Norway's government has finally landed a budget for 2026 after the Socialist Left (Sosialistisk Venstreparti, SV) and Green (Miljøpartiet De Grønne, MDG) parties agreed with the government on the 2026 budget overnight on Wednesday.
The long-awaited deal means a finance law for next year can be adopted by parliament on schedule this Friday.
Negotiations over the budget had become protracted after the two parties refused to support an agreement that was reached between the Labour government and the Centre and Red parties over the weekend. All five parties must vote for the budget for it to get through parliament.
The deal heads off a potential government crisis just days before parliament formally debates and votes on the budget this Friday, December 5th. Since the five parties hold a majority, it is expected to be adopted.
What does this mean for me?
While the original budget proposal presented in October set the baseline, smaller parties pushed hard during negotiations, winning significant changes. Here’s what changed, what has been added, and what’s new.
Transport and Commuting
Public transport users get one of the clearest wins. Monthly tickets will drop by 100 kroner starting next year. Looking further ahead, a study will be launched into a "National Monthly Pass" (Norgeskortet) covering all public transport nationwide, potentially launching in 2027.
For drivers, the news is mixed. A proposed increase in petrol and diesel taxes has been scrapped, so there will be no extra costs at the pump. However, the "top VAT threshold" (toppmomsgrense) for electric vehicles (EVs) will be stepped down. This means the portion of an EV's price subject to VAT starts at a lower amount, potentially making expensive new EVs slightly costlier.
Health and Dental Care
Dental care in Norway is notoriously expensive for adults, but the budget takes a step towards making it more affordable following the negotiations. The budget will allocate 315.7 million kroner to Helfo (The Norwegian Health Economics Administration) to increase dental health rates by 10 percent.
The goal of this measure is to reduce the egenandel (the share of the bill the patient pays out of pocket) by a corresponding amount.
Additionally, an extra 500 million kroner will be provided to strengthen Norway's hospitals' finances, with a specific focus on mental health and substance abuse beds.
Families and Education
Families with young kids came out ahead in October’s proposal, and the final deal solidifies and expands these benefits. The 12 hours of free weekly after-school care (SFO) for grades 1–3 will now become law (lovfestet), transforming it from a budget line item into a permanent national right. This saves families significant money, as SFO can be expensive.
Furthermore, an additional 600 million kroner has been allocated specifically for "peak staffing" (toppet bemanning) in kindergartens (barnehager) to address staff shortages and quality of care.
The proposal to reduce costs from the draft budget remains in place. This means families should pay a maximum of 1,200 kroner per month for a kindergarten place, and 700 kroner per month in the most remote municipalities. According to government estimates, this would mean a family with one child in kindergarten would save around 31,000 kroner per year, compared with the 2021 price, adjusted for inflation. Families in remote municipalities will save around 37,000 kroner under the same terms.
However, the Child Benefit (Barnetrygd) remains unchanged at 1,968 kroner per month per child; and the proposed cut to the Parental Tax Deduction (Foreldrefradraget) stands, dropping from 25,000 to 15,000 kroner for the first child and from 15,000 kroner to 10,000 kroner for each additional child.
READ ALSO: How Norway’s 2026 budget could save (or cost) families money.
Work and Welfare
For those receiving disability benefits (uføretrygd), there is a significant change. The tax-free income limit (fribeløpet) for recipients who want to work alongside their benefits will be increased from 0.4 G to 1 G ('G' is a reference amount used in the welfare system, currently approx. 130,000 kroner) starting October 1st, 2026. This means recipients can work more and earn up to that amount without losing their benefits.
Additionally, the parties agreed on greater use of "grading" (gradering) in sickness and disability benefits, aiming to better combine work and welfare.
Climate and energy
Climate policy was a sticking point that almost brought the negotiations to a halt. The final deal includes the creation of a new "Restructuring Commission" (Omstillingskommisjon) to plan the strategy for the final phase of the Norwegian oil industry and the transition to a green economy. This commission will be a working group formed by unions, experts, and environmentalists, with a report due in spring 2027. While MDG called this "the first chapter of the end of the oil age," the government said it is about "development, not dismantling" to ensure future competitiveness and new jobs.
A major win for environmentalists is the agreement to a total ban on deep-sea mining (gruvedrift på havbunnen) for the current parliamentary period (until 2029).
Other climate measures include additional funding for forest protection (500 million), a price guarantee for solar power to encourage home production, and fixed CO2 pricing on the Norwegian continental shelf after 2030.
In addition, the parties agree that the government will ensure that greenhouse gas emissions do not increase as a result of changes to the road tax compared to the budget proposal the government presented in October.
Taxes and Economy
Several key economic measures remain unchanged from the initial October proposal. Regarding income tax, a slight tax cut for most earners remains in place, meaning most people will see a tax reduction of between 200 and 2,000 kroner per year.
For those with savings, the threshold for paying Wealth Tax (Formuesskatt) keeps the proposed increase: you will now only pay wealth tax on net assets exceeding 1.9 million kroner (up from 1.76 million kroner). Additionally, the "Norgespris" electricity subsidy scheme remains in place throughout 2026 to help with power bills.
READ ALSO: What Norway’s 2026 draft budget could mean for you.
One specific change secured in the negotiations is that a proposed new tax on artificial fertilisers has been stopped.
There has also been extra funding allocated for humanitarian organisations and food centres.
Student debt and rural living
The government's original proposal to scale back a loan forgiveness scheme (sletting av studielån) for certain rural areas stands.
However, to balance this, the final budget injects a massive 3 billion kroner directly into municipal economies. These funds are essential for local services like schools and elderly care, ensuring that living in these rural districts remains viable despite tight budgets.
An extra 1.1 billion kroner will go to counties (fylkes), partly to improve public transport services mentioned earlier.
International aid
Finally, regarding international issues, the budget includes a 1 billion kroner aid package for Gaza. The government has also committed to leading a diplomatic initiative to establish an international ban on goods produced in illegal settlements. While this is not an immediate Norwegian ban, SV leader Kirsti Bergstø described it as "the start of international sanctions on Israel."
However, Bergstø acknowledged that SV had failed to force the Oil Fund, Norway's sovereign wealth fund, to divest from Israel during the negotiations.
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