Norwegian AS Tax Explained: 22% Corporate Tax, MVA and Salary Rules in 2025

Running a Norwegian AS comes with a well-designed tax system, but one that rewards founders who understand the mechanics. The 22% flat corporate rate is competitive by European standards. The dividend rules are the part most founders get wrong — not because they are complicated once explained, but because the Aksjonærmodellen sits behind two layers of Norwegian-specific terminology that rarely appears in plain English.

This guide walks through every major tax obligation for a Norwegian aksjeselskap: corporate tax, MVA, how dividends are actually taxed in your hands as an owner-director, what you pay as an employer, and the R&D incentive that many founders overlook. All figures reflect the 2025 tax year as filed via Altinn.

Selskapsskatt: 22% flat corporate tax

The corporate income tax in Norway — selskapsskatt — sits at 22% for the 2025 tax year. This rate applies to the company's taxable profit after allowable deductions. It has been stable at 22% since 2019 and there is no graduated scale: whether the company earns NOK 200,000 or NOK 20 million, the same rate applies.

What is taxable profit?

Taxable profit starts with the accounting profit in the company's annual accounts and is then adjusted:

• Add back: non-deductible costs (personal expenses, fines, certain entertainment above limits)
• Deduct: depreciation at statutory rates (often higher than accounting depreciation)
• Deduct: prior-year losses carried forward (Norway allows indefinite loss carry-forward)
• Apply Fritaksmetoden if the company received qualifying dividends (see below)

The result is the grunnlag for 22% selskapsskatt. The tax is computed in the tax return (skattemelding for companies) and must be paid in two instalments: 15 February and 15 April of the year following the income year.

Key deductions

Norway is relatively generous in what an AS can deduct:

• Salary costs including employer NI (arbeidsgiveravgift — see below)
• Rent, office, equipment
• Software subscriptions and SaaS tools used for business
• Travel costs with proper documentation
• Depreciation at group rates (saldoavskrivning) set by the Tax Administration
• Interest on business debt
• SkatteFUNN R&D credit (see dedicated section below)

Entertainment is partially restricted: only 50% of business meal costs are deductible, and combined entertainment above NOK 50,000 per year becomes non-deductible.

MVA: merverdiavgift (Norwegian VAT)

Norway is not an EU member, but its MVA (merverdiavgift) system closely mirrors EU VAT. The standard rate is 25%, and two reduced rates apply.

MVA rate table

Some supplies are exempt (outside the MVA system entirely, not zero-rated): financial services, health and dental, education, letting of residential property. Exempt suppliers cannot reclaim input MVA.

Registration threshold

An AS must register for MVA when taxable turnover exceeds NOK 50,000 in a 12-month period. Once registered, you charge MVA on invoices and reclaim MVA on business purchases. Filing is typically every two months (bi-monthly returns via Altinn), though smaller businesses can apply for annual filing.

If your company sells exclusively to business customers (B2B), MVA is generally cash-neutral since your customers reclaim it. If you sell to consumers (B2C), MVA is a real cost to them, and pricing needs to reflect it.

MVA for exports

Goods physically exported from Norway are zero-rated. Services supplied to foreign customers are also generally zero-rated, provided the customer is outside Norway. This is important for SaaS and consulting businesses with international clients — you do not charge Norwegian MVA on those invoices, but you can still reclaim input MVA on your Norwegian costs.

Aksjonærmodellen: how dividends are really taxed

This is the part that catches founders off guard. When your AS pays a dividend to you as a personal shareholder, the tax is not simply 22% or a straightforward income tax rate. Norway uses the Aksjonærmodellen (shareholder model), which involves two adjustments that ultimately produce an effective rate of around 37.84% on dividends above the skjermingsfradrag.

Step 1: skjermingsfradrag (the risk-free return deduction)

Every year, the Norwegian Tax Administration publishes a skjermingsrente — a risk-free interest rate reflecting what you could have earned by putting your capital in a bank deposit. For 2025 the rate is 3.1% (the exact figure is announced each December for the preceding year and applied in the following year's tax return).

Your skjermingsfradrag for a given share is:

Skjermingsfradrag = (cost basis of shares + accumulated unused deduction from prior years) × skjermingsrente

The deduction reduces the taxable portion of the dividend. Any unused skjermingsfradrag from one year carries forward and accumulates, so if the company pays no dividend one year, the unused deduction builds up and shelters future dividends.

