# Remote Work and Tax in Austria (2026)

> Under 50% telework keeps your employer-country insurance; a foreign salary still needs an Austrian return (L 1i). Who files, who pays.

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

Living in Austria and working from home for a foreign employer, you pay **Austrian income tax** on that salary: a home here makes you liable on worldwide income (**§ 1 EStG**). An employer without an Austrian base **does not have to withhold** (**§ 47 EStG**), so you file yourself on form **L 1i** and pay after the year ends. The **183-day rule** does not exempt you.

Inside the EU you are insured where you work. Working **25%** or more from your Austrian home moves you into Austrian social insurance, unless you use the **telework framework agreement** of **1 July 2023**, which allows up to **49.99%**. The **A1 certificate** proves which country covers you. Non-EU citizens get no **digital nomad permit** in Austria.

## Which Rules Apply to Your Remote-Work Situation?

| Your situation | Income tax | Social insurance | Who does the paperwork | Key document |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Live in Austria, 100% home office for an EU employer | Austria | Austria (Art. 11 Reg. 883/2004) | Employer registers with the ÖGK, or agrees you pay; you file L 1i | L 1i, Lohnbescheinigung (§ 84a EStG) |
| Live in Austria, 25% to 49.99% at home, rest at the office in Germany | Split by workdays under the treaty | Germany, on application (framework agreement) | Employer applies in Germany | A1 from the German insurer |
| Live in Austria, under 25% at home, rest abroad | Split by workdays under the treaty | Employer's country, no application | Employer | A1 |
| Live in Austria, 100% home office for a US or other non-EU employer | Austria | Austria; you pay **both shares** (§ 53 Abs. 3 lit. b ASVG) | Mostly you | L 1i |
| Austrian employer, you move to Spain and work from there | Spain for days worked there | Spain, unless an exception is agreed | Employer applies to the Sozialministerium (Art. 16) | A1 from the Austrian insurer if granted |
| Non-EU citizen, wants to live in Austria and keep a foreign job | Austria, once resident | Austria | You | No permit exists for this case |

Our summary, as of 14 October 2026, from [EStG §§ 1, 47, 84a](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10004570), [ASVG § 53](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10008147), Regulations 883/2004 and 987/2009, and the [Sozialministerium](https://www.sozialministerium.gv.at/Themen/Soziales/Sozialversicherung/Sozialversicherung-International/Sozialversichert-in-mehreren-Staaten.html) page on insurance in several states (updated 3 August 2026). Spain stands in for any EU state.

Remote work raises three questions that run on separate rules: who taxes the salary, which social insurance applies, and who does the paperwork. Income tax follows where you live and where you physically sit, under **§ 1 EStG** and the tax treaties. Social insurance follows **Regulation (EC) 883/2004** inside the EU, with its own **25%** and **50%** thresholds. The two can land in different countries.

The paperwork usually lands on you. A foreign employer without an Austrian establishment has no duty to run Austrian payroll, so nobody withholds Austrian tax during the year. You file an **Austrian return** after the year ends and pay the tax in one sum. Plan for that bill from the first month, because it can run to a five-figure amount.

## When Does Austria Tax Your Remote Salary?

| Test | Rule | Effect |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Home (Wohnsitz) | A flat you keep and use, § 26 Abs. 1 BAO | Unlimited liability from day one |
| Habitual abode | Stay of more than **six months**, § 26 Abs. 2 BAO | Unlimited liability, including the first six months |
| Homes in two countries | Treaty tie-breaker (Art. 4): permanent home, then centre of vital interests, then habitual abode, then nationality | One country counts as your residence state |
| Where the salary is taxed | Treaty Art. 15: where the work is physically done | Days at your desk in Austria are Austrian workdays |

Sources: [§ 1 EStG](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10004570) and [§ 26 BAO](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10003940) on RIS, 14 October 2026. Article numbers follow the OECD Model Convention, which Austria's treaties largely mirror; check the treaty with your employer's country.

Austria taxes you on everything you earn once you have a home here or stay longer than **six months**. **§ 1 Abs. 2 EStG** calls this unlimited liability, and **§ 26 BAO** defines the home and the six-month stay. A rented flat you actually live in is enough, whether in Vienna, Graz or a village. Your employer's country and your passport play no role at this stage.

The tax treaty then decides who may tax the salary. Under **Article 15**, a salary is taxed in the country where the work is done, and for a remote worker that is the room with the laptop. The famous **183-day rule** protects short business trips abroad, not people who live in Austria. If you work from **Graz** for a **Munich** employer, Austria taxes the days in Graz.

