Tax deductions – Tax scales and tax deductions | Austrian Tax Book 2025

B. Tax deductions

Family Bonus Plus

Amount:

€166.68 per month (€2,000.16 per year) for children up to their 18th birthday
€58.34 per month (€700.08 per year) after their 18th birthday
As long as the child is entitled to family allowance.

Entitlement: Parents subject to unlimited tax liability if the child is entitled to family allowance, i.e.:

The recipient of the family allowance
The spouse/partner of the recipient of the family allowance
The support money debtor who provides the legal maintenance for the child and who is entitled to a support money deduction

The Family Bonus Plus can be considered for each child at most once annually in full, and reduces income tax at most to zero.

Information:

The Family Bonus Plus can be requested during the year from the employer or within the framework of employee tax assessment (see page 129).
When requesting the Family Bonus Plus from the employer, employees must submit Form E 30 and the corresponding evidence of family allowance or maintenance payments. The Family Bonus Plus is then considered in payroll accounting, reducing monthly wage tax.
When changing jobs, Form E 30 must also be submitted to the new employer.

When the child reaches the age of 18, the employer must stop considering the Family Bonus Plus.
If family allowance continues, the (reduced) Family Bonus Plus can again be requested from the employer using Form E 30 with relevant evidence.

If the Family Bonus Plus is already considered in payroll accounting, and if the circumstances on which the application is based change, the employee must report this. An amendment report by means of Form E 31 is required, for example:

Change of the beneficiary of the family allowance
Lapse of the family allowance
Termination of a marriage or partnership
Lapse of the support money deduction entitlement

Important
If you submit an employee tax assessment, you must apply for the Family Bonus Plus again—even if you have already requested it from your employer—, otherwise you may be liable to an unwanted additional tax payment.

Transportation deduction

Amount: €463 per year (€487 in 2025)
Entitlement: Employees

Information:
The transportation deduction is automatically considered by the employer. The expenses for travelling between home and work are settled by a lump sum.
Employees who live at a greater distance from their place of work or who cannot reasonably be expected to use public transport may, under certain circumstances, claim a lump sum for commuters as income-related expenses (see page 47).

If entitled to a lump sum for commuters, the transportation deduction increases to €798 if your income does not exceed €14,106 in the calendar year. The increased transportation deduction is reduced, phasing-in uniformly, to €463 between an income of €14,106 and €15,030. In 2024, the transportation deduction amount will increase by €752 (supplement) if the taxpayer’s income does not exceed €18,499. The increased deduction is reduced, phasing-in uniformly, to zero between €18,499 and €28,326.

The surcharge is considered in the context of the employee tax assessment.

Commuters’ euro

If entitled to a lump sum for commuters (see page 45), there is also entitlement to a commuters’ euro.
The commuter benefit is €2 per kilometre of one-way distance between home and work per calendar year. This can be verified via the commuter calculator.

Pensioner deduction

Amount: up to €954 per year (up to €1,002 in 2025)
Entitlement: Pensioners

Information:
The agency paying out your pension settles the pensioner deduction automatically.

For a pension income up to €20,233, it amounts to €954. For pension incomes between €20,233 and €29,482, a phasing-in rule applies. Pensioner deductions may not be claimed for higher pension payments.

Increased pensioner deduction

Amount: €1,405 per year (up to €1,476 in 2025)
Entitlement: Pensioners

Information: The increased pensioner deduction is applicable if:

the current pension income does not exceed €23,043 during the year,
the pensioner lives in a marriage or registered partnership for more than six months (not permanently separated),
the spouse/partner has realised incomes of no more than €2,545 per year, and
there is no entitlement to the single-earner tax credit.

This tax deduction is reduced, phasing-in uniformly, to zero between taxable current pension income of € 23,043 and € 29,482. Even if the benefits have already been considered during the year by the agency paying out the pension (to be requested from the agency paying out the pension using Form E 30), do not forget to apply for these also in the employee tax assessment (Form L 1). Otherwise, there will be an unintentional subsequent taxation.

Note
It is not possible to simultaneously claim pensioner deduction and transportation deduction. If within any one year there are incomes from both active employment and from pensions, the transportation deduction is applicable

Single-earner and single-parent tax credit

As a rule, this tax credit is due if there is a claim to the child deduction under section 33(3) of the Austrian Income Tax Act 1988 for more than six months.
Starting with the second child, there are graded deductions:

Increase	Number of children	Tax credit 2024
—	1 child	€572
+ €202	2 children	€774
+ €255*	3 children	€1,029

* The €255 increase applies also to any further child. (2025 amounts on page 25)

If you have a low income and are entitled to claim the single-earner or single-parent tax credit, payment of these amounts is possible.

