AOW and pension in Norway: the Netherlands taxes, since 2014
The treaty with Norway tipped in 2013: since then the Netherlands taxes AOW, occupational pension and annuity that come from the Netherlands — and old guides still tell the old residence-state story. Norway meanwhile counts your worldwide income and gives credit. Plus the country-of-residence factor that is capped at the Dutch maximum.
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If you live in Norway, the Netherlands taxes your AOW, your occupational pension and your annuity. Norway counts that income in your worldwide income and credits the Dutch tax: what you pay in the Netherlands comes off the Norwegian tax.
Three things to know up front:
- This has applied since the amending protocol of 2013, a change to the treaty. Since then article 18 assigns this income to the source state, the country it comes from. The find is in the date: the protocol has applied since 30 November 2013, and almost every Dutch guide on "pension in Norway" is older or copies the old residence-state story.
- Healthcare runs via the CAK with a country-of-residence factor of 1.0000. That is capped at the Dutch maximum, because the calculated factor is 1.4205.
- The pitfall with a date: whoever leaves on early retirement must, expectedly, be registered with the CAK before 1 November 2026. Otherwise the treaty route is closed.
Which story is right: the old or the new?
Whoever reads about pension in Norway comes across two stories: the old one (taxed where you live) and the current one. The difference is a protocol from 2013, and it determines on which side of the North Sea you file.
Who taxes my AOW, pension and annuity?
Since the amending protocol, in force since late 2013, article 18 assigns pensions, annuities and social security benefits to the country they come from. So the Netherlands taxes your AOW, your occupational pension and your annuity. The residence-state taxation older Dutch guides write about is history for new cases.
The government pension (ABP from government employment) also stays Dutch. That was already so and remained so.
For assets the pattern of the northern treaties applies:
- A rented-out house in the Netherlands stays fully Dutch-taxed (article 6).
- On dividend the Netherlands as source state may withhold 15% (article 10).
- Interest is exclusively for your state of residence: on Dutch savings interest only Norway taxes (article 11).
| Income | Who taxes | Treaty article |
|---|---|---|
| AOW | the Netherlands | 18 (since 30 November 2013) |
| Occupational pension and annuity | the Netherlands | 18 |
| ABP pension from government employment | the Netherlands | 19 |
| Rented-out house in the Netherlands | the Netherlands | 6 |
| Dividend from the Netherlands | the Netherlands withholds at most 15%; Norway gives credit | 10 |
| Savings interest from the Netherlands | only Norway | 11 |
| Norwegian wages or business income | Norway: 22% base rate plus brackets and contributions, or in the first year the flat PAYE of 25% | — |
What does Norway do with that income?
As a resident of Norway you declare your worldwide income, including the Dutch pensions the Netherlands already taxed. The treaty prevents you paying twice.
How exactly the two systems bite on your mix is worth the one tax-adviser conversation every corridor deserves. That is certainly so in combination with Norwegian earned income or the PAYE scheme for newcomers: a flat 25% including contributions, up to a wage ceiling of 725,050 kroner in 2026. Whoever still works alongside the pension notes that PAYE has no deductions and that business income falls outside it anyway.
How does healthcare work, and what do I pay?
Pensioners without work in Norway fall under the CAK treaty route. You send the S1 form to Helfo, the Norwegian service that handles healthcare reimbursements. After that the same co-payments and the same frikort apply as for every Norwegian. The frikort is the exemption that starts once you have reached the annual ceiling for co-payments.
The country-of-residence factor says how expensive healthcare in your country of residence is compared with the Netherlands. For Norway it is 1.0000. That is capped, because the calculated factor is even 1.4205: Norwegian healthcare is more expensive than Dutch. So you pay the full Dutch level, and the healthcare allowance can continue.
Start with the CAK three months before departure; you then get the European health card automatically.
| Healthcare item | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Country-of-residence factor Norway | 1.0000 (capped; calculated 1.4205) |
| Co-payments per visit | up to the ceiling of 3,278 kroner per calendar year; after that the frikort comes by itself |
| Children under 18 | pay nothing |
| Admission to a public hospital | free |
| Dentist for adults | almost entirely your own expense |
The deadline that dominates the planning of early retirees: from — expectedly — 1 November 2026 early retirement no longer gives access to the CAK route; whoever is registered before then keeps their rights. What that means for whoever leaves before AOW age is in early retirement and the narrowing CAK route.
What else does the Netherlands not let go of?
The protective assessment on your pension and annuity accrual is a paper matter with Norway too. That is an assessment the Belastingdienst imposes on emigration but does not collect straight away. The automatic deferral applies to the EU and the EEA, the European Economic Area. The Belastingdienst says explicitly that you need not provide security for Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
For pension and annuity you can ask for remission after ten years. With a substantial interest it remains valid indefinitely; see the protective assessment on emigration.
You file the M-form return for the year of emigration online. Keep your Dutch annual statements, because it only comes the year after. And don't forget the AOW accrual if you leave before your AOW age: it stops, and repairing it is only possible in the first year.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey, step 2.2: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Norway or go straight to step 2.2 in the open plan.
What this means for your numbers →
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- Tax treaty Netherlands–Norway 1990, as amended in 2013 — wetten.overheid.nl
- CAK — the country-of-residence factors per country — hetcak.nl
- CAK — early retirement and the closure from November 2026 — hetcak.nl
- Belastingdienst — protective assessment, automatic deferral in EU and EEA — belastingdienst.nl
- Helsenorge — the co-payment ceiling and the automatic frikort — helsenorge.no
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