Best Asset Managers in Austria (2026)
Updated: | Found helpful by 16 others
Erste Asset Management is the largest Austrian fund house, with more than €80 billion in assets under management and the country's flagship domestic lineup. Raiffeisen Capital Management runs the second-biggest Austrian platform, tied into the Raiffeisen banking group. Amundi Austria gives access to the European giant's full fund and ETF range through Austrian tax reporting. Austrian residents pay 27.5% KESt on fund income, withheld automatically by an Austrian platform. Active Austrian funds carry a total expense ratio of 1.5% to 2.0% a year plus a front load of 3% to 5%, and the custody account on top now costs €0 at flatex, DADAT and Trade Republic against up to 1.152% a year in an Erste advisory depot. Every Austrian KAG is supervised by the FMA.
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Sorting changes the order of the provider cards below.
Our overall pick below is Erste, from 1. Erste Asset Management.
1. Erste Asset Management
Largest AT Manager. Largest Austrian fund house with €80B+ AUM, distributed effortlessly through Erste Bank's George platform.
Visit Erste AM- Focus
- Equity, fixed income, multi-asset, ESG
- Fund types
- Active mutual funds
- Domicile
Domicile
The country a fund is registered in. It sets the withholding tax and the reporting-fund status, which decides how the Austrian tax office treats your gains.
- Austria
- Investor type
- Retail (via George)
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- €80 billion+ AUM gives scale and stable pricing
- Strong ESG range with ERSTE RESPONSIBLE products
- Deep CEE equity and bond expertise
Cons
- TERs of 1.5%+ on flagship equity funds
- Less competitive for pure index exposure versus ETFs
Best for Investors wanting Austria's deepest fund lineup, distributed through the Erste Bank George platform
2. Raiffeisen Capital Management
Second-largest Austrian KAG with tight Raiffeisen-branch integration via Mein ELBA.
Visit Raiffeisen Capital Management- Focus
- Equity, fixed income, sustainability
- Fund types
- Active funds
- Domicile
Domicile
The country a fund is registered in. It sets the withholding tax and the reporting-fund status, which decides how the Austrian tax office treats your gains.
- Austria
- Investor type
- Raiffeisen retail customers
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- Second-largest AUM base among Austrian KAGs
- Broad product range including CEE and emerging markets
- Dedicated sustainability fund family (Raiffeisen-Nachhaltigkeit)
Cons
- Higher TERs on some specialty funds
- Digital experience trails Erste's George
Best for Raiffeisen banking customers who want integrated fund access via Mein ELBA
3. Amundi Austria
Access to Europe's largest ETF and fund range with Austrian Jahresmeldung tax reporting.
Visit Amundi Austria- Focus
- ETFs, thematic, institutional
- Fund types
- ETFs and mutual funds
- Domicile
Domicile
The country a fund is registered in. It sets the withholding tax and the reporting-fund status, which decides how the Austrian tax office treats your gains.
- Austria (Amundi group)
- Investor type
- Retail and institutional
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- Access to Amundi's full European ETF and fund range
- Transparent Austrian Jahresmeldung for tax reporting
- Competitive fees on Amundi ETFs versus peers
Cons
- Brand integration work ongoing since the Pioneer merger
- Retail distribution partly dependent on bank partners
Best for Investors wanting access to a European giant's product range with Austrian distribution and tax reporting
4. Kepler-Fonds KAG
Disciplined Austrian boutique with ESG leadership and a long fixed-income track record.
Visit Kepler-Fonds- Focus
- Fixed income, multi-asset, ESG
- Fund types
- Active funds
- Domicile
Domicile
The country a fund is registered in. It sets the withholding tax and the reporting-fund status, which decides how the Austrian tax office treats your gains.
- Austria (Linz)
- Investor type
- Oberbank clients, retail
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- Consistent investment process and stable team
- Leading ESG integration across the product range
- Strong fixed income and multi-asset expertise
Cons
- Distribution dominated by Oberbank branches
- Smaller AUM than Erste AM or RCM
Best for Investors wanting a disciplined Austrian boutique with ESG leadership and solid fixed income track record
5. C-Quadrat Investment AG
Independent Vienna-listed manager with absolute-return and emerging-market expertise.