Where you keep homes in two countries, the treaty's **tie-breaker** picks one residence state. It looks first at a permanent home, then at your **centre of vital interests**: family, flat, social ties. Commuters to **Germany** and **Switzerland** also have special frontier-worker rules in those treaties, which our [income tax guide](/taxes/income-tax) does not cover; check them before you sign.

## What Does a Foreign Employer Have to Do in Austria?

| Duty | Employer with an Austrian establishment | Employer without one |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Withhold Austrian wage tax | Yes | **Voluntary** (§ 47 Abs. 1 lit. b EStG) |
| Report your pay to the tax office | Lohnzettel by end of February (§ 84 EStG) | **Lohnbescheinigung** by end of February online, end of January on paper (§ 84a EStG), if Austria is your main workplace for more than 6 months a year |
| Social insurance (EU employer) | Registers you with the ÖGK | Same duties, or agrees in writing that you pay (Art. 21 Reg. 987/2009) |
| Social insurance (non-EU employer) | Registers you with the ÖGK | You pay the full contribution (§ 53 Abs. 3 lit. b ASVG) |

Sources: [EStG §§ 47, 84, 84a](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10004570) and [ASVG § 53](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10008147) on RIS, 14 October 2026; Regulation 987/2009, Art. 21.

The tax side is light for the employer. **§ 47 Abs. 1 lit. b EStG** lets an employer without an Austrian establishment withhold wage tax, but does not make it. What it must do is send a **Lohnbescheinigung** under **§ 84a EStG** when you are resident here and Austria is your main workplace for more than six months a year. That tells the tax office your salary before you have filed.

The bigger worry for employers is a **permanent establishment**, which would make the company itself taxable in Austria. The **OECD** clarified its model commentary in **November 2025**, and the **BMF** followed with an information of **4 January 2026**, according to the law firm [CMS](https://cms.law/de/aut/news-information/tax-news-homeoffice-wie-vermeiden-sie-betriebsstaetten-risiken). A home office now creates one only if you work there at least **50%** of your time over **12 months** and the company has a business reason for your presence, such as Austrian clients.

Retention is not such a reason. An employer that lets you work from Austria because you moved for family reasons carries little permanent-establishment risk under the 2026 line, which removes the most common argument HR departments used to refuse the request. Austrian practice before 2026 was stricter than Germany's, so older advice on this point is out of date.

## How Do You File Your Own Austrian Tax Return?

| €60,000 gross, German employer, home office in Graz | Paid in 12 instalments | Paid in 14 instalments, L 17 filed |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Social insurance, 18.07% | €10,842.00 | €10,842.00 |
| Regular pay taxed at band rates | €49,158.00 | €42,135.43 |
| Income tax on regular pay, after €496 Verkehrsabsetzbetrag | €10,614.40 | €7,805.37 |
| Tax on 13th and 14th salary at 6% | Not applicable | €384.15 |
| Total income tax | **€10,614.40** | **€8,189.53** |
| Net per year | €38,543.60 | **€40,968.47**, €2,424.87 more |

Our calculation for tax year 2026. Method: 2026 bands from our [income tax guide](/taxes/income-tax) (0% to €13,539, 20% to €21,992, 30% to €36,458, 40% to €70,365); employee social insurance 18.07% on all pay, below the 2026 ceilings; Verkehrsabsetzbetrag €496; 13th and 14th salary taxed at 6% after the €620 allowance, within the Jahressechstel. No Werbungskosten, no other income, no Familienbonus. The 14-payment column needs a full L 17, per the BMF.

Without Austrian withholding, the return is mandatory. The [BMF](https://www.bmf.gv.at/themen/steuern/arbeitnehmerveranlagung/lohnsteuer-mit-auslandsbezug/einkuenfte-nichtselbststaendige-arbeit-mit-auslandsbezug.html) lists income from a foreign employer not obliged to withhold among the cases of compulsory assessment. You file form **L 1** with the annex **L 1i** on **FinanzOnline** and enter the salary minus expenses in **Kennzahl 359**. The deadline is **30 April** on paper or **30 June** online of the following year.

How your employer splits the salary changes the bill. Paid as **12 instalments**, all of it is taxed at band rates. Paid as **14 instalments**, the two extra payments count as a **13th and 14th salary** and are taxed at **6%**. The BMF grants that rate only with a complete **L 17** wage statement. On **€60,000**, the difference in our example is **€2,424.87** a year, for the same gross pay.

