Payroll in Austria

Payroll in Austria means calculating gross-to-net salary, withholding 18.07% social security and progressive income tax from each employee, paying around 30% employer social security and payroll levies on top, issuing payslips and filing the monthly contribution report with the OEGK and wage tax with the Finanzamt by the 15th of the following month. The key local issue is the calendar: Austrian employees are normally paid 14 times a year, and those two extra payments are taxed at a favourable flat 6%, so your gross-to-net maths and your annual budget both have to count payments you do not see in most other countries.

Total employer cost for a €50,000 annual salary is about €65,000, around 30% on top of gross.

Our verdict: Fewer than 2 employees and no local entity in Austria: use an EOR at $199 to $650 per employee per month. At 2 or more, opening a GmbH (roughly $6,500 in setup costs and 4 to 8 weeks to complete) usually works out cheaper. Already running a local entity: standard payroll outsourcing is the cheaper route.

Use this page if you already have, or plan to set up, a local entity in Austria and want to know what running payroll actually involves. If you want to hire in Austria without becoming the legal employer, an Employer of Record is the faster route.

No local entity yet? See our guide to EOR in Austria.

Payroll in Austria at a Glance

How Does Payroll Work in Austria?

Austrian payroll runs on a steady monthly rhythm, but with a twist that catches foreign employers. You calculate each employee’s gross salary, strip out their social security and income tax to reach net pay, add a substantial employer charge on top, then report the run and pay what is owed by the 15th of the following month.

The twist is the count. Most Austrian employees are paid 14 times a year, not 12: an extra holiday payment in summer and a Christmas payment at year end, both written into collective agreements. These two are the 13th and 14th salaries, and they are taxed far more lightly than ordinary pay.

Two authorities sit at the centre of every run. The Finanzamt is the tax office, the body that collects wage tax and audits employers when the numbers do not line up. The OEGK, the Oesterreichische Gesundheitskasse, is the national health-insurance carrier, and it also collects social security across pension, health, unemployment and accident cover.

Social security in Austria runs under a framework called ASVG, the General Social Insurance Act. ASVG is the law that sets who pays what into the state pension, health, unemployment and accident systems, with a slice withheld from the employee and a larger charge paid by the employer on top.

The employee’s share is 18.07% of gross pay, capped at a monthly maximum contribution base called the Hoechstbeitragsgrundlage. Above that ceiling, no further social security is withheld, so very high earners keep a larger slice of each extra euro.

Income tax is then charged on a progressive scale, from 0% on the lowest band up to 55% at the top. The first roughly EUR 13,539 of taxable income is tax-free, after which the rate climbs through several bands as pay rises.

Get the contribution cap, the tax bands or the 6% treatment of the 13th and 14th salaries wrong and two things break at once: the employee’s take-home pay is incorrect, and your monthly reports to the OEGK and Finanzamt no longer match what you paid. Both filings are covered in detail below.

What Payroll Taxes Apply in Austria?

Three charges sit on every Austrian salary: the employer’s social security and payroll levies, the employee’s social security, and progressive income tax. They are calculated in a fixed order, and that order is what makes the gross-to-net result.

Employer Payroll Contributions in Austria

The employer pays social security of around 29.57% of gross salary, covering its share of pension, health, unemployment and accident cover under ASVG. On top of that sit smaller payroll levies, so the true on-top cost of employing someone in Austria is high by international standards.

This is your largest employer add-on, and it is why the total cost of a hire runs well above the headline salary. You budget on total employer cost, not gross, and you remember that the same loading applies to the 13th and 14th salaries.

The employer charge also feeds the OEGK, which collects social security alongside the Finanzamt’s wage tax. The same monthly report that declares the employee’s contributions declares yours.

The true cost of employing in Austria

Statutory employer rates; items can apply to different wage bases or carry conditions, so lines do not always sum to the total.

Sources: wko.at (employer contributions).

Employee Payroll Deductions in Austria

You withhold social security from the employee at 18.07% of gross pay, covering their share of pension, health, unemployment and accident-related contributions under ASVG. It comes off gross alongside income tax, and you are responsible for calculating, withholding and remitting it.