Entitlement to single-earner tax credit

The single-earner tax credit is due if a taxpayer with at least one child as defined in section 106, para. 1 of the Austrian Income Tax Act 1988 is, for more than six months in the calendar year,
• married or a registered partner and not permanently separated from his or her spouse/partner subject to unlimited tax liability, or
• lives in a domestic partnership with a person with unlimited tax liability, and
• the spouse/partner receives income in 2024 of no more than € 6,937 in the calendar year (€ 7,284 in 2025).

Only one person is entitled to the single-earner tax credit. If both persons meet the requirements (e.g. a student couple with one child), then only the person with the higher income may claim the deduction. If neither partner realises any income, or if their incomes are of equal amounts, the tax deduction may be claimed by the person running the household.

Entitlement to single-parent tax credit

Single parents are entitled to a single-parent tax credit. Single parents are taxpayers who do not live with at least one child for more than six months in a calendar year in a community with a spouse/partner and who receive family allowance for more than six months. Anyone who lives in cohabitation with a (new) partner for more than six months in a calendar year is not a single parent.

How are the income limits calculated for the spouse/partner?

The taxable income including other remunerations such as 13th/14th monthly salary (if and insofar as it exceeds the tax-exempt amount of € 2,447 per year; in 2025 the tax-exempt amount is € 2,570), severance payments or pension settlements are relevant. This means that the following amounts are deducted from the gross remunerations in order to determine the limits:
• Social security contributions
• Contributions for voluntary membership in professional bodies (e.g. contributions to the Austrian Trade Union Federation)
• Lump sum for commuters
• Other income-related expenses (for employees the lump sum of € 132 per year as a minimum)
• Tax-exempt supplements for overtime, Sunday or holiday work, as well as supplements for night work, and tax-exempt pay for dirty work, hardship or hazards at work.

In the event of several types of income, the total amount of all income is relevant. Family allowance, childcare benefits, unemployment benefits and poverty relief assistance, as well as maintenance payments, like most other tax-exempt income, are not to be considered for the calculation of income thresholds.

By contrast, the income of the spouse/partner from private sales of real estate—unless exempted from taxation pursuant to section 30 para. 2 of the Austrian Income Tax Act 1988 (EStG, Einkommensteuergesetz)—and from capital assets (e.g. interest, stock dividends) is to be considered even if finally taxed.

Moreover, the tax-exempt maternity allowance must be included into the limit on income, as well as all tax-free income as a temporary employee, tax-exempt remunerations from benefited foreign employment, development-aid activities and other tax-exempt income abroad based on bilateral (double taxation agreements) or international-law agreements (e.g. UNIDO, IAEO).

Example
Calculation of the income limit for 2024 (taxpayer with one child)

Gross remunerations € 8,400.00
– Social security contributions for current remunerations € 1,285.08
– Lump sum for income-related expenses € 132.00
– Other remunerations (including social security benefits) within the tax-exempt threshold € 1,200.00
Income from employment € 5,782.92

If the taxpayer had also received a severance payment of € 1,300, he/ she would have exceeded the relevant limit on income, i.e. € 6,937.

How is the limiting amount determined upon marriage, divorce or death of a spouse/partner or in case of a registered partnership?

The income of the whole year is always taken as a basis for determining the limiting amount. If a marriage or marriage-like partnership is entered into in the course of a calendar year, the income of the spouse/partner or registered partner, both for the period before and after the marriage, must be included in the calculation of the limiting amount. Similarly, the income of the previous spouse/partner or registered partner must also be included upon divorce, or the remuneration received as widow’s/widower’s pension upon the death of a spouse/partner or registered partner.

How to claim the single-earner or single-parent tax credit?

Over the course of the calendar year, the employer or the agency paying out the pension can consider the single-earner or single-parent tax credit if you provide the employer with the relevant declaration (Form E 30).

