Austria's Nationalrat has approved the Budget Measures Act 2026, introducing amendments to tax, administrative and regulatory laws, including new exit taxation reporting requirements, a tax-free Employee Bonus 2026, expanded financial crime investigation powers, revised residence permit fees, higher prison allowances and stricter price-labelling penalties.

RF Report

Austria’s Nationalrat on 10 June 2026 approved the Budget Measures Act 2026 (Budgetmaßnahmengesetz 2026), a legislative package amending several federal laws with measures aimed at strengthening tax fairness, combating tax fraud, reducing the tax burden on workers, and simplifying administrative procedures.

The Act introduces a series of amendments to several Austrian federal laws, primarily focusing on taxation, administrative fees, and legal procedures.

Income tax amendments (EStG 1988)

  • Reporting obligations: A new mandatory reporting requirement is established for taxpayers or their legal successors in cases of “exit taxation” (Wegzugsbesteuerung). If the relevant income in an assessment year exceeds EUR 100,000, the taxpayer must annually prove to the tax office (via FinanzOnline or in writing) that no event triggering the tax debt has occurred.
  • Tax-free bonuses: The monthly tax-free limit for danger, hardship, and shift work bonuses (including Sunday, holiday, and night work) is set at EUR 400. This applies retroactively to wage periods ending after 31 December 2025.
  • Employee bonus 2026: Employers can pay a tax-free “Employee Bonus 2026” of up to EUR 500 per employee between July and December 2026. This must be an additional payment (not replacing existing wages, though it can replace a wage increase) and must be based on a collective agreement or similar labor regulation. If combined with a profit-sharing bonus, the total tax-exempt amount cannot exceed EUR 3,000 for the year.

Value added tax and financial crime

  • VAT (UStG 1994): New provisions regarding tax notifications by legal representatives for vehicle acquisitions are introduced, effective 1 July 2026.
  • Financial criminal code (FinStrG): The authorities are granted expanded powers to request information from telecommunication and service providers in cases of suspected intentional financial offenses. Furthermore, requests for banking information (outside of the account register) now require an order from the chairman of a specialized senate (Spruchsenat).

Administrative fees and stamp duty (GebG 1957)

  • Residence permit fees: The Act introduces specific fees for cards issued for residence titles under the Asylum Act 2005.
    • Applicants under 16 years old: EUR 39.
    • Applicants 16 years and older: EUR 91.
  • These fees apply to applications submitted after 11 June 2026.

Prison Act (Strafvollzugsgesetz)

  • Rate increases: The Act significantly increases the daily rates/allowances for prisoners (e.g., the rate in § 52 Abs. 1 lit. increases from EUR 3.98 to EUR 7.79).
  • Automatic indexation: Starting in 2027, these rates will be automatically adjusted annually based on the wage index (Tariflohnindex) provided by Statistics Austria.

Travel expenses and price labeling

  • Travel expenses (RVV 1955): Reimbursable costs for public transport are now capped at the price of a nationwide “Klimaticket” (annual public transport pass). This takes effect on 1 August 2026.

Price labeling (PrAG):

  • Tourism taxes may now be shown separately or included in the total price.
  • Fines for violations are increased significantly: up to EUR 2,500 for first-time offenses (max EUR 10,000 in certain cases) and up to EUR 3,750 for repeat offenses (max EUR 15,000).
  • Mandatory Warning: Before initiating criminal proceedings, authorities must now first issue a written request to the business owner to rectify the situation within a reasonable timeframe.

Earlier, Austria’s Ministry of Finance concluded a draft bill introducing amendments to various tax laws to improve tax fairness, combat tax fraud, reduce the tax burden on workers, and simplify administrative procedures.