Tax in Austria
Residents are taxed on worldwide income — at up to 55% on the progressive scale, but at a flat 27.5% on most investment income, with no wealth, inheritance or gift tax. This page maps the whole system.
In short
- Austrian tax residents are taxed on their worldwide income; non-residents only on certain Austrian-source income.
- Residence begins with a domicile or a habitual abode in Austria — citizenship and visas play no role.
- Employment and business income is taxed on a progressive scale of up to 55%; most investment income at a flat 27.5%.
- Austria levies no wealth tax, no inheritance tax and no gift tax.
- Financial assets you bring with you are stepped up to market value on arrival — gains that accrued before the move stay untaxed in Austria.
- Around 90 double taxation treaties protect against being taxed twice on the same income.
Resident means worldwide taxation
Austrian income tax knows two kinds of taxpayer. Residents are subject to unlimited tax liability: their entire worldwide income — salary, business profits, dividends, rents, gains — falls within the Austrian net, wherever it arises. Non-residents are subject to limited tax liability on certain Austrian-source income only, such as income from Austrian real estate or from working in Austria.
Which side of that line you stand on has nothing to do with nationality or immigration status. You become resident for tax purposes the moment you have a domicile in Austria — a dwelling you keep and use — or your habitual abode here, which a stay of more than six months establishes irrefutably. A holiday flat can be enough; so can a hotel room that is permanently at your disposal. The tests, the six-month rule and the 70-day exception for secondary residences are set out in detail on the page on when Austrian tax residence begins.
The date residence starts is the single most consequential date of a relocation. Everything earned or realised before it is, from Austria's perspective, someone else's to tax; everything after it is Austria's. That is why the sequence of a move matters as much as the destination — a theme this site returns to on the pre-immigration tax planning page and in the relocation timeline.
The headline rates
Austria's reputation for high taxes rests on the progressive scale — and for salaries and business profits it is deserved. But the scale is only one of several regimes running in parallel, and for a private investor the flat rates on capital income are usually the ones that matter.
| What is taxed | Rate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Employment, business and other scale income | 0% to 55% | Progressive bands; 55% applies above EUR 1 million — see the 2026 income tax bands |
| Dividends, bond interest, gains on securities, derivatives, crypto assets | 27.5% flat | Withheld at source by Austrian banks — see investment income and capital gains |
| Interest on bank deposits | 25% flat | Also withheld by the bank |
| Capital gains on Austrian real estate | 30% flat | Immobilienertragsteuer on private sales |
| Corporate profits | 23% | For companies with seat or place of management in Austria — see foreign income and companies |
| Value added tax | 20% | Reduced rates of 13%, 10% and, since 1 July 2026, 4.9% on basic foodstuffs |
| Net wealth | No tax | Only a modest municipal land tax on real estate — see wealth tax and other taxes |
| Inheritances and gifts | No tax | Abolished in August 2008; real estate transfer tax and a 3.5% foundation entry tax still apply to gratuitous transfers, and notification duties remain — see inheritance and gift tax |
The entry step-up — and why sequence still matters
Austria welcomes new residents with a valuable rule: on the day you become tax resident, your financial instruments, derivatives and crypto assets are stepped up to their fair market value. If you later sell, Austria taxes only the growth since arrival at 27.5% — the gains of your pre-Austrian life are simply not its business. The practical condition is documentation: the values at the moving date must be evidenced, which is why valuing the portfolio belongs on the pre-arrival checklist.
The step-up does not solve everything. It covers financial assets held personally — not the position of a foreign company you continue to manage from Vienna, not a trust or foundation, whose distributions Austria taxes at 27.5% if the structure counts as comparable to an Austrian private foundation and on the progressive scale of up to 55% if it does not, and not income you earned before the move but receive afterwards. Those questions are treated on the pages on foreign companies and worldwide income, on how Austria taxes crypto assets and on the position of US citizens, whose home country taxes them wherever they live. Each is far easier to address while you are still free to restructure — that is, before residence begins.
The best time to obtain Austrian tax advice is before becoming Austrian tax resident.
Once you are resident, the worldwide net has closed: restructuring a company, unwinding a trust or realising a gain then happens inside the Austrian system, often at full progressive rates. The pre-immigration planning page shows what to review, and in what order.
Every tax question of a move, mapped
The pages below cover the Austrian tax system as it meets a relocating family — from the residence tests to the day you might one day leave again.
Tax residence
Domicile, habitual abode, the six-month rule and the 70-day exception for secondary residences.
Income tax rates
The 2026 bands from 0% to 55%, filing deadlines and a worked example for EUR 500,000 of income.
Investment income
The flat 27.5% on capital income, the entry step-up, and why fund selection matters.
Double taxation treaties
Around 90 treaties on the OECD Model, tie-breakers, and exemption versus credit relief.
Crypto assets
The 27.5% flat rate on crypto income and gains, tax-free crypto-to-crypto swaps, and the step-up at entry.
Pre-immigration planning
What to restructure, realise and document before residence begins — the page to read first.
Foreign income and companies
Place-of-management risk, CFC rules and participation exemptions for shareholders who move.
Preferential tax regime
No general non-dom regime — but scientists, researchers, artists and sportspersons can apply for relief.
Wealth tax and other taxes
No general wealth tax — plus the smaller levies worth knowing: land tax, stamp duties, car registration tax, VAT.
US citizens
Citizenship-based taxation, PFIC traps, FATCA reporting and how the US treaty fits Austrian rules.
Leaving Austria
Exit taxation on unrealised gains, ending residence cleanly and what stays taxable after departure.
Foundations and trusts
How Austria taxes the Austrian private foundation and foreign structures — reviewed before the move, not after.
Considering a move to Austria?
Tell us where you stand — the country you are leaving, the shape of your family and your assets, and when you plan to move. We advise on the legal and tax consequences of relocating to Austria and coordinate with advisers in the country of departure.
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