# Leaving Austria: Taxes, Pension and Deregistration (2026)

> 27.5% exit tax on your depot, 3 days to deregister, no pension refund: what to cancel, claim and file when you leave Austria in 2026.

Updated: October 14 2026 · By Jules de Bruin · URL: https://www.how-to-austria.com/taxes/leaving-austria

Deregister within **3 days** of moving out (**§ 4 MeldeG**, fine up to **€726**). Your **pension contributions are not refunded**: the months stay on record and count towards a pension in the **EU** and **22 agreement countries**. File a final **Arbeitnehmerveranlagung**, because a mid-year exit usually means a refund. Report the move to the **Finanzamt** within **one month** if you draw **Familienbeihilfe**.

Leaving triggers an **exit tax** of **27.5%** on the unrealised gain under **§ 27 Abs. 6 EStG**, as if you had sold. Moving within the **EU or EEA**, apply for deferral and pay only when you sell. Since **1 July 2026**, a deferred gain above **€100,000** needs a **yearly proof** that you still hold it. Moving to **Switzerland**, the **UK** or the **US**, the tax is due at once.

## What Do You Have to Do Before Leaving Austria, and by When?

| Task | Deadline | Authority | Cost | If you miss it |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Deregister your address (Abmeldung), § 4 MeldeG | **3 days** before or after moving out | Any registration office (Meldebehörde) | Free | Fine up to **€726**, **€2,180** if repeated (§ 22 MeldeG) |
| Stop the ORF levy, §§ 8 and 9 ORF-Beitrags-Gesetz | Ends with the month you deregister; report the end without delay | ORF-Beitrags Service (OBS) | Free | **€15.30** a month keeps being billed |
| Report the move if you draw Familienbeihilfe, § 25 FLAG | **1 month** from the move | Finanzamt Österreich | Free | Benefit paid without entitlement must be repaid |
| Apply to defer exit tax (EU or EEA move), § 27 Abs. 6 Z 1 lit. a EStG | With the tax return for the year you leave | Finanzamt via FinanzOnline | **27.5%** of the gain, deferred | Tax assessed and due straight away |
| Yearly proof for a deferred gain above €100,000, lit. f | By **31 December** of the following year, every year | Finanzamt, in writing or FinanzOnline | Free | Counts as a sale: the deferred tax becomes due |
| Final tax return (Arbeitnehmerveranlagung), § 41 EStG | Voluntary: **5 years**. Mandatory: **30 April** on paper, **30 June** online | Finanzamt via FinanzOnline | Free | Refund lost after 5 years; late surcharge up to **10%** on a mandatory return (§ 135 BAO) |
| Claim or park your Abfertigung, § 14 BMSVG | Any time once eligible; written request to the BV-Kasse | Your BV-Kasse | **6%** tax on a payout | Stays invested; small balances under 36 months lapse after **10 years** |
| Arrange health cover abroad, § 122 Abs. 4 ASVG | Before the last working day | ÖGK, then the insurer in your new country | Depends on the new country | The 6-week ÖGK after-cover ends once you move abroad |
| Download your insurance record (Versicherungsdatenauszug) | Before you leave | Social insurance portal meineSV, or the ÖGK | Free | Harder to prove Austrian months for a later pension claim |

Our checklist, built from the statutes as consolidated on RIS on 14 October 2026: [MeldeG](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10005799), [ORF-Beitrags-Gesetz](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20012352), [FLAG](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10008220), [EStG](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10004570), [BMSVG](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20002088), [ASVG](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10008147). The ORF figure is the federal levy; four states add a surcharge.

Leaving Austria means about **nine separate notices** to six authorities, and no office tells the others. Deregistration under **§ 4 Abs. 1 MeldeG** is due **3 days** before or after you move out and costs nothing. It ends the **ORF** levy at the end of that month. It does not stop **Familienbeihilfe**, defer your **exit tax** or claim your **Abfertigung**. Each of those needs its own request.

