# Capital Gains Tax in Austria (2026) > 27.5% on gains and dividends, 25% on interest: who withholds KESt, which E1kv Kennzahl takes what, and when losses and refunds work. Updated: October 12 2026 · By Jules de Bruin · URL: https://www.how-to-austria.com/taxes/capital-gains-tax Austria taxes realised gains, dividends, fund income and crypto at a flat **27.5%** and bank interest at **25%** under **§ 27a EStG**. An Austrian depot such as **flatex**, **DADAT** or **Erste Bank** withholds this **KESt** for you and offsets losses inside the depot, so the tax is final. There is **no annual allowance** and **no loss carryforward**: an unused loss lapses on **31 December**. **Interactive Brokers**, **eToro** and the cash interest at **Trade Republic** carry no Austrian KESt. You declare them on the **E1kv** by **30 June** of the following year: gains in **Kennzahl 994**, losses in **892**, accumulating-fund income in **937**. A fund missing from the OeKB data is taxed on an estimate of at least **10%** of its year-end price, even in a losing year. ## Which Brokers Withhold KESt for You in Austria? | Provider | 27.5% on securities | 25% on cash interest | What you file | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | flatex, DADAT, [Erste Bank](https://www.sparkasse.at), easybank, [Bank Austria](https://www.bankaustria.at), [Raiffeisen](https://www.raiffeisen.at), bank99 | Withheld | Withheld | Nothing, unless you offset against another depot | | Bitpanda | Withheld on crypto, and on shares and ETFs since **29 January 2026** | Not applicable | Nothing for Bitpanda positions | | [Trade Republic](https://traderepublic.com) | Withheld since **24 April 2025** | **Not withheld** (its Austrian tax FAQ, August 2026) | E1kv for the interest, every year | | Scalable Capital | Not confirmed for Austria in August 2026 | Not confirmed | Plan for an E1kv until your statement shows Austrian KESt | | Interactive Brokers, eToro, Freedom24, Trading 212, XTB | Not withheld | Not withheld | Full E1kv: dividends, gains, losses, fund income | Withholding status as of October 2026, from each provider's Austrian tax information and our [broker comparison](/banking/brokers). "Withheld" means the provider pays Austrian KESt over and keeps a loss-offset pot for you (§ 93 EStG). Whether you file anything depends on where the account is licensed, not on where you live. An Austrian bank or an EU bank with an Austrian tax set-up deducts the **Kapitalertragsteuer (KESt)** when income arrives, and that payment is final. Austrians call such a depot **steuereinfach**. A broker without that set-up pays you gross, and the tax becomes your job on the **E1kv** annex. Two rates apply under **§ 27a Abs. 1 EStG**. Interest on bank deposits pays **25%**. Everything else pays **27.5%**: dividends, realised gains on shares, bonds and fund units, derivatives, fund distributions and crypto. The two rates sit in separate pots, which matters as soon as you have a loss. Gains on property are taxed separately at **30%** (ImmoESt) and are not covered here. The mixed case catches the most people. **[Trade Republic](https://traderepublic.com)** withholds on shares and ETFs but, by its own Austrian FAQ, not on the interest it pays on your cash. On **€10,000** earning **2.5%**, that is **€250** of interest and **€62.50** of tax you must declare yourself. Check the annual tax report for an interest line with KESt deducted before you assume it is settled. ### 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](https://www.reddit.com/r/FinanzenAT/comments/1l9nn0e/), 2025) Paraphrased from public posts, each dated and linked. A small sample, not a representative survey. ## How Do You Fill In the E1kv Step by Step? | Income | Rate | KZ with Austrian KESt | KZ without Austrian KESt | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Dividends and bond interest | 27.5% | 862 | 863 | | Realised gains on shares, bonds, fund units | 27.5% | 981 | 994 | | Realised losses on the same | offsets 27.5% | 891 | 892 | | Fund distributions | 27.5% | 897 | 898 | | Deemed distributions (accumulating funds) | 27.5% | 936 | 937 | | Derivatives gains / losses | 27.5% | 982 / 895 | 995 / 896 | | Crypto: staking and lending / gains / losses | 27.5% | 171 / 173 / 175 | 172 / 174 / 176 | | Austrian KESt already withheld | credited | 899 | | Creditable foreign withholding tax | credited | Foreign-tax block: 940, 984, 998, 900, 901 | Kennzahlen