Tax & International Structuring in Austria

Essentials guide · Source-checked research39% of statements checked against a source7 checked against an official source13 checked against a secondary sourceChecked 2026-10-1914 held back until checked against an official source11 topics include AI-written statements, not source-checkedNot yet professionally reviewed

• The corporate income tax rate in Austria is 23%.

  Reduced from 25% (until 2022) to 24% for 2023 and 23% from 2024. The rate is flat, whatever the amount of income.Unternehmensserviceportal (USP), Federal Ministry of Finance · checked 2026-10-19

• The standard VAT rate in Austria is 20%, with reduced rates of 13%, 10% and 4.9% for specified goods and services.

  The 4.9% rate covers certain basic foods such as bread, butter, eggs and milk; the 10% rate covers, for example, residential rent, accommodation, books, newspapers and food; the 13% rate covers, for example, live animals and plants, firewood, artistic activities and admission to sporting events.Unternehmensserviceportal (USP), Federal Ministry of Finance · checked 2026-10-19

• Dividends paid by Austrian companies to non-residents are subject to withholding tax (Kapitalertragsteuer) at 27.5%, or 23% where the recipient is a corporation, which may be reduced or refunded under tax treaties or the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive.

  Directive relief requires a holding of at least 10% for at least one year and substance at the time of distribution; pure holding and passive companies must use the refund method.PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries · checked 2026-10-19

• Austria has a group taxation regime (Gruppenbesteuerung) that allows profits and losses of qualifying group companies to be pooled.

  The group parent must hold, directly or indirectly, more than 50% of each member, and a minimum commitment period of three years applies. Foreign members are limited to corporations resident in EU member states, and foreign losses count only up to 75% of domestic group profits.PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries · checked 2026-10-19

• Collective agreements provide for a 13th and a 14th monthly salary payment, each generally one gross monthly salary.

  Entitlement depends on the applicable collective agreement or contract.Germany Trade & Invest (GTAI) · checked 2026-10-19

• Austria grants a research premium (Forschungsprämie) of 14% of qualifying research and development expenses for R&D carried out in Austria.

  Requires an expert opinion from the Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG) confirming that the expenses are R&D; for contracted research, qualifying costs are capped at EUR 1 million a year.PwC Worldwide Tax Summaries · checked 2026-10-19

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