Many municipalities use the market value calculated by the Internal Revenue Service as the basis for property tax. If you think you're paying too much property tax, you may be entitled to have it reduced.
Property tax is tied to the value of your home on your tax return
Real estate tax is a municipal tax and municipalities can choose between valuing houses themselves or using the market value calculated by the tax office as the basis for real estate tax. More than 100 municipalities currently use data from the Norwegian Tax Office, which means that municipalities do not have to worry about valuing all properties.
– If your commune uses market value calculated by the Tax Office and you can document that it is too high, you can change it yourself in your tax return. Then the basis will also change automatically calculating tax from real estate, says Elisabeth Fischer, director of the department of the Norwegian Tax Office.
If the municipality you live in assesses houses itself, you must contact them directly to complain.
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How to change information
The basis for the property tax that will be issued this year can be found in the housing information contained in tax return for the 2022 income year .
These details can be found in your tax return in the section “Boligopplysninger – grunnlag for formuesverdi” .
– You can independently change information about the square footage (p-rom), year of construction or type of property. If you change your information, a new one will be calculated the assumed value of the house, which will then be used to calculate, among others, real estate tax - says Elisabeth Fischer.
If you can document that the fair market value of the property is less than the assessed market value, you can claim a reduction in the value of the property on your tax return.
Certain limits have been set on how high an asset's value can be in relation to its actual market value. For property taxes issued in 2024, the limits applicable in the 2022 income year apply:
For the house you own and live in (main residence)
You can claim a reduction if the value of the asset exceeds 25 percent of the market value.
In the case of a house that you own but are not registered as resident (additional house)
You can apply for a reduction if the value of the property exceeds the documented sale value of the property.
– You must be able to provide documentation of changes if we ask for it. The documentation may be, for example, a rate or valuation, says Elisabeth Fischer.
– A little tip at the end: your property tax base in 2025 is related to the tax notice you receive these days. In order for next year's property tax to be correct, it is therefore necessary to check and possibly change the data in the tax return received now, Fischer concludes.
More information can be found on the website Skatteetaten.no/eiendomsskatt
You can make changes within three years from the deadline for submitting your tax return
The possibility of changing your tax return yourself is valid for a period of three years from the deadline for submitting the return for the income year you want to change.
However, you cannot change it yourself. If you have received a request from the tax authorities to verify information about the value of your property or you have received a decision that the tax authorities have officially determined the value of your property.
In such cases, you should file a complaint to possibly obtain a change in the value of the property.
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New regulations regarding the calculation of the area and volume of buildings from January 1, 2024
On January 1, 2024, the new Norwegian standard for calculating the area and volume of buildings entered into force. In the new standard, the area of the house must be given in usable area (BRA), and the terms P-rom and S-rom can no longer be used. As a result, many people are unsure how this affects the valuation of their home for property tax purposes.
– We have received several questions about how this will affect the valuation of the house for real estate tax purposes, but in 2024 there are no changes in the calculation of the real estate tax base. It is calculated in the same way as in previous years, he says. Elżbieta Fischer.
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– In the case of municipalities that use the market value calculated by the Tax Office to print property taxes, it is printed based on the value of fixed assets for the 2022 income year.
– Since there have been no changes to the regulations regarding the valuation of apartments for tax purposes, the Norwegian Statistics Office will carry out P-rom conversions until the new regulations come into force, says Fischer.
If you would like to calculate your home's parking space in connection with your property value calculation, you can read more about how to do this at How to measure a parking space – Tax Office.
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Source and Photo: Norwegian Tax OfficeElisabeth Fischer, Head of Department at the Norwegian Tax Office
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