Reimbursement of telephone and internet expenses
Reimbursement of telephone and/or internet expenses (ECOM services) for employees who can use these services privately must be reported as a taxable benefit.
Tax on ECOM services
- When the employer pays the invoice directly, the benefit is set to NOK 4,392 per year. This is added to the income as a taxable amount for the employee, regardless of the actual amount which is covered by the employer. The taxable amount is NOK 366 per commenced month.
- If the employee pays the invoice themselves and has the amount refunded as an expense allowance, it is the actual costs which must be taxed, subject to a maximum of NOK 4,392. You should report the amount for the month in which you reimburse the invoice.
The maximum taxable amount remains the same regardless of how many such services you cover as an employer. The benefit is normally reported in connection with the payroll run. Most payroll systems have functions to do this.
These rules only apply to employees who need to use ECOM services as part of their work. If you reimburse mobile telephone or internet expenses incurred by employees who do not actually need such services for their work, the amount which is reimbursed will be taxed in full.
If an employee uses their own telephone, and are able to document which calls or services are work-related, the employer can cover these expenses without triggering any tax obligation. The employee must then be able to document which calls or services are work-related. This could for example be done with an itemised invoice from the telephone company. The itemisation must contain sufficient information to make it clear that the expense concerned was incurred for business purposes, e.g. date, time and number called in minutes for each call.
These rules only apply to employees who need to use ECOM services as part of their work. If you reimburse mobile telephone or internet expenses incurred by employees who do not actually need such services for their work, the amount which is reimbursed will be taxed in full.
Payroll tax on electronic communication services (in Norwegian only)
Tax-ABC on electronic communication (Ecom services) (in Norwegian only)
Taxation of benefits for telephone/internet services in sole proprietorships
In a sole proprietorship, the owner must also be taxed on the benefit of private use of ECOM services when the costs of these services are entered as an expense in the accounts. This is done by reducing the amount deducted by up to NOK 4,392. In this way, the taxable surplus of the business will be increased.
