Payroll in Austria

Austria has no single national payroll rule set. Pay frequency, extra payments and many pay floors come from the applicable collective agreement and the employment contract, so confirm both before you set up the first pay run.

Pay frequency and payday

For ordinary white-collar employment, the legal default is payment in instalments by the fifteenth and the last day of the month. Monthly payment at month-end can be agreed and is common in collective agreements. Blue-collar defaults and sector exceptions differ, so check the sector agreement. Leased employees must receive pay and a written calculation at least monthly.

Agree the payday in writing. Your payday for the employee is one date. Your tax and contribution remittance dates are different dates, so keep them apart in the payroll calendar.

Contracts, registration and payslips

Use a written contract covering the employing entity, role, workplace, classification, pay, hours, leave, notice, trial terms and the applicable collective agreement. Unless the contract already contains all required information, provide the Dienstzettel employment statement as well. Employees can request electronic delivery.

Register covered employees with the competent health insurer before they start work, including marginal, casual and fixed-term employees. Registration normally uses ELDA. Confirm that payroll setup and registration are complete before the first working day.

Extra payments

There is no universal statutory entitlement to thirteenth- or fourteenth-month payments. Holiday and Christmas bonuses commonly arise from collective agreements or the contract, which set the amount, eligibility and due dates. Agree the annual gross salary and the number of payments explicitly, so the extras are neither left out nor counted twice.

Contributions and tax

For an ordinary fully insured employee in 2026, the regular-pay employee contribution is 18.07% outside Vienna and 18.32% in Vienna, up to the monthly ceiling of EUR 6,930. The base employer rate is 20.98% outside Vienna and 21.23% in Vienna. Low earnings, age and other rules can reduce contributions.

Several employer costs sit outside those percentages: the severance fund contribution of 1.53%, the family burdens levy of 3.7%, the chamber surcharge, municipal payroll tax of 3% and, in Vienna, a levy of EUR 2 per employment relationship and started week. Do not assume every levy uses the social-insurance ceiling. The dossier does not set out remittance deadlines or filing forms, so confirm the current calendar with the tax authority and the health insurer before the first pay run.

Working-time rules that affect pay

The normal statutory framework is eight hours a day and forty hours a week, though many collective agreements set shorter weeks. Record the actual agreed schedule. Extra hours within the normal full-time limit and statutory overtime are different categories, especially for part-time employees.

Ordinary overtime attracts a 50% supplement, or agreed time off that includes it, normally 1.5 hours per overtime hour. General maximums are twelve hours a day and sixty in a week, with a forty-eight-hour average over seventeen weeks. Employees can refuse overtime beyond ten hours a day or fifty a week without giving a reason.

Covered employees normally get a thirty-minute break when working more than six hours, eleven consecutive hours of daily rest and thirty-six hours of weekly rest. Ordinary pay continues for qualifying public holiday absence, and permitted holiday work attracts additional pay. Check the collective agreement for exceptions.

Austria taxes employment income through progressive wage tax, which the employer withholds from each payment. Social insurance contributions are deducted from the same gross pay. Credits, deductions and special-payment rules change the actual withholding, so a table of bands is not a take-home pay calculator.

Income tax bands

For 2026 taxable annual income, Austria has seven marginal bands. The top rate is 55%. The 55% band is currently limited through 2029.

Marginal means each rate applies only to the slice of income inside that band, not to the whole salary.

How withholding works

You withhold wage tax from gross pay each pay period and remit it. The amount depends on the employee's circumstances, credits and deductions, and on special-payment tax rules, which treat holiday and Christmas bonuses differently from regular pay. This guide does not give a credit or allowance amount, so check current figures with the tax authority or your payroll provider for each employee. There is no statutory entitlement to thirteenth- or fourteenth-month payments. They usually come from a collective agreement or the contract, so agree the annual gross salary and the number of payments explicitly.

Employee social insurance deductions

These come out of gross pay alongside wage tax. For an ordinary fully insured employee paying the full unemployment-insurance rate, the 2026 regular-pay employee contribution is 18.07% outside Vienna and 18.32% in Vienna, up to the contribution ceiling.

Low earners, younger and older workers and other eligibility rules can reduce this. In 2026 the employee unemployment-insurance rate steps up with pay:

• 0% up to EUR 2,225
• 1% from EUR 2,225.01 to EUR 2,427
• 2% from EUR 2,427.01 to EUR 2,630
• 2.95% above EUR 2,630

The 2026 ordinary contribution ceiling is EUR 6,930 a month. Qualifying special payments have a separate EUR 13,860 annual ceiling. They also exclude the employee Chamber of Labour levy and the housing contribution, which gives 17.07% employee and 20.48% employer contributions for an ordinary employee at the full unemployment rate. Do not apply the regular monthly percentage to bonuses unchanged.