from the BMF notes to the E1kv 2025 (version of 27 June 2025) and the reporting annex to BGBl. II Nr. 213/2024; 863 from the BMF form layout. Interest on foreign bank deposits (25%) has its own line next to Kennzahl 860. Kennzahlen can move between tax years, so check the form for your year. The **E1kv** is the capital-income annex to the **E1** income tax return. You need it whenever capital income arrived without Austrian KESt: a foreign broker, a foreign savings account, a crypto exchange abroad. You also use it voluntarily to offset losses between two depots or to apply the **Regelbesteuerungsoption**. The deadline for **2025** income is **30 June 2026** on [FinanzOnline](https://finanzonline.bmf.gv.at). - 1Download the **annual tax report** from each broker and convert foreign-currency amounts at the rate on the payment day. Interactive Brokers reports in USD by default. - 2Look up every fund ISIN on [my.oekb.at](https://my.oekb.at) and note the reported deemed distribution per unit for the fund year that ended in the tax year. Multiply by your units. - 3Raise the **acquisition cost** of each fund by the deemed distribution you declared, and keep the record. On a later sale only the remaining gain is taxed (§ 186 Abs. 3 InvFG). - 4Enter gross amounts in the Kennzahlen above. Foreign withholding tax goes in the foreign-tax block, capped at **15%** of the dividend for treaty countries such as the US. - 5To offset an Austrian depot, add its realised gains and losses in point 1.3 and the KESt it withheld in **Kennzahl 899**. Entering losses there exercises the loss-offset option under **§ 97 Abs. 2 EStG**. Two rules from the BMF notes save time. Capital income you must declare is only entered if it exceeds **€22** in the year, the **Freigrenze**; above that the whole amount counts. And income-related costs such as order fees or custody fees are **not deductible** from capital income taxed at the special rates, with an exception for crypto. Fees only enter through the acquisition cost and the sale price. A self-filed E1kv takes most people an evening once they have the reports. Pay a **Steuerberater** when you hold many non-reporting funds, short positions or several currencies. Its fee is deductible as a special expense under **Kennzahl 460**. For the wider return, read our [income tax guide](/taxes/income-tax). Illustration of a tax form with a percentage, a coin stack, and a government building, for the Austrian tax system. ## How Does Loss Offsetting Work Under § 27 Abs. 8 EStG? | Step | Depot A (Austrian bank) | Depot B (Austrian bank) | Total | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Realised result in 2026 | €3,000 loss on shares | €5,000 ETF gain, €400 savings interest | net €2,000 gain | | KESt withheld by the banks | €0 | €1,375 + €100 | €1,475 | | Tax after an E1kv | 27.5% of €2,000 = €550, interest stays at €100 | €650 | | Refund from filing | €1,375 minus €550 | €825 | Our calculation. Method: realised gains and losses of both depots netted at 27.5% under § 27 Abs. 8 EStG; the €400 deposit interest stays in the 25% pot because Z 1 bars securities losses from offsetting it. Assumes no foreign tax and no loss already offset by either bank. Inside one Austrian depot the bank nets losses against gains automatically, up to the end of the calendar year. Across depots nothing happens unless you file. In the example the **€3,000** loss at depot A is worth **€825** of tax, but only through an **E1kv** for **2026**, filed by **30 June 2027** on FinanzOnline or later within the 5-year window of a voluntary assessment. **§ 27 Abs. 8 EStG** sets four limits, and each one costs money when ignored. Losses on securities, derivatives and crypto never offset **bank interest**. Income taxed at the special rates never offsets income taxed at the normal bands. A net capital loss never offsets **salary** or rent. And there is **no carryforward**: the BMF notes to the E1kv state plainly that a loss carryforward is not permitted. The practical move is timing. If you hold a loser at one bank and a winner at another, realise both in the same calendar year and file. Selling a loser in January does nothing for a gain booked the previous December. Moving a depot does not help either: an Austrian-to-Austrian transfer carries the cost basis over, but the loss pot stays behind. ## When Does the Regelbesteuerungsoption Pay Off? | Case (2026) | KESt at special rates | Tax under the bands | Result | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Pensioner: €16,000 taxable pension, €400 savings interest | €100 (25%) | €80 (20% band) | **€20 back** | | Student: €12,000 salary, €1,500 dividends | €412.50 | €0 (total €13,500, under €13,539) | **€412.50 back** | | €20,000 salary, €3,000 ETF gains | €825 | €398.40 + €302.40 = €700.80 | **€124.20 back** | | Same, plus €2,000 cash interest at [Trade Republic](https://traderepublic.com) | €825 + €500 | €1,300.80 (part at 30%) | **€24.20 back**, the interest drags it toward zero | Our calculation, 2026 bands (§ 33 EStG: 0% to €13,539, 20% to €21,992, 30% to €36,458). Method: tax on other income plus capital income minus tax on other income alone, against KESt at 25% or 27.5%. Taxable income before tax credits; no sole-earner or child credits. Simplified, not an assessment. Under **§ 27a Abs. 5 EStG** you can ask for capital income to be taxed at your normal band rate instead of **25%** or **27.5%**, and the KESt already withheld is credited. It pays while your capital income lands in the **0%** or **20%** band, so up to about **€22,000** of total taxable income in **2026**. Our [income tax guide](/taxes/income-tax#regelbesteuerung) shows four salary cases; the table above adds interest-only and mixed cases. The option is all or nothing. The statute says it can only be used for **all** income subject to a special rate, so the **25%** interest comes along with the **27.5%** gains. In the last row the **€2,000** of interest pushes total income into the **30%** band, and the refund shrinks from **€124.20** to **€24.20**. A larger cash balance would turn the result negative. Do the comparison yourself. The BMF's notes to the **2025 E1kv** state that the tax office does **not** check automatically whether the option is cheaper. You tick it in **point 8.1** of the E1 and it then applies. Run both versions in the [BMF calculators](https://www.bmf.gv.at/services/berechnungsprogramme.html) first. One more rule from the same notes: where a sole-earner or child credit runs through you, a minimum tax equal to that credit stays due. ## How Are Accumulating ETFs and Non-Reporting Funds Taxed? | Year (€10,000 invested) | Reporting fund (Meldefonds) | Non-reporting fund, estimate | | --- | --- | --- | | Up 10% to €11,000 | 27.5% of the reported amount; at an assumed €200: **€55** | 90% of €1,000 = €900, but at least 10% of €11,000 = €1,100: **€302.50** | | Up 30% to €13,000 | Reported amount only; at an assumed €250: **€68.75** | 90% of €3,000 = €2,700: **€742.50** | | Down 10% to €9,000 | Reported amount, often small: **about €0 to €40** | 10% of €9,000 = €900: **€247.50** in a losing year | Our calculation. Method: the non-reporting column applies § 186 Abs. 2 Z 3 InvFG (90% of the year's price rise, at least 10% of the year-end price) at 27.5%. The reporting-fund amounts are illustrative assumptions, not a real fund's figures: the real number is whatever the fund reports to the OeKB. Ignores actual distributions. An accumulating fund pays nothing out, yet Austria taxes it every year. Under **§ 186 Abs. 2 Z 1 InvFG** the fund's interest and dividends plus **60%** of its net realised gains count as deemed distributions, the **ausschüttungsgleiche Erträge**. A tax representative reports them to the reporting office at the **OeKB**, and they are taxed at **27.5%** as if paid to you. If no report arrives, the law estimates. **§ 186 Abs. 2 Z 3 InvFG** deems **90%** of the year's price rise distributed, and at least **10%** of the year-end redemption price. The minimum applies even when the fund fell. That is why a non-reporting fund can cost **€247.50** on **€9,000** in a year you lost **€1,000**. Check every ISIN on [my.oekb.at](https://my.oekb.at) before you buy: no entry means no report. Two mechanics stop double taxation. Each deemed distribution you paid tax on raises your **acquisition cost** under **§ 186 Abs. 3 InvFG**, so the sale gain shrinks by the same amount. And a later actual payout of those amounts is tax-free. An Austrian bank does all of this for you and debits the tax from your settlement account after the fund's financial year, so keep cash there. At a foreign broker you track it yourself in **Kennzahl 937** and in your own cost-basis records. Illustration of a banking app, a coin stack, and a rising chart, for managing money and saving in Austria. ## How Much Withholding Tax on