The deduction is capped at the monthly maximum contribution base, the Hoechstbeitragsgrundlage. Once an employee’s monthly pay passes that ceiling, no further social security is taken from the excess, which is why high earners see a smaller percentage bite than mid-range staff.

If your provider miscalculates the contribution or misses the cap, the employee is underpaid or overpaid and your monthly mBGM report will not reconcile against what you sent to the OEGK.

Income Tax on Salary in Austria

Income tax is collected on a progressive scale, from 0% up to 55%. The first roughly EUR 13,539 of taxable income is tax-free, after which earnings are taxed through rising bands as pay climbs.

The Austrian feature here is the Jahressechstel, the favourable treatment of the 13th and 14th salaries. Those two extra payments, the holiday and Christmas pay, are taxed at a flat 6% rather than the employee’s ordinary marginal rate, which is why net pay in the months they fall is far higher than a straight division of annual salary would suggest.

Payroll Tax Example: Gross Salary to Net Pay

Here is how the charges stack up for a representative salary. The figures come from the contribution and tax rates above, calculated in the statutory order.

Simplified illustration: Single employee on an ordinary monthly salary of EUR 50,000/year, kept below the EUR 83,160 annual contribution ceiling (current pay, 2026) so no capping applies. Income tax on the 2026 tariff: 20% band 1,690.60 + 30% band 4,339.80 + 40% band 1,802.80 = 7,833. The favourable 6% taxation of the 13th/14th salaries is ignored and the full gross is treated as ordinary pay for simplicity; only the standard tax-free threshold is modelled (no other credits). The first EUR 13,539 of taxable income is tax-free for 2026; further tax credits (Absetzbetraege) such as the traffic and pensioner deductions reduce tax due.

Read the two bold rows together. A worker on EUR 50,000 gross takes home EUR 33,132, while your total cost as employer is EUR 65,000.

The gap on the employee side is wide once social security and progressive tax both apply; the gap between gross and your cost is the employer loading. That is the Austrian payroll signature: budget on the EUR 65,000, not the EUR 50,000, and remember the 13th and 14th salaries carry that same employer loading at the lighter 6% tax.

What Payroll Filings Are Required in Austria?

Austria splits its monthly reporting across two authorities rather than one combined return, which is the part foreign employers most often underestimate. The wage tax goes to the Finanzamt and the social security report goes to the OEGK, both due on the same date.

What the mBGM Reports

The mBGM, the monthly contribution report (Beitragsgrundlagenmeldung), is the social security declaration you file with the OEGK every month. It reports each employee’s contribution base and the social security due, both the employee’s 18.07% and the employer’s share, for the whole workforce.

Alongside it, you remit wage tax (Lohnsteuer) to the Finanzamt, the income tax withheld from each payslip. Because the mBGM has to reconcile with your actual run and your payments, a mismatch is a common trigger for a payroll query.

When the mBGM Is Due

Both the mBGM and the wage-tax remittance are due by the 15th of the month following the reporting month. Pay for May is reported and the contributions and tax settled by 15 June. The filing deadline and the payment deadline fall on the same date, so your provider needs the run finalised with enough margin to file with the OEGK and pay the Finanzamt.

Who Files It

The legal obligation sits with the employer. In practice, your payroll provider or accounting firm prepares and submits the mBGM to the OEGK and remits wage tax to the Finanzamt on your behalf, or your in-house team files directly if you run your own Austrian entity.

Either way, confirm in writing who presses submit each month. The liability for a late or wrong filing stays with you as employer regardless of who does the keying.

What Happens If Payroll Filings Are Wrong

For wage tax, a late filing penalty (Verspaetungszuschlag) of up to 10% of the tax amount may be imposed. Late payment draws a penalty (Saeumniszuschlag) of 2%, with further 1% increments after three and six months, and on late social security the OEGK charges default interest (Verzugszinsen). Beyond the money, a report that does not reconcile invites scrutiny of the whole payroll, which is why getting the contribution base and tax right the first time matters more than the headline penalty suggests.

What Are the Payroll Deadlines in Austria?

Most Austrian payroll obligations land monthly, anchored to that 15th-of-the-following-month filing date. The exception is OEGK registration, which is event-driven: a new hire has to be registered before they start work, not at month end.

