The A-report (known as A-melding in Norwegian) is a mandatory monthly submission for employers in Norway, detailing employees' salaries, employment conditions, tax deductions, and national insurance contributions. Required by NAV, SSB, and the Tax Administration, it is crucial for businesses with employees or those paying out pensions, salaries, or benefits. This blog covers who must submit the A-report, how to do it, deadlines, and the consequences of non-compliance. With many foreign companies facing challenges in navigating these obligations, our expert advisors are here to ensure accurate and timely reporting.
What is an A-report (A-melding)?
An A-report is a report submitted monthly by employers to NAV, SSB, and the Tax Administration (Skatteetaten). This report must contain information about employees' salaries, employment conditions, tax deductions, as well as employer's national insurance contributions.
How to establish a business in Norway
Download our comprehensive guide on how to do business in Norway. Get a complete overview of the obligations you and your company have when doing business in Norway.
Who must submit an A-report?
An A-report must be submitted by everyone who has employees or who pays out pensions, salaries, or other benefits. An A-report must be submitted every month if there are employees in an employment relationship. This applies even if no salary has been paid out.
Also read: What are the legal responsibilities of an employer in Norway?
How do you submit an A-report?
An A-report should be submitted on Altinn.no. If you or your accountant have a system that is fully integrated with Altinn, the A-report is sent from the accounting system.
Deadline for submission and what should be included in the A-report
When the total salary payments to a person during a year exceed NOK 1,000, an A-report must be sent.
The A-report must be submitted electronically by the 5th of each month. If this day is a public holiday or weekend, the deadline is the first working day after. The salary and other income must be reported in the A-report for the month in which the payment was made. Tax deductions must also be reported for the month in which the deduction was made.
If tax has been deducted from a salary that is exempt from reporting, an A-report must still be submitted. In this case, it is the tax deduction that must be reported, not the salary.
The Tax Administration cannot grant an extension for those who submit the A-report, so remember to submit the A-report on time.
Feedback on your A-report
You will receive feedback after an automatic check of the A-report. The feedback points out any errors that need to be corrected. You will find the feedback in your inbox on Altinn.no.
What happens if the A-report is not submitted?
- If you are obliged to submit but do not do so, you may be imposed a coercive fine.
- These are the reasons you may receive a coercive fine:
- If you do not submit the A-report by the deadline
- If you submit the A-report without information about employment conditions that were reported as active the previous month.
If you reported a leave or layoff in the previous month that you did not include for this month.
If you receive a letter of decision about a coercive fine for the A-report, the letter will specify a deadline for correcting the issue. It is therefore possible to make mistakes in the submission without receiving a coercive fine if you correct the errors pointed out in the feedback before the deadline specified in the letter expires.
The coercive fine is currently NOK 127 (1/10 of a court fee) per income recipient with errors per day. The fine continues until the information is submitted or the error is corrected. There is a maximum cap for the fine of 1,000 x 1277 (one court fee) = NOK 1 277,000. If you do not submit or correct within the deadline stated in the coercive fine letter, you will receive an invoice from the Tax Administration.
Also read: 9 things to know for a foreign company hirign a Norwegian employee
Get the reporting right
We experience that many foreign companies doing business in Norway struggle to fully comprehend the reporting obligations relating to the A-report.
If you need help with your A-reports our trusted expert advisors have great experience in handling and advising on A-reporting and salary compliance, both in Norway and across borders. Feel free to reach out or download our guide.
How to establish a business in Norway
Download our comprehensive guide on how to do business in Norway. Get a complete overview of the obligations you and your company have when doing business in Norway.
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