US, German and Swiss Dividends Do You Pay? | €1,000 dividend from | Withheld abroad | Austrian KESt left | You keep | Reclaimable abroad | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | USA, W-8BEN filed | €150 (15%) | €125 | **€725** | €0 | | USA, no W-8BEN | €300 (30%) | €125 | **€575** | €150 from the IRS, rarely worth it | | Germany | €263.75 (26.375%) | €125 | **€611.25** | €113.75 from the BZSt | | Switzerland | €350 (35%) | €125 | **€525** | €200 from the ESTV | | United Kingdom | €0 | €275 | **€725** | Not applicable | Our calculation, before any reclaim. Method: foreign rate as withheld, Austrian credit capped at 15 percentage points under the tax treaties, remaining Austrian KESt = 27.5% minus the credit. Withholding rates from the BMF treaty overview as of August 2026. Austria credits foreign withholding tax against the **27.5%** KESt, but never more than the treaty rate, which is **15%** for the main dividend countries. Whatever a country keeps above **15%** is lost unless you reclaim it there. So the real question is not the headline rate but how much you can get back and at what effort. For US shares the fix costs nothing: file a **W-8BEN** with your broker and the US keeps **15%** instead of **30%**. Austrian banks usually ask for it when you open the depot; foreign brokers sometimes do not. **German** and **Swiss** dividends always lose more at source: the excess comes back only through the **Bundeszentralamt für Steuern** or the **Eidgenössische Steuerverwaltung**, which is paperwork worth doing on large positions only. Most Irish-domiciled ETFs avoid the issue at your level, because the fund receives the dividends and you are taxed on its reported income. Enter only foreign tax you cannot get back abroad: the BMF notes forbid crediting tax that the other country would refund. ## How Is Crypto Taxed in Austria? | Situation | Tax | | --- | --- | | Bought from 1 March 2021, sold for euros | **27.5%** on the gain, Kennzahl 173 or 174 | | Swapped for another cryptocurrency | No tax at the swap; the cost basis carries over | | Staking, lending, mining income | **27.5%**, Kennzahl 171 or 172 | | Bought before 1 March 2021 (old stock) | Tax-free after a 1-year holding period | Crypto regime under § 27b EStG since 1 March 2022. Source: BMF, as of August 2026. Crypto bought since **1 March 2021** sits in the same **27.5%** pot as shares, so crypto losses offset share gains and the other way round. Austrian providers such as **Bitpanda** have withheld KESt on crypto since **2024**. Foreign exchanges withhold nothing, and from **2026** they report Austrian customers to the tax office under the **DAC8** rules, so undeclared gains will surface. Exchanges, fees and which providers withhold are compared in our [crypto exchange guide](/banking/crypto-exchanges). This page keeps to the tax mechanics. ## What Changed in Investment Taxation in 2025 and 2026? | Date | Change | What it means for you | | --- | --- | --- | | 24 April 2025 | [Trade Republic](https://traderepublic.com) starts withholding Austrian KESt on securities and crypto | Interest on cash still goes on your E1kv | | 29 January 2026 | Bitpanda withholds KESt on shares and ETFs, not only crypto | One more steuereinfach option for securities | | 2026 | Crypto reporting under the Krypto-Meldepflichtgesetz and DAC8 | Foreign exchanges report your holdings; you still file the E1kv | | 1 July 2026 | Moving a foreign depot to an Austrian bank becomes tax-neutral if reported within one month | Report the transfer, or the bank applies flat acquisition costs | | 1 July 2026 | Exit tax: yearly proof duty for deferred gains above €100,000 (§ 27 Abs. 6 Z 1 lit f EStG) | See our [leaving Austria guide](/taxes/leaving-austria#exit-tax) | | 30 June 2026 | E1kv deadline for 2025 income on FinanzOnline | Missed it? A voluntary return stays open for 5 years | Sources: provider announcements, RIS (BGBl. I Nr. 43/2026), BMF, as of October 2026. The rates themselves have not moved since **1 January 2016**, when the special rate for everything except bank interest rose from **25%** to **27.5%**. What changed in **2025** and **2026** is who withholds and how much the tax office sees. More foreign platforms now withhold Austrian KESt, and the ones that do not are starting to report. The quiet years of an undeclared foreign depot are ending. ### Moving a depot to Austria in 2026 Since **1 July 2026** a transfer from a