When are feriepenger paid?

Standard is with the June salary, the last normal payroll before the main summer holiday. The employer withholds June’s salary and pays out holiday pay instead. Net effect: the June payment is often higher than usual because no tax is withheld that month (though the pay is still taxable overall). On leaving a job, accrued holiday pay is paid as part of the final settlement.

Are feriepenger tax-free?

No. Holiday pay is fully taxable like other salary. What’s special is that the employer usually does NOT withhold tax in June when the pay is disbursed, because the annual tax is distributed over 10.5 months (July–May). The end result on the tax return is identical. Half tax is often withheld in December as a similar "shift" to make Christmas more manageable.

What counts in the holiday-pay basis?

The basis is all salary and add-ons paid the year before: fixed pay, hourly, commission, bonus, overtime, piece rate, inconvenient-hours allowance. It does NOT include the previous year’s holiday pay itself (double-counting), state sick pay, car allowance, meal allowance or expense refunds. Severance and gifts are excluded. The employer should show the basis on the payslip or annual statement.

What if I just started the job?

You don’t get a holiday-pay disbursement the first year, since it’s earned the year before. You still have the right to take holiday (25 workdays), but salary is deducted for absent days. Most people use holiday pay from the previous job to fund that first year. On changing jobs, ensure the final settlement includes all accrued holiday pay up to the end date.

Norwegian Holiday Pay Calculator (10.2% / 12%)

Holiday pay
Effective rate

How it works

Holiday pay is earned the year before you take your holiday and is calculated from the basis (mainly last year's salary). The Norwegian legal minimum is 10.2% (4 weeks and 1 day). With 5 weeks of holiday, common in collective agreements, the rate is 12%.

Employees over 60 are entitled to an extra week of holiday, which raises the rate by 2.3 percentage points, but only for a basis up to 6G. Holiday pay is taxable, but tax is usually not withheld in the month it is paid out. Everything is calculated locally in your browser.

About this tool

The Norwegian holiday-pay calculator works out what you’ll receive in "feriepenger" based on last year’s salary (the holiday-pay basis) and the chosen rate. The legal minimum is 10.2% (4 weeks and 1 day of holiday); with 5 weeks under collective agreement it’s 12%. Employees over 60 get an extra week, adding +2.3 percentage points on the basis up to 6G. Useful for planning summer holidays, checking your payslip and understanding what lands in your account in June. All computed locally.

How to use it

Enter the holiday-pay basis (mainly last year’s salary).
Pick a rate: 10.2% (legal min) or 12% (5 weeks).
Tick "over 60" if it applies.
See holiday pay and effective rate right away.

Examples

Standard employee

InputNOK 500 000 basis, 12%

OutputNOK 60 000 in holiday pay

Over 60

InputNOK 600 000 basis, 12%, +2.3%

OutputNOK 85 800 (12% on the whole basis + 2.3% on the part up to 6G)

6G is 6 times the National Insurance base amount (1G ≈ 124,028 kr as of May 2024, so 6G ≈ 744,168 kr). If your basis exceeds 6G, the 2.3% surcharge applies only up to that ceiling.

Common use cases

Planning holiday finances and what lands in your account in June.
Checking payslip against actual payment.
Working out the concrete value of the over-60 extra week.
Estimating holiday pay on job change or final settlement.
Verifying whether the employer uses the right rate (10.2% vs 12%).

Frequently asked questions

When are feriepenger paid?: Standard is with the June salary, the last normal payroll before the main summer holiday. The employer withholds June’s salary and pays out holiday pay instead. Net effect: the June payment is often higher than usual because no tax is withheld that month (though the pay is still taxable overall). On leaving a job, accrued holiday pay is paid as part of the final settlement.
Are feriepenger tax-free?: No. Holiday pay is fully taxable like other salary. What’s special is that the employer usually does NOT withhold tax in June when the pay is disbursed, because the annual tax is distributed over 10.5 months (July–May). The end result on the tax return is identical. Half tax is often withheld in December as a similar "shift" to make Christmas more manageable.
What counts in the holiday-pay basis?: The basis is all salary and add-ons paid the year before: fixed pay, hourly, commission, bonus, overtime, piece rate, inconvenient-hours allowance. It does NOT include the previous year’s holiday pay itself (double-counting), state sick pay, car allowance, meal allowance or expense refunds. Severance and gifts are excluded. The employer should show the basis on the payslip or annual statement.
What if I just started the job?: You don’t get a holiday-pay disbursement the first year, since it’s earned the year before. You still have the right to take holiday (25 workdays), but salary is deducted for absent days. Most people use holiday pay from the previous job to fund that first year. On changing jobs, ensure the final settlement includes all accrued holiday pay up to the end date.

Technical background

Holiday pay = basis × rate/100. Over-60 extra: bonus = min(basis, 6G) × 2.3/100, where G is the National Insurance base amount (adjusted every 1 May; May 2024 1G = 124,028 kr, so 6G ≈ 744,168 kr). The calculator uses the current G. Effective rate = holiday pay / basis × 100. Pure arithmetic, no external service, everything local. Legal basis: Ferieloven §10 (rate) and §5 (length of holiday). For collective-agreement rates above 12%, choose the custom rate if available. Note that the 10.2% rate is only the legal minimum; if you have 5 weeks under a collective agreement, a 10.2% payout doesn’t fully cover the 5th week.