The first 10 questions

Once resident, worldwide investment income is taxable in Austria — but at flat rates rather than the progressive scale: 25% on bank interest and 27.5% on dividends, bond interest, capital gains from financial instruments, derivatives and crypto assets. Two features make the system unusually manageable. First, the entry step-up: financial assets held before arrival are revalued to market value at the moving date, so gains that accrued abroad stay untaxed here — provided the values are documented. Second, an Austrian bank withholds the tax at source as a final tax, so a domestic custody account removes most filing work; foreign-held assets must be self-assessed. Fund selection matters, because non-reporting funds are taxed punitively. The detail is under investment income and capital gains; the practicalities under banking and finance.

A company is Austrian tax resident where its legal seat or its place of management lies. Run a foreign company from your Vienna desk and its management may follow you — bringing 23% Austrian corporate income tax and possibly a permanent establishment. The CFC rules reach low-taxed subsidiaries more than a third of whose income is passive, even without any move of management — but only beneath an Austrian corporate body, a holding company or an Austrian private foundation alike; held personally, the exposure is the substance test instead, under which a vehicle without real activity can be looked through. Dividends you receive as an Austrian resident arrive at the flat 27.5%. None of this is fatal, but all of it is architectural: governance, board practice and, where useful, an Austrian holding company should be decided before the move rather than repaired after it. Foreign income and companies sets out the tests; relocating your company compares the structures.

Yes. EU, EEA and Swiss citizens buy on the same footing as Austrians. Other nationals generally need approval from the provincial land-transfer authority — in Vienna, practice allows structures that remove the requirement — and the alpine provinces restrict holiday homes for everyone. Transaction costs run at roughly 9–11% all-in: 3.5% real estate transfer tax, a 1.1% land-register fee, notary and legal fees, the broker's commission where one acts, and 1.2% for registering a mortgage if you finance. Ownership passes only on registration in the public land register. And the point worth repeating: buying confers no right of residence. Foreign buyers explains the approvals, the purchase process page itemises costs and timeline, and prices in Vienna carries the district data.

Foreign pensions usually stay where they are; the question is who taxes the payments. That is settled by the pension article of the applicable double taxation treaty — private pensions are commonly taxable in the residence state, public-service pensions often remain with the paying state, and lump sums can behave differently from annuities. Wrappers, insurance products and US retirement accounts deserve a pre-move review, because home-country privileges do not automatically travel. If you work in Austria, social insurance is mandatory — there is no opting out — with contributions capped at a base of EUR 97,020 a year (2026); EU coordination and bilateral agreements, including US totalisation, prevent doubling. See double taxation treaties, social security and, for Americans, the US citizens page.