Visit C-Quadrat- Focus
- Multi-asset, absolute return, emerging markets
- Fund types
- Active funds
- Domicile
Domicile
The country a fund is registered in. It sets the withholding tax and the reporting-fund status, which decides how the Austrian tax office treats your gains.
- Austria (Vienna, listed)
- Investor type
- Retail and institutional
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- Independent ownership structure, listed on the Vienna exchange
- Strong absolute return and multi-asset track record
- Emerging markets and frontier expertise
Cons
- Performance fees on many funds
- TERs above ETF alternatives for comparable strategies
Best for Investors seeking an independent Austrian manager with absolute return and emerging market expertise
6. Spängler IQAM Invest
Systematic and factor-based strategies for pension funds and family offices.
Visit Spängler IQAM Invest- Focus
- Systematic, factor-based
- Fund types
- Quant strategies
- Domicile
Domicile
The country a fund is registered in. It sets the withholding tax and the reporting-fund status, which decides how the Austrian tax office treats your gains.
- Austria (Salzburg)
- Investor type
- Institutional, pensions, family offices
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- Strong quantitative and factor research capabilities
- Institutional-grade reporting and client service
- Dedicated pension and foundation expertise
Cons
- Limited retail distribution in Austria
- Minimum investment sizes are institutional
Best for Institutional clients, pension funds, and family offices seeking systematic and factor-based strategies
7. Liechtensteinische Landesbank Österreich (LLB Austria)
AAA-rated parent group, full discretionary mandates for foundations and HNW clients.
Visit LLB Austria- Focus
- Discretionary wealth management
- Fund types
- Discretionary mandates
- Domicile
Domicile
The country a fund is registered in. It sets the withholding tax and the reporting-fund status, which decides how the Austrian tax office treats your gains.
- Austria (Vienna, LLB Group)
- Investor type
- HNW and foundations
Prices as of August 2026, verify on the provider site.
Pros
- Backed by Liechtenstein's stable AAA-rated parent LLB Group
- Combined Vienna and Vaduz expertise in wealth management
- Strong foundation and family office capability
Cons
- High minimum assets for full service (typically €500,000+)
- Fees reflect private banking service level
Best for High-net-worth individuals and family offices wanting an Austrian-Liechtenstein private bank with full asset-management capability
Ranked on assets under management, fund quality, fee transparency, platform accessibility, and regulatory standing, here are the top 7 Austrian asset managers in 2026.
How Do You Choose an Asset Manager in Austria?
Choosing an asset manager in Austria depends on your investment goals, tax situation, and preferred distribution channel. Here are the key steps:
- 1
Decide between active funds, ETFs, or a mix
Austrian KAGs mostly run actively managed mutual funds. For low-cost indexing, combine them with ETFs from Amundi, iShares, or Xtrackers through a broker.
- 2
Verify the manager in the FMA register
Every Austrian Kapitalanlagegesellschaft must be registered with the FMA. Search the public register to confirm the KAG's license status.
- 3
Open a depot (Wertpapierdepot)
You need a custody account through your bank or a broker. Erste Bank, BAWAG, and Raiffeisen all run in-house brokerage. See our commercial banks guide for platform options.
- 4
Compare total expense ratios (TER) and front-load fees
A TER of 1.5% to 2.0% is the class figure for active Austrian funds, and the front load (Ausgabeaufschlag) runs 3% to 5%. Clean share classes via online platforms skip the front load, and DADAT discounts it by 60% in a savings plan and 80% on a one-off purchase.
- 5
Set up a savings plan (Sparplan)
Automated monthly purchases from €25 smooth entry prices and lower behavioural risk. Most Austrian KAGs offer Sparpläne through their home bank.
What Fees Do Austrian Fund Managers Charge?
Austrian fund fees sit above comparable ETFs and below discretionary wealth management. Here is what to expect as of September 2026:
- Total expense ratio (TER): 1.5% to 2.0% a year is the class figure for actively managed Austrian retail funds at Erste AM, RCM or Amundi Austria.
- Front-load fee (Ausgabeaufschlag): 3% to 5% on purchase. DADAT discounts it by 60% inside a savings plan and 80% on a one-off purchase, and fondsdepot.at sells around 2,000 funds off-exchange with no front load at all.
