Your car to Norway: the engangsavgift, and why old is gold
No relocation exemption: whoever brings their car pays the engangsavgift (weight plus CO₂) and 25% VAT. But the age deduction pushes the bill down considerably, the NOx component has been abolished from 2026, and the Dutch BPM refund stands against it — so an old car often does win the sum and a young one doesn't. Plus: the thirty days, and what electric still yields.
Between the Danish "sell it" and the Swedish "just bring it", Norway sits exactly in the middle: the car may come along, but the border settles up — and whether the sum works out hangs almost entirely on the age of your car.
The bill: three parts
Whoever imports a car pays the engangsavgift — made up of a weight component (roughly NOK 13 per kilo above the first 500) and a CO₂ component that rises with emissions. The NOx component that diesel drivers feared has been abolished from 1 January 2026. On top of that comes 25% VAT on the value of the car plus the transport to the border, and a fixed vrakpant (recycling contribution) of NOK 2,400.
That sounds Danish-dramatic, but there's one big difference: the bruksfradrag, the age deduction. The older the car, the larger the share of the engangsavgift that is waived — and the VAT is calculated on the current (fallen) value. Hence the rule of thumb: the older the car, the better the sum. A solid eight-year-old family car often gets off surprisingly gently; a young petrol car with high emissions doesn't.
Calculate it exactly with Skatteetaten's official calculator — registration number in, amount out. Do that before you leave, not at the border.
The Dutch side: the refund
On export the Netherlands refunds the remaining BPM, and names Norway explicitly as a qualifying country. The conditions: registration after 16 October 2006, RDW status "Export", and the Norwegian registration demonstrably complete within thirteen weeks. For a car a few years old that's hundreds to thousands of euros back — the item that often tips the sum.
The clocks: red zone, thirty days
At the border you declare the car in the red zone; within a few days you file a declaration at the customs office. After that you may drive at most thirty days on the Dutch plates — in that time Statens vegvesen inspects the car, you pay the engangsavgift electronically, and you collect the Norwegian plates. Thirty days plus thirteen weeks for the BPM: those clocks fit amply, provided you start in week one and not in week four.
Electric: the advantage still exists
Norway built the world's largest EV fleet with advantages that are slowly being trimmed but are still real in 2026: zero-emission cars pay only the weight component of the engangsavgift, the VAT exemption applies up to NOK 300,000 of the value (above that simply 25%), and in the toll rings you get 30 to 100% discount. For whoever already drives electric, bringing it is almost always the right sum.
The decision rule in one sentence
Old and written off: bring it, catch the refund, done. Young and emitting: calculate first — good chance that selling in the Netherlands wins. Electric: bring it. And if in doubt, Skatteetaten's calculator is the answer, not a forum.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 3 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Norway.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change — when in doubt the source is leading, not this article.
- Skatteetaten — what the engangsavgift is — skatteetaten.no
- Skatteetaten — the age deduction (bruksfradrag) — skatteetaten.no
- Skatteetaten — the import steps — skatteetaten.no
- Skatteetaten — the official calculator — skatteetaten.no
- Belastingdienst — BPM refund on export — belastingdienst.nl
Read on
- NorwayThe move3 min
The Norwegian border: what your removal van passes for free — and what never
Norway is EEA but stands outside the EU customs union: the border is real. Your household goods pass tax-free as removal goods — provided with the right declaration and an inventory list, through the red zone. Alcohol is never removal goods, new things aren't either, and whoever sends the mover across the border without papers brings the van to a standstill.
Updated 21 August 2026
- NorwayClosing the Netherlands2 min
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.
Updated 28 August 2026
- NorwayArrival2 min
Buying a house in Norway: the budrunde is binding — whoever texts the highest has bought
In Norway you buy a house in a bidding round via the estate agent, and a bid is legally binding as soon as the seller knows of it — it cannot be withdrawn, and there is no cooling-off period. If your bid wins, the purchase is concluded. After that the type of home makes a difference of thousands of euros: a selveierbolig costs 2.5% dokumentavgift, a borettslag share nothing. And the eiendomsskatt? That exists only in municipalities that want it.
Updated 28 August 2026