Loan in Poland and tax in Norway – when can you deduct interest?
Do you have a mortgage, consumer loan or other debt in Poland, and do you file tax in Norway? Interest can reduce your Norwegian tax, but it all depends on your tax residency, your income and whether you have already claimed the deduction in Poland.
In brief
Interest on a loan in Poland can, in certain situations, reduce tax in Norway. A Norwegian tax resident is, in principle, entitled to deduct foreign interest, although there are exceptions. A person who is tax-resident in Poland may need to meet the 90% condition of total income taxed in Norway. For interest, the 90% test also includes capital income. You do not deduct full loan installments — only the paid interest matters. The tax effect of the deduction is generally 22% of qualifying interest. The same interest cannot be deducted in both Poland and Norway at the same time. You must check a foreign loan and, if necessary, add it yourself to your tax return. Under the PAYE system you do not use the ordinary interest deduction.
Do you have a loan in Poland, work in Norway and every year pay the bank thousands of zlotys in interest. Loan in Poland and tax in Norway is a topic where many people leave money on the table, because a foreign loan usually must be handled by yourself in the tax return. The good news is that Norwegian rules in many situations allow deduction of interest paid to a foreign bank. The bad news – merely having a loan in Poland does not automatically entitle you to a full deduction.
A loan in Poland can be deducted in Norway, but first you need to determine one thing
The most important question is:
where are you a tax resident?
To a large extent, what rules will apply depends on that.
The situation is different for a person who is a Norwegian tax resident and is, in principle, subject here to taxation on worldwide income.
Different is the person who still lives tax-wise in Poland and has only limited tax liability in Norway.
This distinction is more important than the name of the loan itself.
So we don't start with the question:
“Is it a mortgage?”
We start with the question:
“What is my tax status in Norway?”
Are you tax-resident in Norway? The rule is relatively simple
If you are a Norwegian tax resident, as a rule you have the right to deduct interest on debt also when the loan is in a foreign bank.
So it can be a loan in Poland.
However, this does not mean you will receive an identical deduction in every situation. Limitations can arise, among other things, when you have a business abroad or real estate, and the income related to them, under a tax treaty, is not subject to taxation in Norway.
For real estate located in EEA countries there are additional rules and exceptions.
Therefore, with a regular loan the situation may be simple, but with the combination:
loan + an apartment in Poland + rental income + tax residency in Norway
you need to look at the whole picture.
Are you tax-resident in Poland? The 90 percent rule applies
If you are not a Norwegian tax resident and are only subject to limited tax liability in Norway, the basic rule is more restrictive.
Normally the deduction concerns primarily interest related to property in Norway or activities taxed in Norway.
However, there is a very important exception for people living in EEA countries, and thus also in Poland.
If at least 90 percent of your total income is taxed in Norway, you may be entitled to a deduction of foreign interest as well.
And this is exactly where you need to be careful.
For interest, the 90 percent test is broader than the basic 90 percent rule that we discussed in the previous guide.
What counts is total income, including capital income, such as interest.
This is not exactly the same 90 percent test
In the previous article we explained the 90 percent rule with full personfradrag and minstefradrag.
There the basic comparison concerns primarily income from:
employment,
business activities,
pensions,
benefits related to incapacity for work.
When deducting foreign interest, Skatteetaten takes a broader view.
Here what matters is the taxpayer's entire income.
Therefore you can meet one 90 percent test and not meet another.
It's a detail that can determine the right to a deduction of several or a dozen thousand kroner.
Read also: The 90 percent rule in Norway – when does a Pole have the right to full deductions?
What exactly are you deducting: the loan principal or the interest?
This is a common misunderstanding.
If you have 1 000 000 NOK of loan to repay, it does not mean that you deduct one million kroner from your income.
For income tax purposes, what matters most is the interest paid.
The loan itself can also be relevant when determining taxable assets, but that's a separate issue.
This guide deals with interest.
So let's assume that during the year you paid a Polish bank interest equal to:
50 000 NOK.
