Withholding tax on pensions and disability benefits applies to:

• pension from the National Insurance Scheme
• public occupational pensions
• private occupational pensions
• other private pensions
• disability benefits from the National Insurance Scheme
• disability benefits form other schemes

No withholding tax is to be paid on children’s pensions to children under the age of 17.

The following exemptions from the tax liability apply for persons resident in Thailand:

• Persons who can document that they are resident in Thailand under the tax treaty between Norway and Thailand are entitled to tax exemption for pensions, disability benefits from the National Insurance Scheme and disability benefits from annuities if they can document that the pension/disability benefit is taxed in Thailand.
• Persons who have not earned pension points or accumulated pension reserves in the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme are not liable for tax on pensions and disability benefits from private occupational pension schemes and other private pension schemes and war veteran pensions.

The tax treaty between Norway and Thailand

Disability benefits

For disability benefits from the National Insurance Scheme and disability benefits from annuities the tax treaty rules on pensions will apply, cfr. article 18 and article 23 paragraph 3 litera e. Persons who receive disability benefits from the National Insurance Scheme or disability benefits from annuities (IPA/IPS) are not liable to tax in Norway when the benefits are taxed in Thailand.

Other disability benefits are liable to tax in Norway, cfr. article 22 paragraph 3 in the tax treaty. This applies to disability benefits from public occupational pension schemes, private occupational pension schemes and other private pension schemes (with the exception of annuities). If these benefits also are liable to tax in Thailand, it is the responsibility of the Thai tax authorities to ensure that the disability benefits are not subject to double taxation.

Pension

Under the tax treaty between Norway and Thailand article 18, pensions are only liable to tax in the recipient's country of residence. If a Norwegian pension is liable to tax in Thailand pursuant to this provision, Norway will exempt the pension from tax. The tax exemption in Norway is however limited to the part of the pension that is taxed in Thailand.

Pursuant to article 23 paragraph 3 litera e in the tax treaty the tax exemption in Norway only applies to the part of the pension that is taxed in Thailand. This provision states that when it follows from the tax rules in Thailand that only the amount that is transferred to Thailand is liable to tax there, the tax exemption in Norway only applies to the part of the income that is taxed in Thailand. According to the information on the website of the Thai tax authorities, persons who are tax resident in Thailand are only liable to tax in Thailand on income from abroad to the extent that the income is actually transferred to Thailand. This has also been confirmed by the Thai Ministry of Finance.

Only persons who can document both:

• that they are liable to tax in Thailand as residents there pursuant to the tax treaty and
• that the Norwegian pension, the disability benefit from the National Insurance Scheme and/or the disability benefits from an annuity is taxed in Thailand

can be granted tax exemption for pensions/disability benefits that are not liable to tax in Norway pursuant to the tax treaty. You must therefore be able to submit a Certificate of Residence issued by the Thai tax authorities and explicitly stating that you are tax resident in Thailand pursuant to the tax treaty with Norway. You must also be able to submit an ”Income Tax Payment Certificate” from the Thai tax authorities as confirmation that tax has been paid in Thailand.

A person who is unable to document both that he/she is tax resident in Thailand pursuant to the tax treaty and that the pension and/or the disability benefit from the National Insurance Scheme or an annuity is taxed in Thailand, cannot be granted a tax exemption in Norway. If you provide documentation that you are resident in Thailand under the tax treaty and that some of your pension/disability benefit from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme or your annuity policy is taxed in Thailand, you may be entitled to a partial tax exemption.

Deduction of withholding tax for the income year 2023

If you are of the opinion that all or part of your pension/disability benefit is tax exempt pursuant to the tax treaty with Thailand, you must submit an application for tax exemption card or a tax deduction card with a lower tax rate than 15 per cent to the tax office.

When applying for a tax exemption card/tax deduction card in 2023, you must:

• state who pays the pension/disability benefit
• enclose a Certificate of Residence from the Thai tax authorities
• enclose a self-declaration stating:
  1. that you will be staying in Thailand for at least 180 days in 2023
  2. the amount that will be reported for tax assessment in Thailand in the Thai tax return for 2023

The Certificate of Residence must be issued by the Thai tax authorities and explicitly confirm that you are tax resident in Thailand pursuant to the tax treaty with Norway. The certificate must be an original and no more than three months old.

