Municipal Tax (Kommunalsteuer, KommSt)
Definition
The Kommunalsteuer (municipal tax) is a levy of 3.00 % on the payroll of the employees at a business location, paid by the employer alone (§ 9 KommStG). It goes not to the tax office but to the municipality where the location is. The base is ongoing pay and special payments with no contribution ceiling; exempt are for example pensions, severance pay and certain tax-free payments (§ 5 KommStG). Employees pay nothing.
Rate by year
Applies to ongoing pay and special payments. The rate has been unchanged since the Kommunalsteuer was introduced in 1994. 2027: preview as currently known.
Example: gross €4,230/month (Vienna, 2026)
The median full-time salary 2026 (forecast): €4,230 × 3.00 % = €126.90 of Kommunalsteuer a month. The same applies to the 13th and 14th salary, so 14 × €126.90 = €1,776.60 a year, paid by the employer to the municipality.
See also
- Dienstgeberbeitrag (DB), almost the same payroll, also without a contribution ceiling.
- Total employer cost, all employer levies together.
- •§§ 1, 5 und 9 KommStG 1993 (RIS)