If you are a non-resident staying in Iceland for temporary work it is important to keep in mind:

• To get paid you will need to be registered at Þjóðskrá (National Registry) and get Icelandic personal identity number.
• If you are not a resident of one of the Scandinavian countries, or a country that is a member of the European economic area, you must have a work- and residence permit. You can get information on that at Útlendingastofnun Íslands (The Directorate of Immigration), or at Vinnumálastofnun (Directorate of Labour).

Income tax rate 

Taxable income is salary minus the pension fund premium. The rate of income and municipal tax is calculated in three different levels. Read more about the information here.

Personal tax credit

Personal tax credit is an amount which is deducted from calculated taxes per month. The amount can vary between years, find information about it here.

Mandatory and voluntary pension fund payments

Employers also deduct expensies for mandatory expenses payed as residents i.e. the mandatory payments to pensions insurances funds 4% of total employment income and in addition voluntary pension insurance premiums of up to 4% of total employment income.

Unions

Employers are also obliged to deduct membership fees fromt the wages of an employee and pay them to the appropriate union. The fees vary but the common rate is 1%

All individuals over the age of 16 who are permanent residents in Iceland are regarded as full tax payers. They are given tax cards and they must fill in their tax returns each year in March. The purpose of the tax return is to ensure that all individuals are taxed according to their wages, properties and debts. Most people complete the tax return online on the Directorate of Internal Revenue website. Those who need assistance with understanding or completing their tax return should contact their trade union, the local tax authority or the Internal Revenue Directorate (Laugavegur 166, Reykjavik). You can also seek the help of registered auditors (many Icelanders do so) but keep in mind that you need to pay for this service.

Double Taxation Agreements (DTA) are treaties between two or more countries to avoid international double taxation of income and property. The main purpose of DTA is to divide the right of taxation between the contracting countries, to avoid differences, to ensure taxpayers' equal rights and security, and to prevent evasion of taxation.

Iceland has concluded several agreements on tax matters with other countries. Individuals with a permanent residence and with full and unlimited tax liability in either one of the contracting countries may be entitled to exemption/reduction from taxation of income and property according to provisions of the respective agreements. Without the agreement the income would otherwise be subject to double taxation. Each agreements is different, and it is therefore necessary to check the respective agreement to ascertain where the tax liability of the respective person in fact lies, and which taxes the agreement stipulates. Provisions of tax agreements with other countries may mean that the Icelandic right to tax is restricted.

Tax benefits under DTA for payments can take place in two ways. On the one hand, there can be an exemption from tax payments or a reduced tax rate on respective payments. On the other hand, there can be a refund of deducted withholding payments.

To enjoy tax benefits in Iceland according to concluded DTA, a foreign taxpayer has to be subject to full and unlimited tax liability in the other contracting country with respect to his permanent residence or other circumstances.

Tryggingagjald (insurance fee): Employers and self-employed must pay insurance fee of the total wages of their employees.  The insurance fee has multiple purposes e.g. to fund unemployment benefits and to guaranty the wages of individuals in case of bankruptcy, rehabilitation fund, etc.

Lífeyrissjóðsgreiðslur (Pension payments):  All employees and freelancers are obliged to pay towards the pension system.  There is therefore both a contribution from the employer and the employee and mostly the ratio is 11,5% (as from 1 July 2018) for the employer and 4% from the employee.

Greiðslur til verkalýðsfélaga (Union payments): The usual fee charged by the workers unions is 1% of total salary and the employer needs to provide a counter contribution that is usually about 1,45% of the total wages.

Tax deductions on tax returns for international experts who are employed in Iceland due to their expertise or experience are open for application all year round. These tax deductions on tax returns are for international experts who are employees with knowledge and/or expertise not available or available on a limited scale in Iceland.

All further information and applications are found on the website of Rannís - the Icelandic Center for Research. Applications are normally processed within 3 weeks after all relevant documents are received.

• Further information on the the webpage of the Directorate of Internal Revenue.