The order matters more than any single deadline. Keep your **Austrian bank account** open until the last refund has arrived, because the **Finanzamt**, your landlord and the **BV-Kasse** all pay out after you have gone. Download your **Versicherungsdatenauszug** before you go: every later pension claim in any country starts from it. Deregister last, in the three-day window around your move.

The deregistration form is the same **Meldezettel** you signed on arrival. Any registration office accepts it, so you can hand it in at the office nearest your last flat or post it. Our [registration guide](/living/vienna-registration) covers the form itself, and [mandatory levies](/living/mandatory-levies) lists the state surcharges on the ORF levy.

Illustration of moving boxes, a map pin, and a key, for moving to and settling into an Austrian city.

## How Does the Exit Tax on Shares, ETFs and Crypto Work?

| Case | Cost | Value on leaving | Exit tax at 27.5% | When you pay |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ETF depot, move to Munich | €100,000 | €150,000 | **€13,750** | Deferred until you sell; no yearly proof (gain under €100,000) |
| Larger depot, move to Amsterdam | €250,000 | €450,000 | **€55,000** | Deferred, but proof due every year by 31 December of the following year |
| ETF depot, move to Zurich | €100,000 | €150,000 | **€13,750** | Assessed with the return for the year you leave |
| Bitcoin bought 2022 (new stock), move to London | €10,000 | €30,000 | **€5,500** | Due at once: the UK is outside the EU and EEA |
| Bitcoin bought 2020 (old stock) | €10,000 | €30,000 | **€0** | Crypto bought before 1 March 2021 is outside the 27.5% regime |

Our calculation. Method: taxable amount is market value on the day Austria loses its taxing right minus acquisition cost (**§ 27a Abs. 3 Z 2 lit. b EStG**), times **27.5%**. Deferral and the €100,000 proof threshold from **§ 27 Abs. 6 Z 1 lit. a and f EStG**, read on [RIS](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10004570) on 14 October 2026. The threshold applies to the deferred gain, not to the depot value.

Austria treats the day you give up your Austrian residence as a sale. **§ 27 Abs. 6 Z 1 EStG** covers shares, fund units and **ETFs**, bonds, derivatives and crypto bought from **1 March 2021**. The taxable amount is the gain built up while you lived here, taxed at the usual **27.5%**. No cash changes hands, which is why the rule surprises people: the bill arrives for a sale that never happened.

Moving to another **EU or EEA** country, you can apply for **Nichtfestsetzung**. The tax office records the debt in your assessment but does not collect it until you actually sell. It also falls due if you later move on to a country outside the EU and EEA. The **BMF** has said in a ruling (EAS 3372, January 2017) that you apply in the tax return for the year of departure. Moving to **Switzerland**, the **UK** or the **US**, there is no deferral.

The **Budgetmaßnahmengesetz 2026** added a duty that catches deferred cases. Under **lit. f**, anyone whose deferred gain exceeds **€100,000** must prove every year, in writing or through **FinanzOnline**, that nothing has been sold. The proof is due by the end of the following year, for example by **31 December 2027** for a deferral decided in 2026. A missing proof counts as a sale. Tax advisers report a one-off proof for deferrals from before July 2026, due by **31 December 2026**; [capital gains tax](/taxes/capital-gains-tax) covers the rest of the 2026 changes.

### What the statute does not settle

Two points are not in the text of **§ 27 Abs. 6 EStG**: whether a fall in value after you leave reduces the deferred bill, and how your new country treats the gain built up in Austria. Germany, for example, may tax the whole gain again on a later sale. Ask a tax adviser in both countries before you sell a deferred position.

