Payroll Newsletter December 2025

The statutory preferential rule limited to 2024 and 2025 for recipients of the regular retirement pension who work fully insured alongside the pension (waiver of employee pension‑insurance contributions up to twice the marginal earnings threshold pursuant to § 54b ASVG → discount code A22 in the social‑insurance tariff system) was not extended and therefore expired on 31.12.2025.

Note: The permanent rule on halving pension‑insurance contributions (for up to three years) for persons who continue working without drawing a pension despite reaching statutory retirement age (§ 51 para. 7 ASVG → discount code A15 in the social‑insurance tariff system) continues to apply unchanged.

Effective 01.01.2026, it will be possible, within the same calendar year (but not in the same calendar month), to apply both the volunteer lump sum for voluntary activities (§ 3 para. 1 item 42 ITA) and a lump‑sum athlete expense allowance (§ 3 para. 1 item 16c ITA) tax‑free. A volunteer lump sum (regardless of whether a small or large volunteer lump sum) will therefore, as of 01.01.2026, be excluded only for those calendar months in which an athlete expense allowance is received. Accordingly, the annual amount of the volunteer lump sum must be prorated for months with athlete expense allowance.

Note: This new rule is of practical importance, for example, for athletes who, during the summer break, work (voluntarily) in another function for the same club.

As of 01.01.2026, care professions (care assistant, advanced care assistant, upper service for health and nursing care) are recognized as arduous work irrespective of special treatment or care needs (§ 1 para. 1 item 5 Arduous Work Ordinance). For care activities in shift work, each calendar month in which at least 12 working days fall counts as an arduous‑work month (deviating from the general rule requiring 15 working days).

The m² reference values for assessing residential space remain unchanged in 2026 compared with the values of 2024 and 2025:

Note: The omission of index adjustment is (as in the previous year) based on a special statutory provision (‘Tenancy Law Inflation Relief Act’), which has suspended the indexation provided for in the Reference Value Act.

See under the heading ‘Educational leave NEW’.

D

E

An amendment to the AMSG and AVRAG provides new framework conditions for educational leave (§ 11 AVRAG) and part‑time education (§ 11a AVRAG). The continuing‑education subsidy and the continuing‑education part‑time subsidy (§ 37e AMSG) are intended as the successor model to the former continuing‑education benefit and part‑time education benefit. There is no legal entitlement to the subsidy.

Important practical note: Even though the legislative amendment enters into force on 01.01.2026, the AMS federal guideline relevant for the funding of educational leave and part‑time education will, subject to technical implementation, attain legal effectiveness no earlier than 05.01.2026. According to AMS information, applications for the subsidy/subsidies will in all likelihood only be possible as of 08.06.2026. The earliest likely start date for training and continuing education is likewise indicated by the AMS as 08.06.2026.

>>> Link to AMS-Homepage

Statutory framework (§ 37e AMSG): 

• As a prerequisite for educational leave or part‑time education, there must in future be uninterrupted employment of at least 12 months in the current employment relationship (instead of six months previously).
• Funding focus: Primarily lower‑qualified employees are to benefit. Academics must meet stricter conditions (at least four years of employment subject to unemployment insurance in total, of which the last 12 months in the current employment relationship).
• In future, for educational leave taken by higher earners (starting at half the ASVG maximum contribution base), employers must co‑finance 15% of the total subsidy, in the form of a direct grant to the employee (continuing‑education grant), which correspondingly reduces the AMS subsidy. The company continuing‑education grant is exempt from wage tax and exempt from contributions in the occupational pension scheme and social insurance (social‑insurance contributions are borne by the AMS). In the areas of DB, DZ, and municipal tax, the continuing‑education grant is, based on the current statutory wording, subject to levies (it remains uncertain whether there will be a legislative adjustment in this regard).
• The employment‑law agreement on educational leave or part‑time education must include the employee’s educational attainment, the type and duration of the educational measure, and the educational objective; for part‑time education, it must additionally include the extent and scheduling of the reduced working time.
• Directly connecting the continuing‑education period to the receipt of maternity benefit or child‑care allowance is no longer possible (“parental‑leave lock”), because at least 26 weeks of employment subject to unemployment insurance must immediately precede the continuing‑education period.
• Only the minimum and maximum amount of the subsidy is stipulated by law (2026: € 41.49 to € 69.77 per day). The detailed criteria will be laid down by an AMS guideline.

