Wealth tax (Norwegian: formuesskatt) is a Norwegian tax levied on an individual's net wealth at the end of the tax year. It includes the value of assets owned minus debts - for example, funds in bank accounts (bankinnskudd), shares (aksjer), vehicles (e.g. a car) and real estate (fast eiendom). This tax is paid annually if the net wealth exceeds a set tax-free limit. Formuesskatt in Norway is levied at two levels: part of the tax goes to the municipality and part to the state budget.
Who does the Norwegian formuesskatt apply to?
Wealth tax applies to individuals whose net assets (nettoformue) exceed the tax-free amount. This means that if the total value of real estate, savings and other assets exceeds the sum of liabilities (debts), a so-called skattepliktig formue is created – taxable assets. In practice, the formuesskatt therefore applies to wealthier individuals whose net assets exceed NOK 1,76 million (limit for a single person, see below for details). People with lower assets do not pay this tax at all, because their formae is below the exemption threshold.
In principle, the tax form applies to tax residents of Norway and non-residents with assets in Norway. Tax residents in Norway must declare and tax their entire world assets – regardless of whether they are located in Norway or abroad. However, non-residents are subject to the tax form only for assets located in Norway. In other words, if a person permanently residing abroad has, for example, a house or funds in an account in Norway, they will pay wealth tax on their value in Norway, but assets located outside Norway will not be taxed in Norway.
Tax-free amount and tax relief rates (2023–2025)
The Norwegian wealth tax has a tax-free amount (fribeløp, also known as grensebeløp or bunnfradrag) and progressive tax rates. Here are the thresholds and rates for 2023, 2024 and 2025:
- 2023: The tax-free amount is NOK 1 for a single person (for married couples filing jointly – a total of NOK 700). Net wealth up to this amount is tax-free. The excess above NOK 000 million is taxed at a rate of 3% (including 400% municipal tax and 000% state tax). Additionally, a higher state rate applies to the part of the wealth exceeding NOK 1,7 million, which increases the total tax to 1,0% on the excess above NOK 0,7 million (0,3% municipal + 20% state).
- 2024: The thresholds and rates remain unchanged compared to 2023. The tax-free amount remains NOK 1 (NOK 700 for couples). The tax rate for the excess above the threshold is 000% (3% municipality + 400% state), and for the part of the assets exceeding NOK 000 – 1,0% (0,7% + 0,3%).
- 2025: In 2025, the tax-free amount was increased to NOK 1 (for spouses, a total of NOK 760). The division of rates between the municipality and the state was also changed - the municipal tax was reduced to a maximum of 000%, while the state tax was increased to 3% on the excess of assets up to ~NOK 520 million and 000% for assets above ~NOK 0,525 million. However, the total rate remained at 0,475% of the value of assets above the tax-free amount (and 20,7% for the part exceeding the second threshold of ~NOK 0,575 million).
It is worth emphasizing that the above rates combine municipal and state tax. The municipal part rate was 0,7% for the years 2023-2024, and 2025% from 0,525. The state part rates in the years 2023-2024 were 0,3% for assets above the basic threshold and an additional 0,1 percentage points (i.e. 0,4% in total) for the part of assets above NOK 20 million. In 2025, the state rates increased to 0,475% and 0,575% (respectively for the range above the basic threshold and for assets > NOK 20,7 million) while the municipal rate was reduced.
Calculation of net worth and value of individual components
The basis for taxation of the formuesskatt is the net assets of the person at the end of the year (as of December 31). Net assets (nettoformue) are calculated as the sum of the value of assets owned minus debts. Assets include, among other things, real estate, funds in bank accounts, shares, vehicles and other valuable assets. If the value of assets exceeds liabilities, a positive net taxable asset is created (if it exceeds the tax-free amount, as mentioned above).
Importantly, for tax purposes, many assets are valued according to special rules, often at a value lower than market value. The tax value of real estate for the purposes of the formuesskatt is called ligningsverdi (value assessed by the tax office) and is usually only a fraction of the market value:
- For a house or apartment that is the taxpayer's main place of residence (primærbolig), approximately 25% of the market value is assumed - this means a 75% relief in the tax base of this property. However, if the value of such primærbolig exceeds NOK 10 million, the excess over 10 million is already counted at 70% of the value (i.e. with a smaller, 30% relief).
- For comparison, additional houses/apartments (sekundærbolig, e.g. rental apartment or second property) are counted at 100% of the value - no tax relief here.
- Equity interests, such as shares and stocks in companies (including the value of commercial real estate held through companies), are included in the basis at 80% of their value (20% discount).
How to calculate assets for the tax return?
To calculate your net worth for the purposes of the income statement, you must add up the value of your individual assets according to the appropriate valuation rules and then subtract your liabilities (debts) from this sum.
In most cases, the full market value is not taken into account – the so-called verdsettingsrabatter (valuation discounts). Here's what it looks like in practice in 2023 and 2024:
- Property where you live (primærbolig) below NOK 10 million: 25% of market value
- First-class bonus over NOK 10 million: part exceeding 10 million counted as 70%
- Holiday home (fritidsbolig) in Norway: 100% of market value
- Foreign real estate: first calculated at 30% of the market value, and then at 80% of that amount.
- Other properties (secondary): 100% of market value (no relief)
- Stocks, bonds, investment funds: 80% of value
- Bank account funds and cash: 100%
- Cars, motorcycles, boats: 100%
- NOKyptocurrency wallets: 100% of market value as of December 31
What about NOKedyts?
Debts (e.g. NOKedyt mortgage) we subtract from the estate, but only in proportion to the financed component. Example: If you have NOKedyt on the primærbolig, you deduct this part from the value of the primærbolig, calculated at 25%. If you have NOKedyt in cash, you can deduct it from the total assets.
Net worth formula:
(Asset Value × Relevant Percentages) – (Debt Value × Relevant Percentages) = Net Worth (Formue)
If your net worth exceeds your tax-free amount, you pay tax on the excess.
Property tax calculation example
To illustrate how wealth tax works, let's consider a hypothetical example. Let's assume that Mr. Jan is a tax resident of Norway and has the following wealth:
- Single-family house (its primary) with an estimated market value of NOK 5. For the purposes of the formuesskatt, its ligningsverdi is 000% of this amount, or NOK 000 (we assume that the value of the house does not exceed the threshold of NOK 25 million).
- Savings in a bank account of NOK 500.
- A passenger car worth NOK 200.
- No debts (we assume that Mr. Jan has repaid all NOKedyt, so his liabilities = 0).
The total gross value of Mr. Jan's assets is the sum of the above assets: 1 250 000 + 500 + 000 = 200 00050 000 NOK. Since he has no debts, his net worth is also 1 950 000 NOK. The tax-free amount is NOK 1,76 million (the threshold for a single person in 2025). The surplus over this threshold is therefore 1 950 000 – 1 = 760 NOK.
Wealth tax will be calculated only on this excess. In 2025, a rate of 1,0% applies for wealth above the threshold (up to NOK 20 million). Mr. Jan will therefore pay an annual wealth tax of approx. 1 900 NOK (this is 1% of NOK 190). This amount is divided into municipal and state tax - 000% (NOK 0,525) will go to the municipal budget, and 997,5% (NOK 0,475) to the state budget. If Mr. Jan's assets did not exceed NOK 902,5 million, he would not pay formuesskatt at all (the tax-free amount protects people with smaller assets from this tax).
Formuesskatt in Norway and the situation in Poland
An interesting fact for Polish taxpayers is that there is no equivalent of the Norwegian tax on total personal wealth in Poland. Poland (like most NOKs, e.g. Sweden, Denmark or Italy) does not apply an annual tax on the value of net wealth. There are of course other property taxes – e.g. property tax in Poland charged by municipalities, but it has a completely different character (it is charged on the area of the property at fixed rates, independent of the market value).
There is no tax in Poland that would burden all private assets above a certain amount, as is the case in Norway. Therefore, the wealth tax (formuesskatt) in Norway is a unique solution that Polish tax residents encounter only when starting a business or working in Norway.
Do you have questions about wealth tax or other taxes in Norway? Or do you need help with your annual tax return?
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Author of the article: Marcin – marcin@efirma.no