If you have several parallel employment contracts, you may submit this declaration only to one employer. If the requirements for your claim cease to be met over the course of the year (e.g. because your spouse’s/partner’s income exceeds the relevant limits, or in case of divorce), you must inform your employer or the agency paying out the pension within one month (Form E 31). In addition, you must file a statement in connection with your employee tax assessment after the end of the year. After the end of the calendar year, you can retrospectively claim the single-earner or single-parent tax credit from the tax office by way of an employee tax assessment.

Note
Even if your employer has already considered the single-earner or single-parent tax credit in the course of the year, you should not forget to fill in the data regarding the single-earner or single-parent tax credit in the tax return in the course of your employee tax assessment. Otherwise there may be undesired subsequent taxation of the single-earner or single-parent tax credit.

Support money deduction

Amount: € 35/month for the first child, € 52 for the second child and € 69 for the third and each additional child receiving support.
Entitlement: Support money payers
Information: A support money payer is a person who demonstrably pays for a child not living in the household
• for whom neither the support money payer nor the spouse/partner of the same who lives in the same household receives a family allowance,
• the statutory child support (alimony). The support money deduction becomes effective only later in the course of the employee tax assessment.

For children not living in the household in European Union/European Economic Area-Raum/EEA area plus Switzerland, the support money deduction may likewise be claimed. For children not living in the household outside the EU/EEA area plus Switzerland, one-half of the adequate child support can be asserted as extraordinary burdens.

What to keep in mind regarding the support money deduction?

You may only claim the full support money deduction if you have complied fully with your statutory support obligation. Proof of payment must be provided upon request by presenting written documents (proof of payment, confirmation of receipt). If alimony was paid only partially, the tax credit is to be granted only for the months for which the full amount of alimony can be calculated. If one-half of the maintenance is paid for a calendar year, the support money deduction is therefore due for six months.

No support money deduction may be claimed for children of full age, if the parent living separately does not receive the family allowance. For more information on the support money deduction and how to apply for it, see page 131.

Child deduction

Amount: € 67.80 per month and child (€ 70.90 in 2025). Child deduction is paid out together with the family allowance.
Entitlement: Persons receiving family allowance
Information: Child deduction does not have a direct effect on tax calculation. No child deduction may be claimed for children who permanently live abroad (not only on a temporary basis such as for training purposes). However, on the basis of Community-law provisions, EU citizens working in Austria and nationals of the EEA Member States (Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) as well as Swiss citizens whose children live permanently in an EU/EEA Member State or in Switzerland are also entitled to child deduction in addition to the family allowance.

Child bonus for low-income earners

Amount: € 60 per month and child
Entitlement: Low-income single earners or single parents
Information: From 2025, single earners and single parents with children under 18 years of age who have only a low income will receive a supplement to the child deduction. This supplement amounts to € 60 per month and child and is paid together with the child deduction.

Multiple-child bonus

Amount: € 23.30/month for the third and every additional child (€ 24.40 in 2025).
Entitlement: Persons receiving family allowance for a minimum of three children. The family income must not exceed € 55,000. The spouse/partner of the person receiving the family allowance can apply for the multiple-child bonus when the person receiving the family allowance disclaims it.
Information: The multiple-child bonus is paid out by the tax office upon application.

What amount of family income is allowed when claiming a multiple-child bonus?

If the family income did not exceed the amount of € 55,000 in 2025, there is entitlement to the multiple-child bonus for 2024. The family income is the total of the taxable income of the person filing the claim plus the taxable income of the spouse/partner. However, the incomes are added up only if both spouses/partners live in the same household for more than six months during the calendar year in question. If either spouse/partner has a negative income, this does not reduce the family income (no compensation of losses).

How to apply for the multiple-child bonus?

As a rule, the multiple-child bonus has to be applied for each calendar year by way of the employee tax assessment (Form L 1 or FinanzOnline). If no employee tax assessment is carried out, you can claim the payment from the tax office using Form E 4. The spouse/partner of the person receiving the family allowance can likewise apply for the multiple-child bonus in his/her employee tax assessment (Form L 1 or FinanzOnline) or by using Form E 4. In this case, the recipient of the family allowance must submit a statement of waiver to the tax office upon request.

Example
A taxpayer with four children, who receives family allowance for the children, applies for the multiple-child bonus for 2025 in his/her employee tax assessment for 2024. In 2024, that taxpayer had an income of € 25,000; the spouse/partner had an income to the amount of € 28,000; this adds up to a family income of € 53,000. As a result, the requirements are met, and the taxpayer or the taxpayer’s spouse/partner may apply for the multiple-child bonus.