The annual VAT return – when can you apply for an annual period?
You can apply where VAT-liable turnover and withdrawals in the calendar year do not exceed NOK 1 million excluding VAT, the business has been registered for at least 12 months and has met its reporting and payment obligations. The application has to reach Skatteetaten by 1 February, and the annual return is due 10 March the following year. If the threshold is exceeded, you have to notify immediately.
Who can apply?
An ordinary business can apply where VAT-liable turnover and withdrawals during the calendar year do not exceed NOK 1,000,000 excluding VAT. The business normally also has to have been registered for at least 12 months and to have met its reporting and payment obligations. That last condition is often overlooked: where the business has filed late or has unpaid VAT, an annual period is not available until that has been put right.
When do you have to apply?
The application has to reach Skatteetaten by 1 February. Skatteetaten's application service is open from 10 December to 1 February. That is a short window, and it opens in the middle of the holidays – worth putting in the calendar the year before.
When is the annual return due?
The VAT return is due by 10 March the following year, and any VAT payable has the same due date. Agriculture, forestry, reindeer husbandry and fishing follow their own rules and normally file annually with a deadline of 10 April the following year.
What if turnover exceeds NOK 1 million?
Where you have an annual period and can see that VAT-liable turnover and withdrawals will exceed NOK 1 million, you have to notify Skatteetaten immediately. You do not wait until the year is over. Where the excess is substantial, Skatteetaten can decide that the annual period should not apply even for the calendar year in which it happens. An excess of at least 25% counts as substantial where the business ought to have foreseen it. At today's threshold that means at least NOK 1,250,000.
Can you go back to two-monthly yourself?
Yes. If you do, the ordinary period has to apply for at least two consecutive calendar years. So you cannot switch between the two from year to year.
Advantages and drawbacks
An annual period means one VAT return instead of six, but the bookkeeping still has to be kept up to date through the year. The scheme saves reporting, not accounting work. For businesses that usually have VAT to pay, it can give a cash advantage: the money stays longer. For businesses with large investments or regular VAT refunds it works the other way – it then ties up capital for up to fifteen months. Where the business is in an investment phase, two-monthly is normally better.
In short
Maximum VAT-liable turnover and withdrawals: NOK 1 million excluding VAT. At least 12 months in the VAT Register. Application deadline 1 February. Return and payment 10 March the following year. And notify Skatteetaten immediately where the threshold is expected to be exceeded. The ordinary deadlines are in VAT periods and deadlines We can assess whether an annual period suits the business, send the application and follow up the VAT through the year.
This is general guidance, not advice on your specific case. Deadlines, rates and amounts change – always check the current rules, or get in touch with us.
More on value added tax
- VAT registration – when does a business have to register?
- VAT deductions – what can you reclaim?
- VAT on services to and from abroad – how do you invoice correctly?
- VAT on imported goods – how it works
- The VAT adjustment rules for real property – how do they work?
- Voluntary VAT registration for letting property – when is it possible?
- VAT exemptions for health, education and culture – what applies?
- VAT periods and deadlines – when is the VAT return due?
- Bad debts – when can you recover the VAT?
- VAT on winding up and bankruptcy – what has to be settled?
Is it urgent?
We can work out what actually has to be done, what documentation exists and how quickly it can be sorted. You can also reach us in the evenings and at weekends.
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