- Custody fee (Depotgebühr): from €0 at flatex, DADAT and Trade Republic to 1.152% a year on an Erste s Active advisory depot. See the next section.
- Performance fee: Some funds charge 10% to 20% of outperformance above a benchmark. Check the KID (Key Investor Document).
- Managed portfolios: an Austrian robo-advisor is the cheap end of delegated management. Savity charges 0.99% up to €20,000, 0.79% to €100,000 and 0.59% above it, all-in and with Austrian tax handled; Finabro quotes 0.80% a year from €25 a month. Private banking mandates at Spängler IQAM cost more and start at institutional sizes.
Austrian funds vs. international ETFs
What Does a Custody Account Cost in Austria?
| Platform | Custody fee | Austrian tax handled | Investor compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| flatex | €0 | Yes | German, 90% to €20,000 |
| DADAT | €0 for new customers, existing from 1 January 2027, plus €10 a year for the settlement account | Yes | Austrian, 100% to €20,000 |
| Trade Republic | €0 | Securities yes, cash interest no | German, 90% to €20,000 |
| Scalable Capital | €0 on Free Broker, €4.99 a month on Prime+ | Disputed, assume no | German, 90% to €20,000 |
| easybank easy flat Depot | 0.12% a year, min €5.40 per position and €15 per depot; €0 promo for new customers to end 2028 | Yes | Austrian, 100% to €20,000 |
| Erste Selfinvest | €0 to €50,000 since May 2026, then 0.216% a year; s Depot 0.432%; s Active 1.152% | Yes | Austrian, 100% to €20,000 |
| Bank Austria | 0.30% domestic and 0.60% foreign a year, min €4.70 per position and €31.54 per depot, not confirmed on the bank's own sheet | Yes | Austrian, 100% to €20,000 |
The custody fee is the one cost that compounds against you whatever the fund does, and the spread is enormous. A €50,000 portfolio costs €0 at flatex or DADAT, about €300 a year at Bank Austria on the foreign-securities rate, and €576 a year in an Erste s Active advisory depot. Over twenty years that is a six-figure difference in a portfolio that holds exactly the same funds.
Two dated changes are worth acting on. DADAT has dropped its custody fee entirely: new customers pay €0 now, existing customers from 1 January 2027, and its savings-plan minimum of €10 is the lowest of any Austrian-licensed bank. easybank is running a €0 depot and account promotion for new customers that lasts to the end of 2028, after which the standard 0.12% with its €15 depot minimum resumes. Also note that Erste made Selfinvest free up to €50,000 in May 2026, which is the first serious response from a big Austrian branch bank to the neobrokers.
Leaving is where Austria differs from Germany. There is no Austrian equivalent of the German ruling that bars an outgoing bank from charging for a transfer, so the bank you leave may bill you per position. Documented minimums run from about €15.72 at Bank Austria to €48 at Raiffeisen OÖ, with Erste at €36 and easybank at €27.36; those figures come from a comparison-portal table rather than the banks' own sheets, so confirm yours before you move. DADAT goes the other way and refunds incoming transfer costs up to €250. The worst case is Trade Republic, which accepts no incoming transfer at all and, on the way out, does not carry your acquisition costs with the position, which leaves a tax lock-in rather than a fee.
Which Broker Wins for Which Investor?
| Broker and tariff | €500 order | €2,000 order | €5,000 order |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade Republic, €1 flat | €1.00 | €1.00 | €1.00 |
| DADAT, €3.90 + 0.10% | €4.40 | €5.90 | €8.90 |
| flatex, €5.90 + exchange fees | €5.90 | €5.90 | €5.90 |
| Erste Selfinvest, €3.99 + 0.19% | €4.94 | €7.79 | €13.49 |
On order cost alone Trade Republic wins every size at €1. Between the two Austrian-tax brokers the break-even is exact: DADAT at €3.90 + 0.10% equals flatex at €5.90 at an order of €2,000, before flatex's exchange fees. Smaller Vienna orders are cheaper at DADAT, larger ones at flatex, and the exchange fees push the real break-even lower.
