Norway
Norway: 7 company types, its taxes, banking and business environment, and what it is known for.
Forming a company
Company types in Norway
The 7 forms a founder can choose here, each with its own figures. Open one for its sources.
What it is known for
Where Norway is in the world’s top 10 on a measure anyone can check, the best rank first. Only the top is shown; a low rank is never stated.
- World’s1stWorld-leading exports Fresh or chilled fish, wholeFish, fresh or chilled, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304US$9.1 bn · 35.0% of world exports of 163 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s1stWorld-leading exports Fish fillets and fish meatFish fillets and other fish meat (whether or not minced), fresh, chilled or frozenUS$4.9 bn · 16.4% of world exports of 170 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
- World’s2ndWorld-leading exports Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbonsUS$54.5 bn · 11.5% of world exports of 150 exporters · 2024 CEPII BACI, January 2026 release See the top 10
A rank is among everything the source reports for that year, so it moves when the source adds or drops economies. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. Nothing here is a recommendation.
Doing business here
Business accounts
Providers whose own published list of countries names Norway. A listing means a company formed here may apply, not that it will be accepted.
Not in our records No provider's country list has been read for Norway.
EU listings
Two lists a bank checks when it opens an account for a company or its owner.
- EU high-risk third countries (AML)
- Not listed
- EU non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes
- Not listedOfficial EUR-Lex, 52026XG01465, Annex I as of 2026-02-17
Official sites
The authorities’ own sites for Norway: where to register, file and check.
Blocs and agreements
The trade arrangements Norway belongs to, as each arrangement’s own texts state them: since when, and what each covers. What a membership means for a business is for you to judge.
- Schengen area
- Free movement area · since 25 March 2001
Covers movement of people.
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As from 25 March 2001, and subject to Article 3(2):
- European Economic Area
- Single market · since 1 January 1994
Covers goods, movement of people, services, establishment, capital.
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which now covers the EU and its 27 Member States, and three of the four EFTA members: Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
- European Free Trade Association
- Free trade area · since 1960
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three of the EFTA States - Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway
Regional and customs arrangements only, 36 of them; bilateral trade agreements are not yet in our records.
Tax
Company tax
Tax, and what the company owes the registry each year.
- Corporate income tax
- 22%
- Distributions
- Not in our records
- Audit
- Audit is the rule; the general meeting may decide to waive it where operating revenue is under the threshold, balance sheet total is under the threshold and average staff do not exceed ten man-years (aksjeloven § 7-6; the Brønnøysund pages give NOK 7 million, NOK 27 million, 10 FTE).Official The registry or ministry page as of 2026-10-14
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Generalforsamlingen kan med flertall som for vedtektsendring beslutte at selskapets årsregnskaper for inneværende regnskapsår eller senere ikke skal revideres etter revisorloven dersom
- Small-company relief
- Not in our records
- Annual obligations
- Not in our records
- Annual registry fee
- FreeOfficial The registry or ministry page as of 2026-10-14
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Submitting the annual accounts is free of charge.
VAT
The tax on what the company sells in Norway, and when it must register, as the tax authority states it.
- Standard rate
- 25%
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Alminnelig sats 25 % Næringsmidler (mat og drikke) 15 % Vann- og avløpstjenester 15% Persontransport, kinobilletter, utleie av rom, med mer 12 %
- Other rates
- 15% Food and drink
- 15% Water and sewage services
- 12% Passenger transport, cinema tickets, room rental and similar
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Alminnelig sats 25 % Næringsmidler (mat og drikke) 15 % Vann- og avløpstjenester 15% Persontransport, kinobilletter, utleie av rom, med mer 12 %
- Registration threshold
- NOK 50,000 · about €4,756
turnover of VAT-liable goods and services; 12 months
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Beløpsgrensen for registrering er 50 000 kroner (uten merverdiavgift) for virksomheter og de fleste organisasjoner.
- A foreign company
- The same threshold applies; needs a local tax representative
A business without a place of business or domicile in Norway must be registered with a representative resident or established in Norway, who is jointly liable for filing and payment. The representative requirement does not apply to businesses resident in the United Kingdom or in listed EEA states.
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Beløpsgrensen for registrering er 50 000 kroner (uten merverdiavgift) for virksomheter og de fleste organisasjoner.
- Returns filed
- Depends on the business
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De fleste betaler merverdiavgift annenhver måned.
- Tax authority
- Registration page read 2026-10-22
Tax calendar
When the main returns and payments fall due in Norway, tax year 2025, as the tax authority states it.
- Corporate tax return
- 31 May · each year
the tax return for companies and other businesses is due 31 May each year; where the deadline, or the deadline for applying for a deferral, falls on a Saturday or Sunday it is not too late to apply by the first working day.
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Fristen for å levere skattemelding for næringsdrivende er 31. mai hvert år.
