Taxable value of property abroad

If you own a property abroad at the end of the income year, it must be listed with a taxable value in your tax return.

The taxable value of property abroad must be determined in accordance with Norwegian rules. Residential properties and holiday homes abroad are valued according to the same rules that apply to holiday homes in Norway.

Here you will find information about what you need to do to register the property, and what you need to do if something is missing or needs to be changed.

Examples of property abroad are houses, holiday homes, houses in the country, apartments, shares in holiday complexes ("timeshares"), rental properties/apartments, plots of land and commercial properties abroad. 

Taxable value

For new residential properties and holiday homes abroad, the taxable value is 30 percent of the cost price including the plot of land, or 30 percent of the market value. A new owner can continue using the previously assessed taxable value.

If you extend or upgrade the residential property and holiday home, the taxable value should be increased. However, the taxable value must not exceed 30 percent of the market value.

If the Norwegian Parliament, the Storting, decides on an annual adjustment of the taxable value, this will be pre-filled in the tax return. No such adjustment has been decided on for the 2024 income year.

Does this apply to me?

Specific information if you:

  • own a house or apartment abroad 
  • own property abroad that is being rented out 
  • own inherited property abroad 
  • own a holiday home abroad 
  • leased a plot of land for a holiday home abroad 
  • own a holiday home in a residential complex abroad 
  • own a share in a holiday complex ("timeshare") abroad 
  • own a plot of land abroad 
  • own commercial property abroad 

What you need to do

You must check that the property abroad is listed and has a taxable value.

If you find an error

Check that the property is registered with the correct property type. It's the use that determines the type of property the property is to be registered as. 

If the taxable value is higher than 30 percent of the market value, you can claim a reduction of the taxable value. 

If there is incorrect information about your ownership share, you must correct this.  

Log in to your tax return to change if something is incorrect

When you're logged in to your tax return, you'll have the following options for declaring the property you have abroad:

  • Own holiday property/home subject to tax-exempt assessment is property that you use to a reasonable extent during holidays and leisure time and can be, for example, houses, houses in the country, apartments and shares in holiday complexes ("timeshares").
    The exemption treatment can be maintained even if the property is rented out for leisure purposes for part of the year or it is partly rented out for leisure purposes throughout the year, as long as the owner uses the holiday home to a reasonable extent.
  • Holiday property/home subject to accounts-based assessment is for example houses, houses in the country, apartments and shares in holiday complexes ("timeshares"). Your holiday property/home must be accounts-based assessed when you rent it out and do not use it yourself to a reasonable extent during holidays or leisure time. A typical example is a rental property or rental cabin. 
  • A plot is undeveloped land that is not part of a commercial enterprise. 
  • A farm is a property used for agricultural purposes. The property should, as a main rule, have more than 35 decare of cultivated land, and residential properties and farm buildings. The central factor, however, is the use of the areas, and that the property has the type of buildings that are relevant for the operating form in question. To be considered an "ordinary farm", the owner or others must use the property for agricultural purposes.
  • Occupancy right abroad is the right to use a housing unit, e.g. "bostadsrätt" in Sweden. 
  • Other real property you receive income from is a collective term for land areas, fishing villages, aquaculture installations or installations for mining, quarrying, gravel and sand extraction, or similar. You should only select this option if no other property type is appropriate. 
  • Other real property you do not receive income from is a collective term for schools, roads and protected conservation areas, or similar. You should only select this option if no other property type is appropriate.
  • Rented out multi-unit building abroad is a residential building where you own five or more housing units that are not sub-divided into sections in the same building. For example, buildings that are divided into five or more bedsits.
  • Rented out commercial property is for example, office space, shops, warehouses, production premises/factories, accommodation, plots of land, parking garages, workshops, etc. that you own yourself and rent out. This only applies if rent out 50 percent or more of the total area of the property. If the area rented out is less than 50 percent, you must use commercial property that is not rented out.
  • A forest abroad is a plot of a certain size covered more or less with fully grown trees.
  • Commercial property abroad that is not rented out is, for example, office space, shops, warehouses, production premises/factories, accommodation, plots of land, parking garages, workshops, etc. that you own yourself. This only applies if you rent out less than 50 percent of the total area of the property. If the area rented out exceeds this, you must use rented out commercial property.