Order cost is not the whole decision. Trade Republic vs Scalable Capital: Trade Republic wins for investors who want Austrian KESt withheld on securities today, while Scalable wins for frequent traders on its flat-rate plan, but its Austrian tax status is disputed, so plan for an E1kv. Erste Selfinvest vs Trade Republic: Erste wins for anyone who wants a full Austrian depot bank with no tax gaps and branch backup, and it is free up to €50,000; Trade Republic wins on small orders and ETF choice.
flatex vs DADAT: both withhold Austrian tax. flatex runs on a German licence through its Graz branch, so investor compensation is the German 90% of €20,000. DADAT is a full Austrian bank with current account and depot under one login and 100% cover. Bitpanda vs eToro: Bitpanda withholds Austrian tax on crypto and, since 29 January 2026, on real shares and ETFs; eToro withholds nothing and charges $10 a month after 12 months without a login.
What Changed at Austrian Brokers in the Last 24 Months?
| Date | Provider | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| 24 April 2025 | Trade Republic | Austrian branch opens, 27.5% KESt withheld on securities and crypto |
| 2025 | Trade Republic | Missing KESt deductions and flawed tax reports reported after the switch; the tax risk stays with the customer |
| September 2025 | Scalable Capital | Own German banking licence; Austrian tax withholding still not confirmed |
| 1 October 2025 | flatex | Dividend fee abolished |
| 29 January 2026 | Bitpanda | Real shares and ETFs at €1 per order, with Austrian tax withheld; the old "Stocks" derivatives are sell-only |
| By March 2026 | Rendity | Property crowdinvesting platform winds down; repayments depend on the project companies |
| 18 March 2026 | Trade Republic | Login outage of about 1 hour at a volatile market open |
| April 2026 | Trade Republic | 24/7 customer support introduced |
| May 2026 | Erste Bank | Selfinvest depot free up to €50,000 |
| 1 July 2026 | DADAT | Flat fee on gettex orders, which makes small orders dearer |
| 1 January 2027 | DADAT | Custody fee ends for existing customers (new customers already €0) |
The pattern is clear: the cheapest broker carries the most tax risk. Trade Republic became steuereinfach in Austria on 24 April 2025, but its first year produced reported errors in KESt deductions and tax reports. Its Austrian tax FAQ stated in August 2026 that the 25% KESt on cash interest is not withheld, while some comparison sites say it is, so read your annual report line by line.
Moving away from Trade Republic has its own catch. Incoming transfers are not possible, and outgoing transfers do not carry your acquisition costs, so the receiving bank does not know your cost basis and can withhold too much KESt on a later sale until you prove what you paid. Fractional shares cannot be transferred at all and have to be sold first, which is a taxable sale.
What residents report
- ○ Trade Republic KESt report: Users confirmed that Trade Republic has withheld Austrian KESt since about late April 2025, which makes older advice to file everything yourself out of date, but warned that the annual tax report has occasionally been wrong and should be checked. (r/FinanzenAT, 2025)
- ○ easybank as a broker: In a thread on salary accounts, an easybank customer was happy with the current account but advised against using the same bank for a securities account. The account side drew no complaints in that post. (r/FinanzenAT, 2025)
Paraphrased from public posts, each dated and linked. A small sample, not a representative survey.
Do Zukunftsvorsorge, Bausparen or a Robo Beat a DIY ETF Plan?
| Vehicle | State support (2026) | Main cost or catch | Wins when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zukunftsvorsorge (PZV) | 4.25% on up to €3,817.04 = max €162.22 a year, tax free | Internal costs around 1.5% to 2% a year; early exit repays premiums | You want a guarantee and a tax-free lifelong pension and will never cancel |
| Bausparen | 1.5% on up to €1,200 = max €18 a year | Closing fee, 6-year lock-in | You plan to buy or renovate within 5 to 10 years and want the loan right |
| Unit-linked life insurance (FLV) | No premium; gains tax free inside the policy | 4% insurance tax on every payment; gross policies cost up to 4.49% a year | 15+ years, equity funds, and a commission-free net policy |
| Robo-advisor | None; Austrian robos withhold KESt | €50,000 grows to about €105,600 in 20 years | You value discipline and rebalancing over the fee |
| DIY ETF savings plan | None; 27.5% KESt on gains | €50,000 grows to about €127,700 in 20 years | You can sit still through a market fall |
The state premiums sound bigger than they are. The Zukunftsvorsorge pays 4.25%, but only on the first €3,817.04 a year, so the most you get is €162.22. The Bausparprämie is 1.5% on €1,200, which caps it at €18 a year. That 1.5% is the premium, not the interest rate, and a closing fee, around 1% of the contract sum on some tariffs (not verified across all four Bausparkassen), can eat several years of it.