## What Happens to Your Austrian Pension Contributions?

| You move to | Do Austrian months count abroad? | Austrian pension later | Refund now? |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EU, EEA or Switzerland | Yes, added together under **Regulation (EC) 883/2004** | A pro-rata Austrian pension; under **1 year** of Austrian months, another state takes them over | **No** |
| One of 22 agreement countries (USA, UK, Canada, Australia, India, Japan, Korea, Türkei, Serbia and others) | Yes, for the branches the agreement covers | Paid abroad under the agreement | **No** |
| Any other country (China, UAE, South Africa, Singapore) | **No**: foreign months do not help you qualify | Only with **180 months** in Austria, of which **84** from work (§ 4 APG) | **No** |

Sources: [ASVG §§ 70 and 308](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10008147) and [APG § 4](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20003831) on RIS; agreement list from the [Sozialministerium](https://www.sozialministerium.gv.at/Themen/Soziales/Sozialversicherung/Sozialversicherung-International.html) overview, as of 3 August 2026. The full list of 22: Albania, Australia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Chile, India, Israel, Japan, Canada (with Québec), Korea, Kosovo, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Philippines, Serbia, Tunisia, Türkei, USA, Uruguay and the United Kingdom.

Austria does not refund pension contributions to people who emigrate. We read every refund rule in the **ASVG**: **§ 70** returns **45%** of contributions paid above the yearly ceiling, and **§ 308** covers moves into a civil-service pension scheme. Neither depends on nationality or on leaving the country. The 24-month refund that circulates in expat forums is the German rule, and it does not apply to Austrian contributions.

What you keep is the record. Every month you paid stays on your account with the **Pensionsversicherungsanstalt**. Inside the **EU**, the **EEA** and **Switzerland**, the months from every country are added together to check whether you qualify, and each country then pays its share. You apply once, in the country where you live when you retire.

The hard case is a move to a country without an agreement. There, your foreign years never count in Austria, so you need **180 insurance months** here, **84** of them from work, under **§ 4 APG**. Someone who leaves after **six years** for **Dubai** or **Singapore** and never comes back and never builds more Austrian or EU months gets no Austrian old-age pension from those years. Check the destination against the list above before you sign the contract.

## Can You Take Your Abfertigung With You?

| How the job ended | Contribution months | Payout when you leave? | When you can claim |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Employer gave notice, mutual agreement, fixed term ended | **36** or more | **Yes**, 6% tax | Now |
| You resigned, or were dismissed for cause | Any | **No** | After **5 years** without contributions |
| Any ending | Under **36** | **No** | After **5 years** without contributions |
| Under 36 months and you never claim | Under **36**, balance up to about **€173** | No | Lapses to the BV-Kasse **10 years** after the last contribution |

Our reading of [§ 14 BMSVG](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20002088) as in force since 1 January 2026: Abs. 2 (exclusions), Abs. 4 Z 3 (five years), Abs. 8 (ten years). The €173 figure is our calculation: 2.5% of 30 times the 2026 daily contribution ceiling of €231. Tax from § 67 Abs. 3 EStG.

Your employer pays **1.53%** of your gross pay every month into a **BV-Kasse**, and that money is yours. Whether you can take it when you leave depends on how the job ended, not on where you go. If the employer ended it and you have **36 contribution months** in total, from one or several jobs, you can ask for the lump sum at once. The **BV-Kasse** withholds a flat **6%** under **§ 67 Abs. 3 EStG**.

Most people who emigrate resign, and that is the trap. **§ 14 Abs. 2 BMSVG** bars a payout after your own notice. The balance stays invested, and the kasse deducts its fees. The way out is **§ 14 Abs. 4 Z 3**: once nobody has paid contributions for you for **five years**, you can claim the whole amount from abroad, whatever the reason the job ended. Put the date in your calendar the week you leave.

Short stays carry a second risk. If you have fewer than **36 months** and never claim, a small balance passes to the kasse **10 years** after the last contribution under **§ 14 Abs. 8**. The cap is low, about **€173** in **2026**, but the rule shows the direction: nobody pays you automatically. Moving the balance to a **Pensionskasse** or an insurer instead is tax free.

