News, Tax | Today is the deadline – you should check this

According to a press release from the Swedish Tax Agency sent out on Tuesday morning, the figures show that there are 2.8 million who have already submitted their tax return for the income year 2023. But for those who have not come that far, it is becoming urgent. The deadline expires at midnight on the night of May 1.

If you are a wage earner or pensioner and do not submit the tax return before the deadline, it is considered to have been submitted with the information that was filled in beforehand. However, it is the individual who is responsible for the correctness of the information.

Risk paying too much

– Everyone should open and check the tax return. If you do not check it, the Swedish Tax Agency uses the information that is pre-filled. This could mean that you risk paying too much tax, for example if you have not entered a deduction to which you are entitled, or that we are using the wrong information, says Marta Johanne Gjengedal, divisional director of the Norwegian Tax Administration in the press release.

If new information appears or you have forgotten something, it is possible to make changes and submit the tax return again even after the deadline has expired. According to the Swedish Tax Agency, it can be done at any time up to three years after the delivery deadline.

You can also apply for an extended deadline for delivery for up to 30 days, but the deadline for applying for that is also 30 April.

– If you get a postponement, you cannot expect to receive the tax settlement in June, they say.

Four pieces of advice

Gjengedal has the following advice for those who need to check their tax return at the last minute:

• Look over information on income, assets, housing and loans that have been pre-filled in your tax return. Check that the numbers match.
• Are you unsure whether you are entitled to a deduction or whether there are other deductions you can use? Use skatteetaten.no/fradragsveileder.
• Have you sold or rented a home? It may be taxable, and you may be entitled to a deduction. Check skatteetaten.no/bolig.
• Fill in what is missing! You must add travel deductions, cryptocurrency, loans abroad and private loans yourself.

If you look at the figures from last year, there are many people who profit from checking their tax returns. The tax authority writes that after the tax return was submitted and the tax settlement arrived, it turned out that more people received money and fewer received back taxes compared to the amounts that were there before they went in and checked.

Additional advance

According to the preliminary figures from the Swedish Tax Agency, 1.2 million owed arrears of tax of a total of NOK 40.4 billion. On average, it will be an average of NOK 34,500 per person, writes Nettavisen.

If, after reviewing the tax return, it appears that you are left with arrears of tax, there are steps you can take, according to lawyer Gry Fremstad in Nordea Private Banking:

– By paying the additional advance by 31 May, you avoid paying interest from 1 July.

She states that the interest surcharge for residual tax is 3.51 per cent:

– The interest supplement runs from 1 July until the due date of the first installment for residual tax.

This is also emphasized by consumer economist Derya Incedursun at Nordea. She adds that if you have received arrears of tax, it may be a good idea to check your tax card and adjust for the current year:

– Then it will be as correct as possible, and you will avoid residual tax next year, she says to Nettavisen.

– Check the loan

Fremstad also has some last-minute tips:

– For loans that you have with others, it must be checked that the loan and interest are correctly distributed in the tax return.

New this year is that this year the loan is automatically distributed between the borrowers in the tax return. If parents and children have a loan together, but the child pays all the costs, the loan must be transferred to the child.

Fremstad also says that if you have had running costs for, for example, subscriptions to trade shares, you can claim a deduction for that.

You can also get a deduction for the annual fee on a VPS account, or consultancy fees. There is no deduction for brokerage.

Deduction for childcare

Consumer economist Derya Incedursun also has some good tips before the deadline expires, according to Nettavisen:

– Parental allowance for expenses for passports and childcare is an item in the tax return that is important for families with children.

She says the deduction is limited to NOK 25,000 for one child, and an additional NOK 15,000 for each additional child. Incedursun points out that it does not matter how the expenses are distributed between the children.

– For example, if you have two children under the age of 12, you can claim a deduction for costs of NOK 40,000, even if the entire amount applies to only one of the children.

– For the parental deduction, you can also enter extra travel distance if you deliver and pick up your child on the way to and from work. If you are married, the parental deduction is automatically distributed between both parents. It is therefore advisable that both check before any corrections are made.

Commuting

– Many people commute to and from work. Commuter allowance for expenses you cover yourself and which are an additional cost for you (boarding, lodging and visiting trips) you can get a deduction for, says Incedursun.

She further explains that if you have cooking facilities in connection with the commuter accommodation, there is no right to deduct food expenses.

– Remember that travel deductions are also an item that you must fill in yourself in the tax return. If you live more than 18.5 km from your job and travel to work a minimum of 230 days a year, you get a deduction for costs up to NOK 97,000 minus a deductible of NOK 14,400, says Incedursun to Nettavisen.