In Norway you do not get regular salary during your holiday. Instead you earn holiday pay (feriepenger) during the year, which is paid out the following year – usually in June. The employer deducts ordinary salary for the days you are on holiday, and the holiday pay replaces it.
Holiday pay rates
| Situation | Rate |
|---|---|
| Holiday Act (4 weeks + 1 day) | 10.2% |
| 5 weeks holiday (collective or individual agreement) | 12% |
| Age 60+, Holiday Act | 12.5% |
| Age 60+, 5 weeks holiday | 14.3% |
The rate is applied to your holiday pay basis, which is mainly the salary you earned the previous year (the earning year). From the year you turn 60, you get an extra week of holiday and 2.3% extra holiday pay. The employer may limit the basis for this extra 2.3% to 6 times the National Insurance basic amount (6G), which is NOK 819,294 with the basic amount from 1 May 2026, unless an agreement gives more.
Worked examples
If you earned NOK 550,000 last year and have five weeks holiday, your holiday pay is 12% of NOK 550,000 = NOK 66,000. If you are 60 or older, the extra 2.3% adds NOK 12,650, for a total of NOK 78,650.
| Salary last year | Holiday Act (10.2%) | 5 weeks (12%) | 5 weeks, age 60+ (12% + 2.3%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NOK 400,000 | NOK 40,800 | NOK 48,000 | NOK 57,200 |
| NOK 550,000 | NOK 56,100 | NOK 66,000 | NOK 78,650 |
| NOK 700,000 | NOK 71,400 | NOK 84,000 | NOK 100,100 |
| NOK 900,000 | NOK 91,800 | NOK 108,000 | NOK 126,844 |
You can calculate your own amount with our holiday pay calculator.
When is holiday pay paid?
Under the Holiday Act, holiday pay is paid on the last ordinary payday before your main holiday, unless otherwise agreed. In practice most employers pay it in June. In that month you normally get holiday pay instead of part of your ordinary salary, and the result on your payslip depends on how many holiday days are deducted.
Is holiday pay taxed?
Holiday pay is taxable income, but no tax is deducted when ordinary holiday pay is paid out in the holiday year (up to 12.34% for agreement-based holiday pay). The tax on it is spread over the other months of the year through your tax deduction card, which deducts tax over 10.5 months. This is why June looks "tax free" and December has half tax. The extra 2.3% for workers aged 60 and over is subject to normal tax deduction.
In the final tax settlement, holiday pay is taxed like salary at your marginal rate. At a salary of NOK 550,000 the marginal tax rate is 33.6%, so roughly NOK 22,200 of NOK 66,000 in holiday pay goes to tax – but this is already built into the monthly deductions if your tax card is correct. Read more about how the card works in our guide to the tax deduction card.
Your first year in Norway
Because holiday pay is earned the year before, many people in their first year of work in Norway have little or no holiday pay. You are still entitled to time off, but it may be unpaid. If your employer deducts salary for holiday days while you have little holiday pay to replace it, the holiday month can be thin. Plan for this if you start working in Norway mid-year, and ask your employer how they handle holiday in your first year.
Holiday pay from Nav benefits
If you receive sickness benefit or parental benefit from Nav, you may also earn holiday pay on these benefits, under separate rules from the ones that apply to salary. Check your payment overview on nav.no if you are unsure what applies to you, and remember that the employer only pays holiday pay on the salary they paid you.
Changing jobs or leaving Norway
When you leave a job, the holiday pay you have earned there is paid out in the final settlement. At your new employer you have not earned holiday pay for the first year, so next year’s holiday may be partly unpaid. Holiday pay paid in a final settlement can also lead to too little tax being deducted over the year, so check your tax card after a job change. If you are leaving Norway, you still have to file a tax return for the year – see our guide to the tax return in Norway.
Want to see your full salary after tax, including the monthly average? Use the salary after tax calculator.