Personal Deductions
If one earns less than EUR 60,000 per year, they may be eligible for certain tax breaks. These allowances include:
- Sickness, life, and accident insurance premiums.
- Voluntary contributions to employer pension plans and/or state social security.
- Expenses for the construction of a new house/apartment or renovation of housing space in Austria.
Please notice that due to the Austrian tax reform 2015/16 these allowances are only available against taxable income if the contract with the insurance company in connection with the payments was closed before January 1, 2016 and only for a duration of 5 years (until 2020).
For these types of expenses, a standard allowance of EUR 60 per year is granted, unless higher payments have been made. In the latter case, the deductible amount is limited to 25% of expenses up to EUR 2,920 per year for single taxpayers and 25% of expenses up to EUR 5,840 are tax deductible under the following conditions:
- the individual is eligible for a sole earner or a single parent tax credit
- the individual is not eligible for a sole earner or a single parent tax credit but
- the individual is married more than 6 months during the calendar year or living more than 6 months in a registered partnership and is not permanently separated from one's married/registered partner whose income is less than EUR 6,000 per year
For taxpayers who earn between EUR 36,400 and EUR 60,000 per year, the maximum deductible amount is reduced step-by-step on a ratable basis.
The standard deduction of EUR 60 remains in any case tax deductible. Church tax is deductible up to EUR 400, and charitable contributions to certain institutions are deductible up to 10% of the current year’s taxable income. Austrian tax adviser fees are fully deductible.