Marginal employment during the continuing‑education (part‑time) period is only permissible if it is with an employer other than the one granting the leave and has already existed for at least 26 weeks prior to the start of the educational measure.

On 1 October 2025, the new Employer Dashboard (DG‑Dashboard) of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund was launched. Under the motto “One place. All information. All services,” the online platform promises a modern user experience by bundling all information and services on a single platform.

Currently, the following applications are available on the DG‑Dashboard: contribution account, contractor account, applications (certificate of non‑objection, etc.), mailbox, clearing, international, messages, search/help. The DG‑Dashboard is to be continuously developed and expanded with new functions.

>>> Link to the Employer Dashboard

Whether the option of a tax‑free employee bonus will be available again in 2026 remains to be seen. The Federal Minister of Finance has the statutory mandate to evaluate the budgetary impact as well as the effectiveness of the wage‑tax exemption in connection with the employee bonus by 30.04.2026 and, based on the results of this evaluation, to prepare a legislative proposal for an employee bonus 2026 by 31.05.2026 (cf. § 124b item 478 lit. e ITA).

F

An amendment to the ABGB and the ArbVG provides, as of 01.01.2026, two employment‑law changes in connection with free service relationships (§ 4 para. 4 ASVG):

Express statutory termination rule for free service relationships
For reasons of legal certainty, it is stipulated by law that a free service relationship (within the meaning of § 4 para. 4 ASVG) may be terminated by either contracting party subject to a statutory minimum notice period of four weeks (after two years of service: six weeks) to the 15th and the last day of the calendar month (§ 1159 para. 6 ABGB). This new termination rule applies as of 01.01.2026 in any event to all new free service relationships (within the meaning of § 4 para. 4 ASVG); for “old” free service relationships (within the meaning of § 4 para. 4 ASVG), the new rule applies only if the respective free service contract does not contain an agreement on a notice period. An individual contractual waiver of, or restriction on, this provision to the detriment of the free service provider is expressly excluded.

Collective agreements may include free service providers as of 2026
By amending the ArbVG, the possibility is created to include free service providers who are subject to compulsory insurance under § 4 para. 4 ASVG (whether fully insured or marginally employed) in the scope of collective agreements as of 01.01.2026. This legislative measure (also referred to in the media as “Lex Lieferando”—owing to the triggering conflict between the named delivery service and the trade union) is intended to empower the collective bargaining parties to set minimum remuneration (also) for free service relationships (within the meaning of § 4 para. 4 ASVG). This can be done by concluding separate collective agreements for free service providers or by explicitly including them in the scope of existing collective agreements.

Important note: The personal scope of existing collective agreements does not automatically expand to include free service providers on 01.01.2026. They are subject to the respective collective agreement only if the competent collective bargaining parties agree on an adjustment of the collective agreement and expressly include free service relationships in its scope.

The statutory framework for tips will be adjusted in several respects with effect from 01.01.2026:

• No social‑insurance obligation for tips that exceed the stipulated flat‑rate amounts: It is clarified by law that, for periods as of 01.01.2026, the stipulated flat‑rate amounts for social‑insurance liability constitute maximum amounts. Consequently, the tips actually received may only be used if they are lower than the stipulated flat‑rate amount. Therefore, even if the actual tip is demonstrably higher than the respective flat‑rate amount in an individual case, as of 01.01.2026 it will no longer be used to determine the social‑insurance contribution base.
• “Amnesty for the past”: For periods prior to 01.01.2026, the right of the social‑insurance carrier to assess contributions on “flat‑rate‑exceeding” tips becomes time‑barred as of 01.01.2026. The prerequisite, however, is that the carrier promulgates new tip flat rates (based on the new legal situation) by 30.09.2026. If assessments or subsequent recalculations have already occurred, potential hardship cases regarding back‑calculated tip‑related contributions are to be examined by the social‑insurance carrier (as a rule, the ÖGK) within the framework of self‑administration; in such cases, however, the contribution bases of the insured remain unaffected.
• Information and disclosure obligations of the undertaking: An amendment to the AVRAG contained in the same legislative package provides for new information obligations of the undertaking as of 01.01.2026: All employees who participate in a tip distribution system must, at the commencement of the employment relationship, be informed about the distribution key (for existing employment relationships, the information must be provided by no later than 28.02.2026). In addition, employees who receive tips or participate in tips have a right to information concerning the amount of tips given cashlessly (§ 2j AVRAG).

