Norway Parental Leave Pay Calculator 2026

Parental benefit (foreldrepenger) is paid by NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, and replaces your income while you stay at home with a new baby or an adopted child. Norwegians usually call this "parental leave" (foreldrepermisjon). This calculator shows what NAV pays per day, week and month and for the whole leave, with either the 100% or the 80% option. It also shows the mother's quota, the father's or co-mother's quota and the shared period, the holiday pay you get from NAV, and how much you lose if your salary is above the 6G ceiling. The rules apply to children born on or after 1 July 2024. The basic amount (G) is NOK 136,549 from 1 May 2026.

How the benefit is calculated

For employees, NAV uses your average pay over the last three calendar months before the leave, converted to a yearly figure. Holiday pay and expense allowances are not included. If that differs by more than 25% from your yearly income, NAV considers what is most representative. The basis is capped at 6G (NOK 819,294). The daily rate is the basis divided by 260, and with the 80% option it is also multiplied by 0.8. Self-employed people are paid on the average of their last three years with a finished tax assessment.

Parental benefit at different incomes

All amounts are before tax and assume that one parent takes the whole period. Above NOK 819,294 the benefit does not go up. Many employers pay full salary during the leave, so check your employment contract or collective agreement.

The quotas in 2026

The first six weeks after the birth are reserved for the mother and count towards her quota. If the father or co-mother takes leave from the shared period, the mother must as a rule be active, for example in work or full-time education. The benefit must be used before the child turns three. With twins you get 17 weeks extra at 100%.

Worked example: two parents on different salaries

The mother earns NOK 55,000 a month and the father NOK 75,000. They choose 100%. Her daily rate is NOK 2,538. She takes the three weeks before the birth, the mother's quota and the whole shared period, 34 weeks in all, which pays NOK 431,460. His yearly income of NOK 900,000 is above 6G, so his daily rate is capped at NOK 3,151. For his quota of 15 weeks he gets NOK 236,325. Unless his employer covers the difference, that is about NOK 23,290 less than his salary for the same weeks. The mother also gets NOK 15,533 in holiday pay from NAV, because she is paid for the first 12 weeks.

Who qualifies, and what if you do not?

You normally need income in at least 6 of the last 10 months before the leave, an income equal to at least half of the basic amount (NOK 68,275 a year), and membership of the National Insurance Scheme. If you do not qualify, the mother can apply for a one-off lump sum grant (engangsstønad) of NOK 92,648 per child. You cannot get both for the same child.

Other money for new parents

Child benefit comes on top, from the month after the birth: see the Norway child benefit calculator. To see what the benefit leaves after tax, use the income tax calculator. If you are ill during the pregnancy, the rules in the sick pay calculator apply instead.