Monday, December 17, 2012

Dummies guide to skattekort (tax card) for foreigners

Skattekort (tax card) guide for all seasons edition

Bookmark this page if you're a newbie to Norway, it's that important and will save you thousands literally.  Read on to get free karma points!!  And it's a very wise decision to follow this blog.

In Norway there are two simple things you have to do every year, fill out your tax card (i.e. what you're reading now) and then do a tax return when the time comes.  Rinse and repeat.  This post is step one.

Note that this post does not constitute tax advice.  Everyone's situation is different.  This post is based on my own personal situation.  If you're married/with kids/divorced/illegal alien/own a house/living with someone or something like that, you're not me, and if you follow this and get into trouble, you only have yourself to blame.

Ho ho ho, I've come to steal!

Every year once a year during Christmas time, us slaves under the government, I mean, citizens of the country Norway get a lovely "gift" from Skatteetaten or the tax (thieves) administration of Norway, a skattekort, or tax card.  In it you'll find their estimation of what you'll be earning the following year, it includes deductions and other miscellaneous items that workers have to indicate so that they get less taken (stolen) away from the great wonderful government of Norway.  If you're a newbie in Norway, most likely you'll just see one thing, "minstefradrag" which is a minimum deduction based on your income level, the pennies and scraps that every serf is entitled to.  And if you're a newbie to Norway and you only see that it means you're getting even more ripped off by the government.  Or perhaps you feel generous and you're willing to contribute more to the stay home bums, the jobless, other welfare personnel, and line the pockets of useless politicians be my guest, and stop reading this post.  For the rest who want to get less stolen away from us, what you have to do is request for a new tax card.  Every year.  For the next two years.

What you want is to indicate the standard deduction for foreign workers which can come up to 10% of your salary or a maximum of 40000 nok, that's 7131 US, 5417 Euros or 6759 Australian dollars.  You're entitled to this deduction for your first two years staying of in Norway.  And this will never be entered into your form, you slave, so better do your homework and listen.

First you're going to have to log into the thieves administration website, that's available here.  Once you've done that, click on "Endre skattekortet" (change the tax card), then click on "Endre skattekort/forskuddsskatt elektronisk" and log in using your minID, or whichever ID you use.

Now you'll see the actual form where you get to indicate your deductions.


On the top left of the same page you'll see your name (hopefully, and not Bjørn hussein of Grønland) and your personal number.  In Section 2.1.1, indicate the amount that you will be earning in 2013.  It does not have to be exact, but should be as close to what you think you will earn in 2013.

Next scroll down to Section 3.3.7, here is where you want to indicate the standard deduction, 10% of your salary up to a maximum of 40,000.  In my example, 10% would be 30,000.  More information available here.

You're almost done.  At the bottom of the page you have to indicate the type of deduction, so just enter "Standardfradrag for utenlandsk arbeidstaker" and proceed.


You should now come to a summary page showing you your deductions, and income for 2013.


The parts which are important are highlighted in red.  And pretty much self explanatory.  Now just hit "bestill", and wait for a few days for your new tax card to arrive in the mail.

Bonus!! To get good karma points!!



Good karma for you sir/ma'am!

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And now you're done!  Simple?  Further down the line, you're going to have to do a tax return.

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11 comments:

  1. can you do this if you've been in Norway for 6 years? I didn't know about it until now.

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    1. 6 years wow that's a long time. :) Unfortunately no, it's only for your first two years in Norway.

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  2. Just found this on facebook. Maybe there is hope for the refund afterall.

    "FYI if you haven't claimed it or know about the deduction it is fine to use it at a later date. I had a friend who was here 7 years before he filed for it and it was fine. In fact it worked in his favour as he got a good deal more than he would have if he used it the irst 2 years of his stay."

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    1. Where is the Facebook link? A link on the skatteetaten website is probably more authoritative. And I would much rather claim it now then wait 7 years. Just like how I would much rather have a dollar today than a dollar in 10 years. I can so more with it now, and more importantly, it's worth more now than in the future. Assuming he claimed the maximum of 40000 nok, that 40000 would've much worth much more in real purchasing power back then compared to today. It's not just the nominal amount you have to consider.

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  3. I didn't know about this 6 years ago, now it looks like I can claim it, so I might as well, I also contacted the skatt office and they confirmed you can claim it if you haven't claimed it already, so 40k is much better than what I would have received in my either of my first 2 years here.

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    1. I'm not a tax advisor, and I don't know your tax situation. Maybe 6 years ago it was something different and you claimed something else. Maybe you're a permanent resident now and so you can't do it, maybe you're married now with kids and you can't claim it but anyhow you're better off asking the tax office what the repercussions are, least you end up paying a huge chunk back when tax/theft time comes. Claiming this deduction disqualifies you from claiming other deductions. Side note, 20K back then probably has the same purchasing power as 40K now. Personally, I would claim this amount asap rather than wait and claim, but that's another story. Good luck.

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  4. Hi, I'm first time in Norway but have to travel a long way to work 50km each way.
    Can I get a rebate from the off if I log in the deatils in their website, or will I need to wait for the next card?

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    1. Hi James, welcome to Norway. No you don't have to wait, your first card is an estimate of what you have to pay based on your income. Your tax return is when you provide actual details of your deductions and income and you do that by logging into Altinn. With the rebate, if you claim the standard deduction you'll not be able to claim other deductions. What the other deductions are could include the long distance to work deduction (or whatever it's called) but best to confirm with the tax office. Post a reply if you do I'm sure others would want to know too.

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    2. I found out for you. You can't claim the rebate if you claim the standard deduction, read the official line at http://bit.ly/ZkS4eD specifically read "Item 3.2.8 Deduction for travel between the home and permanent workplace (travel to/from work)" carefully.

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  5. Hi Skyjuice Limo=) Thank you very much for the information. I am really grateful that I have read your post. And also, your writing technique is very entertaining... By the way, I am Ple from the Philippines and I am planning to study there in Norway. I would just like to ask if the deduction may also be availed of by a student working there in Norway because I have also learned that international students are also allowed to work for at least 20 hours a week. Can I avail of the 10 percent minimum deduction as a working international student? Thanks much again and hoping for your reply. =)

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    1. Hi April, are you May next month? Studying in Norway? Gosh, hope you didn't lose your marbles. ;) Education here isn't for the brilliant. Anyway to answer your question I'm guessing you should be able to but you need to stay "in Norway for up to 183 days during a 12-month period or up to 270 days during a 36-month period" which means "you have limited tax liability and can claim the standard deduction". But always probably best to ring and ask. Don't take what I say as gospel. Feel free to follow me via twitter or contact via linked in if you want to know more.

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