Tip flat rates in the hotel and catering industry
In the hotel and catering industry, the Austrian Health Insurance Fund has, on the basis of a social‑partner agreement, set nationwide uniform tip flat‑rate amounts subject to social insurance with effect from 01.01.2026 (avsv No. 3/2026). The tip flat rates apply to employees (including apprentices and mandatory interns) employed in member establishments of the Chamber’s professional associations for hospitality or gastronomy. In mixed undertakings, what matters is whether the respective employment relationship is covered by the hotel and catering collective agreement.

In addition to voluntary tips from third parties, tips distributed within an internal distribution system (“tronc system”) in the undertaking are also covered.

The tip flat‑rate regulation does not apply to:

• employees in system gastronomy,
• employees in student, apprentice, student, and senior residences,
• back‑office employees (e.g., accountants, payroll clerks) and building technicians, insofar as they demonstrably do not receive tips (e.g., contractual prohibition on accepting tips, declaration of non‑receipt of tips, etc.),
• employees whose tips actually received in the contribution period demonstrably fall below 50% of the respective tip flat‑rate amount (in which case the actual tips apply instead of the tip flat rate).

The tip flat rate per calendar month (which, pursuant to § 44 para. 2 ASVG, is uniformly to be assumed as 30 days) amounts to:

Employees with cash collection

• 2026: € 65.00
• 2027: € 85.00
• 2028: € 100.00

Employees without cash collection

• 2026: € 45.00
• 2027: € 45.00
• 2028: € 50.00
•  

Apprentices and mandatory interns

• 2026: € 20.00
• 2027: € 20.00
• 2028: € 25.00

As of 2029, the values are valorized annually with the indexation factor.
For part‑time employees and occasional employees, the pro‑rated partial amount of the tip flat rate is to be applied.

Examples (based on the values for 2026):

• Waiter with cash collection, 25 weekly hours: € 65.00 / 173 * 25 * 4.33 = € 40.67 per month
• Occasional waiter without cash collection: € 45.00 / 30 = € 1.50 per day

Tip flat rates are also to be applied for periods of absence (e.g., sick leave, vacation, vocational school) that do not exceed one month in a single block; the tip flat rate therefore lapses only in the case of continuous absence of more than one month (i.e., as of the second month).

Tip flat rates for several other sectors
With effect from 01.01.2026, the Austrian Health Insurance Fund has also set tip flat rates for

• workers and commercial apprentices in the chiropodist, beautician, and masseur trade (avsv No. 4/2026),
• workers and commercial apprentices in the hairdresser trade (avsv No. 2/2026),
• drivers in the passenger transport trade (avsv No. 5/2026).

Hairdresser trade
 

Chiropodist, beautician, and masseur trade
 

Passenger transport trade

As of 2029, the values are valorized annually with the indexation factor.

With effect from 01.01.2026, the new Heat Protection Ordinance entered into force, regulating the protection of employees from hazards due to heat and natural UV radiation during activities performed outdoors (BGBl. II No. 325/2025, published on 29.12.2025). The key points of the Heat Protection Ordinance:

• The ordinance applies to work performed outdoors at workplaces, on construction sites, and at external work locations, excluding work of short duration.
• Employers must assess the hazards posed by heat and UV radiation and, on that basis, define appropriate protective measures (rescheduling of working time, reducing work intensity, providing shade, water misting), job rotation, cooling, head protection, sunscreen, etc.). For personal protective equipment, priority is given to head protection with a UV‑protection function and UV‑protective clothing over skin protection (sunscreen).
• The obligation to implement concrete measures against heat and UV radiation is triggered whenever GeoSphere Austria issues a heat warning of at least level 2 (caution, yellow).
• The obligation provided for in the ordinance for employers to ensure adequate cooling of crane cabins (cooling device) applies only as of 01.06.2027.
• The ordinance regulates information and instruction obligations regarding risks, protective measures, and heat warnings, and provides for penalties for infringements. It thus supplements and specifies existing employee‑protection obligations in connection with heat exposure during outdoor work.

Since 2018, the Housing Promotion Contributions Act has provided that each federal province may set the amount of the housing promotion contribution independently. Until now, the provinces had not made use of this. Unfortunately, this has recently changed:

In Vienna, the housing promotion contribution is increased for undertakings and for employees respectively from 0.5% to 0.75% (thus a total increase from 1% to 1.5%). The rule applies to fully insured salaried employees and blue‑collar workers who are insured with the Vienna regional office of the ÖGK or whose social‑insurance place of employment is in Vienna.

