The tax return for sole proprietorships

If you run a sole proprietorship, you must submit the tax return by 31 May ever year.

How to submit your tax return

There are several ways you can complete and submit your tax return if you’re a self-employed person. You’ll get help and guidance as you complete the tax return, regardless of how you choose to submit it. 

If you would like to use an accounting system 

If you use an accounting system, and this system supports the submission of the tax return, you can start in your accounting system. If you have any questions, contact your accounting system provider. 

If you do not want to use an accounting system 

You can view, change and submit your tax return with business information here at skatteetaten.no.

In March/April you can log in and submit the tax return

Submit tax return for self-employed persons

This is what you must do when you’ve opened the tax return

Dette må du gjøre

Dette må du gjøre når du har åpnet skattemeldingen:

We’ll notify you when your tax return is ready. 

There are a number of things you should do before you start: 

  • Close your bookkeeping for the previous year and have this information available.
  • Prepare additional information. For instance, if the sole proprietorship owns a car, you have to enter some additional information. If so, you must have your vehicle logbook ready.
  • Find last year's tax return and business information, if relevant. 

The first thing you’ll see when you open your tax return, is a message telling you to complete business information. We’ll help you find your way by asking you some questions. 

Eksempel på hvordan en næringsspesifikasjon dukker opp i skattemeldingen

In the business information, you must state all the income, expenses and assets that are relevant for your sole proprietorship. You must only state your debt if it has been registered on your organisation number. If the debt is for you as a private individual, you must state it in your tax return. 

You must enter everything personal in your tax return. 

Everything that is connected with your business activity must be entered into the business information. 

Example: 

  • The tax return: Your salary, your house, your car 
  • The business information: Business bank account, commercial vehicle, fixed assets with a purchase price over NOK 15,000

It’s important that you make sure nothing is registered twice. If anything is registered twice, you must delete one of the entries. 

If you do not find the business information when you open the tax return, this may mean that we do not have information about you being self-employed. 

You must then enter the business information in your tax return. 

This is how you do it: 

  • Type “Business” in the search field in the top right-hand corner of your tax return 
  • Choose “Income, expenses, wealth and debt from business activity” 
  • Click the button to go to the business information 

You’ll now get the opportunity to complete the business information. 

See a film showing you how to add the business information:

Your tax return is pre-filled, but that does not mean that it’s completed. 

This means that you must

  • check that the information is correct, for example the information regarding your income, debt and wealth 
  • add or change any information that’s missing or incorrect 

If you’re entitled to deductions, this can reduce the basis on which we calculate your tax. This means you could pay less tax. Some deductions will be pre-filled, while you must fill in others yourself. 

Where to get help with getting the right tax:

As a self-employed person, you should check the deductions for private individuals to make sure you get all the deductions you’re entitled to, for example the parental allowance, travel deduction, etc. 

When you’ve checked your tax return and your business information, and everything’s correct, you can submit. 

The deadline is 31 May

You can change and submit as many times as you need. If you get new information or find a mistake, you can add or change information after the deadline has passed. 

When we’ve processed your tax return, we prepare a tax assessment for you. We’ll let you know when the tax assessment is ready.

Hjelp til å få riktig skatt

If you’re entitled to deductions, this can reduce the basis on which we calculate your tax. This means you could pay less tax. Some deductions will be pre-filled, while you must fill in others yourself.

Deductions you may be entitled to as a self-employed person

Even if you did not have any business activity last year, you still have to submit your tax return with the business information.

When you open your business information, we’ll ask you some questions. One of the questions will be whether you’ve had any business activity. Answer “no”, and you’ll receive a tax return with no business income.

Before you submit the tax return, you must check your personal tax information.

See a film explaining how to submit the tax return with business information when you have not had any business activity

Når du åpner næringsspesifikasjonen første gang, stiller vi deg noen spørsmål. Et av disse er om du har driftsinntekter over 50 000 kroner. Om du svarer nei på dette, får du en enkel næringsspesifikasjon som er tilpasset deg.

Spouses, registered partners and spouse-equivalent cohabitants may share income from a joint business between themselves. Both of you must have worked in the business in the income year.

How to share the income

Frist og utsettelse

Fristen for å levere skattemelding for næringsdrivende er 31. mai hvert år. Du kan søke utsettelse, men må gjøre det før fristen går ut. 

For å få eventuelle skattepenger utbetalt til riktig tid, må du sørge for at kontonummeret vi har registrert er riktig.

If you’re having trouble meeting the deadline, you can apply for a deferral. You cannot apply for a deferral after the deadline has passed, so make sure you apply in good time before the deadline.

If you do not submit by the deadline, you may have to pay additional tax or you may be issued an enforcement fine.

Accountants and auditors can also apply for an extension on behalf of their clients.

Foreign companies can apply for an exemption from submitting a tax return. An exemption may be granted if business activity in Norway in the income year has been excepted from taxation in Norway according to a tax treaty.

You can apply for an exemption by logging in and submitting a contact form. Select the topic “Tax return for tax self-assessment”.

To avoid enforcement fines for non-delivery, you should send the application well in advance of the deadline for delivery of the tax return.

You can register or change a bank account number if you want refunds deposited into a different account than the one that’s registered to you. 

Register or change your bank account number

What’s new

Previously, every self-employed person submitted the tax return via Altinn and added an income statement and attachment forms. The tax return, the income statement and the attachment forms have been merged into one, so that you now complete everything in the business information part of your tax return. 

For most people, it will be enough to submit one tax return, where you enter tax information for both yourself and your business. This makes completing and submitting the tax return easier, quicker and more correct.

Watch how to open and complete the tax return with business information (English subtitles are available):

Help and support to suppliers and partners

If you want access to technical documentation for the tax return, information on how you can test your system, or other useful tips, you’ll find this on the tax return’s page at GitHub:

The tax return on Github (in Norwegian only)

You can also find information about the new tax return at Altinn digitalisering (in Norwegian only).