Practical effect: for a founder who paid NOK 30,000 for shares and holds them for years without drawing a dividend, a reasonable accumulated deduction builds up — but for a company with large profits, the deduction is modest relative to total dividends. Most founders should not rely on skjermingsfradrag to shelter a material portion of dividend income.

Step 2: the grossing-up factor (1.72x) and the effective rate

After subtracting the skjermingsfradrag, the remaining dividend is grossed up by a factor of 1.72 before applying the personal income tax rate of 22%.

Taxable amount = (dividend - skjermingsfradrag) × 1.72

Tax on dividend = taxable amount × 22%

Working backwards: if you receive a dividend of NOK 100 (after the deduction), you pay 22% × 1.72 = 37.84% in income tax on that NOK 100. The grossing-up factor is how Norway achieves economic double taxation neutralisation while still applying the standard 22% personal income tax rate.

Why 1.72? The factor is set so that the combined corporate tax (22%) and shareholder tax integrate to an appropriate total burden. It is reviewed when the corporate rate changes.

See our detailed guide to Aksjonærmodellen for the full mechanics, including how the shareholder's cost basis (skjermingsgrunnlag) is calculated when shares are acquired at different times.

Salary versus dividends: the optimal mix

Because salary and dividends are taxed differently, most Norwegian AS founders need to think carefully about the ratio between the two. The right answer depends on arbeidsgiveravgift rates, personal income tax (trinnskatt), and the company's profit level.

How salary is taxed for the owner-director

Salary is a deductible cost for the company (reduces the 22% selskapsskatt base). But the founder receiving the salary pays:

• Trygdeavgift (social security contribution): 7.7% on employment income in 2025
• Trinnskatt (bracket tax): 0% to 17.6% depending on income level
• Base income tax (alminnelig inntekt): 22%

Effective marginal rates on salary for a director earning in the upper brackets can reach 46–47%. However, salary also builds up pension entitlements and sick pay rights, which has value.

Arbeidsgiveravgift: employer social security

The company must also pay arbeidsgiveravgift (employer's national insurance contribution) on salaries. This is a cost on top of the salary itself and is deductible for the company. The rate varies by geographic zone:

The zone is determined by where the employee actually works, not where the company is registered. A fully remote founder-director working from Oslo pays 14.1% regardless of where the AS is registered.

Arbeidsgiveravgift applies on the gross salary amount. So a salary of NOK 800,000 in Zone 1 triggers NOK 112,800 in employer contributions — a cost the company must budget for on top of the salary.

For detailed tables on arbeidsgiveravgift zones, see the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten) website.

Worked example: AS with NOK 1,500,000 profit

Let us work through a realistic scenario for a Norwegian founder running a consulting AS in Oslo (Zone 1).

Assumptions:

• Taxable profit before salary: NOK 1,500,000
• The founder works full time in the company
• Skjermingsrente: 3.1%; shares cost NOK 30,000 (skjermingsfradrag approximately NOK 930)
• Objective: minimise total tax paid on money extracted

Option A: extract everything as salary

The company pays NOK 1,500,000 as salary plus must pay arbeidsgiveravgift on top. But the salary is also a deduction, so taxable salary needs to work within the total budget.

If the founder draws NOK 1,313,728 gross salary:

• Arbeidsgiveravgift at 14.1% = NOK 185,236 (company cost)
• Total company cost: NOK 1,313,728 + NOK 185,236 = NOK 1,498,964 (approximately the full budget)
• Selskapsskatt: NOK 0 (profit fully offset by deductions)

Personal tax on NOK 1,313,728 salary:

• Trygdeavgift 7.7% = NOK 101,157
• Trinnskatt (2025 brackets: 0% on first NOK 217,400; 1.7% to NOK 306,050; 4.0% to NOK 697,150; 13.7% to NOK 942,400; 16.7% to NOK 1,410,750; 17.6% above) = approximately NOK 127,000
• Alminnelig inntekt 22% (on net income after standard deductions, minimum deduction minstefradrag) = approximately NOK 255,000

Estimated total personal income tax: approximately NOK 483,000 Personal take-home: approximately NOK 830,000

Option B: optimal salary/dividend mix

The commonly recommended approach is to pay a salary that sits around the break-even point where additional salary is less efficient than dividends — typically around NOK 700,000 to NOK 800,000 for a full-time founder.

