How to withdraw money from an AS company - salary or dividends?

I have a one-person AS and in 2026 I expect a profit of NOK 700,000. How much should I pay myself as salary and how much as dividends? Does it even matter?

An AS owner can receive a salary from the company, dividends, or use both forms. Each affects personal tax, company costs, entitlement to NAV benefits and access to money differently.

In this article, we explain which taxes apply in 2026, how much the owner receives net, and how to legally plan payments from an AS.

Salary and dividends - the key differences

Salary is remuneration for work performed for the company. Dividends are a distribution of profit to a shareholder. A simple transfer from the AS account to a private account is not enough for the payment to become a salary or dividend. It must have the correct basis, documentation and method of reporting.

In practice, a common solution is a salary that covers private expenses and provides an adequate NAV basis, followed by dividends used to withdraw the surplus. The right proportion, however, depends on the owner's total annual income and the company's financial situation.

Private expenses paid from the AS account cannot be left unaccounted for. They must be classified, for example, as salary, dividends, a benefit in kind, a proper reimbursement of expenses, or a receivable owed by the owner to the company.

Salary from an AS - owner's taxes and company costs

Salary tax is not a single fixed rate. The final tax burden consists of tax on net income, social security contribution and progressive tax depending on the level of income.

Salary taxes in 2026

The 22% rate is charged on income after deductions, not on the entire gross salary. Minstefradrag and personfradrag reduce the taxable base, which is why the effective tax on salary may be noticeably lower at lower income levels.

The frikort limit concerns withholding tax during the year. The final tax is determined by the skattemeldingen (tax return) and confirmed in the skatteoppgjør (annual tax assessment).

Salary is also subject to trinnskatt (progressive tax on gross income):

The higher rate applies only to the portion of income within a given bracket. Exceeding the NOK 725,050 threshold therefore does not mean that the entire salary is taxed at 13.7%.

Example of tax on a NOK 600,000 salary

Assume that in 2026 you receive a NOK 600,000 salary, have no other income or additional deductions, and are subject to ordinary Norwegian tax rules.

• 22% tax after standard deductions will be approximately NOK 85,750,
• trygdeavgift will be approximately NOK 45,600,
• trinnskatt will be approximately NOK 12,835,
• total tax will be approximately NOK 144,200,
• you will retain approximately NOK 455,800 net from the salary.

The effective burden in this example is approximately 24% of gross salary. The actual result may change due to loan interest, other income, deductions, family circumstances and tax residency, among other factors.

The amount withheld by the company according to the skattekort is an advance tax payment, known as forskuddstrekk. It is not the final tax. From January 2026, the company must pay the withheld amount directly to Skatteetaten no later than the first working day after the salary is paid.

How much does salary cost the company?

An AS pays arbeidsgiveravgift (employer's social security contribution) on salary. The rate depends primarily on the zone in which the business is registered.

The tax-free allowance in zone Ia is NOK 850,000 per enterprise in 2026.

Feriepenger must also be added to the cost of salary. The statutory minimum rate is 10.2% of the basis, while 12% is usually applied for five weeks of holiday. We discuss the rules in more detail in the article Holidays and feriepenger from an employer's perspective - what are our obligations? Any OTP obligation further increases employment costs. We will cover this topic in more detail in a separate article.

What does salary provide to the owner?

The rights of an owner employed by their own AS depend on the salary actually paid and reported. They may include sickness benefits, parental benefits, benefits related to inability to work, dagpenger and pension.

In the event of illness, the AS as employer covers the first 16 calendar days. The maximum basis for sickness benefits is currently NOK 819,294, which is 6G, with G equal to NOK 136,549 from 1 May 2026.

Simply owning shares or serving on the board does not create employment rights. You must be registered as an employee, actually perform work and receive reported salary. We explain reporting deadlines in detail in the article What is an a-melding and when must it be submitted?

Dividends from an AS - how much tax does a shareholder pay?

Dividends are paid from profit on which the AS first pays 22% corporate income tax. Then, an individual who is a Norwegian tax resident pays tax on the dividends received.

The available skjermingsfradrag (allowance allocated to shares) is deducted from dividends. The remaining amount is multiplied by a factor of 1.72 and then taxed at 22%.

The effective shareholder tax rate in 2026 is therefore:

1.72 x 22% = 37.84%

The rate applies to dividends exceeding the available skjermingsfradrag. The allowance is calculated based on the tax value of the shares and the official allowance rate. The rate for 2026 will be set in January 2027.

Example of withdrawing NOK 100,000 in profit as dividends

The total burden on profit paid out as dividends in this example is approximately 51.5%. The calculation does not include skjermingsfradrag, which may slightly reduce the individual's tax.

Dividends are not subject to trygdeavgift or arbeidsgiveravgift. However, they do not increase the basis for NAV benefits and do not build pension entitlement in the social security system.

Conditions for legal payment

Dividends cannot be paid simply because the company has money in its account. Under the aksjeloven, after payment the AS must retain adequate equity and liquidity, taking into account the scale and risk of its business.

For ordinary dividends:

1. the board prepares a proposal for the distribution of profit,
2. the general meeting approves the annual accounts and adopts a resolution,
3. the dividend amount cannot exceed the amount proposed or accepted by the board,
4. for a calendar year, the annual general meeting must be held no later than 30 June.

Dividends paid during the year require a properly prepared interim balance sheet. Its date cannot be more than six months old on the date of the resolution. The document must be sent to the register of annual accounts, and payment is possible only after it has been registered and announced.

The tax year for dividends is the year in which the resolution is adopted, not the year of the transfer. A dividend that has been approved but not yet paid may therefore create tax liability for the shareholder.

The company reports dividends in the shareholder register statement submitted by 31 January of the following year. The shareholder must check the dividend, share value and allowance in the skattemeldingen. You can find more information about owner data in the article Aksjeoppgaven in Norway - what is it and who is required to submit it?

How do you choose the proportion of salary and dividends?

You should not compare NOK 100,000 in salary with NOK 100,000 in dividends, because these are amounts from different stages of taxation. Salary reduces the AS's taxable income but creates employer costs. Dividends come from profit after 22% corporate tax.

When planning payments, it is worth comparing the company's total cost with the net amount received by the owner.

Rational planning can be carried out in four steps:

1. Determine all your income for 2026, including salary from another employer.
2. Determine the salary needed for private expenses and the desired basis for NAV benefits and pension.
3. Calculate the total salary cost for the AS, including arbeidsgiveravgift, feriepenger and any OTP.
4. Check what portion of the profit can legally be paid as dividends without putting the company's liquidity at risk.

With a high salary, additional dividends can be a practical supplement to payments. However, this does not mean that dividends are always more tax-efficient. Without skjermingsfradrag, the total tax on profit paid as dividends is approximately 51.5%.

FAQ - frequently asked questions

Summary

• Salary is an AS cost, subject to tax, trygdeavgift and employer costs, but it builds entitlement to NAV benefits and pension.
• Dividends come from profit after 22% corporate tax, and the shareholder pays 37.84% in 2026 on the portion exceeding skjermingsfradrag.
• It is usually worth calculating a combination of salary and dividends based on total annual income, the arbeidsgiveravgift zone and private needs.
• Money cannot be withdrawn from an AS without proper classification, documentation and accounting.

If you need help planning salary and dividend payments from your AS company, call us: +47 21 38 38 21. We will help you calculate an option tailored to your income and the company's situation.

Article author: Marcin - marcin@efirma.no