What is Skatteetaten (Norwegian Tax Administration)?
Norway's national tax authority. Manages all Norwegian taxes including personal income tax, corporate tax, MVA (VAT), wealth tax, and inheritance tax. Digital services via skatteetaten.no. Business filings use Altinn.no portal.
Current Rate (Inntektsår 2025)
N/A — regulatory authority
Example
A newly registered AS files its MVA registration through Altinn.no (which forwards to Skatteetaten). Its monthly A-melding payroll reports go to Altinn for Skatteetaten. Its annual corporate tax return (skattemelding) and RF-1167 are filed via Altinn.
How Skatteetaten (Norwegian Tax Administration) works in Norway
Skatteetaten (The Norwegian Tax Administration) is the government agency responsible for all taxation in Norway. It operates under the Ministry of Finance and employs approximately 6,500 people across Norway.
**What Skatteetaten manages**
- Income tax (personskatt and selskapsskatt) - Value added tax (merverdiavgift/MVA) - Payroll tax (arbeidsgiveravgift) - Wealth tax (formueskatt) — Norway is one of the few OECD countries that retains an annual wealth tax (0.85–1% on net wealth above NOK 1.7m) - Inheritance and gift tax (abolished 2014 for most, but still assessed in some cases) - Petroleum tax (Oljeskattekontoret is a separate office under Skatteetaten) - Tax collection and enforcement
**Digital tools**
Skatteetaten is highly digitalised. Key services: - **skatteetaten.no**: main website with guides, calculators (skatteberegning), tax tables, and forms - **Altinn.no**: the primary portal for all business filings — MVA returns, A-melding, corporate tax returns, RF-1167, and more. Altinn is technically run by Digitaliseringsdirektoratet but Skatteetaten is the largest user. - **Skatte-ABC**: Skatteetaten's own comprehensive online tax handbook covering every aspect of Norwegian tax law in plain language — extremely useful for accountants and tax professionals - **Min skatt** (My Tax): personal portal for reviewing and correcting the pre-filled personal tax return
**Audits and control**
Skatteetaten conducts risk-based audits of both personal and corporate taxpayers. Areas of particular scrutiny include: cash businesses, home office deductions, company cars, related-party transactions, cryptocurrency, and foreign income. Norway has extensive information exchange agreements with most countries under OECD and EU frameworks.
**Contact**
Skatteetaten can be contacted via phone (800 80 000, free within Norway), chat via skatteetaten.no, or by post. Most routine matters are handled fully digitally via Altinn and Min skatt.
Related terms
Norway's central business register authority, based in Brønnøysund. Manages the Foretaksregisteret (Company Register) and Enhetsregisteret (Entity Register). All AS companies must register here. Issues the 9-digit Organisasjonsnummer on registration.
Norwegian value added tax. Standard rate 25%. Reduced rate 15% for food and non-alcoholic beverages (not restaurant meals). Low rate 12% for passenger transport, hotel accommodation, cinema, and sport events. Registration threshold NOK 50,000/year.
Norwegian corporate income tax. A flat 22% rate applies to all taxable profits of Norwegian AS (Aksjeselskap) companies. No regional variation. Financial companies (banks, insurance) pay 25%.
Annual mandatory report for all Norwegian AS companies detailing all shareholders, share transactions, dividends paid, and skjermingsfradrag (risk-free return deduction). Filed annually by 31 January via Altinn. Feeds Skatteetaten's Aksjonærregisteret (shareholder register).
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