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Tax free and duty free in Norway: how do you get the VAT back, and how much can you bring?

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Updated 12.11.2026. Facts checked against toll.no, Global Blue and Travel Retail Norway.

Short answer: Tax free and duty free are two different things. Tax free means that if you live outside Norway, you get the VAT back on goods you take out of the country – with Global Blue from NOK 315 in one store, and the form must be stamped within 30 days. Duty free is the allowance for alcohol, tobacco and other goods you can bring into Norway without paying duty and taxes.

Key facts

QuestionAnswerSource, checked
VAT in Norway25 % on most goods, 15 % on foodGlobal Blue, 26.09.2026
Minimum spend for tax freeNOK 315 (goods with 25 % VAT), NOK 290 (food) in one shopGlobal Blue, 26.09.2026
Who can get the VAT backPeople resident outside Norway; residents of Sweden, Denmark and Finland: each item at least NOK 1,000 excluding VATtoll.no, 11.11.2026
DeadlineGlobal Blue and Planet: the goods must leave Norway within 30 days of purchase. Norwegian Customs form: within one month of receiving the goods.avinor.no, toll.no, 11.11.2026
Allowance with spirits1 l spirits + 1.5 l wine + 2 l beer + 100 cigarettes or 125 g tobacco (Norwegian residents; residents abroad: 200 cigarettes or 250 g)toll.no, 11.11.2026
Allowance without spirits3 l wine + 2 l beer + tobacco as aboveTravel Retail Norway, 26.09.2026
Age limit18 for beer, wine and tobacco, 20 for drinks over 22 %toll.no, 26.09.2026
Value limit for other goodsNOK 6,000 (more than 24 hours abroad), NOK 3,000 (less than 24 hours)toll.no, 26.09.2026
Meat and cheese from the EEA10 kg in total per person over 12toll.no, 26.09.2026
Not allowed to bringDrinks over 60 % alcohol, nicotine pouches, heated tobacco, flavoured e-cigarettestoll.no, 26.09.2026

What applies to you?

  • Visitor shopping in Norway: ask for tax free in the store and get the form stamped when you leave. See step by step.
  • You live in Sweden, Denmark or Finland: you can get VAT back on purchases each item costs at least NOK 1,000 excluding VAT. See who can get the VAT back.
  • You are travelling into Norway: check the alcohol and tobacco allowance and the value limit. See allowances and value limit.
  • Day trip to Sweden: special rules under 24 hours. See under 24 hours.

Tax free or duty free – what is the difference?

Tax free is the scheme that lets visitors get back the value-added tax (VAT) on goods they buy in ordinary stores in Norway and take out of the country. You get the refund when you leave.

Duty free is what you can bring into Norway without paying duty and taxes: an allowance for alcohol and tobacco and a value limit for other goods. What you buy in the airport duty-free shops counts towards this allowance.

Traveller at a tax free counter at the airport

Who can get the VAT back?

VAT refunds only apply to people resident abroad who take the goods with them when they leave Norway. The minimum per purchase, according to Norwegian Customs:

  • resident in Sweden, Denmark or Finland: each item at least NOK 1,000;
  • resident on Svalbard or Jan Mayen: each item must cost at least NOK 1,000 excluding VAT;
  • resident in other countries: at least NOK 250 excluding VAT.

Two companies run tax free shopping in Norwegian stores: Global Blue and Planet. Global Blue offers tax free to people permanently resident outside Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark. Its minimum spend is NOK 315 for standard goods with 25 % VAT and NOK 290 for food with 15 % VAT. For residents of Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Planet states the limit including VAT: more than NOK 1,250 per item. This is the same limit as the NOK 1,000 excluding VAT set by Norwegian Customs.

How to get a tax free refund, step by step

  1. In the store: show your passport or ID card when you pay and ask for a tax free form (Global Blue or Planet members can scan a digital barcode).
  2. Do not use the goods, and do not put them in checked luggage – you must be able to show them.
  3. When you leave: get the form export-validated (stamped) at a refund office. With Global Blue and Planet, the deadline is 30 days after the tax free form was issued. A stamped form is valid for one year.
  4. Bring: your passport or ID card, the tax free form (paper or digital), your travel ticket, the original receipt and the goods.
  5. The refund is paid to your chosen payment method once the form is validated.

There are two routes: tax free through private companies with their own forms, or a customs certificate from Norwegian Customs (form RD-0032) that you get when you leave the country. Sources: Global Blue or Planet and toll.no, checked 26.09.2026.

Filling in a tax free form at a store in Norway

How much do you get back?

The refund is the VAT minus the tax free company’s service fee (Global Blue). VAT is one fifth of a price that includes 25 % VAT: on a NOK 1,000 purchase, NOK 200 is VAT. How much of that you get back depends on the fee – it is shown on the form or by the company.

Goods without a refund at Global Blue: fuel, books, vehicles and services. The goods must be unused.

Duty-free allowance for alcohol and tobacco in 2026

You choose one of these combinations (Travel Retail Norway, in line with toll.no):

The table applies to Norwegian residents.

