Norway Sick Pay Calculator 2026

Sick pay in Norway is called sykepengerin Norwegian and "sickness benefit" on the English pages of NAV (the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration). It replaces your income when illness or injury stops you working. This calculator follows the rules in the National Insurance Act, chapter 8, and uses the basic amount (G) of NOK 136,549 that applies from 1 May 2026. It works out your sick pay per day, per month and for the whole absence, shows who pays each part and estimates what is left after tax. It assumes your sick leave began after 1 May 2026. If you fell ill before that date, the previous basic amount applies.

How sick pay is calculated in 2026

1. Find the sick pay basis. For employees and freelancers NAV takes your average pay over the last three calendar months before you fell ill and multiplies it by 12. Overtime is not included. If that differs by more than 25% from your income over the last twelve months, NAV can set the basis by discretion. For self-employed people the basis is the average pensionable income of the last three years.
2. Cap it at 6G. The basis cannot exceed NOK 819,294. It must also be at least 0.5G (NOK 68,275) for you to get sick pay from NAV.
3. Work out the daily rate. The yearly basis is divided by 260. Sick pay is paid for five days a week, Monday to Friday, so a month counts as about 21.67 days.
4. Apply the coverage rate. Employees and freelancers get 100%. Self-employed people get 80% unless they have insurance. If you are on partial sick leave, the amount is multiplied by your degree of sick leave.
5. Take off the first 16 days. Employers pay the first 16 calendar days. Freelancers and the self-employed get nothing in those days unless insured with NAV.

Worked example: NOK 50,000 a month, 8 weeks off sick

Sam is an employee who has earned NOK 50,000 a month for the past three months. The sick pay basis is NOK 600,000, which is below 6G. The daily rate is NOK 600,000 / 260 = NOK 2,308, or NOK 50,007 a month. Sam is fully off work for 56 calendar days starting on a Monday, which is 40 working days. The employer pays the first 12 working days (days 1 to 16): NOK 27,696. NAV pays the remaining 28 days: NOK 64,624. The total is NOK 92,320 before tax and about NOK 70,134 after tax. NAV also sets aside NOK 6,592 in holiday pay for the year after. On 50% sick leave the daily rate would be NOK 1,154, and Sam would earn normal pay for the hours actually worked.

If Sam were self-employed with NOK 600,000 of pensionable income in each of 2023 to 2025, each year's income would be adjusted to today's basic amount and the average would be NOK 671,549. Sam would get 80% of that, NOK 2,066 a day, but nothing for the first 16 days. For the same 56 days that adds up to NOK 57,848.

Sick pay per month by salary, 2026

The table shows sick pay for an employee who is fully off work, after the employer period.

Salaries above 6G (NOK 819,294) give the same sick pay: NOK 3,151 a day. The after-tax column assumes sick pay is your only income for a whole year.

Employee, freelancer or self-employed

Employees must have worked at least four weeks before falling ill. The employer pays the first 16 calendar days (the employer period, arbeidsgiverperioden) and NAV pays from day 17. Many employers pay full salary even above 6G, so read your contract or collective agreement. Whether the 6G ceiling also limits what the employer must pay in the first 16 days is not stated the same way everywhere: section 8-10, second paragraph, of the National Insurance Act caps the basis at 6G in the employer period too (per employer), while NAV's circular on section 8-10, third paragraph, says the cap does not apply in the employer period and that NAV refunds at most 6G anyway. The calculator applies the 6G ceiling to the whole period. If you earn more than 6G, ask your employer what is paid in the first 16 days.

Freelancersget 100% from day 17, based on the income reported to NAV through your employers' monthly payroll reports (a-melding). Insurance for the first 16 days costs 4.5% of the premium basis.

Self-employed people have the weakest cover: 80% from day 17 without insurance. You can buy insurance from NAV giving 80% from day 1 (premium 2.9%), 100% from day 17 (1.24%) or 100% from day 1 (6.1%). Only one third of income between 6G and 12G counts and nothing above 12G.

Tax, holiday pay and what comes next

Sick pay is taxable income and NAV withholds tax using your tax deduction card (skattekort). National insurance contributions are 7.6% for employees and freelancers and 10.8% for the self-employed. To see how the rest of your tax works, use the Norway income tax calculator. Holiday pay on sick pay is explained in the holiday pay calculator. When the 52 weeks run out and you are still ill, work assessment allowance (AAP) pays 66% of your earlier income.

This is an estimate. NAV assesses every case individually. Special rules for combined incomes, occupational injury, travel allowance or sick leave while receiving other benefits are not included.