We offer the following services:
- Book-keeping
- Preparation and submission of VAT returns
- Preparation of accounts
- Completion and filing of online company tax returns
- Tax advice for small/medium sized businesses and individuals
- Tax Advice for large sized and international businesses
- Resident and non-resident tax advice
BUSINESS SET UP
You can set up the following types of business in Austria:
- Limited liability company (GmbH)
- Stock corporation (AG)
- General partnership (OHG)
- Limited partnership (KG)
All businesses have a legal requirement to keep full and complete books and records.
LIMITED COMPANIES / GMBH
– Stock Corporation / AG
A minimum share capital €70,000 is required for Stock Corporations, as well as at least two shareholders.
– General Partnership/OHG
All partners involved carry unlimited liability for the Partnership.
– Limited Partnership/KG
At least one partner of the Partnership has unlimited liability.
For Austria incorporation, a business with limited liability (GmbH) is by far the most usual form of company. A GmbH is a legal entity. Shareholders are not personally responsible for the liabilities of the company, except for the obligation to pay up their capital contributions.
Statutory share capital is € 35.000. At least € 17.500 of this sum has to be paid in.
MAIN TAXES IN AUSTRIA
There are two main types of tax in Austria:
- Corporate Tax
- Personal Income Tax
There may be additional taxes for certain kinds of income such as speculative ventures. These are exposed to a Capital Gains Tax, provided that the holding of such assets does not exceed a certain period of time.
There is no net Wealth Tax, no Gift Tax and no Inheritance Tax levied in Austria.
CORPORATION TAX
This is based on the profits of the business which in case of corporate entities and registered partnership is defined on an accrual basis:
Corporate Tax rates are as follows;
Corporate Income Tax is 25%
Businesses are required to pay a Minimum Corporate Income Tax (MCT) whether they are profitable or not.
MCT is €3,500 per year for AG companies, or €1750 for GmbH companies founded before 30th June 2013. For new GmbH companies, MCT is €500 a year for the first five years, and €1000 for the next five years.
Non-resident businesses are dealt with in the same way as non-resident individuals. They are liable to pay Corporation Tax on Austrian source income.
Holding companies
Holding companies are usually established in the form of a GmbH (company with limited liability). These are companies due to unlimited tax liability whereby the Austrian Corporate Income Tax Act foresees material tax exemptions for foreign source income. There is no minimum shareholding required, only a minimum holding period of one year is necessary to obtain tax exempt dividend income and tax exempt capital gains from foreign shareholdings.
Austria does not know any CFC-legislation and such income is tax exempt regardless of whether the foreign subsidiary is in a jurisdiction which has a tax treaty with Austria or not and this exemption even applies when this foreign subsidiary is tax exempt according to foreign legislation.
Austria offers the best group taxation system worldwide, losses suffered by foreign subsidiaries or foreign permanent establishments can be set off from the domestic tax base of the Austrian corporate shareholder.
VAT
- The standard VAT rate is 20%
- A lower VAT rate of 10% applies to certain foodstuffs, media and certain services, among other output
- 13% and zero-rated tax bands also exist, but are much more rarely applied
PERSONAL INCOME TAX
| Bracket | Annual income | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | up to €11 000 | 0% |
| 2 | €11 000 – €18 000 | 25% |
| 3 | €18 000 – €31 000 | 35% |
| 4 | €31 000 – €60 000 | 42% |
| 5 | €60 000 – €90 000 | 48% |
| 6 | €90 000 – €1 000 000 | 50% |
| 7 | over €1 000 000 | 55% |
The effective tax burden resulting from these formulas is as follows:
| Profit | Tax | Tax in % |
| 5.000 | 0 | 0,00 |
| 10.000 | 0 | 0,00 |
| 15.000 | 1.460 | 9,73 |
| 20.000 | 3.285 | 16,43 |
| 25.000 | 5.110 | 20,44 |
| 30.000 | 7.271 | 24,24 |
| 35.000 | 9.431 | 26,95 |
| 40.000 | 11.592 | 28,98 |
| 45.000 | 13.753 | 30,56 |
| 50.000 | 15.914 | 31,83 |
| 55.000 | 18.074 | 32,86 |
| 65.000 | 22.735 | 34,98 |
| 70.000 | 25.235 | 36,05 |
CAPITAL GAINS TAX
This is due on any sale of assets and other items of a capital nature, although there are many exemptions.
Make an enquiry
For further information, please contact us on +44 (0)208 421 7474 or fill in the form below: