommodation for foreign employees in connection with the event in Norway, they can claim expenses accordingly at the same rates per person per day.

The annual rates are set out in . Search for "Forskrift om takseringsregler, artistskatt + inntektsår" ("Regulation on valuation rules, artist tax + income year" - in Norwegian only).

Different deduction rates apply depending on how the artist has organised their stay in Norway. You'll find these in point 1.1 in the regulation.

 

Confirmation that artist tax has been paid in Norway

The person responsible for deducting tax or the artist themselves can request a confirmation that artist tax has been paid. This confirmation shows that artist tax has been paid in Norway and can be presented to the tax authorities in the artist’s home country.

Request a confirmation that artist tax has been paid

Specific information if you:

If you’re the person responsible for deducting tax when the artist becomes resident in Norway for tax purposes, you cannot continue to report artist tax. In this case, the reporting obligation follows the general rules. 

If, as the person responsible for deducting tax, you’re also the employer when the artist becomes resident in Norway for tax purposes, you also have a retrospective reporting obligation for the year before the artist became resident here for tax purposes. You must change reporting to the a-melding and pay employer's national insurance contributions.

Read more about salary and other benefits for foreign artists

If you’re a foreign artist in Norway and an employee pursuant to the National Insurance Act, you’re a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme. You can contact Nav if you have questions about membership or rights. Remember to state that you’re an artist who’s paid artist tax.

Nav may also assess whether you may be exempt from the National Insurance Scheme (A1). The rate for artist tax does not change if you’re granted an exemption.

If you want access to your tax matters, you can request an overview of the periods during which you’ve paid artist tax. You must specify which income years and payers (persons responsible for deducting tax) your request applies to. If your request also relates to performances as part of a group, you must state the name of the group.

You cannot pay artist tax once you become resident in Norway for tax purposes. Instead, you must pay tax pursuant to the Taxation Act from and including the year before the year you became resident for tax purposes here.

Example: You become resident in Norway for tax purposes in 2026. You must then pay ordinary tax for the 2025 income year.

Any artist tax that’s already been deducted will be converted into withholding tax or advance tax, depending on whether you’re self-employed or an employee. Once you become liable to pay tax under the Taxation Act, the ordinary rules for submitting a tax return apply.

If the event is cancelled before the deadline for the notification about artists (RF-1091)

The person who’s required to report does not need to submit the notification, as long as the artist does not carry out any artist activity in Norway.

If the person responsible for deducting tax has already received the form for reporting artist tax (RF-1092) 

You must submit the form even if the performance has been cancelled. You must not calculate artist tax if you’ve paid a cancellation fee to an artist who has not carried out any activity in Norway. In that case, enter zero for the amount in the form before submitting.

An example of shared activity is when you both direct a performance and take part in it, or when you're both a football player and a coach for the football team.

If the fee is split in the contract

You must only pay artist tax of the part that applies to artist activity. For the remaining part, you must pay tax according to the general rules. You can then combine artist tax with the PAYE (Pay As You Earn) scheme.

If the fee is not split in the contract

You must pay artist tax of the entire fee if the artist activity represents the largest part of the work.

If you're also employed by another employer

​If you have another job that is not artist activity, you must pay ordinary tax for that job.

Example: You work as football player for a football club and also as an accountant for an accounting firm. You must pay artist tax of the income from football and ordinary tax on the income from accounting.

You do not pay artist tax if you are not physically present in Norway. For example, if you perform at a concert abroad that’s streamed to Norway and you receive payment for the streaming.

A Norwegian employer may still have a reporting obligation.

If there is no Norwegian organiser for the event, the person who makes the venue available to the foreign artist or organiser is responsible for deducting and paying tax. This requires that the venue provider has had access to income from ticket sales or similar.

If there’s no Norwegian organiser, venue provider, or other payer who can be held responsible, the artist themselves is responsible for deducting and paying tax.

Norway's right to tax your income as an artist may be limited by a tax treaty between Norway and your country of residence. 

Regardless of a tax treaty, the person required to report must submit the RF-1091 form, and the person responsible for deducting tax must submit the RF-1092 form. In RF-1092, the person responsible for deducting tax can state the tax treaty as the reason why artist tax is not calculated. ​

You'll find the tax treaties Norway has entered into with other countries on the Norwegian Government’s website.

  • Income for artists and athletes is often regulated by Articles 16 or 17 of the tax treaty, as long as the performance takes place on the mainland and not on a vessel in international waters.
  • See Article 14 A of the tax treaty between the United States and Norway, and Article 13 (2) c if you're self-employed.

Artists and athletes resident in an EU/EEA country can request to be taxed pursuant to the Taxation Act after the end of the income year.

If you wish to pay ordinary tax, you can write to us. Your employer can apply for ordinary tax on your behalf, but must provide a power of attorney from you.

Artists resident outside the EU/EEA who are not resident in Norway for tax purposes cannot choose ordinary tax.

Artist tax

Ordinary tax

You pay 15 percent tax on your income.

The amount of tax you have to pay on your salary depends on how much you earn and which deductions you have.

You do not have to apply for a D number or a tax deduction card.

You must have a Norwegian identification number and apply for a tax deduction card.

When you receive your salary, the tax has already been deducted. 

Tax is deducted when you're paid, but we’ll check the following year whether your tax was correct. This means that you may receive a tax refund or have to pay underpaid tax.

You will not receive a tax return next year.

You’ll receive and submit a tax return next year.

You will not receive a tax assessment notice, but you can request a confirmation of paid artist tax.

You’ll receive a tax assessment notice next year showing whether you paid too much or too little tax in Norway the previous year. If you paid too much, you’ll receive a refund. If you paid too little, you'll have to pay more tax (underpaid tax).

You can apply for exemption from artist tax if the performance the artist/athlete takes part in is part of a publicly funded cultural exchange with another country.

To be granted an exemption, the event must meet the following requirements:

  • The event/performance must mainly be financed with state, county, or municipal funds and/or funds from the authorities of another country.
    • At least 80 percent of the total costs for the event must be covered by extraordinary public funding.
    • The funding must be an extraordinary grant to enable the event for which exemption is sought. It’s not sufficient that the organiser receives funding for ordinary operations.
    • Funding from private individuals, organisations, foundations, or companies is not considered public funding.
  • The event cannot be of a commercial character.

You must apply again even if you’ve previously been granted an exemption. Any granted exemption applies only to performances during the period covered by the application.

What to include with your application:

  • The form "Information on artist(s) from event organiser/hirer-out of venue" (RF-1091), if not already submitted.
  • An overview of all income and expenses related to the event. This includes ticket income, regardless of who receives it. If there is no ticket income, you must report this.
  • Documents showing that the event received funding from state, county, municipality, or other country’s authorities

Submit application and supporting documents

You can send the application and any supporting documents by post to

Skatteetaten
Postboks 9200 Grønland
0134 Oslo

If you’ve previously been resident in Norway for tax purposes and have been granted emigration for tax purposes (cessation of tax residence in Norway), you must pay artist tax if you receive a  fee for artist activity carried out in Norway. ​

If you're still resident in Norway for tax purposes but meet the conditions for tax emigration, you can pay artist tax if you apply for and are granted tax emigration.

Relevant legislation