VAT exemptions for health, education and culture – what applies?
Out of scope is not the same as zero-rated. Where a service is out of scope, the turnover falls outside the VAT Act: no output VAT, but no right to deduct either. Where it is zero-rated, it stays in the system with the right to deduct intact. Health, education and parts of culture and sport are out of scope – but it is the real content of the service that decides, not the job title or the technology.
Out of scope is not the same as 0%
Where a service is out of scope of VAT, the turnover falls outside the VAT Act. The business normally does not charge VAT, and does not get a deduction for input VAT on costs relating to that activity. Where turnover is zero-rated, it is still within the VAT system. No output VAT is charged, but the business can still have a right to deduct. The difference is not just a matter of language. It decides whether the VAT on your costs is a pass-through item or a real cost.
Which health services are out of scope?
Typical examples are ordinary doctor, dentist, physiotherapy and psychology services. But not everything health personnel do is out of scope. Where a doctor supplies ordinary consultancy to a pharmaceutical company, gives a lecture or carries out work that is not health care in character, the service can be VAT-liable. It is the engagement that is assessed, not the professional authorisation.
Cosmetic treatment can be VAT-liable
For cosmetic surgery and treatment the general rule is that the procedure has to be medically justified and wholly or partly publicly funded to fall within the health exception. Purely cosmetic treatments without that basis normally have to be invoiced with 25% VAT. For a clinic doing both, that means mixed activity and apportionment of costs – see VAT deductions
Alternative treatment
Alternative treatment is as a starting point VAT-liable. There is a narrow exception where the treatment forms an integrated part of publicly funded health care, is carried out by authorised health personnel and is not priced separately.
When are courses and training out of scope?
Educational services are out of scope under section 3-5 of the VAT Act. What matters is that the service actually consists of imparting knowledge. In teaching, the main purpose is that the customer learns how something is done. In consultancy, the supplier largely uses their own knowledge to solve the customer's specific problem or deliver a result. That line is decisive for many consultants who also run courses.
Are online courses and webinars out of scope?
It depends on the content of the service, not only on the technology. Both live delivery and later viewing of a recording can form part of the same out-of-scope educational service, where the course as a whole involves genuine knowledge transfer and the provider is available for follow-up. A purely digital self-study product can more easily be an ordinary VAT-liable service. So it is not enough to film a course and sell the recording.
Culture has several different rules
Admission to theatre, opera, ballet, concerts and the circus is out of scope under section 3-7. Artists' fees for the artistic performance of a work are also out of scope. Cinema and museums are not exempt in the same way. In 2026 12% VAT normally applies to cinema tickets, admission to museums and galleries, amusement parks and experience centres, and VAT-liable admission to sporting events. From 1 January 2025 the trivial-value threshold in the relevant cultural rule is NOK 200 or less – a different threshold from the NOK 100 that applies to gifts and promotional items.
What about sport?
The right to take part in sporting activity is as a general rule out of scope. For ticket sales to spectators there is a separate registration threshold of NOK 3 million within twelve months. Once the organiser is within the VAT net, the rate is normally 12%. That threshold is 60 times the ordinary NOK 50,000 one, and applies only to that kind of turnover.
Out of scope normally means no right to deduct
Where the same business carries on both out-of-scope and VAT-liable activity, the costs have to be apportioned. It is the real content of the service that decides the VAT treatment – not what it is called in the price list. We can establish which services are VAT-liable, which are out of scope, and how costs are apportioned in mixed activity. For a clinic with both out-of-scope treatment and VAT-liable product sales, the whole apportionment is in Accounting for health services. For artists and performers, see Accounting for art, culture and the creative industries
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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 periods and deadlines – when is the VAT return due?
- The annual VAT return – when can you apply for an annual period?
- Bad debts – when can you recover the VAT?
- VAT on winding up and bankruptcy – what has to be settled?
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