Late filing: For taxes, a late filing penalty (Verspätungszuschlag) of up to 10% of the tax amount may be imposed. For late payments, a penalty (Säumniszuschlag) of 2% is applied, with further 1% increments after three and six months. For social security, default interest (Verzugszinsen) is charged on late contributions.

Payroll Operations Risk in Austria

Employers in Austria file with 3 separate agencies.

Sources: bmaw.gv.at (compliance), oenb.at (payments).

What Is the OEGK Registration in Austria Payroll?

The OEGK, the Oesterreichische Gesundheitskasse, is Austria’s national health-insurance carrier, and it also runs the social security register for employees. Registering a new hire with the OEGK is the official record that the person works for you and is covered under ASVG from day one.

The timing rule is the one that catches foreign employers. A new employee must be registered with the OEGK before their first day of work, the Anmeldung vor Arbeitsantritt, not after their first payroll run.

Miss that window and the authorities can treat the person as undeclared work, which carries far heavier penalties than a late tax filing. Your payroll provider should handle the registration as part of onboarding, well before the start date.

On payslips, Austria requires you to issue one to every employee for each pay run, showing gross pay, each deduction and net pay, and these are normally produced in German. Treat OEGK registration accuracy as seriously as the monthly filing: a clean mBGM with a missed pre-start registration still leaves you exposed on the labour side.

How Much Does Payroll Outsourcing Cost in Austria?

There are two separate numbers in Austrian payroll cost, and confusing them is the most common budgeting mistake. The first is your statutory employer cost, which is mainly the roughly 30% employer social security plus the smaller payroll levies.

12 of the 16 EOR providers we track publish Austria fees; they range from $199 to $650 per employee per month.

Published list prices in USD: EOR fees are per employee per month, contractor fees per contractor per month. Providers that publish neither fee for Austria are not shown.

According to Whichapp’s July 2026 analysis of EOR fees across 40 countries, providers charge $199 to $650 per employee per month in Austria.

12 of the 16 providers we track publish Austria EOR fees. The lowest published rate is $199 per employee per month and the highest is $650.

Contractor management fees in Austria run from $6 to $49 per contractor per month.

The second is the fee you pay a provider to run the payroll for you. They are unrelated, and only the second is negotiable.

Managed Payroll Provider Fees

Managed payroll in Austria is normally priced per employee per month, and most providers quote rather than publish a rate. The price turns on headcount, on whether you also need accounting or HR support, and on local complexity such as collective-agreement rules, the 14-payment structure and the 6% treatment of the 13th and 14th salaries.

The fee buys the calculation, the mBGM filing, the wage-tax remittance, OEGK registration upkeep and payslip production. It does not include the social security and tax themselves, which you fund on top, so gather two or three quotes before committing.

What Payroll Provider Fees Usually Include

A standard managed payroll fee in Austria should cover the monthly gross-to-net calculation, withholding of social security and wage tax, the correct 6% treatment of the 13th and 14th salaries, mBGM submission to the OEGK, wage-tax remittance to the Finanzamt, OEGK registration and German-language payslips. Ask for that list in writing. If any of it sits outside the headline fee, you want to know before the first run, not after.

Extra Payroll Costs to Ask About

The gaps tend to appear at the edges of the standard cycle. Ask specifically about year-end reporting, handling of the contribution cap (the Hoechstbeitragsgrundlage), termination and severance calculations, correction filings when something has to be restated, off-cycle or bonus runs, and onboarding setup fees for taking on your entity. These are the line items that turn a tidy per-head quote into a larger annual number.

When Payroll Outsourcing Becomes Cheaper Than EOR

The choice between running your own payroll and using an EOR is mostly about headcount and how long you plan to stay. An EOR carries a higher monthly fee per person because the provider is the legal employer and absorbs the entity, but it saves you setting one up.

Running your own payroll through an Austrian GmbH is cheaper per head once you are past a handful of employees and committed to staying, because the entity and provider fee spread across more people. In our assessment, the more people you hire and the longer the horizon, the more the economics favour your own entity with outsourced payroll.

Payroll in Austria vs EOR in Austria

The line between the two routes is simple: standard payroll assumes you are the legal employer through an Austrian entity, while an EOR makes the provider the legal employer so you do not need one.

