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WORKING IN NORWAY

What salary can you expect to earn in Norway?

Norway has a reputation for being a costly country with high tax levels. However, if you decide to relocate to Norway, what salary should you expect, and what will you be left with after paying taxes and other fees?

What is my salary after tax?

According to Statistics Norway (SSB), the average monthly earnings in Norway amount to 48,750 kroner before taxes.

As some experts claim that the median monthly earnings are a better measure of earnings than average earnings, it’s also worth noting that the median monthly earnings in Norway amount to roughly 44,150 kroner before taxes. That means that 50 percent of workers in Norway earn less, and 50 percent earn more.

According to the income tax calculator provided by talent.com for Norway, a worker in the country with a salary of 48,500 kroner before taxes would have to pay 1,157 kroner in bracket taxes, 3,880 kroner in National Insurance Scheme contributions, and 7,586 kroner in common taxes.

The calculation shows that the average tax rate would amount to 26 percent, while the marginal tax rate would total 34 percent.

Note: The marginal tax rate means that your immediate additional income will be taxed at this rate. For instance, an increase of 100 kroner in your salary will be taxed 34 kroner. Hence, your net pay will only increase by 66 kroner.

That would leave the worker in question with a net salary of 35,877 kroner. The worker needs to pay 12,623 kroner in taxes, while the employer’s tax obligations would amount to 6,839 kroner.

Thus, the total tax paid would amount to 19,462 kroner, and as both the employee and employer need to pay taxes, the real tax rate would end up at 35.2 percent, meaning that the real tax rate is actually 9.2 percent higher than what it initially seemed.

How does salary vary by age and sector?

While the average employee in Norway earns 48,750 kroner per month before taxes, generally speaking, the older you are and more experience you have, the more you earn.

So, when broken down into age categories (for all industries), the figures for 2022 (based on SSB data) are somewhat different:

0-24 years old: 33,950 kroner per month

25-29 years old: 44,850 kroner per month

30-34 years old: 49,920 kroner per month

35-39 years old: 53,400 kroner per month

40-44 years old: 56,450 kroner per month

45-49 years old: 58,500 kroner per month

50-54 years old: 59,620 kroner per month

55-59 years old: 59,450 kroner per month

60 and over: 58,190 kroner per month

Job sectors also have an impact on salary. On the Statistics Norway website, you can select your field of work to find the average salary for your role.

Here is a sample of various professions in Norway and their average monthly salaries in 2022:

Politicians: 73,530 kroner

Mathematicians and statisticians; 61,210 kroner

Geologists and geophysicists: 91,860 kroner

Nurses: 51,020 kroner

Veterinarians: 59,720 kroner

Dentists: 70,340 kroner

Pharmacists: 57,580 kroner

Chiropractors: 57,040 kroner

Primary school teachers: 49,020 kroner

Financial analysts: 70,950 kroner

Software developers: 68,380 kroner

Lawyers: 77,610 kroner

Judges: 91,030 kroner

Psychologists: 60,210 kroner

Journalists: 58,050 kroner

Mechanical engineers: 59,670 kroner

Receptionists: 46,910 kroner

Opticians: 51,270 kroner

Customs officers: 46,850 kroner

Chefs: 41,900 kroner

Waiters: 32,890 kroner

Gardeners: 37,030 kroner

Auto mechanics: 41,760 kroner

Electricians: 46,210 kroner

Truck drivers: 42,370 kroner

What comes out of your salary?

Income tax in Norway is divided into multiple components, and your employer deducts it from your monthly salary each month on behalf of the state.

Furthermore, income tax is divided into a base rate (alminnelig inntekt) and a bracket or step tax (trinnskatt), which in turn enables progressive taxation.

The base rate in Norway is set at 22 percent for most areas of the country (there are few exceptions).

The bracket or step tax entails a progressive tax rate, and it includes five different levels. You can find out more about these levels on the webpage of the Tax Administration, here.

Along with the income tax, National Insurance Scheme (folketrygden) or social security (trygdeavgift) contributions are also collected from your salary.

According to Norwegian law, all workers are entitled to holiday pay (feriepenger), which amounts to at least 10.2 percent of their earnings in the previous working year. That means that the holiday pay is accrued, i.e., collected in advance each year. You can find out more about holiday pay in Norway here.

Remember that you can always use the Norwegian Tax Administration’s tax calculator here to get a solid estimate of the taxes you will need to pay.

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TAXES

Taxes: Everything you need to know about Norway’s commuter deductions

Norway has a tax deduction that those who commute to work can claim. However, it must be added manually to tax returns, meaning many miss out. 

Taxes: Everything you need to know about Norway's commuter deductions

There are plenty of advantages to commuting to and from work, whether it be cheaper rent or property prices, being closer to nature, or being able to live closer to your children’s school. 

The obvious downside, apart from making the journey, is the cost. Thankfully, commuters in Norway can claim some of this cost back as a tax deduction. 

Furthermore, you can change tax returns up to three years after they have been submitted. If you have missed out on a deduction, you can log into the Norwegian Tax Administration portal and update the information. 

READ ALSO: Five things to do when you get your Norwegian tax return

Norway’s commuter deductions cover several categories. Firstly, those who spend nights away from home can claim additional expenses such as food and accommodation, you can also make deductions for travel between work and home. 

The Norwegian Tax Administration has a wizard on its website which tells workers whether they are classified as commuters and, therefore, eligible for deductions on its website. 

As a technical point, you can be ineligible for a commuter deduction, but you can also deduct daily travel to and from work. 

Those who travel round trips of more than 37 kilometres between work and home are eligible for the travel deduction. This deduction is calculated based on several factors, such as the length of the journey, whether toll roads and ferries significantly reduce the journey time, and the number of days of the year you work. 

The traveller’s deduction can be claimed for up to 230 days of the year. The low threshold for roundtrips means that journeys between Oslo and nearby towns such as Ski or Lillestrøm become tax deductible.

For example, if you commute 45 kilometres per day for 230 days of the year, you could deduct as much as 702 kroner from your taxes. 

Those who commute up to 100 kilometres per day and don’t use toll roads or ferries to shorten their journeys could deduct around 5,000 kroner from their taxes. 

This is based on the rules for 2023 and commutes from Oslo to nearby towns and cities. The Norwegian Tax Administration has a calculator on its website that can tell you how much you can deduct for your daily travel

If you want to try and add deductions for previous years, be aware that the thresholds for journey length were previously higher. The minimum distance for previous years was a daily round trip of 67 kilometres. 

Under these rules, travel between Oslo and some surrounding towns may not be deductible. Still, you can log in and check whether you can add deductions for previous years. 

How to add these to your tax return

When checking your tax return, you can choose to add information.

There is a section marked “Would you like to provide any other information?”. From there, if you go to the bottom of the list, there should be an option for “work and travel” (when using the English version of the portal). 

From there, you can input your information, making the process relatively straightforward. 

Below you can see some pictures on where to add any travel deductions. 

Pictured is a form from the Norwegian Tax Administration.

You can add the deductions under work/ travel. Photo: Screenshot / The Local.
 
Pictured is the commuter deduction form.

Those who travel for work, or to get to work have a number of potential deductions. Photo: Screenshot / The Local
 
The travel deduction form.

Here you can see where you input your daily travel information. Photo: The Screenshot / The Local.
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