Division of loans and interest when you’ve taken out a joint loan with someone

If you’ve taken out a joint loan with someone, for example your spouse or parents, you should check that the loan and interest is divided correctly between you in the tax deduction card and the tax return.

Does this apply to me?

Everyone who has a loan with someone else should check that the division is correct, both in the tax return and the tax deduction card.

You must do this to ensure you pay the right tax.

You can claim a deduction for interest on a loan (debt). This means that you pay less tax.

The loan is automatically divided equally between you in the tax return. If it has not been divided correctly, you must change it.

How to make the division

You can freely divide loans and interest if you’re: 

  • married

  • Two partners of the same sex who registered a partnership before the new Marriage Act in 2008.

  • To be considered spouse-equivalent cohabitants, at least one of you must have applied for or receive a National Insurance pension or an early-retirement pension (AFP). In addition, you must either: 

    • have been previously married or registered in a partnership

    or 

    • have or have had joint children

This applies regardless of how the loan is divided in the bank, or of who's actually paid what.

It’s especially important to check how the loan has been divided if one of you has a low income or receives pension payments. If you have a low income, you may not get the full benefit of the deduction for interest on the loan. It can then be a good idea to change the division so that the spouse with the highest income gets a bigger share of the loan and interest on the loan, and thereby a greater deduction.

Read more about:

division of income, expenses, and wealth 

tax rules for pensioners 

Cohabiting partners or others who have a joint loan should divide the loan equally between themselves unless they have a different agreement.

  • If two people are responsible for the loan, each person has a share of 50 percent. If three people are responsible for the loan, each person has a share of 33.3 percent, and so on.
  • It does not matter who's actually paid the interest. It’s the share or any other agreement that determines how you should make the division.

This applies regardless of how much you pay and even if you do not pay anything. Most people are co-borrowers, not guarantors. This could, for example, be parents who are responsible for their child’s loan, even if the child pays the whole loan. The parents are then normally co-borrowers.

If you’re a guarantor and not a co-borrower, you’re only responsible for the loan if the borrower does not pay and the guarantor’s responsibility is effectuated. Therefore, you’re not entitled to the whole deduction for interest before you take over the responsibility for the loan. Then you’re only entitled to a deduction for interest that's accrued after you took over the responsibility for the loan.

Update the tax deduction card and the tax return

Both you and the person you have a joint loan with must check the information in the tax deduction card and the tax return and change what’s necessary. It’s a good idea to divide loans and interest the same way in the tax deduction card and the tax return. If not, one of you may have to pay underpaid tax.

Loans and interest on loans are only stated on one borrower in the tax deduction card. This is because the bank reported the loan on one person. You must divide the loans and interest on the loan between you. If you have divided a loan and interest in the tax return for 2022, the loan and interest is already divided in the tax deduction card for 2024.

 

You must both change 

If you increase your share of the loan, the person you have a joint loan with must decrease their share. If you reduce your share, the other person must increase theirs. In total, the sum of your shares must amount to 100 percent of the loan and interest on the loan. If one person makes a change, this does not automatically result in a change for the other.

Example

You and your co-borrower have a mortgage of NOK 3,000,000. Throughout the year, you expect to pay NOK 150,000 in interest. The loan and interest are stated in your tax deduction card. You should each have 50 percent of the loan. 

You must then reduce the loan with 50 percent to NOK 1,500,000. The same applies to interest on the loan, which amounts to NOK 75,000. Your co-borrower must add a mortgage of NOK 1,500,000 and interest of NOK 75,000 on the loan. In total, you must have entered NOK 3,000,000 in loans and NOK 150,000 in interest.

This means that if two people have a loan together, each of their tax returns are now pre-filled with 50 percent of the loan. If three people have a loan together, each person gets 33.3 percent, and so on. The interest is also divided equally.

 

If you’re changing how the loan is divided, everyone must make the corresponding changes. When one person increases their share, the other person must reduce their share. In total, you must have 100 percent in loan and interest on the loan.

 

Example

You and your co-borrower have a mortgage of NOK 3,000,000 that is divided 50/50 in the tax return, which amounts to NOK 1,500,000 each. The interest on the loan amounts to NOK 150,000 and is also divided 50/50, which amounts to NOK 75,000 each.

You have agreed to divide the loan 70/30. You must then increase your share of the loan in your tax return to 70 percent, while your co-borrower must reduce their share to 30 percent. The amounts for the loan and interest on the loan will be calculated automatically when you change your shares. 

Supporting documents

You do not need to send us any proof of loans and interest. You must, however, be able to provide proof if we ask for it. Proof may, for example, be an agreement you’ve written that confirms the division and is signed by all the parties responsible for the loan.

 

Log in, check and submit your tax return:

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What to do if you

Loans and interest on loans from the Norwegian Public Service Pension Fund will only be stated on the main borrower in the tax return. Others who are responsible for the loan are guarantors, not co-borrowers. You can change the division yourself in the tax return.

If one of you are not liable for tax in Norway, you must divide the loan equally between you. This also applies if you’re married.

If your previous partner does not want to change the loan and interest on the loan in the tax deduction card and the tax return, you can still change it.

If two people are responsible for the loan, you'll each have a share of 50 percent. It does not matter who's actually paid the interest. It’s the share or any other agreement that determines how you should make the division.

You do not have to send us proof of this, but you may be requested to submit documents to prove your statements. This could, for example, be an agreement that shows how the loan is divided, and which is signed by all the co-borrowers.