3.3.7 Other deductions: Standard deduction for foreign employees

If you are a foreign employee and liable to pay tax to Norway for salary income, you can claim the standard deduction for foreign employees. You can claim the standard deduction for the income years up until 2018. 

As of 01.01.2019, the right to standard deductions is limited to foreign seafarers and shelf workers only.

You can claim the standard deduction for each year during which you were not considered to be resident in Norway for tax purposes. If you have been staying in Norway for so long that you have become resident for tax purposes, you can claim the standard deduction in connection with your tax assessment for the first two income years for which you are assessed as being resident in Norway.

You will be considered resident in Norway for tax purposes from the year in which your stay in Norway exceeds

• 183 days during a 12-month period, or
• 270 days during a 36-month period.

The standard deduction is 10 percent of your gross income from employment (item 2.1), subject to a maximum of NOK 40,000 per year.

You must either choose the standard deduction or your actual expenses. You cannot choose both.

In addition to the standard deduction, you are entitled to:

• the minimum standard deduction – calculated on gross income from employment etc.
• personal allowance – the basic tax-free allowance in connection with the tax assessment

You may also be entitled to:

• special allowance for seafarers
• a deduction for contributions to a Norwegian public or private occupational pension scheme
• a deduction for trade union dues

If you are a citizen of an EU/EEA country you may also be entitled to a deduction for contributions to a pension scheme in another EU/EEA county.

The standard deduction for foreign employees is 10 percent of the income under item 2.1, subject to a maximum of NOK 40,000. 

As for the standard deduction for foreign employees you must enter 10 percent of the amount shown under item 2.1, subject to a maximum of NOK 40,000.

See how you enter the standard deduction.

If you have entered expenses which exceed NOK 10,000 on an annual basis, you must have paid via a bank in order for the amount to be deductible.

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

In order to claim the standard deduction for foreign employees you must be able to document your stay/number of days in Norway, e.g. in the form of a copy of your employment contract or bank statements showing transactions made during the period.