Salary: NOK 750,000

• Arbeidsgiveravgift (14.1%): NOK 105,750
• Total salary cost to company: NOK 855,750
• Remaining company profit: NOK 1,500,000 - NOK 855,750 = NOK 644,250
• Selskapsskatt (22%): NOK 141,735
• After-tax retained profit: NOK 502,515
• Available as dividend: NOK 502,515

Personal tax on salary (NOK 750,000):

• Trygdeavgift 7.7%: NOK 57,750
• Trinnskatt: approximately NOK 52,000
• Alminnelig inntekt 22%: approximately NOK 148,000
• Total salary tax: approximately NOK 257,750

Personal tax on dividend (NOK 502,515):

• Less skjermingsfradrag (NOK 930): NOK 501,585 taxable dividend
• Grossed up: NOK 501,585 × 1.72 = NOK 862,726
• Tax at 22%: NOK 189,800
• Effective dividend tax: approximately NOK 189,800

Total tax and contributions (Option B):

• Arbeidsgiveravgift: NOK 105,750
• Selskapsskatt: NOK 141,735
• Personal income tax (salary + dividend): NOK 447,550
• Total: approximately NOK 695,035
• Take-home: approximately NOK 804,965

Option B leaves the founder slightly better off in this scenario. The saving is modest because the salary is already substantial — the real advantage of dividends over salary grows for founders in the upper trinnskatt brackets. Individual circumstances vary significantly; an accountant (or Finn) can model your specific numbers.

Fritaksmetoden: tax-free dividends between companies

When an AS receives dividends from another company (for example, from a subsidiary or an investment in another Norwegian or EEA company), the Fritaksmetoden (exemption method) generally applies. Under this method:

• 97% of the dividend is exempt from corporate tax at the receiving company level
• Only 3% of the dividend is included in taxable income (effectively taxed at 22% × 3% = 0.66%)

This makes group structures tax-efficient: profits can be paid up from an operating subsidiary to a holding AS without triggering significant tax at the holding company level. The Fritaksmetoden applies to dividends from:

• Norwegian AS and ASA companies
• Companies resident in the EEA under genuine establishment (subject to anti-avoidance rules for low-tax EEA countries)
• Non-EEA companies in countries with which Norway has a tax treaty, under certain conditions

Capital gains on shares also qualify for the Fritaksmetoden at the corporate level, making the holding AS structure attractive for founders who anticipate selling shares in subsidiaries or portfolio companies.

SkatteFUNN: 19% R&D tax credit

SkatteFUNN is Norway's research and development tax incentive, administered jointly by the Research Council of Norway and the Tax Administration. It is one of the most underused reliefs among founder-led companies.

How it works:

• Eligible R&D costs are credited against the tax bill at 19% (raised from 18% for the 2023 tax year onwards)
• If the credit exceeds the company's tax liability, the excess is paid out in cash — so even a loss-making startup benefits
• The credit applies to both salaries of employees working on approved R&D and external R&D costs

Eligible costs:

• Salaries of employees directly involved in qualifying R&D projects (up to a maximum of NOK 700 per hour at the company's actual cost)
• Costs of purchasing R&D services from approved research institutions
• Other direct costs (materials, equipment) allocated to the project

Annual limits (2025):

• Internal R&D costs: NOK 25 million per year
• External R&D costs from approved institutions: NOK 50 million per year

How to apply:

The project must be pre-approved by the Research Council of Norway before the tax year ends. Apply at skattefunn.no. The approval is project-specific, not company-wide. You document costs in the annual accounts and claim the credit in the company tax return.

Software development frequently qualifies, provided the project involves genuine new knowledge — developing a new algorithm, creating novel functionality — rather than routine development or bug fixes. The Research Council has published guidance on the software boundary.

Altinn: filing and compliance

All Norwegian business tax obligations are handled through Altinn (altinn.no), the Norwegian government's digital service portal. The key filings for an AS:

Preliminary tax payments (selskapsskatt):

Corporate tax is paid in two equal preliminary instalments during the year following the income year:

• First instalment: 15 February
• Second instalment: 15 April

These are based on the prior year's tax liability. If you expect the current year to be significantly different, you can request adjusted preliminary payments. Interest charges (forsinkelsesrenter) apply to unpaid tax from the due date.