## Which Tax Return Do You File in the Year You Leave?

| Period | Tax status | What Austria taxes | Rule |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Until the day you give up your home | Unlimited liability | Worldwide income | § 1 Abs. 2 EStG |
| After you leave | Limited liability | Austrian income only: rent, Austrian salary, Austrian property gains | § 1 Abs. 3 and § 98 EStG |
| After you leave, EU or EEA citizen, 90% of income in Austria | Unlimited on application | Austrian income, with resident credits | § 1 Abs. 4 EStG; foreign income up to **€13,539** in 2026 |

Source: [EStG §§ 1, 41 and 98](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10004570) on RIS, 14 October 2026. The § 1 Abs. 4 threshold rises to €13,846 for 2027.

Until the day you give up your Austrian home you are taxed on your worldwide income under **§ 1 Abs. 2 EStG**. From the next day only Austrian income counts, such as rent from a flat you keep or a salary still paid by an Austrian employer for work done here. Most leavers have nothing Austrian after the move. For them the departure year is the last Austrian return.

File it even when nothing forces you to. Payroll withholds tax as if your salary ran for twelve months, so leaving in **June** means half a year taxed at a rate meant for a full one. The **Arbeitnehmerveranlagung** corrects that, and you have **5 years** to file it under **§ 41 Abs. 2 EStG**. **FinanzOnline** works from abroad, and our [income tax guide](/taxes/income-tax#leaving) explains the refund mechanics.

The refund can go to a foreign account. FinanzOnline's standard field expects an Austrian IBAN, so enter a foreign one as foreign bank details in your profile instead. A return becomes mandatory if, for example, you had capital income without Austrian **KESt**; then the deadline is **30 April** on paper or **30 June** online of the following year.

### What residents report

- ○ **Tax refund to a foreign IBAN**: A Revolut customer could not enter a Lithuanian IBAN in the standard FinanzOnline bank field, which takes Austrian accounts, and got it accepted by adding it as foreign bank details in the profile instead. ([r/FinanzenAT](https://www.reddit.com/r/FinanzenAT/comments/1j400cq/), 2025)

Paraphrased from public posts, each dated and linked. A small sample, not a representative survey.

## How Do You Stop Familienbeihilfe, the ORF Levy and ÖGK Cover?

Three running items stop on three different rules. **Familienbeihilfe** must be reported to the **Finanzamt Österreich** within **one month** under **§ 25 FLAG**. The **ORF** levy ends at the end of the month you deregister (**§ 8 ORF-Beitrags-Gesetz**). Your **ÖGK** cover ends with the job, and the usual after-cover lapses the day you move abroad.

**Familienbeihilfe** depends on your family's centre of life being in Austria. When it moves, the entitlement ends and any month paid after that has to be repaid. One exception matters for commuting families: if one parent keeps working in Austria while the children move to another **EU** country, EU coordination can keep a claim alive. Ask the **Finanzamt** before you stop it yourself.

The **ORF** levy of **€15.30** a month attaches to your main residence in the central register. The **OBS** receives register data from the interior ministry, but **§ 9 Abs. 5** still obliges you to report the end without delay. Send the deregistration confirmation to the [OBS](https://www.obs.at/) and keep the receipt.

Health cover is the gap people notice too late. **§ 122 Abs. 2 ASVG** normally keeps **ÖGK** benefits running for **six weeks** after a job ends. **§ 122 Abs. 4** ends that after-cover once you move abroad. Inside the EU, register with the insurer in your new country straight away; elsewhere, buy travel or expat cover for the first weeks.

## Should You Keep or Close Your Austrian Bank Account?

Keep it until the last payment has arrived, then decide. The **tax refund** lands months after you leave, your **rent deposit** comes back after the handover, and an **Abfertigung** payout follows the written request. An Austrian IBAN receives all three without workarounds. No Austrian law forces you to close the account when you move.

Tell the bank your new address and tax residence. Under the **GMSG**, Austria's law implementing the **Common Reporting Standard**, the bank then reports the account and its balance to your new country every year. That is not a problem if you declare it there. It is a problem if you assumed an Austrian account stays invisible abroad.

