Withdrawing Money from an ENK - Why Can't the Owner Pay Themselves a Salary?

i started an ENK a little while ago and im already starting to get my first jobs 😎😁. can i transfer myself 30 000 NOK as salary every month? do i need to report it somewhere? 👍

Withdrawing money from an ENK (sole proprietorship) often raises questions. The account used by the business receives payments from clients, but some of those funds are of course needed for the owner's private expenses.

In this article, we explain the status of such a transfer, how to record it correctly in the accounts, and why the amount withdrawn does not determine the owner's tax.

Why can't an ENK owner be an employee of their own business?

An ENK and its owner are the same legal entity. The business does not have a legal personality separate from the person running it. The owner is also personally and unlimitedly liable for the business's obligations.

For this reason, you cannot enter into an employment contract with yourself or pay yourself employee remuneration. Money transferred from the business to your private account is a privatuttak (private withdrawal), not a salary.

This means that an owner's withdrawal:

• is not a business expense and does not reduce its profit,
• is not subject to salary tax withholding,
• does not trigger employer's national insurance contributions,
• is not reported as the owner's salary in the a-melding (monthly employer report),
• is recorded as a settlement with the owner or a reduction in equity.

Simply describing the bank transfer as "salary" or "remuneration" does not change its nature. The legal form of the business and your status as the ENK owner are what matter.

If having employee status in your own company is important to you, see how to switch from an ENK to an AS and when it is worthwhile.

How does an owner's withdrawal differ from a salary?

A salary is payment to an employee under an employment relationship. A private withdrawal in an ENK is a transfer of money to the owner that legally already belongs to them, but was held in an account used for the business.

An ENK may employ other people and pay them regular salaries. In that case, the business has employer obligations, which we discuss in the article How to hire your first employee in Norway step by step

How do you correctly withdraw money from an ENK?

You can set up a regular transfer, for example 30,000 NOK per month. This regularity helps you manage your household budget, but every payment remains a private withdrawal, not a salary.

Before making a transfer, you need to check both the business result and its liquidity. Accounting profit does not automatically mean that the full amount is available in the account. Some of the money may be needed for MVA, tax, supplier invoices, leases, and other liabilities.

In accounting software (e.g. Efirma.no), the transfer should be recorded in the owner's settlement account or equity account. The specific account number depends on the chart of accounts you use.

What does an ENK owner pay tax on?

The basis for taxation is the business result, not the total of private transfers. Revenue is reduced by actual and documented business expenses, after which the required tax adjustments are made.

Example:

• the ENK's profit before private withdrawals is 500,000 NOK,
• the owner transferred 300,000 NOK to their private account,
• the starting point for taxation is still 500,000 NOK.

The opposite situation works in the same way. If you leave the entire 500,000 NOK in the account used by the business, simply leaving the money there does not move the tax to the following year.

In 2026, taxation of an ENK owner includes, among other things, the following elements:

The personal income used to calculate national insurance contributions and bracket tax is not always identical to the accounting profit. The starting point is net business income, which is then subject to the required adjustments.

The owner reports their estimated profit in the skattekort (tax card) and pays forskuddsskatt (advance tax payments). Advance payments made during the year are not the final tax. The final amount results from the annual tax assessment and is shown in the skatteoppgjør (tax assessment result).

A practical rule is to set aside around 40% of profit for tax. This is a reserve, not a fixed tax rate. The actual burden depends, among other things, on other income, deductions, assets, and total personal income. We explain the rules and deadlines in more detail in the article What is forskuddsskatt and how do you pay advance tax in an ENK?

FAQ - frequently asked questions

Summary

• An ENK owner cannot be an employee of their own business, because the ENK and its owner are the same entity.
• A transfer to a private account is an owner's withdrawal, not a salary, and it is not a business expense.
• Tax depends on business income, not on the amount withdrawn or left in the account.
• Before each withdrawal, you must reserve funds for tax, MVA, and other liabilities.

If you need help with bookkeeping for your ENK business, call us: +47 21 38 38 21. We will help you keep your business accounts correctly!

Article author: Marcin - marcin@efirma.no