Tax Refunds in Austria: How Arbeitnehmerveranlagung Works

If you work or receive a pension in Austria, your employer usually deducts wage tax (Lohnsteuer) each month. Because this calculation often does not exactly match your tax liability for the full year, the annual assessment may result in a refund. The official name is Arbeitnehmerveranlagung; it was previously called Jahresausgleich.

Why might you receive a tax refund?

Wage tax is calculated as if you earned the same amount throughout the year. If your income changed—for example, because you changed jobs or did not work for the entire year—the annual calculation spreads your tax liability across the year. You may then have paid too much, with the difference transferred directly to your bank account.

A refund is particularly likely if:

• you received different salaries during the year and your employer did not recalculate your tax through an Aufrollung,
• you changed employers or did not work for the whole year,
• you qualify for a partial refund of social security contributions because of low income (SV-Rückerstattung),
• you qualify for the single-earner or single-parent tax credit (Alleinverdiener- or Alleinerzieherabsetzbetrag), or the commuter allowance (Pendlerpauschale), but these were not included in payroll,
• you can claim work-related expenses (Werbungskosten), special expenses (Sonderausgaben) or extraordinary burdens (außergewöhnliche Belastungen).

What can you claim?

After the end of the year, you can claim various items on the L1 form, including:

• the single-earner or single-parent tax credit and the multiple-child supplement (Mehrkindzuschlag),
• the commuter allowance if your employer has not already considered it,
• additional health insurance contributions for co-insured relatives,
• further work-related expenses, such as professional literature or training,
• special expenses that are not transmitted automatically,
• the maintenance tax credit (Unterhaltsabsetzbetrag) and Familienbonus Plus, using the L1k attachment,
• extraordinary burdens, for example because of a disability, using the L1ab attachment.

Some special expenses, such as donations or the church contribution, are transmitted to the tax office by the organisation itself if it has your name and date of birth. You can check the reported amount in FinanzOnline.

When is filing mandatory?

A mandatory assessment (Pflichtveranlagung) applies when your annual income exceeds the relevant threshold and, for example, one of the situations below also applies.

• During part of the year, you had two or more taxable wage incomes at the same time that were not taxed together, such as a company pension alongside an ASVG pension.
• Your payroll included the single-earner credit, Pendlerpauschale or Familienbonus Plus, but the conditions were not met or an amount was claimed that you were not entitled to.

Income thresholds

• Up to 2022: 12,000 euros
• 2023: 12,756 euros
• 2024: 13,981 euros
• 2025: 14,517 euros
• 2026: 14,769 euros

If you had income in addition to employment income, such as business or rental income, and the combined amount exceeded 730 euros, you must submit an income tax return using the E1 form.

Deadlines

• Voluntary application: five years. For the 2025 tax year, you can apply until the end of December 2030.
• Mandatory filing on paper: April 30 of the following year.
• Mandatory online filing: June 30 of the following year.

If a voluntary application results in an additional payment and there is no mandatory reason to file, you can withdraw the application.

Automatic tax refunds

If you had only taxable employment income and do not claim additional expenses or tax credits, the assessment may take place without an application (antragslose Arbeitnehmerveranlagung). This requires that you do not submit an L1 for the previous year by June 30 and that the calculation shows a credit.

If you are included in this process for the first time, you will receive an information letter in the second half of the following year showing the bank account recorded for you. If the account is no longer current, you must report this within four weeks at the latest. You may still submit your own tax return within the five-year deadline after an automatic assessment; the earlier assessment will then be cancelled.

People receiving a low pension automatically receive part of their contributions back. For those entitled to the pensioner tax credit, the maximum refund is 710 euros in 2025 and 723 euros in 2026.

How to submit your application

You can submit the application electronically through FinanzOnline, by post or in person at the responsible tax office. The paper L1, L1k and L1ab forms cannot be downloaded, but they can be ordered online free of charge.

You do not need to attach your wage statement (Lohnzettel), because your employer sends it to the tax office. Invoices and supporting documents do not need to be attached either, but you must keep them for seven years in case they are requested.

Practical steps

1. Check whether you had changing income, multiple employers, commuting costs or other eligible expenses.
2. Review the relevant income threshold and determine whether your filing is voluntary or mandatory.
3. Collect invoices and supporting documents and keep them for seven years.
4. Submit the appropriate L1 forms through FinanzOnline, by post or in person.
5. Check your bank details and review the assessment notice when it arrives.

EU citizens living in Austria are generally subject to the same rules. This information is based on sources available online and is not professional advice. For individual advice, contact a lawyer, tax professional or other relevant specialist.

Source: oesterreich.gv.at