Employer payroll costs on top

These are not deducted from the employee, but they belong in your cost model. The base employer rate for an ordinary fully insured employee is 20.98% of contributory regular pay outside Vienna and 21.23% in Vienna. It excludes the following separate items:

• Family Burdens Equalisation Fund (DB): 3.7% of the relevant gross-pay base, with exemptions and a small-payroll allowance.
• Occupational severance fund: 1.53%, not capped by the social-insurance ceilings.
• Municipal payroll tax: 3% of its statutory base, with an allowance where the relevant monthly wage total does not exceed EUR 1,460.
• Chamber surcharge (DZ): varies by province, from 0.31% in Upper Austria to 0.40% in Burgenland, and 0.36% in Vienna.
• Vienna employer levy: EUR 2 per employment relationship and started week, subject to exemptions.

Business taxes are separate

The corporate tax rate is 23% and VAT is 20%. These are business and transaction taxes, not deductions from an employee's salary.

For an ordinary fully insured employee in Austria, the 2026 base employer rate is 20.98% of contributory regular pay outside Vienna and 21.23% in Vienna. These rates cover the ordinary social-insurance and related payroll contributions. Several other employer charges sit on top of them.

Employer and employee rates

The table below shows the 2026 rates for an ordinary employee paying the full unemployment-insurance rate. Low earnings, age and other eligibility rules can reduce contributions.

Employee contributions are deducted from gross pay, alongside wage tax. Special payments generally exclude the employee Chamber of Labour levy and the housing contribution, so do not apply the regular monthly percentage to them unchanged. The unemployment-insurance share for employees steps up with earnings in 2026: 0% up to EUR 2,225, 1% from EUR 2,225.01 to EUR 2,427, 2% from EUR 2,427.01 to EUR 2,630, and 2.95% above EUR 2,630. The ordinary employer share remains 2.95%.

Ceilings and thresholds

The 2026 ordinary social-contribution ceiling is EUR 6,930 per month, or EUR 231 per day for partial-period calculations. Qualifying special payments have a separate annual ceiling of EUR 13,860. Not every payroll charge follows these ceilings. The severance-fund contribution is not capped by them, and the municipal payroll tax has its own base rules.

What is not in the base rate

The base employer rate excludes the following separate employer costs:

• Occupational severance fund: 1.53% of monthly pay and special payments for employment starting from 1 January 2003. The first month is normally contribution-free.
• Family Burdens Equalisation Fund (DB): 3.7% of the relevant gross-pay base. Exemptions and a small-payroll allowance can apply.
• Chamber surcharge (DZ): varies by province in 2026, from 0.31% in Upper Austria to 0.40% in Burgenland. Vienna is 0.36%.
• Municipal payroll tax: 3% of its statutory payroll base. A small-payroll allowance can apply when the relevant monthly wage total does not exceed EUR 1,460.
• Vienna employer levy: EUR 2 per employment relationship and started week, subject to exemptions.
• Labour-leasing fund (WBB-AÜG): 0.35% for covered leased employees, where both the agency and client businesses are covered by collective agreements.

Cost planning

The dossier for this guide does not contain a worked salary example, so no figure is given here. To build a budget, start from the gross salary and the number of payments agreed. There is no universal statutory entitlement to thirteenth- or fourteenth-month payments, but they commonly arise from collective agreements or the contract. Apply the regular rate to regular pay and the special-payment rate to qualifying special payments, within the respective ceilings. Then add each separate levy that applies.

Check the employee's province, the Vienna rules, the relevant chamber surcharge and any exemption or allowance with your payroll provider or the competent authority before you finalise the employer cost.

Annual leave

Statutory annual leave is five working weeks, normally 25 working days on a five-day schedule. It rises to six weeks after twenty-five reckonable years. Qualifying previous employment, schooling and study can count within limits, so check the employee's history before setting the entitlement.

In the first employment year, leave accrues proportionately for six months and then becomes the full entitlement. Later years normally start with the full entitlement. Agree leave dates with both business needs and employee rest in mind, and keep leave records. Ordinary pay continues during leave. A separate holiday bonus depends on the collective agreement or contract, so there is no universal statutory amount to build into payroll. Eligible unused leave is compensated on exit, with special rules for unjustified early departure. Do not delete carried-over leave automatically without checking the expiry conditions.

Public holidays

Austria has 13 national statutory holidays: New Year, Epiphany, Easter Monday, 1 May, Ascension, Whit Monday, Corpus Christi, Assumption, National Day, All Saints, Immaculate Conception, Christmas and St Stephen's Day. Good Friday is not a general extra statutory holiday. Ordinary pay continues for qualifying holiday absence, and permitted holiday work attracts additional pay. Check the collective agreement for the exact rate.

Sick pay

For ordinary illness or a non-work accident, the employer pays sick pay according to length of service. Each full-pay period is followed by four weeks at half pay.

