National insurance

A contribution on personal income

The national-insurance contribution (trygdeavgift) funds the National Insurance Scheme and is charged on personal income — the same base as the bracket tax, that is gross pay with no deductions. For ordinary working-age employees the rate is 7,6 % of salary income, with no upper ceiling. It is not part of the two income taxes but is taken alongside them on the way from gross to net.

Lower limit: no contribution below a certain level

National insurance has a lower limit of 99 650 kr. If personal income is at or below the limit, no contribution is charged at all. It is a floor: the lowest incomes are kept entirely outside the contribution. For the very lowest incomes this ties in with the exemption card (frikort): if your income is low enough you can get a frikort, and then neither tax nor national insurance is withheld.

The phase-in rule: a soft transition

Just above the lower limit the flat rate does not kick in at once. A phase-in rule says the contribution can never exceed 25 % of the part of personal income above 99 650 kr. That ramps the contribution up gradually from zero, instead of jumping straight to 7,6 % the moment the limit is crossed — a soft transition that shields the lowest incomes. A little higher up the flat 7,6 % rate takes over, because it then gives a lower contribution than the phase-in cap. The calculator shows a note when the phase-in is what governs your contribution.

A worked example of the phase-in

An example makes the rule concrete. If you earn exactly at the lower limit, the contribution is zero. If you earn a little above it — say a few thousand kroner — you do not pay 7,6 % of your whole personal income, but at most 25 % of only the amount above 99 650 kr. The further above the limit you go, the closer the contribution creeps to the flat rate, until 7,6 % of your whole income becomes the lower of the two — and from then on the flat rate applies. That is how the rule avoids an abrupt jump in the contribution the moment income crosses the limit.

No employer’s contribution in the net figure

The employer also pays employer’s national insurance (arbeidsgiveravgift) on your salary, but that is the employer’s cost — not a deduction from your net pay — so it is not included in the calculator. See how national insurance interacts with the two taxes and the deductions. The rate and limits here are those in force for 2026.

The full content for this page is still in preparation and subject to review.