NorwaySkatteetaten
Interest can push small residual tax over the payment floor
Residual tax under 100 kroner including interest need not be paid — but if interest lifts it above 100 kroner, it falls due when the invoice arrives. Late-payment interest accrues per day at 12.25%.
By Taxxa AI OyPublished 14 September 2026
Industry: Public administration and defence; compulsory social security
Personal taxpayers whose preliminary calculation in the tax return (skattemeldingen) shows under 100 kroner start from not paying
Skatteetaten — but if interest takes the residual tax above 100 kroner, the amount must be paid when the invoice arrivesSkatteetaten. Residual tax under 100 kroner including interest (rente) need not be paidSkatteetaten; above that floor it falls dueSkatteetaten. The same floor, measured with interest additions (rentetillegg) included, applies to business taxpayersSkatteetaten.
Anyone who misses the deadline owes late-payment interest (forsinkelsesrenter) running per day until paymentSkatteetaten: paying 10 days after the deadline means interest for 10 days, paying 30 days late means interest for 30 days. In worked figures, 10,000 kroner of residual tax carrying a 356-kroner interest addition and paid on 30 August — 10 days after the deadline — accrues a further 35 kroner at a 12.25 per cent rate, for a total of 10,392 kroner. Finanstilsynet's calculator computes the late-payment interest on any individual balance.
Where residual tax is split across two invoices and the first is not paid by its deadline, the whole residual tax falls due at onceSkatteetaten and late-payment interest runs on the full amount owedSkatteetaten. If enforced collection becomes necessary, fees and payment remarks may follow, with wage or benefit deductions (utleggstrekk), attachment (utlegg), forced sale, bankruptcy petition and set-off (motregning) among the measures; after three years of non-payment, pensionable income may be reduced. Anyone unable to pay at once may apply for an instalment arrangement (betalingsavtale), with interest added.
Taxpayers receiving their assessment before 1 July pay the first invoice by 20 AugustSkatteetaten, and an invoice carrying payment information arrives well before the deadline. Paying early avoids the interest addition altogether: payment by 31 May — 1 June this year, since 31 May falls on a SundaySkatteetaten — carries no interestSkatteetaten, while later payment accrues 3.12 per cent from 1 July of the income year until the first invoice's deadlineSkatteetaten. The amount remains due even when the return is amended or appealed.
Legal basis: Skatteetaten guidance Restskatt – må betale penger on residual-tax payment by personal taxpayers, with the 100-kroner floor including rentetillegg confirmed for business taxpayers in Restskatt for næringsdrivende.
If a client's preliminary residual tax is under 100 kroner, check whether interest lifts it above 100 kroner and pay on invoice if so; for late payers, compute per-day interest at 12.25% with Finanstilsynet's calculator.