Q and A - National insurance contributions

When must I pay national insurance contribution to NAV and not the Norwegian Tax Administration?

Answer: If you do not pay taxes to Norway and you are a member of the National Insurance Scheme, NAV will collect the national insurance contributions. If you are a voluntary member of the National Insurance Scheme, NAV will also collect the contributions.

If you pay taxes to Norway, you must ensure that the Tax Assessment Office does not deduct national insurance contributions from you as if you were a compulsory member. In such instances, the Tax Assessment Office will have a copy of the decision to cease compulsory membership and so discontinue deducting contributions from you as if you were a compulsory member of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme.

I shall be staying abroad for more than a year and have applied for, and been granted voluntary membership. What effect does this have on the national insurance contributions?

Answer: You must pay the contributions for voluntary membership to NAV National Office for Social Insurance Abroad. When you are no longer a compulsory member, you must not have contributions deducted by the Tax Assessment Office as a compulsory member of the National Insurance Scheme.

I have voluntary membership. Does the fact that the employer pays no employer’s contributions on my income affect what I pay in national insurance contributions?

Answer: If the employer does not pay employer’s contributions, you have to pay a higher rate of national insurance contributions.

I reside in Norway and work in Sweden. Must I pay national insurance contributions in Norway?

Answer: No, if you only work in Sweden you are a member of the Swedish national insurance scheme and must pay contributions to Sweden. You must inform your NAV Local Services Office in Norway so that it can notify the Tax Assessment Office that you are no longer a member of the (Norwegian) National Insurance Scheme.

I will be working in the USA as an employee posted there from Norway. How does this affect national insurance contributions?

Answer: When you are posted from Norway, you retain your compulsory membership of the National Insurance Scheme. This means that you must pay the same rate of contributions as if you were an employee in Norway. If you will not be paying tax to Norway while residing in the USA, NAV National Office for Social Insurance Abroad will collect both the national insurance contributions and the employer’s contributions.