PAYE (Pay As You Earn) for foreign workers

• earn less than NOK 697,150 in 2025. For 2024 the threshold amount was NOK 670,000. 
• are not a tax resident in Norway. If you travel to Norway for short work stays (less than 183 days in a 12-month period or less than 270 days in a 36-month period), you'll join the PAYE scheme every time you apply for a tax deduction card.

You can combine PAYE tax with the following taxable income or wealth:

• Withholding tax on share dividends from Norwegian companies
• Withholding tax on pension and disability benefits from Norway
• Income for sportspeople and artists that are subject to tax under the Foreign Artists Tax Act
• Wealth from real property, commercial activity and moveable property in Norway

You can also combine the PAYE scheme with income that’s neither taxable nor subject to national insurance contributions in Norway, for example, salary earned in another country when you’re not a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme.

• earn more than NOK 670,000 during the year (applies to the 2024 income year). For the 2025 income year, the threshold amount is NOK 697,150.
• have been a tax resident in Norway for more than a year
• have other taxable income, such as:
• public benefits from Nav, such as sickness benefit, unemployment benefit, or parental benefit – unless you're exempt from paying national insurance contributions on the benefit.
• business income in Norway
• income from Norwegian vessels or the Norwegian continental shelf
• other income that’s only subject to national insurance contributions in Norway, for instance salary from a Norwegian employer for work performed abroad when you’re a member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme (often applies to airline personnel, land transport drivers, and cross-border commuters)
• salary from a Nordic employer, when the taxes are paid to another Nordic country (Nordic Tax Withholding Agreement)
• income that is taxable to Svalbard
• capital income exceeding NOK 10,000
• salary from the Norwegian State for work performed abroad
• when you've previously been deducted artist tax on income pursuant to the Foreign Artists Tax Act and later change your tax liability for the income year from the Foreign Artists Tax Act to the Taxation Act 

There are some exceptions where you can combine PAYE tax with other types of taxable income.

If you're in the PAYE scheme, but earn too much or have income as mentioned here, you must apply for a tax deduction card under the general tax scheme.

PAYE	General taxation rules
You pay 25 percent tax. If you’re exempted from paying national insurance contributions in Norway, you pay 17.3 percent tax in 2025.	How much of the salary you pay in tax depends on how much you earn and on your deductions.
When you receive your salary, the tax has already been deducted.	Tax is deducted when you're paid, but we will check whether the correct amount was paid the following year. You may receive a tax refund or have to pay underpaid tax.
You will not receive a tax return next year.	You’ll receive and submit a tax return next year.
Next year, you’ll receive a receipt for PAYE tax showing the amount of tax you paid in Norway last year.	Next year, you’ll receive a tax assessment notice showing whether you’ve paid too much or too little tax in Norway last year. If you’ve paid too much, you’ll receive a refund. If you’ve paid too little, you have to pay more tax (underpaid tax).
You cannot earn more than NOK 697,150 in 2025.	There’s no income limit.
You cannot claim any deductions.	You can claim deductions, for example, for commuter expenses and interest payments.

If the PAYE scheme does not suit you, you can opt out and join the general taxation scheme instead. You can opt out of the PAYE scheme in different ways:

• When you attend your appointment to undergo an ID check
• When you apply for a tax deduction card
• After you’ve applied for a tax deduction card

The deadline for opting out of the PAYE scheme is 31 December, three years after the income year. If you opt out of the PAYE scheme, you cannot re-join the scheme for the same income year.

You must opt out of the PAYE scheme yourself. Your employer cannot do it for you.

Read more about opting out of the PAYE scheme.

Your employer is responsible for deducting the correct tax from your salary.

If your employer has deducted too much PAYE tax from your salary, you'll receive a refund from the Tax Administration if

• your employer has deducted more than 25 percent PAYE tax from your salary
• you were not exempt from paying national insurance contributions when you started paying PAYE tax, but received an exemption after a while

We'll notify you about which amounts our provisional calculations show that you’re to be refunded, and of which account number we’ve registered you with. To receive a refund, you must have registered an account. You can change the account numbers we’ve registered for you. 

You can also apply for a refund via the contact form. The case processing time for manual applications is 6 months.

For the 2024 income year, you'll receive a refund in 2025, if your employer has deducted too much tax from your salary.

If you live abroad and receive director's fees from Norwegian companies, you can also join the PAYE scheme.

If you believe that the salary you've earned in Norway should not be taxed here because Norway has a tax treaty with another country, you can apply to pay tax according to the general taxation rules instead of PAYE tax.

If we approve your application, you'll receive a tax deduction card according to the general taxation rules. If so, you cannot participate in the PAYE scheme.

Nor can you be taxed under the PAYE scheme if an NT1 form has been submitted showing that tax has been deducted in another Nordic country on salary you've earned in Norway, in accordance with the Nordic Tax Withholding Agreement.