How your salary is calculated
When your client pays the invoice, Payout Partner receives the full amount. From this amount, three deductions are made before you receive your salary:
- Payout Partner's service fee — a percentage of the invoice amount that covers the platform's services.
- Employer's national insurance contribution (AGA) — 14.1% of the gross salary, paid to the tax authorities.
- Income tax — withheld based on your personal tax card (skattekort).
The remaining amount is your net salary, which is transferred to your bank account.
Employer's contributions (AGA) explained
Arbeidsgiveravgift (AGA) is a mandatory employer contribution in Norway. The standard rate is 14.1% of gross salary. This tax funds the national insurance scheme (folketrygden), which provides pensions, sickness benefits, and other social security benefits.
AGA is not deducted from your salary — it is an additional cost on top of it. However, when Payout Partner calculates your salary from an invoice amount, the AGA must come from the total invoice amount. This is why your net salary is lower than the invoice amount — the difference covers AGA, income tax, and the service fee.
The AGA rate can be lower in certain geographic zones in Northern Norway and other designated areas, ranging from 0% to 10.6%. The standard 14.1% rate applies to most of the country.
Your tax card (skattekort)
Your tax card determines how much income tax is withheld from each salary payment. There are two types of tax cards in Norway: table-based (tabelltrekk) and percentage-based (prosenttrekk).
With a table-based tax card, the withholding amount depends on how much you earn in each pay period. The more you earn, the higher the percentage withheld. This is the most common type and provides the most accurate withholding.
With a percentage-based tax card, a fixed percentage is withheld from every payment regardless of the amount. This is simpler but may result in either over- or under-payment of tax during the year.
When you register with Payout Partner, we retrieve your tax card information from the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten). The correct withholding is then applied automatically to every salary payment.
Example calculation
Here is a simplified example of how a 10,000 NOK invoice breaks down. The exact numbers will vary based on your tax card and the applicable AGA rate:
- Invoice amount: 10,000 NOK
- Payout Partner service fee (4.9%): -490 NOK
- Amount available for salary + AGA: 9,510 NOK
- Gross salary (after AGA at 14.1%): approx. 8,334 NOK
- AGA (14.1% of gross): approx. 1,175 NOK
- Income tax withheld (e.g., 30%): approx. -2,500 NOK
- Net salary to your account: approx. 5,834 NOK
Remember that the income tax withheld is not lost — it is a prepayment on your annual tax. If too much is withheld during the year, you receive the difference back when your tax return is settled.
Your annual tax return
Salary paid through Payout Partner is reported to the tax authorities just like any other employment income. It appears on your pre-filled tax return (skattemelding) in the spring. You do not need to report it separately or file any additional forms.
If you have other income sources — employment, rental income, investment income — your freelance salary is simply added to your total income for the year. The final tax calculation takes into account all your income and deductions to determine whether you owe additional tax or are entitled to a refund.