The legislative amendment was published on 23.12.2025 in the Provincial Law Gazette (LGBl. No. 73/2025) and enters into force on 01.01.2026.

The indexation factor relevant for updating contribution‑based social‑insurance values (e.g., maximum contribution base, thresholds for low‑remuneration unemployment insurance, e‑card service charge, etc.) amounts to 1.073 for the calendar year (Regulation BGBl. II 263/2025 of 28.11.2025).

Note: The marginal earnings threshold remains excluded from indexation in calendar year 2026 due to a special statutory rule.

For loans or advances with a variable interest rate, a percentage of 3.0% applies in 2026 according to a determination by the Ministry of Finance (in 2024 and 2025 the interest rate was 4.5% respectively).

Additional note: For interest‑free or fixed‑interest loans or advances, since 01.01.2024 the private housing construction interest rate (with interest fixing of more than ten years) first published by the Oesterreichische Nationalbank for the month of the loan or advance agreement, minus a one‑tenth deduction, applies. This “historical” percentage is to be applied unchanged for the entire term of the loan or advance for which interest‑free treatment or fixed interest was stipulated.

The OeNB interest rates are available at https://www.oenb.at/isaweb/report.do?report=2.10.

The L16 version for calendar year 2026 is expanded, compared with that for 2025, by numerous new fields:

• The following items included in gross remuneration (code 210) must be broken down separately by amount: vehicle fringe benefits, housing fringe benefits, other fringe benefits.
• Remuneration included in tax‑free amounts (code 215) pursuant to § 68 para. 1 ITA and pursuant to § 68 para. 2 ITA must each be stated separately by amount.
• In the column “Other deductions,” the amount values of the following tax‑free benefits must each be indicated separately: contributions to future security (§ 3 para. 1 item 15 lit. a ITA), employee share ownership (§ 3 para. 1 item 15 lit. b ITA), employee participation foundation (§ 3 para. 1 item 15 lit. c and d ITA), subsidies for car‑sharing (§ 3 para. 1 item 16d ITA), meal vouchers (§ 3 para. 1 item 17 lit. b ITA), employee discounts (§ 3 para. 1 item 21 ITA).
• With respect to the vehicle fringe benefit, the following parameters applied for the fringe‑benefit calculation must be indicated: ticking of the percentage 0%, 1.5%, 2% or, for pool vehicles, the average percentage; vehicle acquisition cost as at 31.12.
• A separate indication of “cost reimbursement for charging EVs” and “acquisition of a charging facility” (to date there was a single combined field for this).

Practical note: Although the Ministry of Finance describes the massive expansion of the L16 data as a “pure interface topic,” this does not change the fact that organizational adjustments in operational workflows will be necessary to ensure a functioning exchange of information and data between the operating units, accounting, and the payroll department.

The marginal earnings threshold for 2026 remains “frozen” at the 2025 value pursuant to § 810 para. 3 ASVG (as does the threshold derived therefrom for the flat employer’s levy).

Monthly marginal earnings threshold: € 551.10
Daily marginal earnings threshold: abolished (since 01.01.2017)
Threshold for the flat employer’s levy (19.4%): € 826.65
Self‑insurance (§ 19a ASVG) per month: € 83.49

Maximum contribution base in 2026:

• daily: € 231.00
• monthly: € 6,930.00 (for free service providers without special payments: € 8,085.00)
• special payments (annually): € 13,860.00

Wage garnishment values 2026 

Absolute minimum subsistence

Tables: http://www.justiz.gv.at/

Monthly remuneration thresholds for the applicability of a non‑compete clause upon termination of employment in 2026:

Non‑compete agreement concluded

• as of 29.12.2015: € 4.620,00 (excluding pro‑rated special payments)
• between 17.03.2006 and 28.12.2015: € 3.927,00 (including pro‑rated special payments)
• up to 16.03.2006: no remuneration threshold

O

P

A. Innovations for continuous phased retirement with a start date from 01.01.2026

1. Shortening of the maximum term

The “eligible” duration of continuous phased retirement will be gradually reduced between 2026 and 2028 from the previous five years to three years.

Transitional phase:

• Phased retirement commencing in 2026: The maximum duration of subsidisable phased retirement is 4.5 years.
• Phased retirement commencing in 2027: The maximum duration of subsidisable phased retirement is 4 years.
• Phased retirement commencing in 2028: The maximum duration of subsidisable phased retirement is 3.5 years.