- Corporate tax, final payment
- 21 days after the end of the assessment notice · each year
for companies and other non-personal taxpayers the underpaid tax (restskatt) falls due three weeks after the tax assessment (skatteoppgjøret) is sent to the company; a payment date on a Saturday or Sunday moves to the following Monday (first working day). The rule is anchored to the assessment notice, not a fixed calendar date.
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The underpaid tax must be paid within three weeks from the tax assessment notice was sent to the company.
- Corporate tax, instalments
- 15 February · twice a year
non-personal taxpayers pay advance tax in two equal instalments, on 15 February and 15 April in the year after the income year; the rule records the first instalment. The page states no weekend rule, so the shift is left unstated. If the first instalment is not paid by its due date the whole year's advance tax falls due at once.
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Advance tax falls due for payment in two equal instalments. 15 February and 15 April in the year after the income year.
- Personal income-tax return
- 30 April · each year
an individual's tax return (skattemelding) must be changed and submitted by 30 April each year; where the deadline, or the deferral-application deadline, falls on a Saturday or Sunday it is not too late by the first working day. Self-employed persons and businesses have 31 May.
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Fristen for å endre og levere skattemeldingen er 30. april hvert år.
- Personal income tax, final payment
- 20 August · each year
underpaid tax for an individual is paid by 20 August where the tax assessment is received in June or earlier (the usual case), split into two invoices due 20 August and 24 September; the rule is anchored to the first invoice. Where the assessment is received in August or later it falls due three weeks after the assessment, with the second invoice eight weeks after. A payment date on a Saturday or Sunday moves to the following Monday.
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Hvis du får skatteoppgjøret før 1. juli, er betalingsfristen for første faktura 20. august.
- Personal income tax, instalments
- 15 March · each quarter
advance tax for individuals is payable in four instalments, on 15 March, 15 June, 15 September and 15 December; the rule records the first instalment, and weekends and holidays are taken into account (the date moves to the next working day).
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The deadlines for paying advance tax are: 15 March 15 June 15 September 15 December
- VAT return
- 1 month and 10 days after the end of the period · every two months
the VAT return and payment are due one month and ten days after the end of each two-month VAT period (for example 10 April and 10 June), except the third ordinary period (May–June), whose deadline is 31 August. The page states no weekend rule, so the shift is left unstated. Small businesses with turnover under NOK 1 million may apply for an annual period, due 10 March the following year.
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Leveringsfrist for skattemeldingen er en måned og ti dager etter utløpet av hver skattleggingsperiode eller fra tidspunktet for virksomhetens opphør. Fristen for tredje alminnelige skattleggingsperiode er likevel 31. august.
- Payroll withholding
- Stated; see the note
from January 2026 an employer pays the withheld tax (forskuddstrekk) no later than the first working day after the wages are paid and the deduction is made, so payment follows the pay date rather than a fixed calendar day; for a standard monthly payroll this is the first working day after month end. The a-melding report itself is due the 5th of each month, moved to the next working day if the 5th is a weekend or holiday.
Running the company
Running a company here
Not in our records The authorities’ pages on running a company have not been read for Norway yet.
Economy and trade
What it exports
Goods Norway exported, by product, as a share of its goods exports each year. Exports include goods passing through for re-export. A share describes Norway’s own trade; it does not compare places.
| Product (HS heading) | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Value, 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petroleum gases and other gaseous hydrocarbons HS 2711 | 53.3% | 34.8% | 31.3% | US$54.5 bn |
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, crude HS 2709 | 20.4% | 27.4% | 28.7% | US$50 bn |
| Fish, fresh or chilled, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304 HS 0302 | 3.2% | 5.1% | 5.2% | US$9.1 bn |
| Petroleum oils and oils obtained from bituminous minerals, other than crude; preparations not elsewhere specified or included, containing by weight 70 % or more of petroleum oils or of oils obtained from bituminous minerals, these oils being the basic constituents of the preparations; waste oils HS 2710 | 2.7% | 3.5% | 3.1% | US$5.3 bn |
| Fish fillets and other fish meat (whether or not minced), fresh, chilled or frozen HS 0304 | 1.4% | 2.4% | 2.8% | US$4.9 bn |
| Unwrought aluminium HS 7601 | 1.8% | 2.2% | 2.5% | US$4.3 bn |
| Electrical energy HS 2716 | 1.7% | 1.5% | 1.3% | US$2.2 bn |
| Unwrought nickel HS 7502 | 0.83% | 1.5% | 1.3% | US$2.2 bn |
| Fish, frozen, excluding fish fillets and other fish meat of heading 0304 HS 0303 | 0.69% | 0.92% | 1.1% | US$1.8 bn |
| Light-vessels, fire-floats, dredgers, floating cranes, and other vessels the navigability of which is subsidiary to their main function; floating docks; floating or submersible drilling or production platforms HS 8905 | under 0.05% | 0.27% | 0.81% | US$1.4 bn |
Total goods exports, 2024: US$174.3 bn. The ten largest headings are shown.