Register, change or delete in the Value Added Tax Register (VAT Register)
Any self-employed person or person responsible for an organisation with a turnover above a certain amount will normally be obliged to register the enterprise in the VAT Register.
By being registered and submitting VAT returns, you fulfil your obligations, and you may receive deductions on your expenses.
Before registering
Some goods and services are not subject to value added tax (VAT). When we determine whether an enterprise or organisation must register, it is only the vatable part of the enterprise’s turnover that counts.
Are you unsure?
Answer a few questions, and we will help you find out whether your enterprise must be registered:
Find out if an enterprise is registered by searching in the Central Coordinating Register of Legal Entities (in Norwegian only) at the Brønnøysund Register Centre.
If the enterprise is registered, it will be noted under the section «Særlige opplysninger».
The monetary limit for registration is
- NOK 50,000 (not including VAT) for enterprises and most organisations.
- NOK 140,000 (not including VAT) for charitable and non-profit organisations.
You must register your enterprise when you have sold goods and services that are subject to VAT and the income from the sale exceeds the monetary limit over the course of a period of 12 months. The period may, for example, last from February of one year to January the next year, or from August one year to July the next year.
You cannot include VAT in your invoices until your enterprise been registered.
Register in good time to avoid interest and additional tax
It is important that you register your enterprise on time. If you registered the enterprise too late, interest will accrue on what you should have paid in previous periods.
When you log in to register your enterprise, we will ask you some questions. Your answers will determine what the right registration type will be for your enterprise. Most enterprises fall under ordinary registration, but there are alternatives.
If you represent several cooperating enterprises, you can apply to register these at the same time. If so, you do not calculate VAT on sales between the enterprises, and you must submit a joint VAT return for all the enterprises. The deduction entitlement for VAT on bought goods and services must be considered for all the enterprise in the joint registration collectively. One of the enterprises reports VAT, but all the enterprises are responsible for ensuring that the VAT return is submitted and that the VAT is paid (joint and several liability).
To qualify for joint registration, the enterprise must fulfil the following requirements:
- All the cooperating enterprises must be engaged in business activity.
- At least 85 percent of the capital from each cooperating enterprise must be owned by one or more of the other enterprises.
- At least one of the enterprises must have external turnover that exceeds the monetary limit for registration. By external turnover, we mean turnover to other parties than the enterprises participating in the joint registration.
Only one of the enterprises need to submit the application.
If the applicant does not have signing rights for all the enterprises, documentation must be attached confirming that these enterprises wish to participate in the joint registration. The enterprises must sign a document stating that they will commit to participate in the joint registration.
The document must include:
- the name and organisation number of all the enterprises participating in the joint registration
- the date or period from which the joint registration will applythe signature of the person/persons authorised to commit the enterprise to participate in the joint registration
Relevant documentation can be, for example, protocols from the general meeting (AS), partners’ meeting (ANS) or similar for other legal structures, or other types of statements that confirm that the enterprise wishes to participate in a joint registration.
Remember that the joint registration is only for VAT. All the companies must continue to submit their own tax returns.
If the enterprise has made large investments in connection with the start-up, the enterprise may pre-register and thus get a deduction for paid VAT on purchases.
- You must be able to document that the enterprise has bought goods and services subject to VAT for at least NOK 250,000. The purchased goods or service must be intended for use in the enterprise.
- More than 4 months must pass between applying until the enterprise reaches the monetary limit.
- You must expect a turnover that exceeds the monetary limit after the four months have passed. We will often ask for a budget that reflects this.
If the enterprise does not go as well as expected, you must pay back the VAT that the enterprise had been paid.
If you know that the newly established enterprise will reach the monetary limit within 3 weeks, you can register the enterprise at once. You’re then applying for pre-registration. You can also issue invoices with VAT from the first invoice.