Costs decide the long run. In our model a robo charging 0.99% on top of a 0.2% fund cost leaves about €22,000 less after 20 years than a DIY ETF plan on the same €50,000. Savity's tiered fee of 0.79% at that size would narrow the gap to about €18,000. A robo that does not withhold Austrian tax, such as Scalable Wealth or Ginmon, also leaves you with an E1kv every year.
Are Austrian Mutual Funds Taxed Differently?
Austrian tax residents face a standardised regime on investment income. Here is how fund taxation works as of September 2026:
- KESt of 27.5%: Applies to distributions, realised capital gains, and the ausschüttungsgleicher Ertrag on accumulating funds.
- Automatic withholding: Austrian banks and fund platforms withhold KESt at source. Foreign platforms usually do not, which shifts the declaration burden.
- Transparent vs. non-transparent funds: Austrian KAGs file an annual Jahresmeldung with OeKB, simplifying taxation. Foreign funds without a Jahresmeldung can be taxed on a punitive flat basis.
- Loss offsetting: Losses on securities can be offset against gains on other securities within the same calendar year at the same bank.
- Zukunftsvorsorge: State-subsidised private pension wrapper that avoids KESt if held until retirement. Max contribution capped annually.
- Bringing a foreign depot home: since the AbgÄG 2025, transferring a securities account from abroad into Austria after 30 June 2026 is treated as tax-neutral rather than a deemed disposal. The transfer must be reported to the Finanzamt within one month. This is the single most useful rule for anyone arriving with a German or Dutch broker account.
- The 25% versus 27.5% split: bank interest is taxed at 25% under § 27a Abs. 1 Z 1 EStG, everything else, including fund income, dividends and realised gains, at 27.5% under § 27a Abs. 1 Z 2. The Bundesschatz is the trap: it is a security, so it carries 27.5%, not the 25% people expect from a government savings product.
Key Tax Terms to Know
- Jahresmeldung: Annual fund tax report filed with OeKB. Automatic for Austrian KAGs.
- Ausschüttungsgleicher Ertrag: Deemed distribution on accumulating funds, taxed even though no cash is paid out.
- Anschaffungskosten: Acquisition cost basis for capital gains calculation. See our income tax guide for how investment income interacts with Lohnsteuer.
How Much Foreign Withholding Tax Do You Pay on Dividends?
| Source country | Withheld there | Austrian KESt left | Total, and what you can reclaim |
|---|---|---|---|
| USA, with W-8BEN | €150 (15%) | €125 | €275, nothing to reclaim |
| USA, without W-8BEN | €300 (30%) | €125 | €425; the extra €150 is hard to recover |
| Germany | €263.75 (26.375%) | €125 | €388.75; €113.75 back from the German BZSt |
| Switzerland | €350 (35%) | €125 | €475; €200 back from the Swiss ESTV |
| Netherlands | €150 (15%) | €125 | €275, nothing to reclaim |
| UK, or an Irish-domiciled ETF | €0 | €275 | €275, nothing to reclaim |
Austria credits foreign withholding tax against the 27.5% KESt only up to the treaty rate, usually 15 percentage points. Anything above that is lost unless you reclaim it in the source country. For US shares the fix is free: file a W-8BEN with your broker and the US takes 15% instead of 30%.
German and Swiss dividends cost real money. Germany withholds 26.375% and Switzerland 35%, so on €1,000 you overpay €113.75 and €200. Both can be reclaimed, through the German Bundeszentralamt für Steuern and the Swiss ESTV, but the paperwork only pays off on larger holdings. A world ETF domiciled in Ireland sidesteps the question for most investors.
What Protects You If a Broker Fails?
