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TAXES

Are there any taxes you need to pay if you leave Norway? 

Norway will implement a new "exit tax" aimed at wealthy individuals leaving the country. However, there may be other tax obligations if you decide to leave. 

Pictured is a person filing their taxes.
Pictured is a person filing their taxes. Photo by Jakub Żerdzicki on Unsplash

A new exit tax is in the works that will tax those who have made gains of more than 500,000 kroner on shares if they decide to move from Norway. 

Given the size of the gains, the tax may not be relevant for everyone who leaves the country. There is also no official tax on leaving the country. 

READ ALSO: What we know so far about Norway’s plans for an exit tax

However, there are still some other taxes you may be subject to if you leave Norway. Even if you report leaving Norway, that doesn’t mean that potential tax liabilities to the country cease. 

You will get a tax return from Norway as long as you are a tax resident of the country. This means that in many cases, you will receive a tax return for the year you left Norway, which will arrive after you have left the country. 

For example, if you leave in 2024, you will receive a tax return in 2025. 

The Norwegian Tax Administration’s website has plenty of guides that explain the global tax liability to Norway, how to tell when your tax liability ceases, and whether you will have a tax liability to Norway after moving

Property 

You may need to pay property-related taxes when you decide to leave Norway. These taxes will likely be paid before you leave Norway but after you decide to leave. 

Gains and losses on property are taxable or tax deductible. If you sell the house within a year of purchasing it, this will appear on your tax return and may mean that tax needs to be paid to Norway. 

If you’ve owned the house for more than a year after the sale, you don’t need to worry about a tax bill. 

Should you decide to keep your property in Norway and rent it out while you live outside the country, rental income can be taxed as income that must be paid to Norway. Furthermore, you may be liable for municipal property tax. 

The profit on renting out residential property is taxed at a rate of 22 percent.

Wealth tax

While you are still considered a tax resident of Norway, meaning that you have spent 183 days in any 12-month period or 270 days in aggregate in any 36-month period in the country, you may also be liable for wealth tax. 

The tax rate ranges between 1 and 1.1 percent of one’s net wealth above 1.7 million kroner (or double that for married couples).

The wealth applies to net wealth, so is minus any debts such as mortgages. The tax has proved controversial and has been linked to an exodus of wealth from Norway. 

READ ALSO: Why Norway’s controversial wealth tax isn’t going anywhere for now

Other income and potential taxes       

Gains made on shares and equity certificates in Norwegian and foreign companies that were purchased while in the country may be payable to Norway. 

This is the aim of the new exit tax, which will ensure more people pay exit tax and that it isn’t deferred indefinitely. 

Your final salary in Norway will also likely be taxed. Say you leave Norway in May, and your paycheck for May arrives in June, tax to Norway will be deducted from your salary. Some bonuses can also be taxed after you have left Norway. 

As you will receive a tax return after leaving Norway, you may also need to pay back taxes if you haven’t paid enough the previous year. 

What to do if you think you might pay taxes to Norway after moving

The first port of call would be to reach out to the Norwegian Tax Administration and explain your situation. 

 From there, they will be able to consult you further about whether you will have any tax liabilities when moving from the country. 

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For members

ECONOMY

What lower inflation in Norway means for you 

Inflation in Norway continues to slow. However, the cost of living in the country isn’t slowing as quickly as economists expected. Here’s what that means to you. 

What lower inflation in Norway means for you 

Inflation is slowing 

Norway’s Consumer Price Index, CPI, which measures changes in prices for household goods and services, has slowed yet again. 

Between April last year and the same month this year, prices in Norway rose by 3.6 percent. It marks the third time that price increases have been below four percent since the start of 2022. 

The figures, released by Norway’s national data agency Statistics Norway, mark the fourth month in a row where the 12 monthly inflation figure has been lower than the yearly figure from the month before. This means prices are rising less rapidly than before. 

“Price growth decreased for the fourth month in a row in April. Prices are still higher than they were at the same time last year for most goods and services, but they are generally rising more slowly than before,” Espen Kristiansen at Statistics Norway said. 

Food remains one of the biggest contributors to inflation 

The price of food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 3.3 percent from March to April, according to Statistics Norway. 

Chocolate, soft drinks, coffee, and citrus foods saw the biggest price increases, which the national data agency called “unusual.” 

What wasn’t unusual, however, was the cost of food rising following Easter, when many supermarkets ran offers to compete for customers. 

“The rise must be seen in the context of the fact that large offer campaigns in connection with Easter dampened prices in March,” Kristiansen said. 

The figures for April show that food prices in Norway have increased by 6.8 percent compared to a year ago. 

The rising cost of food and drink in Norway could potentially outgrow wages this year, even if expected pay bumps will outpace forecasted inflation overall. 

Economists expected inflation to fall more 

Inflation hasn’t eased as much as some experts were expecting. Core inflation, which excludes energy prices and taxes, was measured at 4.4 percent year on year in April. This is above what economists surveyed by the newswire Reuters expected. 

Norges Bank, the country’s central bank, raised the policy rate to a 16-year high of 4.5 percent in December. The bank has said that inflation should generally be around two percent, so it has used interest rates to curb price increases. 

As inflation isn’t falling much quicker than expected, economists predict that the central bank may wait until December before slashing rates – which for consumers means that loan and mortgage repayments will remain high for the foreseeable future. 

“The fall in inflation has not been much greater than Norges Bank has thought. This, therefore, indicates that an interest rate cut may come in December instead of September,” Kjersti Haugland, chief economist at DNB Markets, told public broadcaster NRK

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