If you rent out premises, buildings or facilities to businesses, you can apply for voluntary registration. If you’re voluntarily registered, you may be entitled to deductions for expenses you have in connection with the premises – for example in connection with construction, repairs, maintenance and management.
You have to rent out to businesses that are registered in the VAT Register
It’s a requirement, both to be registered and to receive deductions for paid VAT on purchases, that you rent out to businesses that are registered in the VAT Register. You can only claim VAT on rental income from these tenants, and only for that part of the premises that they use for their vatable business activities. The same applies when you’re calculating which deductions you’re entitled to.
If a tenant who runs a business and is registered in the VAT Register uses the premises both for activities that are subject to VAT and for activities that are not subject to VAT, it’s only the part they use for activities that are subject to VAT that you can include when you calculate deductions.
If a tenant who runs a business is not registered in the VAT Register, you cannot invoice the rental income with VAT. Nor can you claim deductions for paid VAT in connection with these premises.
The enterprise must meet the following requirements to be voluntarily registered:
- The enterprise must carry out business activity.
- At least one of the tenants must carry out business activity that’s subject to VAT and must also be registered in the VAT Register.
- The enterprise must have rental income of at least NOK 50,000 from tenants who are subject to VAT over the course of the last 12 months.
- There must be a tenancy agreement between the enterprise and the tenant(s).
When you report VAT and claim deductions for paid VAT for the rented-out premises, the deciding factor is the actual use of the premises. If the use changes during the year, you must also change the basis for the reporting. You do not need to provide documentation until we ask for it, but you must have it ready at the end of each calendar year.
This is what you must be able to document:
- Rental contract(s).
- Dimensioned drawings, or similar, that show how the premises are used – which areas you rent out to businesses and how much of the premises they use in their business activity that is subject to VAT.
- An overview of the tenant’s use of the premises throughout the year.
- An overview of the expenses distributed between each tenant/user.
In cases of subletting, you must be able to document the end use of the premises.
Businesses that do not have a place of business or domicile in Norway must register with a representative. The representative must have his/her domicile or registered business address in Norway and is jointly responsible for submitting the VAT report and pay due VAT (joint and several liability). You must find a representative yourself.
The obligation to register by representative does not apply if the enterprise is resident in the United Kingdom or one of the following EEA countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, The Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Greece, Croatia, Cyprus, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria.
If you still choose to have a representative, the representative will not be jointly and severally liable for paying VAT.
Altinn roles
Altinn roles are required to fill in and/or send applications for all registrations. For a Norwegian-registered foreign enterprise (NUF), this means that the contact persons for the enterprise must be online users.
If the enterprise carries out different types of business activity, you can apply to register only part of the enterprise. The separate parts must be physically and formally separated, and accounts must be kept for each separate part.
Example:
A sports club has a handball group that runs a large kiosk. If the handball group and the income from the kiosk is separated from the sports club as its own part, the club can apply to register only this part. The handball group must then keep their own accounts and will get their own organisation number.
If you apply for special registration, only the income from the vatable business activity is included in the monetary limit.
If you, for example, carry out carpentry work and agriculture, the enterprise must be registered in the VAT Register for both these activities and must submit a VAT return for general industry and a VAT return for primary industry.
If you’re going to register for several categories, you must start the registration process again for each registration.
Important information
Make sure your enterprise is registered in the Central Coordinating Register of Legal Entities before you continue.
You can fill in and submit a registration application if you have one of these roles:
- Limited signing rights
- Contact person NUF
If you have one of these roles, you can fill in the application, but not submit it:
- Responsible auditor
- Accounting employee
- Accountant with signing rights
- Accountant without signing rights
- Assistant auditor
You can also register if you have a pre-delegated role in the business, for example as a general manager or chairman of the board.
You’ll receive a reply to the application in the enterprise’s Altinn inbox. This will usually only take a few minutes, but on some occasions, we’ll need more information. In those cases, it can take up to 3 weeks before you receive a reply.