Applications for a tax exemption card or a tax deduction card with lower tax rate than 15 percent will be processed as they are received. You will receive information on your tax deduction card (Tax Deduction Notice) instead of a tax deduction card. In this notice you will find information on the estimated tax deduction rate/tax exemption. If only part of the pension/disability benefit is tax-free, you will receive a tax deduction card with a withholding rate of less than 15 per cent. You are not to send this notice to the payers of your pension/disability benefit. They collect the tax deduction card/tax exemption card online from the tax authorities. The Tax Deduction Notice will be sent to your registered address in the National Registry. If you are an eUser, you will receive the Tax Deduction Notice in your mailbox in Altinn.

If you had a tax exempt pension/disability benefit in 2021 and/or you received a tax exemption card or a tax deduction card with a lower tax rate than 15 per cent for the income year 2022, you do not need to apply for a tax exemption card/tax deduction card for the income year 2023. The tax office will issue a new tax exemption card/tax deduction card on the basis of the information the tax office has about your tax liability.

You must apply for a new tax deduction card when you:

• move from Thailand or your tax liability to Thailand ceases for other reasons
• receivea new pension/disability benefit from Norway
  • This also applies when you receive a different pension/disability benefit from the same payer as your current pension/disability benefit.

If the whole pension/disability benefit is tax-free and you have received a tax exemption card, you can apply for a refund of the tax deducted. For more information, see refund of withholding tax on pensions and disability benefit

The tax assessment for income year 2022

Persons covered by the provisions on withholding tax on pensions and disability benefits will receive a Norwegian tax return in March 2023.

If you are of the opinion that all or part of your pension/disability benefit is tax exempt in Norway, you must submit the tax return and state which income is liable to tax in Norway.

The tax office will request that you submit a Certificate of Residence that explicitly confirms that you were tax resident in Thailand pursuant to the tax treaty with Norway in 2022.

The Certificate of Residence must be issued by the Thai tax authorities. It must be an original and no more than six months old.

Documentation that the income has been taxed in Thailand

The tax office will also request that you submit an ”Income Tax Payment Certificate” issued by the Thai tax authorities and stating how large a proportion of the Norwegian pension/disability benefit is taxed in Thailand for 2021.

The Thai Finance Ministry has informed us that persons staying in Thailand for at least 180 days in a calendar year are liable to tax as residents in Thailand in that year. If you are liable to tax as resident in Thailand, you are liable to tax in Thailand on pensions/disability benefits paid from Norway if the pension/disability benefit is transferred to or received in Thailand during the year. You are also obliged to complete and submit a tax return (form P.N.D. 90 or P.N.D. 91) to the Thai tax authorities. If you only have a pension/disability benefit, you need to complete form P.N.D. 91. You must submit the tax return and pay the tax between 1 January and 31 March. You will receive a document from the tax authorities confirming that you have paid tax, an ”Income Tax Payment Certificate”.

It is only this ”Income Tax Payment Certificate” that is approved as documentation of tax on the pension/disability benefit having been paid in Thailand. The document ”Statement of Acknowledgement of Foreign Income” is not confirmation that you have submitted the tax return and paid tax.

If you do not submit the tax return, a 15 per cent tax will be calculated on your pension/disability benefit in the tax settlement notice. This also applies when you have had a tax exemption card or a tax deduction card with a lower tax rate than 15 per cent.

If you have not received the Norwegian tax return before 15 April 2023, you can contact Tax Administration Norway.

Have you not earned pension points or accumulated pension reserves in the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme and have private pensions/disability benefits or war veteran pensions

If you have not earned pension points or accumulated pension reserves in the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme you are not liable for tax in Norway on pensions and disability benefits from private occupational pension schemes and other private pension schemes. Nor are you liable for tax on war veteran pensions.

You must contact the one that pays the pension/disability benefit to notify that you believe the payment not to be liable to tax in Norway.

If you receive a war veteran pension you must contact the tax office. If you receive only a war veteran pension you can apply for a tax exemption card. If you also receive a retirement pension you can apply for a tax deduction card with a lower tax withholding rate than 15 per cent. You must then document how large a proportion of the pension the war veteran pension amount to.

The provisions on withholding tax on pensions/disability benefits apply only to you who have emigrated from Norway for tax purposes. If you are still tax-resident in Norway pursuant to the Tax Act your tax will be assessed pursuant to the ordinary provisions. The provisions in the tax treaty apply to you also.

All enquiries about withholding tax on pensions and disability benefits should be addressed to: