If you are working in Norway, you will become liable for tax in Norway and in the UK.
The process can be complex, but we have been doing this for clients for over 20 years and know our way around the system.
Let us walk you through what needs to be done.
In Norway
Firstly, you will be automatically registered in the Norwegian tax system the minute your D-number is issued.
You will have to complete a tax return in Norway in April every year, although the vast majority are correct, some taxpayers need to claim deductions for working outside Norway or working on a ship.
You really must get an account at Altinn. If you don’t know how, we can start the process using your D-Number. Then you need to give us access using these instructions.
In the UK
Secondly, you require to be registered with HMRC and have a UTR.
If you don’t have one, we can apply for one to be issued. HMRC seem to be taking around three months to issue them at the moment.
Onboarding
With these two in place, we will be ready to file your Return, but before then we will have to on-board you as a client.
Our ID verification software – Xama – will ask you to prove your identity and home address by scanning documents such as a passport and a household bill. These will be automatically scanned and verified by the software
We may then need additional information such as you NI number and we will ask you to provide any more details we need.
Send us your documents
You will be given access to our Client Portal where you can upload documents at your convenience and where the UK Tax Return will be sent for you to digitally sign.
We will need your UK P45/P60 for the tax year and the Norwegian Tax Assessment for the calendar year, plus details of any other taxable income.
Some key issues
Once we have all the necessary information we will draft the UK Tax Return and claim a deduction for tax paid in Norway.
The tax paid in Norway comprises tax (Skatt/avgift) and National Insurance (NIS) which is 7.7% of the gross salary. Only the tax part can be offset against the UK tax liability.
Generally, all tax paid in Norway up to the amount due in the UK can be offset. But if you have other income this might change.
Roughly, if you earn more than £60,000 pa and are a Scottish tax payer you will have extra tax to pay in Scotland. For the rest of the UK the break point is nearer £80,000.
This is because tax in Norway starts high but is then a fairly flat line. In the UK the rate starts low and then goes up steeply; hence the cross-over.