For Norwegians

How tax residency works

Under the Tax Act (skatteloven) you become tax resident in Norway if you stay more than 183 days in any 12 month period, or more than 270 days in any 36 month period. Residents pay income tax on worldwide income and wealth tax on worldwide net wealth.

Leaving is harder than arriving. Reporting a move to the National Population Register does not end tax residency. You must claim cessation of tax residence, known as tax emigration, from Skatteetaten, the Norwegian Tax Administration, and until it is accepted you remain taxable on worldwide income and wealth.

If you were resident for less than ten years before the year you move, residency can end with the first income year in which you have settled permanently abroad, spent no more than 61 days in Norway, and had no home available in Norway. If you were resident for ten years or more, the 3 year rule applies: you stay resident in the year of the move and at least three more income years, and must meet the same conditions in each of them.

A tax treaty can make you resident in your new country sooner under its tie breaker rules, which limits what Norway can tax, but you may still be resident under Norwegian law and need to file.

• Any started day counts as a full day in Norway for the 61 day limit.
• The home test covers you and your related parties: a spouse, cohabiting partner or minor children.
• A holiday home such as a cabin does not count as a home available.
• A home you have owned for at least five years without you or your family living in it also does not count.

Leaving properly

Plan the move as a sequence: the population register, the tax emigration claim, the exit tax filing and then several years of keeping within the limits.

1. 01

   Report the move

   If you will be abroad for six months or more, notify the National Population Register (Folkeregisteret) that you are leaving.

2. 02

   Claim tax emigration

   Log in to your tax return and file the claim for cessation of tax residence, with evidence of a permanent home abroad. Keep filing Norwegian returns until it is accepted.

3. 03

   Deal with the home

   Sell, let it out with no access for you or your family, or keep only a holiday home. A home available to you, your spouse, partner or minor children keeps you resident.

4. 04

   Report exit tax

   Report latent gains and losses per asset in the tax return covering the day before you move, and choose how to pay. Confirm your country of residence and holdings to Skatteetaten by 30 April each year.

5. 05

   Count your days

   Stay within 61 days a year in Norway for the whole period, counting every started day, and keep travel records.

6. 06

   Tell NAV

   Notify NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, about the move. Membership of the National Insurance Scheme (folketrygden) usually ends when you settle abroad.

Exit tax, property and investments

Norway’s exit tax (utflyttingsskatt) treats your shares as sold on the day before you leave. It covers shares in Norwegian and foreign companies, fund units, share savings accounts (aksjesparekonto), certain investment accounts, employee options and similar instruments. It is triggered when you tax emigrate or become resident elsewhere under a tax treaty. Gains on shares are taxed at an effective 37.84% in 2026.

The rules were tightened in steps. For moves from 29 November 2022, the old rule that cancelled the tax after five years abroad no longer applies. For moves from 20 March 2024, a basic deduction of NOK 3 million applies to the net latent gain, and you can pay at once, pay in instalments over 12 years, or defer payment for up to 12 years. Deferral generally requires security outside the EEA, 70% of dividends you receive go towards the bill, and the liability falls away if you move back to Norway within the 12 years.

Wealth tax continues for as long as you remain resident, at 1.0% on net wealth above the basic allowance and 1.1% on the largest fortunes. After tax emigration, Norway taxes only Norwegian real estate and business assets. This is why the 3 year rule matters so much: every extra year of residency is another year of wealth tax on everything you own.

Norwegian property stays in the Norwegian tax net after you leave: rental income is taxed in Norway, and the property counts for wealth tax. Your accountant confirms how a later sale would be treated.

Pensions and social security

NAV pays the old age pension abroad. The earnings based part follows you anywhere. The guarantee pension (garantipensjon), the minimum level for people with low earnings, can generally only be kept outside the EEA if you have at least 20 years of insurance periods (trygdetid) in Norway.

Pensions paid to people living abroad carry a 15% withholding tax with no tax free amount. It covers National Insurance pensions, public and private occupational pensions and other private pensions. A tax treaty can reduce or remove it, and you apply to Skatteetaten for a new tax deduction card when you move.

Membership of the National Insurance Scheme generally ends when you settle abroad, which also ends rights to public healthcare and most NAV benefits. Taking paid work abroad can end membership straight away.

Dual citizenship

Norway has allowed dual citizenship since 1 January 2020. Norwegians who take another citizenship by residence, naturalisation or investment keep their Norwegian one.

If your children are born abroad, note the age 22 rule. A Norwegian born outside the Nordic countries who has lived less than two years in Norway, or less than seven years in the Nordic region, must apply to keep Norwegian citizenship before turning 22.