With full entitlement to the deduction, the tax effect at the current 22-percent deduction rate is generally:
50 000 × 22% = 11 000 NOK.
It does not mean that Skatteetaten refunds you 50 000 NOK.
The deduction reduces the tax base, and its tax effect essentially corresponds to 22 percent of qualifying interest.
With 20 000 NOK of interest:
about 4 400 NOK less tax.
With 40 000 NOK:
about 8 800 NOK.
With 60 000 NOK:
about 13 200 NOK.
With a larger loan, the difference therefore stops being merely cosmetic.
The loan principal is not interest
Look at the annual statement from the bank.
If during the year you paid 80 000 zł in loan installments, it does not mean that you paid 80 000 zł in interest.
An installment can consist of:
principal repayment,
interest,
any fees.
When calculating the deduction, do not enter the full amount of the installments.
You need information on how much interest you actually paid in the tax year.
Therefore, the most important document will be the annual statement from the bank or another official confirmation.
A Polish bank may not appear automatically in the tax return
Norwegian banks provide Skatteetaten with information on loans and interest.
With a foreign loan you should not assume that everything will appear automatically.
Skatteetaten states plainly that foreign loans and interest must be checked and, if absent, added to the tax return manually.
Therefore, when filing the tax return, it is not enough to check your salary and press „send”.
If you have a loan in Poland, also check the section concerning debt and interest.
How to enter a loan in Poland into the tax return?
The procedure is relatively simple.
Step 1. Download the document from the bank
You need information covering the tax year in question.
The most important are:
the amount of debt,
the amount of interest paid,
the details of the bank or other lender.
Skatteetaten may later ask you for a document confirming this information.
Step 2. Open the tax return
Check the section concerning:
bank, loans, debt and interest.
If the Polish obligation is not listed, you must add it.
Step 3. Enter the foreign loan
Enter information about the debt and the interest.
If you select the foreign currency in the appropriate Skatteetaten solution, the system can automatically convert the amount into Norwegian kroner.
So you do not always have to manually convert PLN to NOK.
Step 4. Check the amount of interest
Do not enter the total of all installments.
You need the actual amount of interest paid in the given year.
Step 5. Keep the documentation
You do not always have to submit documents with the tax return right away.
However, you must be able to present them if Skatteetaten asks for them.
Step 6. Send the corrected tax return
After adding the loan and interest, check everything again.
Only then approve the filing.
What documents should you prepare?
Skatteetaten may ask for confirmation from the financial institution showing:
existence of the debt,
the amount of the debt,
the amount of interest paid.
In practice, a good document is an annual bank statement.
If you are tax-resident outside Norway and claim the deduction under the 90 percent rule, you should additionally be able to document that at least 90 percent of your total income is taxed in Norway.
If the case concerns property located in another EEA state, Skatteetaten may also require confirmation that you have not already deducted the same interest in the state where the property is located.
You cannot deduct the same interest twice
This is one of the most important rules.
Suppose you have a mortgage loan for an apartment in Poland.
You have paid interest during the year.
If you have already used the same interest as a tax deduction in Poland, you cannot simply deduct it a second time in Norway.
Skatteetaten explicitly points out that the same interest cannot be deducted simultaneously in both countries.
This is not a choice:
"I'll enter it everywhere and see what sticks".
You need to determine where the deduction is allowed and how the laws of both countries and the tax treaty affect the specific situation.
And what if you rent out an apartment in Poland?
Here the situation becomes more complicated.
Then not only the loan and interest appear, but also:
foreign property,
rental income,
the rules of the double taxation agreement,
the obligation to report foreign assets or income.
Therefore we will not try to cram this entire topic into an article about loans.
If you have property in Poland that you rent out, it should be analyzed as a separate tax matter.
And what if I have a regular personal loan in Poland?
The fact that a loan is not a mortgage does not automatically mean there is no deduction.
Skatteetaten distinguishes different types of debt, but the general rule for deduction concerns interest paid on the debt.
The most important things remain:
Your tax status,
Norway's right to tax your situation,
meeting the required conditions,
the ability to document the loan and the interest.