If the property was purchased in a foreign currency, you must specify the value in Norwegian kroner (NOK) when registering in the tax return. You can use Norges Bank's exchange rates to convert to NOK.  

You must use the exchange rate at the time you became the owner of the property which means the time when the ownership was transferred to you. 

You must check that the property abroad is listed in your tax deduction card.

If you find an error

If the property abroad is not entered or has been entered with the wrong taxable value, you can correct this yourself in the tax deduction card.

You can remove the property abroad from your tax deduction card if you no longer own it.

The changes you make to your tax deduction card only apply to this year's tax deduction card and will not be pre-filled in the tax return.  

Log in to your tax deduction card to change if something is incorrect

If the market value and the taxable value are too high

If the market value is too high, the taxable value and basis for wealth tax will be too high.

You can request that the property is valued according to proven market value if you believe that the market value is too high.

You must log in to your tax return and enter the proven market value.

 

The proof must be dated after 1 July in the income year for which you are claiming a reduction. The person who valued or gave an estimated value on your residential property must have inspected the property both inside and outside.

Valid proof:

  • a valuation from a qualified valuer, or
  • a valuation by an estate agent who is familiar with the district in which the residential property is located, or
  • observable market value - the price for which the property or a similar property in the same area has been sold. Proof of the observed market value could be a purchase contract or a similar document stating the sales price. By a similar residential property, we mean a building with a similar floor plan, size, standard, view, and light and noise conditions. Referring to a general market value of residential properties in the area is not sufficient.

The proven market value must include any share of joint debt the property may have at the time of the sale.

You do not have to send us any documentation, but you must be able to present documentation if we ask for it.

Special information if you have

As long as you're tax resident in Norway, wealth from property abroad will generally be taxable in Norway. However, the wealth may also be taxable in the country where the property is located.

wealth tax abroad

Most countries, such as Sweden, Denmark, and Italy, do not have wealth tax.

Spain, France, and Switzerland are examples of countries that have wealth tax, but with different threshold amounts than in Norway.

If you have paid wealth tax to another country in addition to Norway, you may be entitled to a deduction from the Norwegian wealth tax.

How double taxation is to be avoided depends on where the property is located and the tax treaty between Norway and the individual country.

Methods to avoid paying double taxes

The most common way to avoid double taxation is through credit deductions. Wealth tax paid abroad can then be claimed to be deducted from the Norwegianwealth tax. This applies when the property is located in countries that have wealth tax and Norway has a tax treaty with the country, such as France, Spain, or Switzerland.

A credit deduction can also be claimed if the property is located in a country that has wealth tax, but Norway does not have a tax treaty with the country in question.

If you claim a deduction from Norwegian tax for tax paid abroad, you must log in to the tax return and state this. You must be able to prove how much wealth tax you have paid abroad if we ask you to do so.  

You cannot claim a deduction from your Norwegian tax for foreign property tax.

You cannot claim a deduction for the following taxes:

  • Kommunal fastighetsavgift (Sweden)   
  • Kiinteistövero (Finland)   
  • Ejendomsværdiskat (Denmark)   
  • Council Tax (UK)   
  • Taxe Foncière (France)   
  • Taxe d’habitation (France)   
  • Taxe Professionelle (France)   
  • Impuesto Bienes Inmuebles (IBI) (Spain)   
  • Renta de no Residentes (Spain)  
  • The internal tax paid to the EU according to the EU Protocol on the Privileges and Immunities of the European Communities article 12 (previously article 13) from a person employed by the EU Commission.
  • Imposto Municipal sobre Imóveis (IMI) (Portugal).

Some countries with which Norway has a tax treaty have rules stating that property abroad is not subject to wealth tax in Norway. In these cases, you will also not be entitled to a deduction for any tax paid abroad. 