Repeat absences share the applicable annual allowance. Work accidents and occupational disease have a separate allowance of eight weeks per incident, rising to ten after fifteen years.

Statutory sickness benefit from the insurer is separate. It is suspended while employer pay exceeds half, and normally halved while half-pay continues. Do not count a full insurer payment on top of full employer salary. Employees must report incapacity promptly and provide medical evidence when properly requested.

Maternity leave

Employment is normally prohibited for eight weeks before the expected birth and eight weeks after birth, or twelve weeks after a premature, multiple or Caesarean birth. A shortened pre-birth period can extend the post-birth protection, generally up to 16 weeks. Eligible insured employees receive Wochengeld, based on net earnings in the preceding three full calendar months, plus a special-payment allowance. It is a state benefit, so confirm with the insurer how it interacts with your payroll.

Paternity, parental and care leave

Eligible private-sector fathers have one month of unpaid birth leave. A shared household and timely notice are required, and the employer is normally notified three months before the expected birth. Qualifying fathers can apply for a separate state benefit of €54.87 a day for twenty-eight to thirty-one days. It is not an automatic employer-funded salary payment.

For current births, one parent can normally take unpaid parental leave until the child reaches twenty-two months. Alternating parents can extend it to age two. Each period must generally last at least two months. Childcare benefit is a separate entitlement.

Paid care leave for a sick close relative or household member can be up to one normal working week per employment year. A further week can be available for a sick child under twelve once the first entitlement is exhausted and the other conditions are met.

Austrian compliance turns on a few points: registering employees before they start, issuing the right written terms, applying the correct collective agreement, running payroll levies correctly and following notice and dismissal procedure. Austria has no single statutory minimum wage, so the collective agreement usually drives pay, hours and bonuses.

Registration before the first day

Register every covered employee with the competent health insurer before work starts. This includes marginal, casual and fixed-term employees. Registration normally runs through ELDA. Some special advance-reporting cases require the full electronic follow-up within a stated deadline, so confirm the deadline that applies to your case. Check that payroll setup and registration are complete before the first working day.

Also check the employee's work rights for the actual employer and assignment. An employer-of-record arrangement does not guarantee work permission. If the provider's staff are integrated into your business and follow your instructions, Austrian labour-leasing rules can apply, and the provider then needs the right trade authorisation.

Contracts and written terms

Use a written contract covering the employing entity, role, workplace, classification, pay, hours, leave, notice, trial terms and the applicable collective agreement. Unless the written contract already contains all required information, provide the Dienstzettel employment statement. For employment starting from 28 March 2024, this duty also covers relationships lasting a month or less. Employees can request electronic delivery.

Collective bargaining coverage in Austria is 98% (OECD, 2024), so assume an agreement applies and identify it for each hire. Agree the annual gross salary and the number of payments explicitly, because thirteenth and fourteenth payments come from the agreement or contract and not from a universal statute.

Payroll deadlines and levies

For ordinary white-collar employment, the legal default is payment in instalments by the fifteenth and the last day of the month. Monthly payment at month-end can be agreed and is common in collective agreements. Blue-collar defaults and sector exceptions differ. Leased employees must receive pay and a written calculation at least monthly. This guide does not set out filing or remittance deadlines for contributions and tax, so confirm those dates with the insurer and tax office before your first payroll.

Several employer costs sit outside the base social-insurance rate. These include the severance fund contribution (1.53%), the family-burden levy (3.7%), the chamber surcharge, municipal payroll tax (3%) and, in Vienna, a separate employer levy. Do not assume every levy uses the social-insurance ceiling of €6,930 per month.

Records

Keep the written contract or Dienstzettel, leave records, the actual agreed working schedule, sickness reports and medical evidence, and payslips. For cross-border leasing into Austria from the EU, EEA or Switzerland, the overseas employer must make the ZKO4 notification before work starts. Wage documents can be in German or English, and the domestic client has retention duties. This guide gives no general retention period, so check the period that applies.

Notice and termination

Termination is normally at quarter-end, though the fifteenth or month-end can be agreed by contract. Employee notice is generally one month ending at month-end, and an agreement can extend it up to six months, though the employer's notice cannot then be shorter. A trial period can be agreed only at the start of employment and cannot exceed one month.

Ordinary termination generally needs no stated cause, but protected grounds, social justification and special protections can restrict it. If a works council exists, notify it before giving notice and allow its one-week opportunity to respond. Skipping this step can invalidate the dismissal. Challenge deadlines can be short, including two weeks where there is no council.

Fixed-term contracts normally end on the agreed date. Ordinary early termination needs an expressly agreed option, and successive fixed terms need an objective justification. Employees whose employment started from 1 January 2003 are covered by the occupational severance fund, so there is no separate employer severance payment on every exit.