What to keep in mind while you wait:
- You cannot begin to issue invoices with VAT before the registration has been approved.
- If we ask you for additional documentation, it’s important that you provide us with this as quickly as possible.
After registering
After the enterprise has been registered, you must issue an invoice for the sale that pushed your turnover over the monetary limit for registration of value added tax.
- If you have not sent an invoice before receiving the registration confirmation, you can now invoice the sale with value added tax.
- If you sent the invoice before the registration, you must issue a new invoice after registering. In this case, you issue a credit invoice without value added tax and issue a new invoice with value added tax.
When the enterprise is registered, you must report how much VAT the enterprise has claimed on sales of goods and services and how much VAT the enterprise has paid in connection with purchases of goods and services. To do this, submit the VAT return. The information in the VAT return will be based on the enterprise’s accounts. You can also submit the VAT return directly from accounting systems that facilitate this.
Submit the VAT return by the due date
Most enterprises must submit the VAT return 6 times a year. When you receive a reply to your registration application, you’ll also find out how often you must submit the VAT return. If you have registered the enterprise too late – meaning too long after the sales went over the monetary limit, you must make sure to submit earlier VAT return as soon as possible.
If you submit the VAT return too late, enforcement fines will be imposed on the enterprise, so it’s important to check that all your VAT returns are submitted.
- It is the enterprise that is listed as the reporting enterprise in the joint registration that must submit the VAT return.
- The enterprises must not calculate VAT on sales between themselves, but the turnover must be posted and reported in the VAT return.
You can apply for a deduction for VAT you have paid on purchases that are intended for use in the enterprise, going back three years. Examples of this include expenses related to telephone use, PC use or investments the enterprise has made. You do not need to provide documentation unless we ask for it, but you must have all the receipts available.
Change or deregistration
If anything changes in the enterprise, you may have to change the registration in the VAT Register. If you, for example, start a new type of business in addition to your current business, it is important that you let us know.
- Add a new enterprise to the joint registration
- Change which enterprise is listed as the reporting enterprise
- Remove an enterprise from the joint registration
Only the enterprice listed as the reporting enterprice can terminate the joint registration.
Most enterprises must submit the VAT return every other month. Enterprises with a low turnover can apply to submit the VAT return once a year.
The following requirements must be met to submit the VAT return once a year:
- The enterprise’s turnover during the last calendar year (from January to December) must be under NOK 1 million (without VAT).
- You must have been registered in the VAT Register for at least 1 year.
- You must have reported and paid VAT correctly and punctually every other month for at least 1 year.
Application deadline: 1 February
Go back to reporting every other month?
If you wish to return to reporting every other month, you must notify the tax administration. You will then have to submit returns every other month for at least the next two years.
You can change the account number for receiving any overpaid VAT the enterprise is owed.
To change an account number, you need one of the following roles in Altinn:
- Limited signing rights
- Contact person NUF (Norwegian registered foreign company)
Read more about roles and rights at Altinn.
If the enterprise is no longer carrying out business activity subject to VAT, you may deregister from the VAT Register. When your enterprise has been deregistered from the VAT Register, you no longer have to submit VAT returns. Remember that the enterprise will receive enforcement fines if you do not submit the VAT return by the deadline – even if the enterprise has not had any turnover.
You can quickly and easily register the enterprise again if your enterprise becomes subject to VAT again.
Remember that to deregister from the VAT Register does not mean that the enterprise is deleted from the Central Coordinating Register of Legal Entities. This means that you keep your organisation number even if the enterprise is deleted from the VAT Register.
- Make sure that all issued custom declarations are reported in the VAT return before you delete the registration.
- You cannot delete the enterprise’s registration in the VAT Register if the enterprise is part of a joint registration. In this case, the enterprise must first leave the joint registration.
- When the enterprise is no longer registered, you must not issue invoices with VAT.
- Remember to submit your final VAT return.