Permanent regime:

• Phased retirement commencing from 2029: The maximum duration of subsidisable phased retirement is three years, specifically within the last three years prior to the corridor pension reference date or attainment of the statutory retirement age. From the attainment of the corridor pension reference date, phased retirement is therefore no longer eligible for subsidy.

Note: In the transitional phase from 2026 to 2028, the earliest possible commencement of phased retirement is still five years before the standard old‑age pension. However, funding gaps may arise if, at the end of the phased retirement, no early pension entitlement exists. In the transitional phase, fulfilling the eligibility criteria for a corridor pension without actually drawing it is not an obstacle to subsidised phased retirement.

2. Increased number of required unemployment insurance years

For continuous phased retirements commencing from 2026, the periods of employment subject to unemployment insurance required for the phased retirement subsidy will be increased stepwise from currently 780 weeks, equivalent to 15 years, to 884 weeks, equivalent to 17 years. A total of 884 weeks is required for phased retirements commencing from 01.01.2029.

3. New calculation method for the upper limit

For continuous phased retirements with a start date from 2026, the upper limit for wage‑compensation calculation is determined exclusively on the basis of remuneration for normal working time.

This means: Overtime, overtime lump sums and collectively agreed additional work are disregarded and must also be carved out from an all‑in remuneration. According to the AMS a (Public Employment Service Austria), remuneration for part‑time additional hours is also to be excluded; however, this interpretation may conflict with EU law, as the basic pay for additional hours would likely need to be included to avoid part‑time discrimination.

4. Adjustment of the AMS reimbursement rate

The previous reimbursement rate of 100% upon fulfilment of the corridor pension eligibility criteria is abolished. For continuous phased retirements commencing in the years 2026 to 2028, the reimbursement rate is 80%. From 2029 onwards, it automatically increases again to 90%.

B. Prohibition on secondary employment – applies to all phased retirements

As of 01.01.2026, additional employment during phased retirement with other employers, whether marginally employed or fully insured, is only permissible if such employment already existed on a regular basis in the year prior to the commencement of phased retirement. Under the AMS interpretation, regular means at least 28 days of employment in the year before the start of phased retirement, including seasonal activities. If this requirement is not met, the employer loses entitlement to the phased retirement subsidy; at the same time, wage compensation and the increased social insurance contribution base cease. Employees must notify the AMS without delay of any additional activity. Self‑employed activities are not covered by the prohibition on secondary employment in the context of phased retirement. Labour‑law requirements such as non‑compete obligations remain unaffected.

A transitional rule for ongoing phased retirements provides that existing impermissible secondary employment that was not already exercised regularly in the year before the start of phased retirement must be terminated by 30.06.2026 in order to avoid loss of funding.

Threshold for preferential taxation (half rate) increases as of 01.01.2026 from € 15,900.00 to € 16,500.00.

As of 01.01.2026, the “extent of the agreed working time” must also be indicated as additional information in the registration for social insurance (Section 33(1a) item 1 ASVG – General Social Insurance Act). For example, for 38.5 weekly hours, “3850” must be entered. For casual employees (intermittent employment), the planned daily working time must be indicated instead of a weekly working time.

Note: Notification of changes in working time during an ongoing employment relationship is not required.

Indicating the agreed working time is a mandatory field for the registration of salaried employees, blue‑collar workers and apprentices. For free‑service employment relationships, there is no obligation to indicate working time (i.e., it is merely an optional field).

S

T

As of 01.01.2026, the option to pay a flat transport allowance for business trips using public transport (the “public‑transport mileage allowance” – “Öffi‑Kilometergeld”) free of taxes and contributions or to claim it as income‑related expenses in the employee tax assessment is abolished.

The Travel Cost Reimbursement Ordinance (Fahrtkostenersatzverordnung) now allows—unless the actual travel costs are reimbursed or taken into account (e.g., because the employee uses a privately purchased KlimaTicket)—only the application of notional travel costs for the most economical means of mass transport as an alternative (amendment by Federal Law Gazette II No. 299/2025, promulgated on 17.12.2025). This reimbursement is capped per calendar year at the cost of the KlimaTicket Österreich Classic (2026: € 1,400.00).

W

As of 01.01.2026, there are new wage tax tables because the thresholds for the tax brackets and several tax credits are valorised (Inflation Adjustment Ordinance 2026, Federal Law Gazette II No. 191/2025 of 30.08.2025).

Monthly wage tax table for employees 2026