Norway

VAT Rates, Daily and Mileage Allowances and E-archiving in Norway

by Andreea Susanu

3 min read

May. 13, 2025

6:16

VAT rates in Norway

Norway imposes Value Added Tax (VAT) at different rates as follows for various goods and services:

1. Standard rate - 25%

The standard Norwegian VAT is applicable to all taxable goods and services, except when a specific measure allows for a reduced rate.

2. Reduced rate - 15%

Supply of food and beverages.

3. Reduced rate - 12%

Domestic passenger transport services, accommodation services, cinema tickets, museum and gallery tickets, and sports events.

4. Zero rate - 0%

E-books.

Source: https://www.skatteetaten.no/en/rates/value-added-tax/

Daily allowances in Norway

Domestic daily allowance

For a business trip to be considered as a journey involving an overnight stay, the employee must spend more than five hours of the night away from home. In this context, 'night' is considered to be the period between 22:00 and 06:00.

Journeys lasting more than six hours into a new day will entitle the travelling employee to the full daily subsistence allowance according to the same rate as the previous day (full day).

Journeys lasting fewer than six hours into a new day will not entitle the employee to the payment of a subsistence allowance.

Overnight allowance

If an employee arranges accommodation themselves on domestic business trips (e.g. private accommodation), an undocumented night supplement not subject to payroll withholding tax of NOK 452 per day may be paid.

	State Rate	Tax-free	Taxable
Overnight stay
Hotel	NOK 977	NOK 678	NOK 299
Boarding house, dorm w/o cooking facilities	NOK 977	NOK 400	NOK 577
Barracks with cooking facilities and private stay	NOK 977	NOK 105	NOK 872
Caravan	NOK 977	NOK 105	NOK 872
Caravan		NOK 78
Extra day (last day of a multi-day travel)
Extra day 6-12 hours	NOK 384	NOK 384
Extra day over 12 hours	NOK 713	NOK 678	NOK 35
Day trips
Duration 6-12 hours	NOK 384	NOK 200	NOK 184
Duration over 12 hours	NOK 713	NOK 400	NOK 313

Deductions are calculated from the full per diem amount as follows:

	State rate	Tax-free	Taxable
Meal deductions for overnight travels
Breakfast	20% full rate	20%	20%
Lunch	30% full rate	30%	30%
Dinner	50% full rate	50%	50%
Meal deductions for extra day/day trip
Breakfast	20% actual rate	20%	20%
Lunch	30% actual rate	30%	30%
Dinner	50% actual rate	50%	50%
Night allowance	NOK 452	NOK 452

In the case of travel involving one or more overnight stays, the location where the overnight stay takes place (accommodation type- determines the amount that can be paid as a subsistence allowance not subject to payroll withholding tax.

If several countries are visited during the same day, the country in which the traveler stayed the longest determines the travel allowance rate.

Meal	Domestic	Foreign
Breakfast	20%	20%
Lunch	30%	30%
Dinner	50%	50%

If a trip lasts for more than 28 continuous days at the same location outside of Norway, the meal allowances per state rate are reduced to 75% of the original amounts from day 29 onwards.

Source: https://www.skatteetaten.no/en/rates/board-and-lodging---rates-for-deduction-and-tax-free-allowances/

https://www.skatteetaten.no/en/person/taxes/get-the-taxes-right/employment-benefits-and-pensions/if-your-employer-pays/subsistence-allowance-when-travelling/

Mileage allowances in Norway

Employees travelling for business in Norway with a private vehicle may be entitled to a tax-free milage allowance, the rates of which are as follows:

Vehicle	Tax-free rate
Car (including electric car)	NOK 3,50 (tax: NOK 1,50)
Motor boat	NOK 7,50
Snowmobile and ATV	NOK 10,00
Heavy motorcycle (up to 125 ccm)	NOK 2,95
Moped or light motorcycle (up to 125 ccm) and other motorised means of transport	NOK 2,00

Additional rate

NOK 1,00 per km:

Per passenger
For driving on forest and construction roads
For bringing equipment and materials (equipment that because of its weight and/or condition would not be suitable for transport in the trunk or on a roof rack, for example when using a trailer).

Source: https://lovdata.no/dokument/SPHPM/pm-2024-22

Electronic archiving and retention period in Norway

Those obliged to keep records may store electronic accounting material in another EEA country if an agreement or agreement with the country in question ensures satisfactory access to the accounting information for control purposes by the Norwegian tax and excise authorities during the storage period, and such storage will not hinder an effective Norwegian police investigation. The accounting material must be available in readable form and must be able to be printed on paper from a terminal or similar in Norway throughout the retention period. The person obliged to keep records must inform the Tax Directorate in writing about which accounting material is kept abroad, where the accounting material is kept, and how the control authorities can gain access to the accounting material at any time.

Recorded information according to section 7, first paragraph, which is initially available electronically, must be available electronically for three years and six months after the end of the accounting year.

Source: https://lovdata.no/dokument/NL/lov/2004-11-19-73/%C2%A713#%C2%A713

https://lovdata.no/dokument/SF/forskrift/2004-12-01-1558/KAPITTEL_7#%C2%A77-5

https://www.skatteetaten.no/en/rettskilder/type/kunngjoringer/dispensation-from-the-requirement-to-store-electronic-accounting-records-in-norway---taxable-entity-without-a-place-of-business-or-domicile-in-the-vat-area-nor-a-vat-representative/