Rate for:
Board and lodging - rate for subsistence savings
By subsistence savings, we mean the money you save on board (food) at home per day because your employer covers your food expenses or because you deduct food expenses.
As a commuter, you can deduct extra expenses for board (food and drink) when the commuter residence does not have cooking facilities, and for up to 24 months from the time you were first granted a deduction for these expenses.
The time limit of 24 months also applies to accommodation, which means that the right to deduct food and accommodation stops after 24 months, calculated from the time the deduction is first given.
The new rule took effect in 2020. The time limit of 24 months was calculated first from 1 January 2018. As a result, the right of deduction expires after 1 January 2020.
If you move to a new municipality for both your workplace and your commuter residence, the deduction can be claimed for a new 24-month period.
Kari works in Trondheim and lives in Oslo with her family. She started working in Trondheim on 1 January 2019 and claimed deductions for rent (lodging) for her commuter accomodation in Trondheim in the 2019 and 2020 tax return.
The 24-month period expired on 31 December 2020
Kari is not entitled to claim deductions for her expenses for lodging in the 2021 tax return or later because the 24-month period expired on 31 December 2020.
New job
On 1 March 2023, Kari started in her new job in Ålesund, where she acquired a new commuter accommodation. Because she changed both workplace and commuter accommodation to another municipality, she can again claim deductions for rent (lodging) in the 2023 tax return.
If you have free board or your board is covered by your employer in connection with commuter stays away from home, the subsistence savings amount must be added to your income according to the rate below.
If you were granted a subsistence allowance according to the Directorate of Taxes’ rates during a commuter stay, no subsistence savings are added to your income. This is because the rates are only meant to cover the actual extra expenses for board, and that means there is no subsistence savings at home
If you’re claiming a deduction for board based on your actual expenses in relation to your commuter stay away from home, an amount per day (according to the rates below) will be deducted for subsistence savings because your food expenses at home are not as high.
Please note: Commuters are not entitled to claim deductions for board in commuter accommodation with cooking facilities, or for more than 24 months for commuter accommodation without cooking facilities.
If board in connection with work-related travel has been covered by your employer or is free, no subsistence savings will be added to your income. The same applies when board is covered according to the Directorate of Taxes’ rates for tax-free subsistence allowance, as the subsistence savings have been included in the rates.
If you claim a deduction for board according to actual expenses in connection with work-related travel that include overnight stays, the deduction will not be reduced by a rate for subsistence savings.
Please note: The rate for subsistence savings does not apply to work-related travel, only for commuter travel.
Rate for subsistence savings: NOK 102