Two different protections get confused constantly. Your fund units and shares are segregated assets: they belong to you, not to the bank, and they do not enter a bankruptcy estate. Investor compensation is the much smaller backstop for the case where the firm cannot hand them over, typically fraud or a bookkeeping failure, and that is where the €20,000 ceiling lives. The cash on your settlement account is a third thing again, covered by deposit insurance up to €100,000.
The licence country decides how much of the compensation you actually get. An Austrian licence pays 100% of the claim up to €20,000. The German scheme pays 90% of the same ceiling, so a €20,000 claim leaves you €2,000 short. That is the concrete difference between DADAT, easybank, Erste and Bank Austria on one side and flatex, Trade Republic and Scalable Capital on the other. Cyprus and Ireland also sit at 90%.
| The rules behind this page | ESAEG §§ 45 ff |
|---|---|
| Law | ESAEG, §§ 45 ff: investor compensation, with InvFG 2011 for fund taxation |
| Regulator | FMA, securities supervision |
| Free tool | OeKB capital market service: check by ISIN whether a fund reports Austrian tax data |
| Your right | Investor compensation covers 100% of your claim up to €20,000 per customer (§ 45 ESAEG). This protects securities held for you, not market losses. Moving a securities account from abroad into Austria must be reported to the tax office within one month. |
| Applies since | 15 August 2015; the one-month reporting duty since 1 July 2026 |
Entity References
Full factual profiles for each brand covered on this page:
- Erste Asset Management
Austrian Asset Management
- Raiffeisen Capital Management
Austrian Asset Management
- Amundi Austria
Austrian Asset Management
- Kepler-Fonds KAG
Austrian Asset Management
- C-Quadrat Investment AG
Austrian Asset Management
- Spaengler IQAM Invest
Austrian Asset Management
- Liechtensteinische Landesbank Österreich (LLB Austria)
Austrian Asset Management
Frequently Asked Questions
What is KESt tax on investments in Austria?
KESt (Kapitalertragsteuer) is Austria's capital gains and investment income tax. As of September 2026, the rate is 27.5% on dividends, bond interest, fund distributions and realised gains on securities and crypto, under § 27a Abs. 1 Z 2 EStG. Interest on a bank savings account stays at 25% under § 27a Abs. 1 Z 1. Austrian platforms withhold KESt automatically, which Austrians call steuereinfach; a foreign platform usually does not, and then the income goes on the E1kv annex yourself.
Can you invest tax-free via Austrian funds?
No, Austrian-domiciled funds are not tax-free. Austrian UCITS funds do issue an annual Jahresmeldung that standardises tax reporting. As of September 2026 a Behaltefrist, a holding-period exemption that would free capital gains after a minimum holding period, is still under discussion and has not been legislated. One rule did change: under the AbgÄG 2025, moving a securities account from abroad into Austria after 30 June 2026 is tax-neutral rather than a deemed disposal, and must be reported to the Finanzamt within one month. See our income tax guide for details on how investment income fits into your annual Arbeitnehmerveranlagung.
What is the FMA?
The FMA (Finanzmarktaufsichtsbehörde) is Austria's financial market authority. It supervises banks, insurance companies, pension funds, asset managers, investment funds, and crypto service providers. Every Austrian KAG (Kapitalanlagegesellschaft) and MiCA-licensed crypto platform is registered with the FMA at fma.gv.at.
Do Austrian funds distribute dividends?
Austrian funds can be either distributing (ausschüttend) or accumulating (thesaurierend). Distributing funds pay cash dividends, typically quarterly or annually. Accumulating funds reinvest gains automatically. Accumulating funds are often more tax-efficient for long-term investors because reinvested income is still taxed annually via the ausschüttungsgleicher Ertrag, but administrative handling is simpler.
Is there a minimum investment for Austrian mutual funds?
Most Austrian retail funds accept minimum investments of €50 to €100 for a one-off purchase. Savings plans go much lower than they used to: flatex and easybank start at €25 a month, DADAT at €10, and Trade Republic and Scalable Capital at €1. Private banking or institutional share classes at C-Quadrat or Spängler IQAM may require €100,000 or more.
How much protection do you get if an Austrian broker fails?