Not the name of the bank product.
PAYE? Then you cannot deduct the interest
If you are in the kildeskatt på lønn – PAYE system, the situation is completely different.
PAYE is a simplified tax system.
You do not use ordinary deductions in it, including the standard deduction for interest on a loan.
If you have a large loan and pay high interest, this is therefore another factor worth considering when comparing:
PAYE 25 percent
versus
the ordinary tax system.
We explained this in detail here:
Also read: Kildeskatt 25% in Norway or ordinary tax? Check what really pays off
Example: a loan in Poland and 45 000 NOK of interest
Let's assume a simple situation.
Anna lives and works as a taxpayer in Norway.
She has an apartment in Poland and a loan from a Polish bank.
During the year she paid interest corresponding to:
45 000 NOK.
We assume that in her situation all the interest qualifies for deduction and has not been used as a deduction in Poland.
Tax effect:
45 000 × 22% = 9 900 NOK.
That's almost ten thousand kroner.
If Anna does not check the foreign loan in the tax return and add it, she may simply not use that deduction.
And that's exactly why it's worth checking foreign liabilities manually.
Example: you work in Norway, but live in Poland
Marek is a tax resident in Poland.
He works in Norway for most of the year.
He has a mortgage in Poland and would like to deduct the interest paid in Norway.
In his case the first question is not:
“How much interest did I pay?”
First you need to determine:
whether at least 90 percent of his total income is subject to taxation in Norway?
Capital income must also be included in this test.
If Marek does not meet the condition, the right to a foreign deduction may look completely different.
Therefore you cannot transfer Anna's calculation to Marek.
Both have a loan in Poland.
But tax-wise they are in two different situations.
Loan in Poland – check seven things
Before you enter the interest into the Norwegian tax return, answer seven questions:
Where am I resident for tax purposes?
Do I file under the ordinary rules, or under PAYE?
How much interest did I actually pay in the year?
Can I document it?
If I am a tax resident in Poland – is at least 90 percent of my total income taxed in Norway?
Have I already deducted the same interest in Poland?
Is the loan linked to a property or activity that requires additional analysis?
If you have answers to these questions, you can correctly approach the deduction.
The most common mistake? "The bank will send it itself"
With a Norwegian bank, many data fields are indeed transferred to the skattemelding automatically.
For a loan in Poland you should not rely on that.
Check.
If data are missing – add them.
The second mistake is entering the full instalment amounts instead of the interest.
The third is treating the 90 percent rule from the previous article as exactly the same test applied to foreign interest.
The fourth is an attempt to use the same interest for tax purposes in two countries.
Each of these mistakes can change the final outcome of the settlement.
Next step: skattemelding
We already know:
when PAYE may be worse than ordinary tax,
how the 90 percent rule works,
when a loan and interest from Poland can affect Norwegian tax.
Now you need to combine these elements in practice.
In the next guide we will go through the Norwegian tax return step by step:
Skattemelding in Norway step by step – what to check, change and deduct?
We will show what needs to be checked before clicking "submit", where to look for deductions and which data are worth correcting yourself.
[PASTE LINK HERE AFTER PUBLISHING THE NEXT ARTICLE]
Editorial comment Your Norway
A loan in Poland is a good example of information that should not be left solely to the automation of the Norwegian tax system. Several tens of thousands of kroner paid in interest can mean a difference of a few or a dozen thousand kroner in tax. The most important thing, however, is to determine your own tax status – simply having a loan does not guarantee the right to a deduction.
Official sources and useful links
Skatteetaten – Lån i utlandet
Rules concerning foreign loans, interest, the 90 percent test and the required documentation.
Skatteetaten – Gjeld og gjeldsrenter i utlandet
Rules for persons who are Norwegian tax residents and for persons with limited tax liability.
Skatteetaten – Lån og renter på lån
Information about the amount of deduction, foreign loans and how to report them in the skattemelding.
Skatteetaten – Skattemeldingen
Information on checking, correcting and completing the data concerning loans and assets.
Information verified: 14 September 2026.
Where to get it done
Sources
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