How Taxes Work for Austrian Freelancers

Working as a freelancer in Austria means dealing with a tax system that shares some surface-level similarities with Germany but differs in important ways. The rates are different, the social security system is different, and the key institutions you’ll interact with are different.

Registering as Self-Employed

When you start freelancing in Austria, your first step is registering with the Finanzamt (tax office). You submit a Fragebogen zur steuerlichen Erfassung (tax registration questionnaire), after which you receive a Steuernummer (tax number). If your turnover exceeds 35,000 EUR per year, you also need to register for VAT (Umsatzsteuer) and obtain a UID-Nummer (VAT ID).

Austria distinguishes between Freiberufler (liberal professions: doctors, lawyers, architects, consultants, artists) and Gewerbetreibende (trade businesses). Freiberufler register only with the Finanzamt. Gewerbetreibende must also obtain a Gewerbeschein (trade licence) from the Wirtschaftskammer (Chamber of Commerce).

Income Tax (Einkommensteuer)

Austrian income tax uses a progressive rate structure. For 2025:

Up to 12,816 EUR: 0%. From 12,816 to 20,818 EUR: 20%. From 20,818 to 34,513 EUR: 30%. From 34,513 to 66,612 EUR: 40%. From 66,612 to 99,266 EUR: 48%. From 99,266 to 1,000,000 EUR: 50%. Above 1,000,000 EUR: 55%.

Freelancers file an Einkommensteuererklärung (income tax return) annually via FinanzOnline, Austria’s equivalent of Germany’s ELSTER portal. The deadline is April 30th for paper submissions and June 30th for online submissions. If you use a Steuerberater (tax advisor), the deadline extends to March 31st of the following year.

Social Security (Sozialversicherung): The SVA

This is the biggest difference from Germany. Austrian self-employed workers are covered by the Sozialversicherungsanstalt der Selbständigen (SVA). Contributions are mandatory and cover health insurance, accident insurance, and pension.

The SVA contribution rate is approximately 26.8% of your net income (after business expenses). Contributions are paid quarterly (February, May, August, November). In your first three years of self-employment, the SVA sets a minimum contribution based on a low income assumption, then adjusts retroactively once your actual income is confirmed.

This retroactive adjustment catches many new freelancers off guard. If your first year goes well and you earn significantly more than the SVA assumed, you’ll receive a back-payment notice the following year. Budgeting 30% of net income for combined tax and SVA contributions is a reasonable starting point.

The Einnahmen-Ausgaben-Rechnung (EAR)

Most Austrian freelancers use Einnahmen-Ausgaben-Rechnung (EAR), the Austrian equivalent of Germany’s EÜR. It’s a cash-basis accounting method: you record income when received and expenses when paid. No balance sheet required.

Businesses with annual turnover exceeding 700,000 EUR for two consecutive years, or 1,000,000 EUR in a single year, must switch to full double-entry bookkeeping (doppelte Buchführung).

Deductible Expenses

The same logic applies as in Germany: expenses that are wholly and exclusively for business purposes are deductible. Common deductions include home office costs (Arbeitszimmer), professional equipment, software subscriptions, travel costs, professional development, and Steuerberater fees.

How KontoMatch Helps

KontoMatch processes your invoices and receipts regardless of which country issued them, extracts VAT at whatever rate appears on the document (Austrian rates of 20%, 13%, and 10% are all handled automatically), and keeps a clean record of your income and expenses for your annual EAR. The export gives your Steuerberater structured data to work with rather than a folder of unsorted documents.