Tax card: table-based and percentage deduction

The basis your employer withholds by

The tax card (skattekort) is not a separate tax but the basis your employer withholds advance tax by through the year. The Tax Administration works out the card from expected income, and the employer uses it to withhold roughly the right tax each month. The total tax for the year is the same either way — the tax card is about when and how the withholding is spread, not about how much you owe in the end.

Table-based versus percentage deduction

There are two forms of withholding. Table-based deduction (tabelltrekk) follows a table that accounts for the tax-free amount and for income varying month to month — the usual choice for one main employer. Percentage deduction (prosenttrekk) withholds a fixed percentage of all income and is often used when you have several employers at once, so the tax-free amount is not used twice. Both aim for the same annual tax.

No withholding in June, half in December

The withholding is deliberately spread across the year. There is no tax withheld in June (often called the “holiday-pay month”) and only half in December, so you take home more in those months. That does not mean the tax is lower — the other months carry correspondingly more. Over the whole year it balances out.

Why the calculator’s net figure is a monthly average

Because the withholding timing does not change the total tax, the calculator works out the year’s tax and divides it by twelve — an even monthly net figure. That matches what you keep on average, not the exact amount a June or December payslip shows. Holiday pay (feriepenger) is a separate arrangement paid out later and taxed as ordinary income; it is not a separate net line here.

What the calculator assumes

The calculator assumes you are an employee for a full income year on even monthly pay, that your personal income equals your gross pay, and that your withholding follows your tax card. If you change jobs mid-year, have several employers at once, or your income varies, the actual withholding on your payslips will differ from the even monthly figure — even though the total tax for the year is the same. The tax card handles exactly that smoothing across the year; the calculator shows the end result spread evenly over the twelve months.

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