Deduction for childcare expenses (child-care deduction)

You can claim a deduction from your income for documented expenses for the minding and care of children that you live together with. You can find out more about who has the right to a child-care deduction in your tax return.

You must pay for childcare via a bank and total payments are to be NOK 10,000 or more to be eligible for this deduction. Multiple payments that relate to a single childcare agreement are considered to be one payment with respect to the threshold, for example payment each month for a fixed childcare scheme.

Cash benefit for parents of infants

You can claim a child-care deduction even though you receive a cash benefit for parents of infants from NAV or your municipality.

No employer’s contribution

Parents are not required to pay employer’s contributions on payments for childcare.

When you are an employer

You must register the employment relationship, choose a settlement method and deduct tax

You are considered to be employer where you pay a person to take care of your child in your home. Nannies/au pairs or others who take care of children in the child’s (your) home are considered to be employee. You must register the employment relationship with the tax authorities and deduct tax from the salary. You can choose which of the two methods for payment of the tax deducted from the salary of your nanny you want to use. You must use the settlement method you choose throughout the entire year.

If the childminding is carried out in a contractual employment relationship, then the employee has the right to holiday pay. Holiday pay is not accrued on salaries for individual childminding assignments (i.e. babysitting). See the chapter "Information for nannies and childminders who take care of children in the child’s home".

You are not obliged to report this to the NAV AA register (employer and employee register) if the employment relationship is for the private care of children under 12 years of age. You are not required to report because you do not pay employer’s contributions for the employee.

Board and lodging

Free board and lodging received by the person who takes care of children in the child’s home is a taxable benefit made to the employee. Note that the value of free board and lodging is to be added to the salary in the tax settlement. 
The rates for the value of free board and lodging for the following year are announced in December.

When you are employer - 1. The simplified settlement arrangement 

The simplified settlement arrangement rules have been introduced to make it simpler to hire private individuals for work in the home, including childminding.

Message on paid work in the home

A meldingen on paid work in the home A04 is to be filled every time you pay salary. The form can be submitted electronically. The information will therefore be automatically sent to the tax authorities.

You automatically receive a customer identification number (KID) and account number for payment of tax (withholding tax deduction).

Note that you cannot use the simplified settlement arrangement if you have given childminders cash expense allowances in addition to salary or other benefits in kind than board and lodging. You must then use an ordinary a-melding .

Your national identification number is your "employer number"

You must use your own national identification number as your employer number in the simplified scheme. Your national identification number is to be used when contacting the tax authorities and NAV. If you, as a business or self employed person, have been allocated an enterprise number, then you must not use this number in the simplified scheme.

Withholding tax deduction (tax deduction)

As employer, you should calculate the withholding tax deduction and pay this to the tax authorities.

You deduct tax and pay the amount to the tax authorities at the same time as you pay out the salary. How much should be deducted in tax is specified on the tax card for the employee, which you can retrieve from the Norwegian Tax Administration electronically

If you are the main employer, then the tax card is a table-based card or a percentage card. You can find a summary of tables at skatteetaten.no. If you are a secondary employer, then the tax card will be a percentage card. Withholding tax deductions are to then be calculated as a per cent of the salary. If the person who you pay salary to does not have a tax card, then you must ask him or her to order one. If you do not have all the tax information you require, then you must deduct 50 per cent.

You should not deduct tax on holiday pay which you pay out in the year after the year of accrual, i.e. in the holiday year. The Message of paid work in the home A04 must however be submitted. If the employment relationship is ended in the year of accrual, then you should pay out holiday pay immediately and you must deduct tax in accordance with the tax card.

Small salary payments where you do not need to deduct tax

You are not required to deduct tax if:

the salary paid to a person does not exceed NOK 6,000 in an income year. 
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 message is a payslip

You are to give your employees a print out of the electronic message or a copy of the message on paper when you make a payment. The message acts as a payslip and receipt for withholding tax deductions. According to the simplified scheme, you are not required to provide your employees with a summary in the January of the year after the income year as others employers are required to do. Your employees must therefore archive the messages so that they are able to check their tax return.

Archive you copy

Your should archive your copies of the message as documentation. The authorities’ requirements for salary accounting are met where you fill in the messages and archive them for three years.

When you are employer - 2. Ordinary a-melding

You must use an ordinary a-message if you can not use the simplified settlement arrangement for payments you have made to childminders. The a-melding can also be registered directly.

Information is automatically sent to the tax authorities.

You automatically receive a customer identification number (KID) and account number for payment of tax (withholding tax deduction).

Your national identification number is your "employer number"

You, as a private employer, must use your own national identification number as employer number. Your national identification number is to be used when contacting the tax authorities and NAV. If you, as a business or self employed person, have been allocated an enterprise number, then you must not use this number for the payment of childminding.

Withholding tax deduction (tax deduction)

As employer, you should calculate the withholding tax deduction and pay this to the tax authorities.

You deduct tax and pay the amount to the special tax bank account at the same time as you pay out the salary. How much should be deducted in tax is specified on the tax card for the employee, which you can retrieve from the Norwegian Tax Administration electronically.

If you are main employer, then the tax card is a table-based card or a percentage card. Find a summary of tables. If you are a secondary employer, then the tax card will be a percentage card. Withholding tax deductions are to then be calculated as a per cent of the salary.

If the person you pay salary to does not a have tax card, then you must ask him or her to order one. If you do not have all the tax information you require, then you must deduct 50 per cent.

You should not deduct tax on holiday pay which you pay out in the year after the year of accrual, i.e. in the holiday year. The a-message must however be submitted. If the employment relationship is ended in the year of accrual, then you should pay out holiday pay immediately and you must deduct tax in accordance with the tax card.

You are to submit an a-melding in which paid benefits and withholding tax deductions are specified after the end of each calendar month. The deadline for submitting this a-meldingen is the 5th of the month after the calendar month. Withholding tax deductions should be paid in six instalments. One instalment is for the two previous calendar months, for example January and February are instalment 1, March and April are instalment 2 etc. The a-melding must be submitted by the 5th day of the month in the following calendar month.

Small salary payments exempted from deducting tax

You are not required to deduct tax if:

• the salary paid to a person does not exceed NOK 6,000 in an income year. 
• 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 

Summary 

You should give your employees a summary of the reported a-messages for the last year by the 1st February. You decide how this summary should be laid out. The summary should however contain information on duration of employment, salary, withholding tax deductions and holiday pay basis. The employee must archive the summary so that they can check their tax return.

When you are not an employer 

You are not an employer where a childminder takes care of your child in their home. If you are not an employer, then you do not need to register the employment relationship in the NAV AA register or deduct tax from the salary. You will however be obliged to submit an a-melding for payments to childminders. The a-melding can also be registered directly.

Information is automatically sent to the tax authorities.

Summary 

You should give your employees a summary of the reported a-messages for the last year by the 1st February. You decide how this summary is laid out. The childminder must archive the summary so that they can check their tax return.