Creditworthiness in Norway – How Does Your Annual Tax Return Affect It?

20.05.2025

Many Poles living in Norway openly admit today: “It’s getting harder and harder to live here.” High living costs, rising prices of goods, energy, and rent are making it difficult for households to make ends meet. More and more people already have financial obligations – consumer loans, credit cards, or even debts that have been sent to collection. In such situations, many start looking for a solution – for example, refinancing. But then the question arises: Do I have creditworthiness?

The answer often depends on the result of your annual tax return (skatteoppgjør) – especially if you're applying for a new loan or want to consolidate your existing debts.

What Is Creditworthiness?

Creditworthiness is an assessment of whether you are able to regularly repay a new loan. Norwegian banks take into account, among other things:

your income (preferably stable and well-documented),
the number of children you support,
other liabilities – loans, leasing, credit cards,
your debt repayment history,
your registered address status (meldunkowy) in Norway,
employment duration and income continuity.

How Does the Tax Return Affect Creditworthiness?

For banks and financial institutions, the skattemelding (preliminary tax return) is one of the most important documents when assessing your financial situation. It reveals, for example:

how much exactly you earned in the previous year,
whether you received additional income (bonuses, allowances, overtime),
what debts, assets, or savings you have,
whether you are entitled to tax deductions (e.g. for children or commuting).

All this information, along with the final tax assessment (skatteoppgjør), influences your financial credibility evaluation.

Haven’t Received the Final Tax Assessment Yet? Check If It’s Already in the D&B Database

Not all Poles in Norway have received their final tax assessment (skatteoppgjør) yet, but with the free Gjeldsmonitor tool, you can check if your updated data – including new income and any tax refund or underpayment – is already visible in the Dun & Bradstreet (D&B) database. This is one of the databases that banks use when evaluating loan applications!

Thanks to this, you can quickly assess whether your creditworthiness has improved, worsened, or remained the same. It’s a crucial clue before making decisions about refinancing or applying for a new loan.

Real-Life Example: How Skatteoppgjør Can Affect a Loan

Imagine that over the past year you worked more than usual – you did overtime or had an extra job on weekends. Your income increased, but only your tax return clearly reflects that.

If the bank sees a higher income – your creditworthiness may automatically increase, which opens up the possibility of:

better loan terms,
lower interest rates,
or even approval of a loan that was previously denied.

Summary

Creditworthiness in Norway depends on many factors – but the outcome of your tax return plays a major role.

Even if you haven’t yet received the official result, you can check your data for free using the Gjeldsmonitor tool, which accesses the D&B database.

It’s a great first step if you’re considering a loan, refinancing, or simply want to know how you’re “seen by the bank.”