Pay & salary
Pay & salary: these terms explain how the agreed gross becomes the net that is paid out. The employer withholds employee social insurance and income tax and remits them. In Austria pay is usually made 14× a year: twelve regular monthly payments plus the 13th and 14th salary as special payments, which are taxed favourably at 6.00 % under § 67 EStG.
Key figures 2026
What changed 2026
Terms in this topic
- Christmas gifts and company events
Gifts in kind up to €186, company events up to €365 a year free of tax and SI. Cash gifts are salary.
- Collective agreement (Kollektivvertrag)
Agreement between the Chamber of Commerce and the union: minimum pay for the whole branch, union member or not.
- Gross pay (Bruttobezug)
The agreed pay before SI and income tax, paid 14× a year in Austria.
- KV minimum salary (Mindestgehalt)
The floor per group and step set by the KV. Austria has no statutory minimum wage.
- Meal vouchers (Essensgutscheine)
€8.00 per working day for restaurants and delivery, €2.00 for groceries, free of wage tax and SI.
- Net pay (Nettobezug)
What remains of the gross after employee SI and income tax, and is paid out.
- Over-payment (Überzahlung)
Pay above the KV minimum: what minimum and actual raises do to it, and the over-payment in an all-in contract.
- Overtime & premium relief (§ 68)
Tax-free overtime, SFN and SEG premiums under § 68, and why tax-free is not the same as SV-free.
- Regular and special payments
Monthly pay vs. 13th/14th: own SI treatment and the favourable 6.00 % § 67 taxation.
- Tax-free benefits (§ 3)
Job ticket, childcare subsidy and employee profit share, granted on top of salary, with their caps and SV rules.
- Wage tax (Lohnsteuer)
The income tax withheld monthly by the employer, same tariff as § 33 EStG.
Related terms
- Einkommensteuertarif (§ 33 EStG)Steuer
Lohnsteuer is the monthly-withheld income tax, following exactly the progressive § 33 EStG tariff.
- SI contribution rates (§ 51 ASVG)SV
Social insurance is deducted before income tax and co-determines the tax base.
- Lohnkosten (employer total)DG
Gross and net are the employee view, on the employer side roughly 29.70 % in payroll add-ons sits on top.