E. Remunerations in kind

What exactly are remunerations in kind? Usually, employees are paid in cash. The payment may (partly) also be made in kind (remunerations in kind). Remunerations in kind must be valued at the mean price they command in the place where they are consumed and taxed accordingly. For most remunerations in kind, such as personal use of a company car Rz 168–187, uniform values have been established, which are applied throughout Austria.

However, certain remunerations in kind are expressly tax-exempt under the Income Tax Act (e.g. Christmas gifts as well as remunerations in kind received on the occasion of a service or company anniversary up to €186, company events up to €365, or catering at the workplace). Rz 78 ff, 93 ff

Examples of taxable remunerations in kind:

• Company car Rz 168–187 If an employee uses a company-owned motor vehicle for private journeys, then this is to be considered remuneration in kind on a monthly basis at 2% of the acquisition costs (including VAT), up to a maximum of €960 per month. A remuneration in kind amounting to 1.5% of the acquisition costs of the motor vehicle (maximum €720 per month) is to be recognised if the CO₂ emission value is below a certain limit. This limit depends on the date of first registration of the motor vehicle. If the first registration took place in calendar year 2025, the limit for the more favourable tax rate is 126 grams per kilometre. No benefit-in-kind value is applied to motor vehicles with CO₂ emissions of 0 grams per kilometre. If the company-owned motor vehicle can be shown to have been used for private journeys of no more than 500 km per month, averaged over the year, half the value is to be taxed as remuneration in kind. Private journeys also include travel between home and work. If a motor vehicle owned by the employer is available to an employee/a worker for travelling between home and work, the employee/worker is entitled neither to a lump sum for commuters nor to a commuter euro.
• Carport or garage space Rz 188–203 If an employer provides an employee with a carport or garage space free of charge during working hours, then a remuneration in kind of €14.53 per month must be added to the wage tax assessment base. This amount only needs to be added when the carport or garage space is located in a restricted parking area ("blue zone"). No further remuneration in kind needs to be added beyond the employee's contribution of €14.53 per month paid to the employer.
• Loans by the employer and salary advances Rz 207k–207w Up to an amount of €7,300, no remuneration in kind needs to be entered for interest-free or low-interest salary advances and loans by the employer. Starting on 1 January 2024, the computation of the monthly remuneration in kind must differentiate between whether the salary advance or loan by the employer is subject to a fixed or variable interest rate. For salary advances and loans by the employer with a variable interest rate, an interest saving of 4.5% is to be applied in 2025 and of 3% in 2026. If no interest rate or fixed interest rate has been agreed, the monthly monetary benefit is to be determined by reducing the lending rate published by the Austrian National Bank in the month the contract was concluded (lending rate for new loans to private households for housing with an initial interest rate fixed for ten years) by 10%, and then calculating the difference between this interest rate and the agreed fixed interest rate. The monetary benefit thus determined is to be applied for the entire repayment period.
• Company accommodation Rz 149–162e If an employer provides an employee with company accommodation free of charge or at a reduced rate, this also constitutes a taxable remuneration in kind. If the accommodation is close to the workplace but is not the focal point of the employee's life, no remuneration in kind is to be applied up to a size of 35 m². At a size of more than 35 m², but not more than 45 m², the amount taxed at a preferential rate is to be reduced by 35% if the accommodation is close to the workplace and is provided by the same employer for a continuous period of no more than twelve months.
• Incentive trip Rz 220 Incentive trips offered to motivate staff members are a taxable remuneration in kind.

Examples of tax-exempt remunerations in kind:

• Laptop, desktop computers Rz 214a If an employee is provided with a laptop or desktop computer that is used regularly for professional purposes but can also be used privately, this does not constitute a taxable remuneration in kind.
• (Mobile) telephone Rz 214 The occasional private use of a (mobile) telephone belonging to the employer is not a taxable remuneration in kind either.