CombinationAlcoholTobacco
With spirits1 l spirits + 1.5 l wine (2 bottles) + 2 l beer or cider (6 × 0.33 l)100 cigarettes or 125 g tobacco + 100 cigarette papers
Without spirits3 l wine (4 bottles) + 2 l beer or cider100 cigarettes or 125 g tobacco + 100 cigarette papers
Beer and tobacco only5 l beer or cider (15 × 0.33 l)100 cigarettes or 125 g tobacco
  • Swapping: the spirits allowance can be swapped for 1.5 l of wine or beer, and the wine allowance for the same amount of beer. Wine and beer cannot be swapped for stronger drinks, and tobacco cannot be swapped for beer or wine.
  • Age: 18 for beer, wine and tobacco, 20 for drinks over 22 %.
  • Visitors resident outside Norway may bring 200 cigarettes or 250 g of tobacco and 200 cigarette papers; the alcohol allowance is the same. At duty-free shops at Norwegian airports, however, you cannot buy more than the ordinary allowance.
  • Not allowed: drinks over 60 % alcohol, nicotine pouches, heated tobacco, flavoured e-cigarettes and water pipe tobacco.

Sources: toll.no and tax-free.no, checked 26.09.2026. More about buying alcohol in Norway: when and how to buy alcohol.

The value limit: how much can you buy abroad duty free?

If you have been abroad for more than 24 hours, you can bring goods worth up to NOK 6,000 without duty and taxes. Under 24 hours the limit is NOK 3,000. The value limit applies to the total of everything you have bought, but not alcohol and tobacco – they have their own allowance.

If you buy more, you must declare the goods in the red zone. You then pay 25 % VAT on most items and possibly customs duty. If you do not declare, the goods may be confiscated. Source: toll.no, updated 06.08.2026, checked 26.09.2026.

Shopping trip to Sweden under 24 hours: what can you bring?

If you are away for less than 24 hours, you may once per 24 hours bring alcohol and tobacco worth up to NOK 3,000 duty- and tax-free, but only if you can document that the taxes were paid in an EEA country – for example with the receipt from the store in Sweden. So you cannot buy in duty-free shops on such short trips. The quantity allowances apply as usual.

Sources: Travel Retail Norway and toll.no, checked 26.09.2026.

Food: meat, cheese and milk

  • From EEA countries: 10 kg in total of meat, meat products, cheese and animal feed per person over 12.
  • From outside the EEA: you cannot bring meat and dairy products in your luggage without a special permit. Exceptions: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Iceland, Andorra and San Marino.
  • Children under 12 may only bring soft drinks, chocolate and sugar products duty free.

Source: toll.no, checked 26.09.2026.

Duty free at the airport and refund offices

Travel Retail Norway runs the duty-free shops at Avinor’s largest airports: Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Trondheim. What you buy there counts towards your allowance when you arrive in Norway. At Oslo Airport, both Global Blue and Planet have desks in the departure hall, before security.

In our directory: Torp Duty Free (Sandefjord) and Global Blue refund office at Bergen Airport Flesland.

Photos: tax free, duty-free shop and souvenirs

A traveler processes a tax refund at the Tax Free counter in an airport.
Duty Free shopping items and Tax Free form with passports, card, and euro notes on a dark background.
A traveler filling out a Tax Free refund form at a store counter in Norway.
A family shopping at Oslo Airport Duty Free, choosing gifts and cosmetics.
Central street in Oslo with shops of Norwegian and international brands on a sunny day.
A young woman in a Scandinavian home checking receipts and purchases after sales.
Souvenir shop in Bryggen (Bergen) with Viking goods and shoppers.
Display of Viking souvenirs being examined by visitors

People also ask

Frequently asked questions about tax free and duty free

People resident outside Norway who take the goods out of the country. If you live in Sweden, Denmark or Finland, the purchase must be each item at least NOK 1,000 excluding VAT (toll.no).

At Global Blue NOK 315 for standard goods with 25 % VAT and NOK 290 for food with 15 % VAT, bought in one store. Norwegian Customs’ limit for residents outside the Nordics is NOK 250 excluding VAT.

VAT is 25 % on most goods, i.e. NOK 200 of a NOK 1,000 purchase. You get the VAT minus the tax free company’s fee.

With Global Blue or Planet, the goods must leave Norway and the form must be stamped within 30 days of purchase. With the Norwegian Customs form, the deadline is one month from when you received the goods.

No. The goods must be unused and shown at the refund office, so keep them in your hand luggage until the form is stamped.

For example 1 l spirits, 1.5 l wine and 2 l beer, or 3 l wine and 2 l beer, or 5 l beer. The spirits allowance can be swapped for 1.5 l of wine or beer.

100 cigarettes or 125 g tobacco and 100 cigarette papers. Visitors resident outside Norway may bring 200 cigarettes or 250 g tobacco.

18 for beer, wine and tobacco, and 20 for drinks over 22 % alcohol.

Up to NOK 6,000 if you have been away for more than 24 hours, and NOK 3,000 under 24 hours. Alcohol and tobacco are not included – they have their own allowance.

No. Under 24 hours you may bring alcohol and tobacco worth up to NOK 3,000, but only when the taxes have been paid in an EEA country.

From EEA countries 10 kg in total of meat, meat products, cheese and animal feed per person over 12. From outside the EEA, meat and dairy products are not allowed without a special permit.

Among other things, drinks over 60 % alcohol, nicotine pouches, heated tobacco, flavoured e-cigarettes and waterpipe tobacco (toll.no).

Sources

All links checked 26.09.2026.

Readers’ experiences

Have you claimed a tax free refund in Norway or brought goods across the border? Tell us how it went – refund office, waiting time, amount – in the comments at the bottom of the page. We use your questions when we update this guide.

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