Use payroll outsourcing if you already have a local entity or are hiring enough people to justify one. Use an EOR if you need to hire before setting up an entity.

If that second case is you, our guide to EOR in Austria covers the providers, licensing and costs in full. EOR pricing and provider ranking live there, not on this page.

Best Payroll Providers for Austria

These providers all run payroll in Austria, but they are built for different situations. Below is where each one fits and the local point to check before you sign. We do not list EOR prices here; for unpriced managed payroll, treat the fee as by quote and confirm it during your shortlist calls.

4 providers in Whichapp’s independent index cover Austria. The top 4 by composite score:

1. Deel (9.1/10). From $599/month. Best for scale, automation and contractor volume. Runs its own Austria entity.
2. Papaya Global (8.2/10). From $650/month. Best for multinational payroll consolidation. Serves Austria through a partner.
3. Remote (8.0/10). From $599/month. Best for IP protection and owned-entity purity. Runs its own Austria entity.
4. Rippling (6.4/10). Best for unified IT, HR, and global finance. Runs its own Austria entity.

Rankings come straight from Whichapp’s provider index (coverage 30%, pricing transparency 25%, security and compliance 25%, integration depth 20%); see how we score.

Only 3 of 4 major EORs run their own Austria entity; 1 more serves it via a partner.

Entity model as reported on provider websites, last checked 2026-06-06. An own entity means the provider is the direct legal employer; a partner model adds a third party to the chain.

Deel for Payroll in Austria

Deel is a strong fit if Austria sits alongside other international hires you want on one platform, with a single dashboard and API across markets. Austria watch-out: confirm whether your Austrian payroll runs on Deel’s own local entity or a partner bureau, and that it handles the 14-payment structure with the 6% treatment of the 13th and 14th salaries rather than spreading pay evenly. Read our Deel review.

Remote for Payroll in Austria

Remote runs much of its payroll through owned entities, which gives a cleaner compliance chain than a partner-network model. That suits employers who want a direct line of accountability for the mBGM and OEGK contributions.

Austria watch-out: confirm Austrian payroll is on Remote’s owned entity rather than a local partner, and that OEGK registration before the start date and the wage-tax remittance to the Finanzamt are handled inside the platform. Read our Remote review.

Papaya Global for Payroll in Austria

Papaya Global is built for consolidating payroll across many countries with finance-grade reporting and audit trails, so it earns its place when Austria is one market in a larger stack. Its weakness is the opposite case: for a single Austrian entity with no multi-country reporting need, the platform is heavier than the job requires.

Austria watch-out: Papaya leans on local partners in some markets, so confirm whether your Austrian payroll runs on its own engine or a third-party bureau, and how directly it owns the mBGM filing to the OEGK. Read our Papaya Global review.

Rippling for Payroll in Austria

Rippling appeals when you want payroll wired into the same system as HR, IT and device management, with automated journal entries. Austria watch-out: it is platform-first, so confirm the depth of its Austrian statutory handling, specifically the 18.07% social security, the contribution cap and the Finanzamt wage-tax filing, against what a local payroll specialist would offer. Read our Rippling review.

Multiplier for Payroll in Austria

Multiplier is the value option for multi-country payroll where price predictability matters, which fits smaller Austrian teams. The trade-off for that price is depth: in tightly regulated markets it tends to carry less local specialist weight than an in-country bureau.

Austria watch-out: confirm it files the mBGM to the OEGK and handles German-language payslips directly rather than through a reseller, and that its gross-to-net engine models the 18.07% social security, the cap and the 6% treatment of the 13th and 14th salaries before you anchor any salary offers on it. Read our Multiplier review.

Safeguard Global for Payroll in Austria

Safeguard Global is a payroll-led specialist rather than an HR platform with payroll bolted on, which appeals when running the payroll correctly is the whole point and you do not need a wider people stack. That focus is also its limit: if you want integrated HR, devices and onboarding in one tool, it does less than Rippling or Deel.

Austria watch-out: confirm its Austrian coverage is run in-house rather than subcontracted, and that the service includes OEGK registration and Finanzamt correspondence, not just the monthly calculation. Read our Safeguard Global review.