The first bill is the shock. Nothing is withheld in year one, so the whole tax arrives with the assessment in year two. After that, the tax office sets **quarterly prepayments** based on the last assessment. Put the monthly equivalent, about **€885** in the 12-instalment case, into a separate account from your first payslip.

### Ask for the 14-payment split

Many foreign employers can pay the same annual gross in **14 instalments** if you ask before the contract is signed. Combined with an **L 17** from the employer, it is the single largest saving a remote worker in Austria can arrange alone.

## Which Country's Social Insurance Applies to You?

| Share of work in your home country | Insured in | Application |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Under **25%** | Employer's country | None needed |
| **25%** to **49.99%**, telework only | Employer's country, on application | Framework agreement; in Austria handled by the Dachverband |
| **50%** or more | Home country, unless an exception is agreed | Art. 16 Reg. 883/2004; in Austria, joint application to the Sozialministerium |
| **100%** from home, no other country | Home country | Employer registers you there |

Source: [Sozialministerium](https://www.sozialministerium.gv.at/Themen/Soziales/Sozialversicherung/Sozialversicherung-International/Sozialversichert-in-mehreren-Staaten.html), insurance in several states, updated 3 August 2026; Regulation 883/2004, Art. 11, 13 and 16. Exceptions are granted for up to 3 years and can be renewed.

Inside the **EU**, the **EEA** and **Switzerland** you are insured in one country only, normally where you physically work. **Article 11** of **Regulation 883/2004** sets that rule. Someone who works entirely from a flat in **Linz** for a **Dutch** employer is therefore insured in Austria, with the **ÖGK**, whatever the contract says.

Mixed weeks are where the thresholds bite. Working **25%** or more in your home country moves you into its system. The multilateral **framework agreement on cross-border telework**, in force since **1 July 2023**, lets employer and employee keep the employer's system up to **49.99%** of telework, on application. In Austria the **Dachverband** handles the 25 to 49% cases, and the **Sozialministerium** handles anything from 50% under Article 16.

The **A1** certificate is the proof. It shows the other country which system covers you, so it does not charge contributions as well. With a **non-EU employer**, Austrian law applies and nobody coordinates: **§ 53 Abs. 3 lit. b ASVG** makes the employee of an employer without an Austrian establishment pay the full contribution, the employer's share included. For questions on which law applies, the **ÖGK** runs a hotline at **+43 5 0766-6100**.

Illustration of a tax form with a percentage, a coin stack, and a government building, for the Austrian tax system.

## What If You Work From Abroad for an Austrian Employer?

Moving away while keeping an Austrian job turns the rules around. Once you give up your Austrian home, you have only **limited tax liability** here under **§ 1 Abs. 3 EStG**. Under the treaties your new country taxes the days you work there, and Austria keeps the days you still work in Austria. Your Austrian employer may then have payroll duties in the new country.

For social insurance, working **25%** or more from your new EU home moves you into its system. To stay with the **ÖGK**, you and your employer apply jointly to the **Sozialministerium** under **Article 16** of Regulation 883/2004, or use the framework agreement below **50%**. If the exception is granted, the Austrian insurer issues the **A1** you carry abroad.

Two Austrian benefits deserve a check before you go. EU and EEA citizens who still earn **90%** of their income in Austria can opt to be taxed as residents under **§ 1 Abs. 4 EStG**, which restores the resident allowances and credits. And if you move out of the EU, read our guide to [leaving Austria](/taxes/leaving-austria) for the exit tax on investments.

## Can Non-EU Citizens Work Remotely From Austria?

| Route | Allows work for a foreign employer? | Catch |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Digital nomad permit | Does not exist in Austria | No remote-worker category as of October 2026 |
| Settlement permit except gainful employment, § 44 NAG | **No**, gainful activity is excluded | Quota place needed; income of twice the ASVG reference rate |
| Red-White-Red Card, EU Blue Card (§ 42 NAG) | Only with an Austrian employer | Tied to a job in Austria |
| Red-White-Red Card for self-employed key workers | Self-employment in Austria, not a foreign job | Must bring a benefit to the Austrian economy |
| Visa-free Schengen stay | No gainful work | 90 days in any 180 |

Sources: [NAG §§ 42 and 44](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=20004242) on RIS, 14 October 2026; [oesterreich.gv.at](https://www.oesterreich.gv.at/en/themen/menschen_aus_anderen_staaten/aufenthalt/3/3.html) checklist for third-country nationals. This is general information; an immigration lawyer should check your case.

