What Is an A-Melding and When Must It Be Sent?
What Is an A-Melding and When Must It Be Sent?
Hey, I’m hiring my first employee in Norway. My accountant asked for the data for the a-melding, I’ve already sent it, but I’d really like to understand - what is it, if you explain it in plain English? :)
A-melding is one of the core employer obligations in Norway, and mistakes in this report directly affect taxes, benefits, and employee data in the registers.
In this article, we explain what an a-melding is, who must send it, what deadlines apply in 2026, when salary must be reported, when the employment relationship itself must be reported, and what to do after submitting an a-melding.
What Is an A-Melding?
An a-melding is a monthly electronic employer report concerning employees, wages, and deductions. It is submitted as part of the a-ordningen system (the joint reporting system for employment and income data).
In one a-melding, you report data needed for, among other things:
- Aa-registeret (the employment register),
- employee tax settlement,
- calculation of preliminary tax, or forskuddstrekk (tax withheld from pay during the year),
- calculation of arbeidsgiveravgift (employer's National Insurance contribution on wages),
- processing benefits from NAV,
- public statistics.
In practice, an a-melding combines several obligations into one report: reporting employment, changes in employment, termination of employment, and payment of wages and benefits.
Data from the a-melding affect the employee’s skattemelding (tax return) and the basis for benefits from NAV. If you enter the wrong salary amount, the wrong end date for employment, or omit an employee, the problem may only surface for the employee later when tax, sick pay, benefits, or other allowances are calculated.
Who Must Send an A-Melding?
You must send an a-melding if, as a company, you have employees or pay wages, fees, pensions, or other benefits that are subject to reporting. This applies both to an AS company and to an ENK that employs people other than the owner.
If you are hiring your first person, it is worth organizing the entire process from contract to payroll. We cover this in more detail in the article How to hire your first employee in Norway step by step?
| Situation | Do you send an a-melding? | Rule in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| The company has a regular employee | Yes | Report every month until and including the month employment ends, even if there is no payment in a given month |
| You pay a person more than 2,000 NOK per year | Yes | The reporting threshold is 2,000 NOK per person per year |
| You pay 2,000 NOK or less per year | Generally no | If you do not exceed the threshold and there are no other reportable benefits, an a-melding is not required |
| Salary is below 2,000 NOK, but reimbursement of expenses exceeds 1,000 NOK | Yes, for the reimbursement | Expense reimbursement above 1,000 NOK must be reported |
| An ENK pays money to the owner | No | The owner of an ENK is not an employee of their own business |
| An ENK pays money to the owner’s spouse | No, not as an employee | The ENK owner’s spouse is not treated as an employee in this context |
| A partner, or samboer, works in an ENK | Yes | A samboer working in an ENK must be employed and reported |
| An AS pays salary to the owner or daglig leder | Yes | Salary from an AS is reported like regular pay |
| An AS pays dividends to the owner | No, not in the a-melding | Dividends are not employment income |
| An AS pays styrehonorar (board fee) | Yes | Report it in the months when the fee is paid |
If an employee stops working, you enter sluttdato (end date) in the a-melding. For regular and maritime employment relationships, you also provide the reason for termination.
When Must an A-Melding Be Sent?
The standard submission deadline is the 5th day of the month for the previous month. If the 5th falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or public holiday, the deadline moves to the first following business day.
You report salary for the month in which it was actually paid. You report forskuddstrekk for the month in which you withheld the tax prepayment from the salary.
| What do you report? | For which month? | Submission deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Salary paid to an employee | Month of payment | By the 5th day of the following month |
| Active employment relationship without payment | Month in which the employee is still employed | By the 5th day of the following month |
| End of employment | Month in which the employment relationship ends | By the 5th day of the following month |
| Fee for a freelancer or contractor without their own company | Month of payment | By the 5th day of the following month |
| Feriepenger | Month of payment | By the 5th day of the following month |
Example: you pay salary on 31 March 2026. You must submit the a-melding for March no later than 5 April 2026, and if that day falls on a non-working day, the deadline moves to the next business day.
An important rule: if you have an active employee and do not pay salary in a given month, you still must send an a-melding for that month. The obligation ends only when there are no payments and the end of the employment relationship has been reported.
Submitting the a-melding and paying taxes are two different actions. The a-melding passes on the data. Payments concern the prepayments and contributions resulting from that data.
| Type of payment | Deadline in 2026 | What it means in simple terms |
|---|---|---|
| Forskuddstrekk and utleggstrekk | No later than the first business day after salary is paid | Tax prepayment and enforcement deductions go directly to the Skatteetaten |
| Arbeidsgiveravgift | 15 January, 15 March, 15 May, 15 July, 15 September, 15 November | You pay employer's National Insurance contribution every two months |
| Finansskatt on wages | The same deadlines as arbeidsgiveravgift | Applies to companies in the financial and insurance sector |
The minimum payment threshold for a settlement period is 100 NOK, but this threshold does not exempt you from sending the a-melding.
We discuss the full list of company tax deadlines separately in the article What are all the reporting and tax deadlines in Norway?
What Is Included in the A-Melding and How Do You Send It?
In the a-melding, you provide data about the company, the people receiving wages, and the amounts paid and deducted. If the company reports employees, it also needs an underenhet (sub-unit). For each employee, you indicate the organization number of the underenhet to which the employee is attached.
Typical data in the a-melding includes:
- the company’s organization number,
- the underenhet’s organization number,
- the employee’s or payee’s details,
- the type of employment relationship,
- the start date and, if applicable, the end date of employment,
- salary, feriepenger, benefits, and other payments,
- forskuddstrekk,
- the basis and amount for arbeidsgiveravgift,
- finansskatt, if the company is subject to this tax,
- utleggstrekk for tax, if applicable.
In 2026, the ordinary arbeidsgiveravgift rate depends on the zone. For example, in zone I it is 14.1%, and in zone V it is 0%. Finansskatt on wages is 5% and applies to employers in the financial and insurance sector.
The a-melding is submitted from a payroll system or accounting system (for example Efirma.no). If you do not use a payroll system, you can use the form A-melding - direkte levering on skatteetaten.no.
After submission, you receive a tilbakemelding (feedback). This is an important document because it shows whether the report was accepted, whether it contains errors, and which amounts, accounts, and KID apply to the payment.
If you use accounting services (for example Efirma Regnskap AS), make sure the office has the correct access rights for a-melding reporting. From 2026 and 2027, new access packages apply, so the old Altinn roles must be replaced with the appropriate tilgangspakker (access packages). Our clients at Efirma Regnskap AS definitely have everything set up correctly, so they do not need to check this either :)
Errors, Corrections, and Consequences
Errors in the a-melding should be corrected as quickly as possible. The correction depends on the submission method and the type of error.
The most common situations are:
- an incorrect salary amount,
- an employee missing in a month when they were employed,
- a missing sluttdato when employment ends,
- the wrong type of employment relationship,
- an incorrect underenhet,
- an incorrect forskuddstrekk or arbeidsgiveravgift.
A correction is made through an erstatningsmelding (a report replacing the previous a-melding) or by submitting a new a-melding correcting the data. When submitting directly through skatteetaten.no, a new complete message for the same month and the same underenhet replaces the previous one.
It is not worth zeroing out the data without analysis. A so-called zero report can remove information needed in the Aa-registeret, the employee’s tax settlement, and NAV matters.
For a missing a-melding or an incorrect a-melding, the tax authorities impose tvangsmulkt (compulsory daily fine). In 2026, the rate is 134 NOK per day for each inntektsmottaker (income recipient) with an error. The maximum cap is 1,345,000 NOK. The fee runs until the missing data is submitted or the error is corrected.
In 2026, no tvangsmulkt is charged for missing a-melding reports for May, June, and July 2026, but this exception does not remove the reporting obligation itself. Missing reports still have to be submitted.
The cost of employment is not just the gross amount on the payslip. If you are planning to hire, also check the article How much does an employee really cost in Norway?
FAQ - Frequently Asked Questions
Summary
- The a-melding is a monthly employer report on employment, wages, tax deductions, arbeidsgiveravgift, and selected benefits.
- The standard submission deadline is the 5th day of the month for the previous month, and an active employment relationship must also be reported in months without payment.
- In 2026, the general wage reporting threshold is 2,000 NOK per person per year, and certain expense reimbursements must be reported once they exceed 1,000 NOK.
- After submitting the a-melding, you must check the tilbakemelding and correct any errors, because tvangsmulkt in 2026 is 134 NOK per day for each person with an error.
If you need help submitting the a-melding, call us at +47 21 38 38 21. We help employers in Norway organize payroll and reporting obligations.
Article author: Marcin - marcin@efirma.no