foreign depot to an Austrian bank must be reported to the tax office within **one month**, with the securities and their acquisition costs. Without it, the Austrian bank may apply flat acquisition costs under **§ 93 Abs. 4 EStG** and tax gains you never made. ## Which Law, Regulator and Tool Stand Behind Fund Taxation? Fund taxation runs on the **InvFG 2011**, securities custody is supervised by the **FMA**, and the neutral tool is the OeKB fund database. The block below adds the investor-compensation right that protects securities held for you. | The rules behind this page | ESAEG §§ 45 ff | | --- | --- | | Law | [ESAEG, §§ 45 ff: investor compensation, with InvFG 2011 for fund taxation](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20009251) | | Regulator | [FMA, securities supervision](https://www.fma.gv.at/wertpapier/) | | Free tool | [OeKB capital market service: check by ISIN whether a fund reports Austrian tax data](https://my.oekb.at/kapitalmarkt-services) | | 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 | ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Do I pay capital gains tax on ETFs in Austria if I never sell? Yes, on the part the fund reports each year. An accumulating ETF reports deemed distributions (ausschüttungsgleiche Erträge) to the OeKB reporting office, and those are taxed at 27.5% as if paid out. An Austrian bank debits the tax from your settlement account. The taxed amount raises your acquisition cost, so you are not taxed twice when you sell. A fund that reports nothing is taxed on an estimate under § 186 Abs. 2 Z 3 InvFG. ### Which E1kv Kennzahl do I use for gains at a foreign broker? Realised gains on shares, bonds and fund units without Austrian KESt go in Kennzahl 994, and losses in Kennzahl 892. Fund distributions without KESt go in 898 and deemed distributions from accumulating funds in 937. Crypto uses 172, 174 and 176. Creditable foreign withholding tax goes in the foreign-tax block. The BMF notes to the 2025 E1kv list these numbers; check the form for your tax year before filing. ### Can a loss at Trade Republic offset a gain at my Austrian bank? Only through an E1kv for the same calendar year. Each Austrian bank offsets losses inside its own depot automatically, but two depots never talk to each other. You enter the realised gains and losses from both in point 1.3 of the E1kv, plus the KESt already withheld in Kennzahl 899, and the tax office refunds the difference. Unused losses lapse on 31 December under § 27 Abs. 8 EStG. ### Is there a tax-free allowance for capital income in Austria? There is no allowance like Germany's Sparerpauschbetrag. The only threshold is a €22 exemption limit (Freigrenze) for capital income you must declare yourself: if all of it together stays at or below €22 a year, you do not enter it. Above €22 the whole amount is taxable, not just the excess. Income already taxed by an Austrian bank is final and needs no entry at all. ### Does the tax office check automatically whether the Regelbesteuerungsoption is cheaper? Not according to the BMF's notes to the 2025 E1kv, which state that there is no automatic comparison. You have to tick the option yourself in point 8.1 of the E1 form, and it then applies to all capital income taxed at a special rate. Check the result with the BMF calculator first. Above roughly €22,000 of total taxable income the option usually costs more than it saves. ### How much tax do I pay on a US dividend of €1,000? €275 in total if you filed a W-8BEN with your broker: the US keeps 15%, €150, and Austria takes the remaining 12.5%, €125. Without the form the US keeps 30%, so you pay €300 there plus €125 in Austria, €425 in total. Austria never credits more than 15 points of foreign tax, so the extra €150 can only be reclaimed from the IRS. ### Do I have to declare interest from a foreign savings account? Yes. Interest from a deposit at a foreign bank, including Raisin partner banks and the cash balance at [Trade Republic](https://traderepublic.com), carries no Austrian KESt and goes on the E1kv at 25%. The deadline is 30 June of the following year on FinanzOnline. Securities losses cannot offset this interest, because § 27 Abs. 8 Z 1 EStG keeps the 25% pot separate from gains on shares and funds. --- Source: https://www.how-to-austria.com/taxes/capital-gains-tax Last updated: Updated: October 12 2026 Format: LLM-readable Markdown twin (.md) of the canonical HTML page.