You must still declare the property in your tax return as wealth. You're obliged to state rental income and information about a possible sale of the property if you sell.

Read about the tax treaty between Norway and the individual country..

If you own a property abroad that you owned before you became tax resident in Norway, there are separate rules for how you must declare the market value of the property in your tax return.

If the property was purchased in a foreign currency, you must declare the value in NOK when registering in the tax return. In these cases, you must not use the exchange rate at the time the ownership was transferred to you, that means the time you became the owner of the property, but you must use the exchange rate at the time you became tax resident in Norway (with a global tax liability in Norway). You can use Norges Bank's exchange rates to convert to NOK. 

Example:
You buy a property in Spain on 13 September 2020 for 100,000 euros.
You move to Norway on 2 May 2023, and then become tax resident in Norway in 2023.
You must declare the property in the tax return for 2023 and the following year.
It's the value you bought the property for on 13 September 2020, converted to NOK on 2 May 2023, that shows the market value. The exchange rate retrieved from Norges Bank on 2 May 2023 was 11.762.
Converted to NOK, the market value is 100,000 euros x 11.762 = NOK 1,176,200.

A property that you have purchased abroad and that is not listed in the tax return must be declared as wealth in the Norwegian tax return.

It's the market value of the property that must be declared in the tax return. The market value is what you purchased the property for.  

If you have inherited a property abroad, it must be stated in your tax return. It's the market value of the property at the time you inherited the property that must be stated in the tax return.  

A broker can calculate the market value, or you can find it in public documents of foreign authorities. 

Selling inherited property?

There are separate rules for the sale of inherited property. 

If you are going to sell or otherwise realise a residential property, apartment, holiday home or other property abroad, you'll find help and information about what you need to do by answering a few questions.

Specific information if you are tax resident in Norway. 

If you have property abroad that you rent out, there are some rules you need to follow.

You'll receive help and guidance on what to do with your tax when you rent out property abroad and in Norway, which you own yourself. 

  • Specific information if you are tax resident in Norway.
  • Also applies to you who are tax resident in another country and have property in Norway that you own and that is rented out.

The taxable value of real property abroad must be determined in accordance with Norwegian rules.  

Both residential properties and holiday homes abroad are valued according to the same rules that apply to holiday homes in Norway.

A residential property abroad that is used for leisure use after moving to Norway can be registered as a holiday home. 

If your property is rented out on a larger scale, or is part of another activity, the holiday home will still be taxed on wealth according to the rules for commercial property. 

From the time you are considered to be tax resident in Norway you must declare all income and wealth in Norway and the rest of the world. This includes among other things all properties and assets you have in Norway and abroad.  

You can read more about your tax liability when you move to Norway.

If the property has increased in value as a result of a newbuilds or upgrades, the taxable value must be increased. 

You must log in to the tax return and add the value of the upgrade.  

If you have a holiday home with a taxable value of NOK 500,000 and you upgrade the property for NOK 1,000,000, the previously assessed taxable value must be increased by NOK 300,000. (1,000,000 * 30/100 = 300,000).

The taxable value of the holiday home is NOK 800,000
(500,000 + 300,000 = 800,000).

Exchange rate in the event of increased value 

Expenses related to work that improves or alters the property are considered upgrades. For example, if the residential property was previously of a normal standard and is upgraded to a high standard, the expenses related to the difference between normal and high standard will be considered an upgrade and will affect the property's market value.

If the property has increased in value during the income year as a result of upgrades, the market value must be increased.  

Expenses you incur to keep the property in the same condition as it was previously are maintenance expenses and will not affect the property's taxable value.

Upgrades before you became tax resident in Norway

  • When calculating upgrades made before you became tax resident in Norway, you must use the exchange rate at the time you became tax resident in Norway.

Upgrades after you became tax resident in Norway

  • When calculating upgrades made after you became tax resident in Norway, you must use the exchange rate at the time the upgrades were made.  

If you own property that does not fit the term residential property or holiday home, you can find information below: