Norway
Formuesskatt: what the wealth tax does to a FIRE pot
Most tax arrives when something happens: you earn, you sell, you win. Norway's formuesskatt is different. It arrives every year, for the crime of still owning things. For most households it is a rounding error. For a FIRE saver it is a design constraint, because the entire strategy is to own quite a lot of things and then live off them slowly.
The 2026 shape of it
The mechanics are simple. Add up your net wealth: investments, cash, property at its assessed value, minus debt. Subtract the personal deduction, 1.9 million kroner for a single person in 2026, 3.8 million for a couple assessed together. What remains is taxed at 1.0 percent a year, rising to 1.1 percent on net wealth above 21.5 million (43 million for couples). Two softeners matter: listed shares and equity funds are counted at 80 percent of market value, and your own home is assessed far below what it would sell for, with the discount shrinking above a 14 million valuation.
A worked example
Take a single FIRE saver holding 8 million kroner of equity funds and nothing else, no debt, renting. The funds count at 80 percent: 6.4 million. Minus the 1.9 million deduction leaves 4.5 million taxable. At 1.0 percent that is 45,000 kroner, every year, sold gains or not. If your retirement budget is 400,000 a year, the wealth tax just added more than a tenth on top of it. Your pot is not only funding your life; it is funding its own existence.
This is why a napkin FIRE number undershoots in Norway. The pot must cover spending plus its own yearly tax bill, and the tax bill grows with the pot. The two chase each other in a little spiral, which is exactly the kind of maths a projection engine should do for you rather than a napkin.
| Asset | Counted at (2026) |
|---|---|
| Listed shares, equity funds, ASK | 80% of market value |
| Bank deposits, cash | 100% |
| Primary home | A fraction of market value, discount shrinking above 14M |
| IPS pension savings | Exempt entirely |
| Debt | Deducted (proportionally reduced against discounted assets) |
The quiet exemption
One line in that table deserves a spotlight: IPS pension savings are exempt from wealth tax entirely. Money inside the individual pension account simply is not in the base. That makes the IPS the only mainstream way a Norwegian FIRE saver shelters part of the pot from the yearly levy, at the price of the account's age lock. The trade is real and personal, and I walked through it in IPS or ASK, which the plan wants.
Living with it
Three honest observations. First, the couple's doubled deduction, 3.8 million, means a two-person FIRE plan pays much less than twice nothing: splitting wealth matters. Second, rates and thresholds move almost every budget cycle, so any plan should treat them as this year's weather, not climate. Third, the tax exists whether you realise gains or not, so "just never sell" is not a strategy against it. The pot has to be sized for it, which bends the whole Norwegian FIRE number upward a notch even while the pension system bends it down.
Runway does this maths for you
Runway computes formuesskatt inside every projection: threshold, valuation discounts, the yearly drag. It shows your freedom age for free, and it launches on the App Store on 25 August 2026. The beta is open now.
Runway computes formuesskatt inside every projection: threshold, valuation discounts, the yearly drag. It shows your freedom age for free.
Try the beta on TestFlight Download free on the App StoreFrequently asked
What are Norway's wealth tax rates in 2026?
Net wealth above 1.9 million kroner (3.8 million for jointly assessed couples) is taxed at 1.0 percent a year, and the part above 21.5 million (43 million for couples) at 1.1 percent. Listed shares and equity funds count at 80 percent of value; the primary home is assessed well below market with the discount shrinking above 14 million.
How much wealth tax would an 8 million kroner portfolio pay?
For a single person holding 8 million in equity funds and nothing else in 2026: 80 percent valuation gives 6.4 million, minus the 1.9 million deduction leaves 4.5 million taxable, and 1.0 percent of that is 45,000 kroner a year.
Does the ASK account avoid wealth tax?
No. ASK holdings count at the same 80 percent valuation as any listed share. The one mainstream shelter is the IPS pension account, which is exempt from the wealth-tax base entirely but locked until age 62.
Do I pay wealth tax if I never sell anything?
Yes. Formuesskatt is charged on what you own, not on what you sell. That is precisely why a FIRE pot must be sized to carry its own yearly tax bill on top of your spending.
Written by Dylan, maker of Runway
An Italian who moved to Norway, building the cross-border FIRE planner that did not exist for someone like me. Runway runs entirely on your iPhone. It is an educational planning tool, not financial or tax advice.
Size your pot honestly: start with the free FIRE calculator, then let Runway add the wealth-tax drag properly.
Sources worth checking yourself: skatteetaten.no and the yearly rate tables on regjeringen.no. Figures are for income year 2026 and move most years.