Austria has no **digital nomad visa**. Unlike Spain, Croatia or Portugal, it offers no residence permit for someone who lives here and works for a foreign employer or foreign clients. The work permits it does issue, the **Red-White-Red Card** and the **EU Blue Card** under **§ 42 NAG**, assume a job with an Austrian employer.

The route people suggest instead does not fit. The **settlement permit except gainful employment** under **§ 44 NAG** needs a free quota place and fixed income of twice the ASVG reference rate, and it excludes gainful activity by its name. Holding it while working full time for a foreign company contradicts the permit you were given.

The legal routes all involve Austria directly. You can take a job with an Austrian employer, set up a business that qualifies as a **self-employed key worker**, or come as a family member with free labour-market access. Our [work visa guide](/visa/work-visa) and [freelance visa guide](/visa/freelance-visa) cover those routes.

## Which Laws and Authorities Govern Remote Work?

| Part | What applies |
| --- | --- |
| Law | [§ 1 and § 47 EStG](https://www.ris.bka.gv.at/GeltendeFassung.wxe?Abfrage=Bundesnormen&Gesetzesnummer=10004570) (tax liability, withholding), [Regulation (EC) 883/2004](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2004/883/oj), Art. 11 to 16 (social insurance) |
| Authority | [BMF](https://www.bmf.gv.at/themen/steuern/arbeitnehmerveranlagung/lohnsteuer-mit-auslandsbezug/einkuenfte-nichtselbststaendige-arbeit-mit-auslandsbezug.html) for income tax; [Sozialministerium](https://www.sozialministerium.gv.at/Themen/Soziales/Sozialversicherung/Sozialversicherung-International/Sozialversichert-in-mehreren-Staaten.html) for Art. 16 exceptions |
| Neutral tool | [BMF calculation programs](https://www.bmf.gv.at/services/berechnungsprogramme.html), official and advertising-free, including the gross-net calculator |
| Your right | Since **1 July 2023**, an EU cross-border teleworker can stay insured in the employer's country up to **49.99%** telework, on application, for up to **3 years** at a time. |

The figures on this page move. The 2026 tax bands rose by **1.7333%** against 2025, the permanent-establishment line changed in **January 2026**, and the framework agreement renews every five years. Re-check the BMF and Sozialministerium pages before you sign a remote contract.

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Do I pay tax in Austria if I work remotely for a foreign company?

Yes, if you live in Austria. A home here, or a stay of more than six months, makes you liable on your worldwide income (§ 1 Abs. 2 EStG, § 26 BAO). Under the tax treaties a salary is taxed where the work is physically done, so days at your desk in Vienna are Austrian workdays. A foreign employer without an Austrian base does not have to withhold, so you file the return yourself on form L 1i.

### Is there a digital nomad visa in Austria?

No. Austria has no residence permit for people who live here and work for a foreign employer or foreign clients. The Red-White-Red Card and the EU Blue Card are tied to an Austrian employer, and the settlement permit except gainful employment (§ 44 NAG) excludes work by its name and is subject to a quota. A visa-free Schengen stay of up to 90 days in 180 does not cover gainful work either.

### Does the 183-day rule let me work from Austria tax-free?

No. The 183-day rule in Article 15 of the tax treaties protects short business trips: a resident of one country who works fewer than 183 days in the other, for an employer from the home country, stays taxed at home. It does not help someone who lives in Austria. If your home is here, Austria taxes the days you work here, whatever your employer's country.

### Does my foreign employer have to register me with the ÖGK?

If Austrian social insurance applies to you, yes in principle. An EU employer without an Austrian establishment has the same duties as a local one, but it can agree with you that you pay the contributions yourself (Art. 21 Regulation 987/2009). A non-EU employer without an Austrian establishment shifts the whole contribution to you: § 53 Abs. 3 lit. b ASVG makes the employee pay both shares. The ÖGK hotline is +43 5 0766-6100.

### Can I telework 40% from Austria for a German employer and keep German social insurance?

Yes, on application. The EU framework agreement on cross-border telework, in force since 1 July 2023, lets you work up to 49.99% from your home country and stay insured in the employer's country. Without it, 25% or more at home moves you into Austrian social insurance. In Austria the Dachverband handles the simpler 25 to 49% cases. The exception runs for up to 3 years and can be renewed.

### Do I need an A1 certificate for remote work?

You need one whenever you work in an EU country whose social insurance does not apply to you. The A1 is the portable document that shows which country's system covers you, so the other country does not charge contributions too. A German-insured teleworker living in Austria needs it, and so does an Austrian-insured employee working from Spain. The competent insurer issues it.

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