Do you have a loan in Norway? After the rate hike, check your tax card

Higher loan interest may mean lower tax withheld from your salary. However, you need to check the details on your tax card, known as a skattekort. The authorities do not update it automatically after every change in interest rates. From 25 September 2026, Norges Bank’s policy rate is 4.5%, following an increase of 0.25 percentage points. For people with variable interest rates, this may mean a more expensive loan. Your bank will tell you when and by how much your costs will change.

If the bank raises the interest rate by the full 0.25 percentage points, interest on debt of NOK 4 million will increase by approximately NOK 833 per month. Under the ordinary tax system, loan interest reduces the taxable base. The tax benefit is usually 22% of the interest. In this example, that amounts to an average of approximately NOK 183 less tax per month. After taking this benefit into account, the additional cost is therefore approximately NOK 650 per month. This is a simplified calculation assuming unchanged debt. It shows the increase in interest costs, not the exact change in the instalment. Check your bank’s repayment schedule for the new instalment amount.

With GjeldsMonitor, you can see all your unsecured consumer loans and credit cards in Norway in one place. The basic overview is free, available in Polish, and you log in with BankID.

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Based on your skattekort, your employer withholds tax from your salary. The card includes, among other things, expected earnings and loan interest. If interest increases and the amount on the card remains too low, more tax may be withheld from your salary than your situation warrants. Correcting the details allows the deduction to be included in your current paychecks. The bank will still collect the full instalment. The tax benefit appears in the tax assessment, not as a discount from the bank.

You do not have to check all the calculations yourself. MultiNOR will analyse your tax card and assess whether it matches your income and current situation. You will find out whether the details are correct and whether it is worth changing them. If an update is needed, you can also commission it. Service is provided in Polish.
Order a tax card check from MultiNOR →

Do you have questions before ordering? You can book a free consultation on the service page.

1. Ask your bank for the expected total interest for the whole of 2026. You can also find it in online banking or in the repayment schedule.
2. Log in to Skatteetaten and open your skattekort. Look for entries concerning interest: “renter på lån” or “gjeldsrenter”.
3. Compare the amounts and correct the details if they differ. Enter the annual interest, not the instalment amount or the 22% deduction itself.

While you are at it, check your expected income. A pay rise, overtime, or a second job also affect tax. Higher interest therefore does not guarantee lower withholdings. Changing your tax card with Skatteetaten is free. Your employer retrieves the updated card electronically.

You enter interest for the whole year on the card: that for the past months and that expected until December. If the bank raises the interest rate only towards the end of the year, the higher cost will cover only the remaining part of it. Do not overstate the amount “just in case”. It may result in tax withholdings from your salary being too low and a later tax payment.

People taxed under the kildeskatt/PAYE system cannot deduct interest. The benefits described apply to the ordinary tax system. If you repay a loan jointly, each of you should include your own share of the interest. Do not both enter the full amount. Not changing your skattekort does not remove your right to the deduction. You can include it in your annual tax return. You then need to check whether the interest in the return matches the bank’s documents.