How to Choose a Payroll Provider in Austria

The questions below separate a provider that genuinely runs Austrian payroll from one that resells a local bureau without owning the detail. Ask them before you sign, not after the first run.

Can They Handle the mBGM?

Confirm the provider prepares and submits the monthly mBGM to the OEGK and remits wage tax to the Finanzamt by the 15th, and that it reconciles the filing against the actual payroll and bank payments each month. Ask who presses submit and by when.

Do They Manage OEGK Registration?

Check that new-hire registration with the OEGK happens before the first working day, the rule that catches foreign employers most often. A provider that treats registration as an afterthought leaves you exposed to undeclared-work penalties.

Can They Model Gross-to-Net Salary Accurately?

Austria’s 14-payment structure and the 6% treatment of the 13th and 14th salaries mean a net-pay request does not translate cleanly into a gross. A capable provider models gross-to-net both ways, including the contribution cap, and helps you frame offers rather than just processing whatever number you hand over.

How Do They Update for Payroll Law Changes?

Austrian contribution rates, the contribution cap and tax bands change at least every year, and collective agreements shift too. Ask how the provider tracks ASVG and Finanzamt changes and how quickly updates reach your payroll runs.

Who Is Liable for Payroll Errors?

The statutory liability stays with you as employer, but the contract should set out what the provider is accountable for if a miscalculation or late filing is their fault. Get the indemnity and correction process in writing.

Can They Support Multi-Country Reporting?

If Austria is one of several markets, confirm the provider can consolidate reporting across them in a single view, so your finance team is not stitching country files together by hand.

What Support Do They Offer During Terminations or Audits?

Terminations and Finanzamt queries are where weak providers show their limits. Ask what support you get during a termination calculation or an audit, and whether a named contact handles it or you are routed through a ticket queue.

What Does Terminating an Employee Cost in Austria?

Severance: Abfertigung neu (in force for employments from 2003): the employer pays 1.53% of monthly gross remuneration into a severance fund (Betriebliche Vorsorgekasse) from the start (legally from the 2nd month); the employee’s entitlement is the accumulated fund capital, payable on employer-side termination after at least 3 years of contributions. The old pre-2003 Abfertigung alt was a tiered service-based lump sum.

Statutory leave: 25 days of paid annual leave plus 13 public holidays a year.

Sources: ris.bka.gv.at (severance), ris.bka.gv.at (leave).

Austria Payroll Checklist Before Hiring

• Confirm whether you need payroll or an EOR
• Check your local entity status
• Model gross-to-net salary for your offers
• Confirm employer contribution rate (employer social security)
• Confirm employee deductions (Social security)
• Confirm income tax treatment
• Check who files Monthly mBGM to OEGK + wage-tax remittance and by when
• Confirm OEGK registration before start registration is handled
• Confirm the payslip process
• Check leave, sick pay and termination workflows
• Ask who carries liability for calculation errors
• Confirm provider pricing and any extra fees

Work through this before your first hire. The OEGK registration at point eight is the one foreign employers miss most often, because it falls due before the employee’s start date rather than at month end.

FAQs About Payroll in Austria

Methodology and Disclosure

The social security contribution rates, income tax bands, filing deadlines and penalty figures on this page come from Whichapp’s Austria statutory dataset, grounded in the ASVG social security rules, Finanzamt wage-tax (Lohnsteuer) requirements and OEGK mBGM filing rules, and refreshed as rates change. The worked example is calculated from those rates and reconciles by construction.

Provider assessments reflect our independent editorial view of payroll fit for Austria; we do not sell payroll, EOR or contractor services. Some provider links may carry affiliate referrals, which never affects our editorial judgement or the figures above.

Already hiring contractors instead of employees? See contractor management in Austria, or start from the Austria hiring hub for the full picture.

Primary sources

• Income tax and employee contributions: taxsummaries.pwc.com
• Employer contributions: oegk.at
• Minimum wage: usp.gv.at
• Payroll filing deadlines: usp.gv.at
• Notice periods and leave: ris.bka.gv.at
• Severance rules: ris.bka.gv.at
• Entity setup benchmark: investinaustria.at