Do you have a tax surcharge? It's your own fault – you had the wrong tax card!

Did you receive a tax settlement and see that you have to pay several thousand crowns? You are not alone – this is an increasingly common problem among foreign workers in Norway. Every year, thousands of people in Norway are shocked to see a tax surcharge.

If you are one of those people – I have bad news: it's not the employer's fault, not the office's fault, but yours. Most likely, you had the wrong tax card. And that means you paid too little tax throughout the year.

What is a tax card (skattekort)?

A tax card in Norway is an electronic document that informs the employer how much tax to deduct from your salary. Everyone working in Norway is required to have a valid tax card. The card is issued based on projected income and deductions for the given year.
If these projections do not hold true – for example, you earn more than you planned, do not account for additional income sources, or do not report changes in your situation – Skatteetaten (the tax authority) will summarize everything at the end of the year and calculate the underpayment.

Types of tax cards in Norway

Skatteetaten issues four types of skattekort:

Tabellkort (table card)

• Suitable for only one source of income,
• Can be ordered only at the beginning of the tax year and before the first payment,
• Beneficial when monthly payments are identical, without a large number of components, such as overtime, bonuses, allowances.

 

Prosentkort (percentage card)

• The most accurate card,
• Suitable for multiple sources of income in the year and when receiving benefits from NAV,
• Worth using even with one source of income when it varies in different months or each payment contains several different variable components.

 

Frikort (tax-free card)

• For Norwegian tax residents earning a maximum of 100,000 NOK gross per year (as of 2025).
• You do not pay tax up to this amount – but if you exceed the limit, you must pay – and quite a lot!
• Often the problem is that the frikort is not later changed to the appropriate card.

 

Kildeskatt 25% (PAYE)

• Granted to non-residents in Norway,
• Theoretically allows avoiding a surcharge as it excludes it. In practice, it is often worth giving it up, calculating the tax, and recovering overpaid money,
• Cannot be used when receiving benefits from NAV or exceeding the maximum income (697,150 NOK in 2025),
• May be beneficial with income close to but not exceeding the maximum.

 

Didn't check your tax card? Now pay.

"But I didn't know!" – The authorities are not interested. In Norway, it is your responsibility to take care of the tax card. The authorities assume only that you did it. Didn't? Too bad. You'll pay. Here are the most common reasons for such a situation:

• Too low income forecast – if you declared that you would earn, for example, 400,000 NOK, and you ultimately earned 520,000 NOK, the system deducted too little tax throughout the year.
• Failure to update the card after a change in work situation – for example, changing jobs, an additional job, overtime, bonuses.
• Many employers using the same card – if you have more than one employer and chose a table card, where only the main employer has the right to use the table, other employers, not knowing if they are the main ones, will deduct too little tax. And again: surcharge guaranteed. This phenomenon is most often noticed when a taxpayer with a table card received benefits from NAV during the year. NAV then deducts a negligible tax to the office, resulting in a large surcharge.
• Overly optimistic deductions – for example, entering deductions that do not apply or will apply in a different, lower amount. We most often encounter incorrectly entered, significantly overestimated amounts for credit interest.

 

Is the surcharge always the “taxpayer's fault”?

We do not use the word "fault," but the responsibility for the correctness of the tax card lies with the taxpayer. Skatteetaten does not automatically check whether your situation has changed – they assume that the information you provided is true and current or that in the case of incorrect information on the automatically generated card, you will correct it yourself. The card sent by the office in December is for review and correction. Many people treat it as a certainty and do not change anything in it, which results in... of course, a surcharge.

In practice, this means that:

• if you do not update the card and earn more – you have a surcharge,
• if you set the card incorrectly with several employers – you have a surcharge,
• if you incorrectly estimate deductions – you have a surcharge,
• if you incorrectly choose a table card when a percentage card is necessary – you have a surcharge,
• if you choose a 25% card but exceed the income, find a second employer, or switch to NAV benefits – you have a surcharge,
• if you do not correct the automatically generated card by Skatteetaten – you have a surcharge.

How to avoid a surcharge in the future?

1. Order a new tax card for the next year

Remember to order a new tax card for the new tax year – every year! Already in December, you can order a tax card for the next year. You can do this electronically or on paper.

2. Report changes during the year

• Job change
• Second job or assignment
• Overtime, allowances, bonuses
• Change in family status (marriage, child, divorce)
• Job loss,
• Switching to NAV benefits,
• Exceeding the allowable income,
• Not ordering a tax card yourself at the beginning of the year

Each such change should result in an update of the skattekort.

3. Check the assignment of cards to employers

• One employer, stable income source, no tax deductions = Table card
• More than one employer, varied monthly income, benefits from NAV = Percentage card
• Unsure? Contact us, and we will help you choose the appropriate card.

What to do if you already have a surcharge?

• Carefully check the settlement – log in to Skatteetaten and analyze what went wrong.
• Submit a request to spread the surcharge into installments if it is a large amount.
• Immediately update the card for the current year to avoid repeating the mistake.
• If you need help – Multinor can check your card, explain what happened, and propose the best solution.  

Summary

The tax card is a key element of the tax system in Norway. Surcharges most often result from incorrect or outdated data in the skattekort. You are obliged to ensure its correctness – Skatteetaten will not do it for you.
Order a new tax card for the next year already in December – before it's too late. 

Need help with a tax card, settlement, or surcharge? Contact us through multinor.no – tax consultants will be happy to assist you.