As an employer, you are obliged to deduct withholding tax from the salary you pay to employees. Special rules apply if you qualify for the simplified regulations for private employers, see ‘Paid work in the home’. Private employers that do not qualify for the simplified scheme must have a tax deductions bank account into which the deducted withholding tax is deposited when deducted. Withholding tax is to be paid to the tax collector every other month. You must add up the amounts for the two months in the instalment. You are, as an employer, both financially and legally responsible for deducting withholding tax and paying this to the tax collector.

Do as follows

You deduct withholding tax from salaries and fees at the same time as you pay out the salary or the fee. How much should be deducted in tax (advance tax) is specified on the tax card for the employee, which you retrieved electronically via this service. Normally a private employer is a secondary employer and should therefore deduct tax using the percentage rate stated on the tax card (part 2). If you are the main employer and the employee has a table-based card, then tax should be deducted in accordance with the table. The withholding tax deduction is specified in the table number specified. You can find the deduction tables here. If the tax card is an exemption card with a payment limit, then tax should not be deducted before the exemption amount is exceeded. Deposit the withholding tax amount into the tax deductions bank account when the deduction is made. 

Exemptions from the obligation to withhold tax

Small salary payments are exempted from the obligation to deduct withholding tax. You do not have to deduct withholding tax if:

• total withholding tax deduction in a calendar month does not exceed NOK 100  
• the salary paid to a person does not exceed NOK 500 in a calendar month 
• the salary paid to a person does not exceed NOK 6,000 in the course of the income year and the payment applies to work in the employer’s home or holiday home. 

There are special regulations for withholding tax deductions for benefits in kind (i.e. free board and lodging) and expense allowances (i.e. car allowance). For more detailed information on the regulations which apply to withholding tax deductions for benefits in kind and expense allowances, contact us.