Rettledning for utenlandske arbeidstakere og ... - Skatteetaten

Which deductions can you claim as a
commuter?
If you have paid the expenses yourself and
are not claiming the standard deduction
for foreign employees, you can claim a
deduction for:
• travel in connection with home visits
calculated at a rate per kilometre. The
number of kilometres is stipulated on the
basis of the shortest travel distance by
road between your housing in Norway and
your home in your home country. You must
be able to document/substantiate the
number of journeys. The rate for 2012 is
NOK 1.50 per km for up to 50,000 km per
year. For the number of kilometres in
excess of 50,000, the rate is NOK 0.70 per
kilometre. You can claim a deduction for
the actual cost of ferry and air travel, but
you cannot also claim a deduction at the
standard rate for the distance travelled by
ferry and air.
• what you have paid for accommodation
(rent costs). You must be able to present
receipts for the amounts.
• extra subsistence expenses at standard
rates that are stipulated annually by the
Directorate of Taxes. For 2012, the rate
is NOK 190 per day. If it is not possible
to cook food where you live, the rate is
NOK 293 per day.
If your employer covered some of the costs,
you can only claim a deduction for the costs
you covered yourself. If, for example, you
have free accommodation in Norway covered
by your employer, you can claim a deduction
for subsistence and for travel in connection
with home visits as described above.
If your employer has covered commuting
expenses, the benefit of this is tax-exempt
provided that you would have been entitled to
deduct the expenses if you had paid them
yourself. The same applies to any allowances
received that do not exceed the rates for
deductions. It is only any surplus on
allowances that will be taxed as pay.
If your employer covered all your subsistence
costs, either on the basis of receipts or by
providing free board, and you receive this
tax-free, you will be taxed for "savings on
household costs". For 2012, the rate is
NOK 79 per day. The savings on household
costs have been taken into account in the
deduction rates.
If you are claiming the standard deduction for
foreign employees, you cannot claim further
deductions. For information about how this
relates to the standard deduction, see the
topic "Employer’s coverage of expenses in
connection with board, lodging and home
visits when commuting from abroad and its
relationship to the standard deduction for
foreign employees".
Employer’s coverage of
expenses for board, lodging
and home visits when
commuting from abroad
and its relation ship to the
standard deduction for
foreign employees
If you meet the requirements to be considered
a commuter in relation to a home abroad
and are entitled to the standard deduction,
you must choose whether you wish to be
taxed in accordance with the "net method"
or the "gross method" when your employer
has covered the commuting expenses. You are
free to choose between them, regardless of
which method your employer has used when
paying the remuneration.
The gross method:
All allowances from the employer for the
coverage of board, lodging and travel in
connection with home visits are to be included
in your gross taxable income. You can choose
between a 10 per cent standard deduction and
deduction for the actual costs, including extra
expenses in items 3.2.7 and 3.2.9.
The net method:
Allowances from the employer for the
coverage of board, lodging and travel in
connection with home visits are not to be
included in taxable income, only the surplus,
if any. You can claim a deduction for actual
expenses that you have covered yourself. If
you choose the net method, you cannot claim
the 10 per cent standard deduction.
Employees from another EU/EEA country
If your home is in another EU/EEA country
and you meet the requirements for being
deemed to be a commuter and are entitled to
the standard deduction, you can choose
between the gross method and the net
method. This means that you must choose to
either claim the standard deduction and be
taxed on all allowances from the employer for
the coverage of board, lodging and travel in
connection with home visits or not claim the
standard deduction and instead apply the net
method to allowances from the employer.
If it is more favourable for you to use the
standard deduction for foreign employees
than a deduction for the actual expenses, you
can choose to be taxed on the benefit you
derive from your employer covering the costs.
You must in such case increase the income
declared in your tax return by the amount of
the benefit.
Employees from countries outside the
EU/EEA area
If your home is in a country outside the EU/
EEA area, you cannot claim a deduction for
the actual expenses relating to board, lodging
and travel in connection with home visits.
If you are tax resident in Norway, all
allowances from the employer for the
coverage of board, lodging and travel in
connection with home visits abroad must be
included in your gross taxable income. You
are entitled to a 10 per cent standard
deduction during the first two income years
you are taxed as resident.
If you have limited tax liability to Norway
and meet the requirements for being deemed
to be a commuter, you can choose between
the gross method and the net method. This
means that you must choose to either claim
the standard deduction and be taxed on all
allowances from the employer for the
coverage of board, lodging and travel in
connection with home visits or not claim the
standard deduction and instead apply the net
method to allowances from the employer.
Commuting between other countries and
the Norwegian continental shelf
If you are resident in another EU/EEA
country, you can choose between the gross
method and the net method.
If you are resident outside the EU/EEA area,
you can also choose between the gross
method and the net method. If you choose
the gross method, you can only claim a
10 per cent standard deduction. If you choose
the net method, you cannot claim the 10 per
cent standard deduction or deduction for
actual costs that you have covered yourself.
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