Total Employer Cost (Lohnkosten)
Definition
Total employer cost is the gross salary plus every levy the employer pays on top: the employer share of social insurance (with accident insurance), the Wohnbauförderungsbeitrag, the Kommunalsteuer, the Dienstgeberbeitrag (DB), the DB surcharge (DZ) and the Betriebliche Vorsorge. At the median full-time salary in Vienna (€4,230, forecast a month) about 29.70 % is added to the gross in 2026.
Example: gross €4,230/month (Vienna, 2026)
The median full-time salary 2026 (forecast). On top of the gross come €1,261.39 of levies, so the employer pays €5,491.39 a month. The employee takes home €2,831.50 without children, €3,164.86 with two children under 18 and the full Familienbonus. Between cost and net that is 42.37 % to 48.44 %.
Share = monthly amount divided by the monthly gross. The 13th and 14th salary carry no accident insurance and no Wohnbauförderungsbeitrag, so the yearly markup is a little lower than the monthly one. Wohnbauförderung and DZ depend on the Bundesland.
See also
- Steuerkeil, the gap between employer cost and net.
- Social insurance rates, the largest item, with every employer rate.
- Wohnbauförderung (employer), 0.75 % in Vienna, elsewhere up to 0.50 %.
- •ASVG
- •§ 41 FLAG
- •§ 9 KommStG
- •§ 122 Abs 8 und 9 WKG
- •§ 6 BMSVG
- •Wohnbauförderungsbeitragsgesetz 2018
- •LGBl. Wien Nr. 73/2025 (from 1.1.2026)