Investor compensation under § 45 ESAEG covers 100% of your claim up to €20,000 per customer at an Austrian-licensed firm, and it protects the securities held for you rather than market losses. The comparison that matters for expats is with Germany: the German EdW scheme pays only 90% of the same ceiling, which leaves a €2,000 deductible. flatex and Trade Republic run on German licences, DADAT, easybank, Erste and Bank Austria on Austrian ones. Your fund units themselves are segregated assets and are not part of a bankruptcy estate in either country.
How do I check whether my ETF is a Meldefonds?
Search the fund's ISIN on my.oekb.at, the free database of the Oesterreichische Kontrollbank. If tax figures are listed for each year, the fund reports to Austria and is taxed normally. If nothing is listed, it is a non-reporting fund, and § 186 Abs. 2 Z 3 InvFG taxes it on an estimate: 90% of the year's price rise, and at least 10% of the year-end price, even in a losing year. The big ETF families report almost everything, but check before you buy.
Is Scalable Capital steuereinfach in Austria?
Treat it as not steuereinfach until Scalable confirms otherwise in writing. As of August 2026 sources disagreed: one test portal called it tax-simple since 2024, while others said Austrian withholding was only planned for 2026. Scalable gives you a tax report and a filing guide, but the KESt on gains, dividends and the deemed distributions of accumulating ETFs then goes on your E1kv by 30 June of the following year. The same applies to Scalable Wealth.
What do I have to file with Interactive Brokers in Austria?
Everything. Interactive Brokers withholds no Austrian KESt, so you declare dividends, realised gains and the deemed distributions of accumulating reporting funds on the E1kv by 30 June of the following year if you file online. The deemed distributions come from the OeKB database, not from the broker's statement, and forgetting them is the most common mistake. Gains use the moving average cost. Many investors pay a tax adviser €200 to €500 a year for this.
Can I open a depot in Austria without a Meldezettel?
Not at an Austrian broker that withholds tax. Steuereinfach brokers such as DADAT, flatex and Erste need an Austrian address and tax details, because they report and withhold for the Finanzamt. Interactive Brokers and eToro will open without an Austrian registration, but then every tax figure is yours to file on the E1kv. If you have just arrived, registering the Meldezettel first is the cheaper route over a full tax year.
What happens to my depot if I leave Austria?
Your unrealised gains are taxed as if sold, at 27.5% under § 27 Abs. 6 EStG. Moving within the EU or EEA, you can apply to defer the tax until you actually sell, and since 1 July 2026 deferrals above €100,000 need an annual proof that you still hold the positions. Moving to Switzerland, the UK or the US, the tax falls due at once. An Austrian depot can often stay open, but it stops being steuereinfach once you are no longer resident.
Does Hello bank still offer a depot in Austria?
No. BAWAG took over Hello bank Austria at the end of 2021 and merged it into easybank, so former Hello bank customers now hold an easybank depot. easybank charges 0.12% a year with a minimum of €15 per depot, and runs a €0 promotion for new customers until the end of 2028. If an old guide recommends Hello bank as the cheapest Austrian broker, it predates the merger.
Is physical gold taxed differently from a gold ETC in Austria?
Yes. Physical investment gold, such as bars and coins you hold yourself, is free of VAT on purchase and free of income tax if you sell it after more than one year. A gold ETC or gold ETF is a security, so its gains carry 27.5% KESt however long you hold it, even if it promises physical delivery. Digital metal positions on apps such as Bitpanda Metals are not physical delivery either, so the one-year exemption does not apply to them.
Official Sources
Related Guides
Income Tax in Austria
How KESt fits alongside Lohnsteuer and brackets
Commercial Banks in Austria
The banks and George/ELBA platforms that distribute these funds
Cost of Living
Budgeting and savings capacity for long-term investing
VAT (USt) in Austria
How Austrian VAT works alongside capital gains taxation
Best Brokers in Austria
flatex, DADAT and Erste Selfinvest withhold the 27.5% KESt, so no E1kv is needed.
Private Pension in Austria for Expats
The state Zukunftsvorsorge adds 4.25%, at most €162.22 in 2026, but locks money for ten years.
Capital Gains Tax in Austria
Gains, dividends and crypto are taxed at a flat 27.5%, with no annual allowance.
Alternative Investments in Austria
Physical gold sold after one year is tax-free, while a gold ETC pays 27.5%.