Benefits & credits
Tax credits (Absetzbeträge) and flat allowances (Pauschbeträge) target specific life circumstances: Familienbonus for children, Pendlerpauschale plus Pendlereuro for the commute, AVAB/AEAB for single-earners and single-parents. Unlike Sonderausgaben (which only reduce the tax base), Absetzbeträge are subtracted directly from the tariff tax, €1 credit equals €1 less tax.
Key figures 2026
What changed 2026
- Pendlereuro tripled to €6/km/yr (Abgabenänderungsgesetz 2025), for a 30 km commute that yields €180/yr in direct tax credit on top of the Pendlerpauschale. More →
- Verkehrsabsetzbetrag (€496/yr base) and phase-out thresholds raised by the 2026 inflation indexation.
- AVAB partner-income ceiling indexed to €7,411/yr (2025: €7,284).
Terms in this topic
- Church contribution
Sonderausgabe, capped at €600/yr, saving at marginal rate (not €1-for-€1).
- Disability Allowance
§ 35 EStG flat allowance by certified disability grade, 8 tiers from 25 % to 95 %+.
- Familienbonus Plus
Per-child tax credit, €166.68/mo under 18, €58.34 once 18+, subtracted directly from the tariff.
- Maintenance Tax Credit
Tax credit for parents paying child support, staffel per child, counted monthly.
- Multi-Child Supplement (§ 9 FLAG)
€24.40/mo per child from the third onward, income-tested at €55,000 family income.
- Pendlerpauschale & Pendlereuro
§16 EStG flat allowance plus §33 tax credit, what really reduces commuters' bottom line.
- Single-Earner Tax Credit (AVAB)
Tax credit for families with only one earned income, §33 Abs 4 Z 1 EStG, staffel by number of children.
- Single-Parent Tax Credit (AEAB)
Tax credit for single parents, identical staffel as AVAB, mutually exclusive.
- Union contribution
Werbungskosten, fully deductible without cap, saving at marginal rate.
Related terms
- Einkommensteuertarif (§ 33 EStG)Steuer
Credits work differently from flat allowances: they reduce the calculated tariff tax €1-for-€1, while flat allowances reduce the tax base (effect = marginal rate × amount).
- Sonderbezüge (13th & 14th salary)Steuer
The §67 preferential rate for special payments is effectively the "largest tax break" in the system, but works structurally differently (its own staffel rates on the 13th/14th salary).