If your annual pension in 2023 is less than NOK 246,800 and you have no other income, the total income tax and national insurance contributions will be less than the maximum tax deduction. Unutilised maximum tax deductions cannot be transferred and used by your spouse/spouse-equivalent cohabiting partner. If you receive capital income (interest, etc.), it may be beneficial to enter some of the capital income in the tax return under the person who has the lower pension income.

As spouses/spouse-equivalent cohabiting partners, you can in principle freely allocate capital income and capital expenses between you in the tax return. The most common capital incomes and expenditures you can allocate between yourselves are:

• interest income/expenses
• share dividends
• gains/losses on sales

Within the context of tax law, "spouse-equivalent cohabiting partners" means:

• former spouses/registered partners who have become cohabitants, where at least one of them is entitled to a pension from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme or an contractual pension (AFP)
• cohabitants who have or have had joint children, and where at least one person is entitled to a pension from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme or an contractual pension (AFP)

If both cohabitants were granted pension from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme as single persons before 1 January 1994, and the cohabitation started before that date, they will not be treated as spouse-equivalent cohabiting partners.

In connection with the pre-filling of tax returns, it's not practicable for the Norwegian Tax Administration to allocate income and deductions in the most favourable way. This means that if a different allocation than the pre-filled one is more favourable, you must correct and submit the tax returns yourself. You can do a preliminary calculation of what your tax will be after the tax deduction.

By moving capital income from the one with the higher pension and/or salary to the one with the lower pension, allowing the one with the low pension to utilise the tax deduction, you can pay less tax between you.

The tax rates for 2023 have been used in the examples below.

Example of transferral of interest deduction between spouses:

Tove and Per Nilsen have the following annual pension income and capital income. They both withdraw 100 percent retirement pension for 12 months.

Items	Tove	Per
Retirement pension	NOK 120,000	NOK 250,000
Interest income	NOK 15,000	NOK 23,000

 

Calculated tax	NOK 7,748	NOK 37,201
- tax deduction	NOK 7,748	NOK 32,291
= Tax	NOK 0	NOK  4,910

 

If they transfer the interest income from Per to Tove, the tax will amount to:

Items	Tove	Per
Retirement pension	NOK 120,000	NOK 250,000
Interest income	NOK 38,000	NOK           0

 

Calculated tax	NOK 12,809	NOK 32,142
- maximum tax deduction	NOK 12,809	NOK 32,142
= Tax	NOK         0	NOK        0

 

Tove still has NOK 0 in tax after the tax deduction. Per has his tax reduced by NOK 4,910.

In practice, the amendment is made by reducing the interest income in Per's tax return by NOK 23,000. In Tove's tax return, the interest income is increased by the equivalent amount.

Transfer of capital expenses between spouses

By moving capital expenses between yourselves, the person with the lowest pension can make better use of his or her tax allowance, thereby reducing your combined tax. It may, for example, be beneficial to transfer interest deductions from one of the couple's tax return to that of the other.

Example transfer of interest deduction between spouses:
Anne and Jon Olsen has the following annual pension income and capital expenses.

Items	Anne	Jon
Retirement pension	NOK 120,000	NOK 260,000
Interest deduction	NOK   10,000	NOK   12,000

 

Calculated tax	NOK 6,120	NOK 32,382
- tax deduction	NOK 6,120	NOK 30,621
= Tax	NOK 0	NOK 1,761

  

Items	Anne	Jon
Retirement pension	NOK 120,000	NOK 260,000
- interest deduction	NOK 0	NOK 22,000

 

Calculated tax	NOK 6,120	NOK 30,182
- tax deduction	NOK 6,120	NOK 30,182
= Tax	NOK         0	NOK        0

  

Anne and Jon combined save NOK 1,761.

In practice, the amendment is made by reducing the interest deduction in Anne's tax return by NOK 10,000. In Jon's tax return, the interest deduction is increased by the equivalent amount.

Example showing transfer of capital expenses when only one of the spouses receives retirement pension:

Ole Jonsen has the following annual pension income and capital expenses and Petra has the following salary income:

Items	Petra	Ole
Salary	NOK 240,000
Retirement pension		NOK 150,000
Interest deduction	NOK 2,000	NOK 20,000

Ole witdraws 100 percent of the retirement pension for 12 months.

Calculated tax	NOK 24,817	NOK 7,650
- tax deduction	NOK          0	NOK 7,650
= Tax	NOK 24,817	NOK 0

  

If they move the interest deduction of NOK 20,000 kroner from Ole to Petra they get:

Items	Petra	Ole
Salary	NOK 240,000
Retirement pension		NOK 150,000
Interest deduction	NOK 22,000	NOK 0

 

Calculated tax	NOK 20,417	NOK 9,939
- tax deduction	NOK 0	NOK 9,939
= Tax	NOK 20,417	NOK         0

 

Petra and Ole save NOK 4,400.

In practice, the amendment is made by reducing the interest deduction in Ole's tax return by NOK 20,000. In Petra's tax return, the interest deduction is increased by the equivalent amount.

The relation between tax deduction for pension income and uncovered deficit

If you or your spouse has an uncovered deficit, this may entail that the tax deduction for pension income cannot be fully used by the receiving spouse.

Read more in the guide Skatte-ABC 2023 (in Norwegian only) in the sections "Skattefradrag for pensjonsinntekt” (Tax deductions for pensionable income”) point S-13.

Try using our tax calculator to calculate your taxes and deductions.