Two costs decide whether to keep it longer. Package accounts charge a monthly fee whether you use them or not. And tell your depot bank too: its **KESt** handling changes once you are no longer resident, and the exit tax above applies whichever bank holds the securities. If you hold investments there, read the [broker comparison](/banking/brokers) before you decide where the securities should live.

Illustration of a banking app, a coin stack, and a rising chart, for managing money and saving in Austria.

## Which Laws and Authorities Govern Leaving Austria?

| Part | What applies |
| --- | --- |
| Law | [§ 27 Abs. 6 EStG](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10004570) (exit tax), [§ 4 MeldeG](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10005799) (deregistration), [§ 14 BMSVG](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20002088) (Abfertigung) |
| Authority | [Finanzamt Österreich](https://www.bmf.gv.at/) for tax and Familienbeihilfe; [Pensionsversicherungsanstalt](https://www.pv.at/) for pension months |
| Neutral tool | [BMF calculation programs](https://www.bmf.gv.at/services/berechnungsprogramme.html), official and advertising-free, to check the departure-year refund before filing |
| Your right | Moving within the EU or EEA, you can defer the **27.5%** exit tax until you sell. Since **1 July 2026** a deferred gain above **€100,000** needs a yearly proof by **31 December** of the following year. |

None of these rights applies automatically. Deferral needs an application, the **Abfertigung** needs a written claim, and a refund needs a return. Each one is a separate request to a separate body.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Do I get my Austrian pension contributions back when I leave?

No. The ASVG has no refund for people who emigrate. The only refunds in it cover contributions above the annual ceiling (§ 70 ASVG) and moves into a civil-service pension scheme (§ 308 ASVG). Your insurance months stay on record. In the EU, EEA, Switzerland and the 22 countries with an Austrian social security agreement they count towards a pension later. The 24-month refund people quote is the German rule, not the Austrian one.

### How many days do I have to deregister my address in Austria?

Three days before or after you move out, under § 4 Abs. 1 Meldegesetz. Deregistration is free and any registration office in Austria accepts it, not only the one in your district. Missing the deadline is an administrative offence with a fine of up to €726, or €2,180 for a repeat offence (§ 22 Abs. 1 MeldeG). Keep several copies of the confirmation: your new country often asks for it.

### Do I pay Austrian exit tax if I move to Germany?

The tax is calculated but not collected, if you apply for it. Moving to an EU or EEA country, the tax office records 27.5% on the unrealised gain in your shares, ETFs and new crypto, and collects it only when you sell or move on to a country outside the EU and EEA (§ 27 Abs. 6 Z 1 EStG). If the deferred gain is above €100,000, you must prove every year that you still hold the positions.

### Can I keep my Austrian bank account after moving abroad?

Yes, the law does not force you to close it, and keeping it until the final tax refund and your deposit return arrive saves the foreign IBAN workaround in FinanzOnline. Tell the bank your new address and tax residence. Under the GMSG, Austria's Common Reporting Standard law, the bank then reports the account to your new country every year. Check the account fee, because a package account keeps charging.

### Can I take my Abfertigung if I resign and leave Austria?

Not straight away. If you end the job yourself, § 14 Abs. 2 BMSVG bars a payout and the balance stays invested in the BV-Kasse. You can claim it once no contributions have been paid for you for five years (§ 14 Abs. 4 Z 3 BMSVG), from abroad, in writing. A payout is taxed at 6% (§ 67 Abs. 3 EStG). If your employer ended the job and you have 36 contribution months, you can claim at once.

### Do I still have to file an Austrian tax return after I leave?

For the year you leave, it usually pays to. Payroll withheld tax as if you would earn all year, so a mid-year exit tends to produce a refund, and you have five years to claim it (§ 41 Abs. 2 EStG). After you leave you are only taxed in Austria on Austrian income, such as rent from an Austrian flat. EU and EEA citizens with 90% of their income in Austria can opt to be taxed as residents (§ 1 Abs. 4 EStG).

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Source: https://www.how-to-austria.com/taxes/leaving-austria
Last updated: Updated: October 14 2026
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