Practical Issues Concerning the Tip Flat-Rate Scheme (ÖGK Presentation)
ServicesOutsourcingHR & PayrollPayroll Newsletter April 2026
Issues Concerning the Tip Flat-Rate Scheme
In an online presentation held on 17 March 2026, the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (Österreichische Gesundheitskasse – ÖGK) addressed numerous questions relating to tips and the new social security flat-rate schemes for tips applicable as of 1 January 2026 (hotel and catering industry; foot care, cosmetics and massage businesses; hairdressing trade; passenger transport sector).
From a practical perspective, the following statements made by the two ÖGK speakers are of particular interest:
- Where a contractual prohibition on accepting tips has been agreed, the employer may generally assume that employees do in fact comply with this prohibition.
A breach of a tip-acceptance ban would constitute a violation of employment law obligations (potentially triggering employment law consequences), and such a breach cannot normally be presumed.
Consequently, no social-security-liable tip flat rate needs to be applied where a valid tip-acceptance prohibition is in place.
This circumstance must also be accepted by wage tax and social security auditors, who are likewise required to assume that company-imposed tip-acceptance bans are actually complied with and that no tips have been received.
- For the pro rata calculation of tip flat rates for part-time employees (on an hourly basis), the decisive factor is the contractually agreed weekly working time, and not the actual hours worked in the respective month.
Accordingly, no separate tip flat rate is to be applied for additional hours or overtime; conversely, the granting of compensatory time off does not affect the amount of the applicable tip flat rate. - The pro rata calculation of tip flat rates in cases of entry or exit during the month, as well as in cases of absences exceeding one month (e.g. sick leave, vacation, vocational school attendance), is not carried out on an hourly basis, but rather on a daily basis, typically using a divisor of 30.
- If, for masseurs working in sectors without an officially prescribed tip flat rate (e.g. spa facilities, wellness baths or similar establishments), the tip flat rate applicable to the massage trade is applied as a benchmark or estimation aid, this approach, according to the ÖGK speakers, generally provides sufficient legal certainty.
The Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) has announced that the issues addressed during the presentation will be incorporated into its publicly accessible FAQ collection in the near future.