Tax deduction card (skattekort) and tax withholding in Norway
By Kalkulatorbanken · Last updated
Figures and rules are for 2026 and checked against the sources at the bottom of the page. Norwegian version of this guide.
The tax deduction card (skattekort) tells your employer how much tax to withhold from each payslip. You do not hand it over: the employer retrieves it electronically from the Tax Administration, and without one the employer must withhold 50% of your pay. If you are new to Norway you will probably be placed in the PAYE scheme, which has a flat 25% deduction and no tax return. This guide explains the card, the two schemes and what to check.
Prefer to run your own numbers? Open the Norway Tax Table Calculator 2026 (Tabelltrekk).
In short
- You need a Norwegian ID number (D number or national identity number) to get a tax deduction card. The Tax Administration orders a D number for you if you do not have one.
- Withholding is an advance. The final tax is set in the tax assessment the following year, when you either get a refund or owe tax.
- Newcomers on short stays and in their first year of tax residence are normally in the PAYE scheme: a flat 25% deducted from every payment, up to NOK 725,050 in 2026.
- Only one payer should use the table on your card. Everyone else deducts a percentage.
What the card is and what it is not
A tax deduction card is an electronic document, valid for one calendar year, that shows your employer how much tax to deduct before your salary is paid. Everyone who has one gets a new card every year. You do not show it to anyone. Your employer retrieves it using your ID number, and you can see which employers have done so.
The deduction is an advance on your final tax. The Tax Administration fills in your expected income from last year, adjusted upwards, and it is your job to check the numbers: the card is not updated if your salary or loan interest changes.
The tax table calculator shows what a given table number means in NOK per month.
Getting your first card
Norway identifies people by an 11-digit number. If you will live in Norway for at least 6 months you are issued a national identity number (fødselsnummer). Otherwise, as a foreign citizen, you can be given a D number. You cannot apply for either yourself: they are issued when you meet the criteria, for example when you register as resident, open a bank account or need a tax deduction card.
What this means if you are new to Norway
- The Tax Administration states that you need a Norwegian identification number to open a bank account, and that it will order a D number for you if you need a tax deduction card and do not have a number.
- Whoever orders the D number decides whether you must attend an ID check with the Tax Administration. Bring a valid passport or national ID card.
- A D number becomes inactive 5 years after it was issued. It is not deleted, but you must have it reactivated, normally with an ID check, before you can get a new tax deduction card.
- You can create an electronic ID with a D number, but some Norwegian digital services require a national identity number.
Being registered as resident is not the same as being tax resident: they are separate tests. The tax residency calculator covers the 183-day rule.
The PAYE scheme: a flat 25%
When you are new in Norway and apply for a tax deduction card you are automatically placed in a voluntary scheme the Tax Administration calls PAYE (kildeskatt på lønn). Your employer deducts a fixed 25% from every payment, or 17.4% in 2026 if you are exempt from Norwegian national insurance contributions. There is no tax-free month, no reduction before Christmas, and holiday pay cannot be paid without tax. You get no tax return and no tax assessment notice, only a receipt for PAYE tax in the following year.
You can join if you earn less than NOK 725,050 in 2026 and either work in Norway on short stays (under 183 days in 12 months or 270 days in 36 months) or are in your first year as a tax resident. You cannot join if you have been tax resident for more than a year, have business income in Norway, or receive benefits from NAV such as sickness benefit.
Worked example
The flat rate allows no deductions. The table compares it with the ordinary rules for pay only, using the same functions as the withholding tax calculator.
| Case | PAYE | Ordinary | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 months at NOK 45,000 | NOK 67,500 | NOK 57,540 | NOK 9,960 |
| 12 months at NOK 45,000 | NOK 135,000 | NOK 124,023 | NOK 10,977 |
| 12 months at NOK 60,000 | NOK 180,000 | NOK 184,503 | -NOK 4,503 |
At NOK 45,000 a month the ordinary rules are cheaper, because you then receive the standard deduction and the personal allowance. At NOK 60,000 for a full year the flat rate wins before deductions, because progressive bracket tax takes a larger share of higher pay. Ordinary taxation also lets you claim deductions that PAYE does not allow, such as commuting costs and loan interest, but it needs a tax return. If PAYE does not suit you, you can opt out until 31 December three years after the income year, but you cannot rejoin in the same income year, and only you can do it, not your employer.
Table or percentage on the ordinary card
Under the ordinary rules your card has a table number for your main payer and a percentage for everyone else. Table deduction fits one permanent employer: it follows your salary and deducts more if you get a raise. A percentage is better with several employers, bonuses or commission, seasonal work, or large deductions such as loan interest. It does not react when your income changes, so it can leave you with too much or too little deducted.
Because your yearly tax is collected over 10.5 months, no tax is withheld on holiday pay in June and only half in November or December, so a normal month has a higher deduction than a twelfth of the year's tax. This does not apply to the PAYE scheme. The holiday pay guide explains the June effect.
Checking and changing the card
Check the card each December, because wrong numbers lead to underpaid tax:
- Total expected income for the year, from all employers and benefits. If you have several jobs, enter the sum.
- Loan interest. Interest on the card that is higher than what you really pay leads to underpaid tax.
- Wealth, such as a home, taken from last year's assessment.
- Whether you have an exemption card. If you will earn more than NOK 100,000 in 2026 you must order a tax deduction card.
The later in the year you change the card, the less likely you are to get table deduction. If the numbers are right but you want more tax withheld, ask your payroll office or NAV: they must deduct more if you request it.
Worked example
Take a salary of NOK 45,000 a month on a table card. Withholding in a normal month is NOK 12,244, and over 10.5 months NOK 128,562. The tax set for the whole year is NOK 124,023, so NOK 4,539 is refunded in the assessment. See the tax refund calculator for your own figures, or the net salary guide for how gross becomes net.
After the year: tax return and settlement
Under the ordinary rules you get a tax return in March or April for the previous year. You must check it. Most people receive the tax assessment notice between April and June, others in the autumn, and everyone gets it before 1 December.
A refund is paid to the account registered with the Tax Administration. Underpaid tax of NOK 1,000 or more is split into two invoices. If the assessment arrives in June or earlier, the deadlines are 20 August and 24 September.
Calculate with your own numbers
Norway Tax Table Calculator 2026 (Tabelltrekk) uses the 2026 rates and shows the working step by step. It takes under a minute. You do not need to log in or have BankID, and what you type stays in your browser.
Look up your tax table deduction →