VAT on electric vehicles in Norway
In Norway, from 1 Jan 2023 VAT on an electric vehicle will be applied to the portion of the purchase value exceeding five hundred thousand NOK. (of purchase value). Then, the car will be subjected to the standardised rate.
So put in simple terms, if you pay 500.100 NOK for an electric vehicle in Norway, the VAT is 25% of the amount over the threshold. For 500,100 NOK, the amount over the threshold is 100 NOK, and 25% of that is 25 NOK. This means that any electric vehicle purchased for 500,000 NOK or less remains VAT-free.
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Electric vehicles in Norway - update for 2025
Norway continues its policy of favouring electric vehicles by increasing taxes on combustion engine cars. As of 2025, taxes on new cars with internal combustion engines have risen, further reducing their attractiveness compared to electric vehicles.
The VAT exemption for electric cars up to a value of 500,000 NOK has been extended until December 31, 2026. Norway is striving to achieve its goal of 100% zero-emission new car sales by 2025, and the current tax policy supports this objective.
If you would like to read more about VAT in Norway please read the article:
The government's decision
The government’s reasoning for the decision is that electric vehicles have been VAT free for a while now. Norway has long been the leading country in the new sales of electric vehicles on the European continent. In a fair part due to the 0% VAT on the vehicles. Compared to the 25% on the other vehicles in Norway. The government believes that the zero per cent VAT rate is no longer needed.
If you are a private individual, the only practical consequence is that the price goes up. For businesses, the VAT on electric vehicles is paid to the supplier (car dealer). The car dealer calculates the VAT, and reports it on their VAT return.
I have an electric car where the VAT hasn’t been paid.
There is no requirement to register VAT on your electric vehicles after you have received them. Put in other words, the VAT on electric vehicles doesn’t work retroactively. If a car business imported vehicles before January 1st without accounting for VAT, this VAT is still payable upon their sale. Ownership is legally transferred when the vehicle is registered to the owner in the driving and licensing registry (motorvernsregisteret). This is the point when the owner consumes ownership of the vehicle and is responsible for insurance purposes.
In short, VAT must be calculated on any vehicles not registered to their owners before January 1st, 2023.
Summary
In Norway, the VAT on electric vehicles is introduced in 2023 and will start at values over five hundred thousand NOK and then be subject to the Standardised rate, of VAT rate which is 25%. All electric vehicles costing more than 500,000 NOK will be subject to the 25% VAT rate on the value exceeding five hundred thousand NOK.
The government’s reasoning for this change is due to the fact that electric vehicles have previously been VAT-free, making Norway the leading country in Europe for electric vehicle sales. The VAT must be paid via a VAT return form for businesses, while private individuals will simply see a price increase. If a business bought electric vehicles from abroad before January 1st, 2023, without calculating the VAT, the VAT still needs to be paid. The VAT does not work retroactively but must be paid when the vehicles are legally in the owner’s hands and registered in the driving and licensing registry. If the cars aren’t registered before January 1st, 2023, the VAT must be calculated on them.
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