Hi

I am currently working and living in Norway and came up on an opportunity to get a place for the winter season abroad within EU. Now I asked my employer regarding me working abroad, I am working remotely from within Norway, for 4 +- months during the winter and he said that it is not allowed.

He claimed there might be double taxation, there is none as I want to move to Austria, Norway and Austria have double taxation agreement

https://www.regjeringen.no/en/topics/the-economy/taxes-and-duties/tax-treaties-between-norway-and-other-st/id417330/

Also he claimed about social security benefits being a problem, but I found that only if I live outside of Norway for more than 12 months or more than 6 months during 2 consecutive years I lose my benefits

https://www.nav.no/en/home/rules-and-regulations/membership-of-the-national-insurance-scheme

Are there any other reasons? Am I correct that I am allowed to do that? I am working remotely within Norway so location is not an issue for my work.

P.S. I have Norwegian citizenship

5 comments

  1. Working for fewer than 183 days in a year, and in a EØS country/Sveits or a country with which Norway has a _trydgeavtale_ is generally hassle-free from an employer/employee perspective given that the double taxation avoidance treaty is in place. The employer will have to send in the country-code in the A-melding that is sent to the tax authorities. That said, an employer may not want to get into the bureaucratic nightmare that these things sometimes tend to be, many are hence not very welcoming of this idea.

    Other than this, one has the obligation to check rules specific to the country one is going to temporarily work from.

    You’ll find more details on the NAV and Skatteetaten websites, probably in Norwegian though.

  3. Beyond social security issues, there is also the notion of fiscal establishment that can be an issue for your employer. Suddenly they would get taxed in the country in question because you work there. It depends in which branch is your employer. Most work from home agreement limit them to continental Norway for those reasons.

  4. If it’s less than 3 months, then just don’t inform your employer? You don’t have to register your presence to the authorities in Austria either since it’s under 3 months. If it’s longer than that then you do have to register but I don’t think it’s strictly enforced. You can easily fly under the radar and then be back in Norway before anybody gets wise to it.

  5. >He claimed there might be double taxation, there is none as I want to move to Austria, Norway and Austria have double taxation agreement

    Agreements to avoid double taxation means that you (mostly) will not end up paying the same tax twice, in the end. However, such agreements do not reduce the number of forms you have to file and the administrative work. Quite the contrary: You will often have to file taxes in both countries, plus some extra forms. So, while the amount of tax you pay may not be double the administration of it will be multiplied by a large factor

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