Is your work situation necessitate living away from your primary residence? Then you might be a commuter and therefore entitled to several tax deductions in Norway. In this article, we'll take a look at rules in regards to commuting and norwegian tax return.
For tax purposes, you may be considered a commuter if you:
Commuters may be entitled to claim deductions for the extra expenses related to visiting their home abroad, i.e., extra upkeep/ daily allowance, accommodation, and travel expenses.
To claim commuter deductions, you must live somewhere else than your real home. In addition, you must be classified as either a family commuter or as a single commuter.
If you share a home with your children and/or a spouse in your home country, you are regarded as a commuter for tax purposes.
Documentation, such as marriage - and birth certificates, confirm this status. In addition, you must be able to document the joint residential address in your home country. It is recommended to have at least three or four home visits with overnight stays per year.
Note that if your home is outside the EEA area, you normally must have at least three home journeys where you stay the night at home, to be considered as a family commuter.
If you are not a family commuter, you are classified as a single commuter. Cohabitants are treated as single commuters in this context. However, if you also live with your own children, you are classified as a family commuter.
If you live at your parent’s home, you will need to meet the requirements for home visits to be considered as a commuter. Note that when you commute while living at home with your parents, you do not have additional expenses for accommodation (two households), and thus you are not entitled to deductions for accommodation. You might be entitled to deductions for expenses for food and travel.
If you do not live at your parents, and meet the requirements for home travel frequency, there are some requirements about how you live at home.
Single persons are deemed to be resident where they have “independent housing”.
If you have “independent housing” in Norway, you will be regarded as a resident in Norway, and you will not be entitled to deductions for visits to your home country. It is important to review the status of the two houses, to consider if the conditions are fulfilled.
When you spend most nights in your commuter home, you are not entitled to a deduction for commuting, however it is possible to be considered as a commuter under the “rule of comparison”. To be considered after this rule, you will need to comply for some additional conditions.
Single commuters with a home within the EEA area, are required to travel home at least 4 times a year. If your home is in Sweden, Denmark or Finland, you must have 8 home visits.
Single commuters with a home outside the EEA area, must, on average travel home at last every three weeks.
Exemptions for less frequent travels, home may occur if certain conditions are fulfilled.
The commuter costs can be claimed on the personal tax return for the taxpayer. This is due 30 April the year following the income year.
The costs must be split into daily allowance, accommodation, and travel expenses.
It is not necessary to forward documentation for this, but you must be able to present documentation if the tax office asks for it.
Also read: 5 tax deductions to claim in your Norwegian tax return
If your commuter accommodation has cooking facilities, you get no deductions for food expenses
From the income year 2018 and onwards, commuters who live in commuter accommodation with cooking facilities can no longer claim deductions for food expenses of any sort.
If you change the municipality for both your workplace and your commuter residence, the deduction can be claimed for a new 24-month period.
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This article was first published 29 March 2018. Latest update: February 2022.