Residence pursuant to a tax treaty

The tax treaty between Norway and your country of residence determines which income you must pay tax in Norway for and where you’re considered to be a resident for tax purposes. We distinguish between tax residence in another country pursuant to a tax treaty and tax residence in Norway pursuant to a tax treaty.

Does this apply to me?

This applies to you if you move from Norway. This also applies to you if you’ve been  resident in Norway for an extended period of time and are moving back to your home country.

When are you tax resident pursuant to a tax treaty?

If you’re resident for tax purposes in Norway, but live in another country, you’ll normally be considered resident for tax purposes in the other country as well. In order to find out in which country you’re liable to pay tax, you must consult the tax treaty between Norway and your country of residence.

  • Most tax treaties consider you resident of the country where your permanent residence is located.
  • If you have a residential property in both countries, the decisive factor is where you have your strongest personal and financial interests.
  • If you do not have a residential property, or if the place where you have your strongest personal and financial interests cannot be determined, we consider you resident of the country where you normally stay.
  • If you’re staying in both countries, we consider you resident of your country of citizenship.

Taxable income as a tax resident pursuant to a tax treaty

The tax treaty between Norway and your current country of residence decides the parts of your income that are taxable in Norway.

We distinguish between tax residence in another country pursuant to a tax treaty and tax residence in Norway pursuant to a tax treaty.

 

If you’re resident in Norway for tax purposes pursuant to Norwegian taxation legislation but reside in another country pursuant to a tax treaty, you are only liable to pay tax to Norway on income originating from:

  • salary earned in Norway
  • Norwegian pensions and disability benefits
  • real estate property or business income in Norway
  • dividends from Norwegian companies
  • income that is taxable in Norway pursuant to the tax treaty.

If this applies to you, you have a limited tax liability to Norway pursuant to the tax treaty.

This is what you must do

You must yourself claim residence pursuant to a tax treaty. If you claim limited tax liability to Norway because you’re resident in another country pursuant to a tax treaty, you must claim this when you’re logged in to your tax return. You must mark all the income and wealth that you believe exempt from taxation in Norway as “non-taxable”.

Norway’s right to tax the different types of income will vary from tax treaty to tax treaty.

If a tax treaty does not have any provisions regarding wealth, Norway can tax all your wealth, both in Norway and abroad.

Some tax treaties allocate taxation rights to Norway on income from sources outside of your country of residence. This applies to income that is not transferred to this country and therefore is not taxed in the other country. The term for this is “remittance”, and this applies to the tax treaties between Norway and the following countries: United Kingdom, Singapore, Thailand, Malta, Ireland, South Africa, and The Gambia.

If you’re resident of Norway according to both taxation legislation and the tax treaty with the other country, you are as a rule liable to pay tax to Norway on all your wealth and income. A tax treaty can nevertheless limit Norway’s right to tax your income and wealth.

You must submit an original document showing your residence in another country than Norway. The document you must submit is called a Certificate of (Fiscal) Residence. The document must:

  • be an original and show that you’re resident in another country pursuant to a tax treaty in the relevant period, and
  • documentation that you pay tax in your country of residence.

You must contact the tax authorities in your country of residence in order to get them to fill in this document. The document can either be uploaded as an attachment to your tax return or sent by post to:

The Tax Administration
Postboks 9200 Grønland
0134 Oslo
Norway

If you have paid tax to two countries - double taxation

You do not have to pay full tax to two countries for the same income. The tax treaty between Norway and the other country describes how you avoid double taxation.

You must contact the tax authorities in the country that you think has made the mistake in order to reverse this and to get the incorrectly deducted money back. If the double taxation situation cannot be resolved, you can send an application to the tax authorities of both countries in order to request that they come to an agreement on which country has the right to tax you.