Tax Newsletter - Austria 3/2017

The Real Estate Transfer Tax Act has been subject to numerous changes in the past year.

Austria has introduced new VAT rules for luxury residential properties exceeding EUR 2 million in total costs, fundamentally changing the tax treatment that has long distinguished the country's approach from standard EU frameworks. Starting January 2026, these high-value properties will face mandatory VAT exemption, eliminating the input VAT deduction rights that previously provided significant liquidity advantages to developers and landlords. The threshold calculation encompasses acquisition, construction,

The Austrian Ministry of Finance recently summarized the cases where residence certificates issued on non-Austrian forms will be accepted.

Under Austrian tax law, not only the transfer of Austrian real estate, but also the transfer or consolidation of 95% of the shares in a property-owning company, triggers a 0.5 % Austrian real estate transfer tax.

The draft tax bill of the Tax Amendment Act 2015/2016 introduces an increase in the tax rate applicable to the investment income of individuals from 25% to 27.5%

The draft for the Tax Amendment Act 2015 published today [19 October 2015] proposes an amendment of existing exit taxation rules that would significantly tighten these rules, which eventually lead to the taxation of hidden reserves in assets transferred.

Remote work is here to stay, and so are the legal and tax challenges it brings. More and more international employees work remotely from Austria, temporarily or long term.

Austria appears to have incorrectly applied a derogation in relation to the implementation of the interest limitation rule contained in the EU's Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive.

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted our private and working lives in many significant ways.

Since January 2019, a new double taxation treaty between Austria and Japan is applicable, replacing the former treaty dating back to 1961.