Freelance service contract

ASVG-insured like an employee, but without the housing levy and without a 13th/14th salary, with the employer costs for Austria.

Definition

A free service contractor (freier Dienstvertrag under § 4 Abs 4 ASVG) owes work over time, but without the personal dependence of a genuine employment relationship: no fixed hours, no narrow right of instruction, own tools allowed. For social insurance, however, they have been treated almost like an employee since 2008: fully ASVG-liable including unemployment insurance and occupational provision (BV).

What the employer pays

The payroll add-on costs are almost the same as for an employee: employer social insurance 20,48 %, municipal tax, employer contribution plus surcharge, and occupational provision. Two differences matter: there is no housing-fund levy and no statutory 13th/14th salary (no § 67 relief). Social insurance is capped at the free contractor's monthly ceiling of € 8.085/mo, higher than the employees' € 6.930/mo because free contractors have no separate special-payment cap.

Tax and net

The employer withholds no wage tax: free contractors tax their income themselves via the annual assessment, under the same tariff (§ 33 EStG). Social insurance, by contrast, is withheld from the fee as it is paid. The gross-to-net calculator still gives a net estimate if you pick "Freier Dienstnehmer" as the employment type.

See also

  • Werkvertrag, genuine self-employment without payroll levies - the sharpest contrast to the free service contract.
  • Contribution cap (HBG), why the free contractor has a higher monthly cap.
Try it in the employer-cost calculator Estimate net in the gross-to-net calculator

Sources: § 4 Abs 4 ASVG (RIS), WKO "Beitragswesen Freie Dienstnehmer 2026", ÖGK.