The aksjonærregisteroppgaven (shareholder register return) is particularly important: it is where dividend payments, share issuances, and transfers are reported. Missing or incorrect data in this return can affect shareholders' skjermingsgrunnlag calculations.

Dividend timing and the skjermingsgrunnlag

One practical point that many founders miss: the skjermingsgrunnlag (the cost basis used to calculate skjermingsfradrag) is measured at 31 December of the income year. This means:

• If you subscribe for new shares in your AS in December, those shares increase your basis immediately for that year's skjermingsfradrag calculation
• If the AS pays a dividend that exceeds the skjermingsfradrag, the taxable portion is simply the excess (grossed up at 1.72 and taxed at 22%)
• Dividends must be voted by the general meeting (generalforsamling) and cannot exceed the distributable equity shown in the most recent approved accounts

The AS cannot simply distribute cash on demand. A formal board resolution and general meeting vote are required. If the company has not yet approved its annual accounts, the distribution is limited to the distributable equity from the most recent approved year-end balance sheet.

For the detailed mechanics of skjermingsgrunnlag calculations across multiple share tranches, see our Selskapsskatt glossary page.

Frequently asked questions

Can an AS deduct the founder's home office? Costs related to a home office are deductible if the space is used exclusively for business. A dedicated room that is not used as living space qualifies; working at the kitchen table does not. In practice, many founders pay themselves a small rent from the AS for a dedicated office, which the AS deducts and they declare as income.

What happens if the company does not pay any salary? An AS can operate without paying salary to its owner-director. In that case, the Aksjonærmodellen applies to all distributions. However, a zero-salary approach means no pension contributions and no sick-pay rights accrue. For most founders drawing a meaningful income from the company, some salary is advisable.

Is there a minimum salary requirement? Norway has no statutory minimum salary for AS directors, unlike the UK's requirement to pay at least a nominal salary. However, if a founder performs substantial work for the company without drawing salary, Skatteetaten may reclassify some profit as employment income under the anti-avoidance rules for personal service companies (deltakermodellen does not apply to AS, but general arm's-length principles do).

How does Norway tax capital gains on selling the AS? Gains on selling shares in a Norwegian AS are taxed under the Aksjonærmodellen: the gain above cost basis (adjusted for accumulated but unused skjermingsfradrag) is grossed up by 1.72 and taxed at 22%, producing an effective 37.84% rate. If the seller is itself an AS (a holding company), the Fritaksmetoden applies and the gain is 97% exempt.

Does Norway have a wealth tax? Yes. Norway has a personal wealth tax (formuesskatt) — one of very few European countries to retain this. For 2025, the rate is 1.1% on net wealth above NOK 1.7 million (the threshold is per person). Company shares are valued at 80% of equity value (with some adjustments) when calculating the shareholder's net wealth. This can create a cash-flow challenge: you may owe wealth tax on paper value of your AS shares even if the company does not distribute cash.

Can the AS be registered for MVA voluntarily below the threshold? Yes. A company can voluntarily register for MVA even before reaching NOK 50,000 turnover, if it wishes to reclaim input MVA on purchases (for example, during a build phase with significant equipment costs and no revenue yet). Voluntary registration is approved case-by-case by Skatteetaten.

AccountsOS and Norwegian AS accounting

Norwegian accounting requirements are real: Altinn deadlines, bi-monthly MVA returns, monthly A-melding for payroll, an annual accounts filing with Brønnøysundregistrene, and the aksjonærregisteroppgaven. Across all of that, the underlying bookkeeping must tie to the skattemelding.

Finn, AccountsOS's AI accountant, handles Norwegian AS accounting end to end. Upload receipts, connect your bank, and Finn categorises transactions in line with Norwegian accounting standards, tracks your MVA position in real time, and reminds you before Altinn deadlines. Ask Finn questions in plain English (or Norwegian) and get answers grounded in current Skatteetaten rules.

Try AccountsOS for your Norwegian AS — no card required for the first 14 days.

This article reflects Norwegian tax rules for the 2025 tax year. Tax law changes frequently. Verify figures with Skatteetaten (skatteetaten.no) or a Norwegian statsautorisert revisor for your specific situation.