Accounting & Tax Compliance in Austria

How accounting and tax compliance work in Austria

Austria applies a flat 23% corporate income tax rate, unchanged since 2024 after a phased reduction from 25%, alongside a 20% standard VAT rate and employer social security contributions of 20.98% of gross salary under the ASVG system. Dividends are subject to 27.5% withholding tax (23% where the recipient is a corporation), reducible under double tax treaties. A GmbH can be formed with a reduced minimum share capital of €10,000 (€5,000 paid in cash) since 2024, or the standard €35,000 (€17,500 paid in) variant; an AG requires €70,000.

Austria pairs one of the EU's most developed cross-border group-relief systems with a labour market where nearly every pay minimum is set by sector collective agreement rather than statute, so both tax planning and payroll require ongoing tracking rather than a fixed rulebook.

Rate structure and what it applies to

23% flat (minimum CIT: €500/year standard GmbH, €500/year reduced-capital GmbH billed at €125/quarter)

• Asymmetric loss recapture in Gruppenbesteuerung — — foreign subsidiary losses offset immediately against Austrian taxable income are clawed back and taxed once the subsidiary turns profitable or leaves the group
• First-tier-only foreign inclusion — — only directly held (>50%) foreign subsidiaries resident in the EU or in states with a comprehensive administrative assistance agreement with Austria qualify for the tax group
• No statutory minimum wage — — pay floors are set by roughly 95% sector-level collective agreements (Kollektivverträge), each with its own entry-level minimum, paid over 14 instalments per year
• 14 salary payments — — 13th (Christmas) and 14th (holiday) month payments are mandatory under virtually all collective agreements, affecting payroll cash-flow planning and pro-rating for new hires and leavers

Rates that apply in Austria

Austrian Commercial Code (Unternehmensgesetzbuch, UGB), and when an audit is required

Statutory bookkeeping in Austria follows Austrian Commercial Code (Unternehmensgesetzbuch, UGB). A statutory audit is mandatory once a GmbH exceeds 2 of 3 thresholds — €5M balance sheet, €10M turnover, 50 employees — for two consecutive years; small GmbHs without a compulsory supervisory board are exempt.

Annual accounts and registration

Annual accounts filed with the Firmenbuch within 9 months of fiscal year-end; corporate tax return due 30 June of the following year (31 March of the second following year if filed via a certified tax advisor under the quota system).

Entity registration runs through the Firmenbuch (Commercial Register), administered by the regional Commercial Courts (Landesgerichte), typically taking 3–6 weeks for a standard GmbH (notarised formation, capital deposit, Firmenbuch entry).

Frequently asked questions