Income Tax Rates 2026 (Einkommensteuertarif, § 33 EStG)
Definition
The Einkommensteuertarif under § 33 EStG is the progressive tariff formula applied to taxable income. Each euro falls into a bracket and is taxed at the marginal rate for that band, no single euro is ever taxed at the top rate across the whole income. Seven brackets from 0.00 % to 55.00 %. The five thresholds below €1,000,000 are adjusted for inflation every year (§ 33a EStG): two thirds automatically via the Inflationsanpassungsverordnung, the final third as decided by the federal government. The €1,000,000 threshold has been unchanged since 2016.
Tariff curve 2026
The marginal rate applies only to the portion of income within each band, not to the entire income. The axis is monthly gross; the table below shows the brackets in annual taxable income, as the statute defines them.
Brackets by year
Cells show the upper income bound of each bracket, 2026 highlighted. The €1,000,000 threshold has been unchanged since 2016.
Bracket shift per year
How much the bracket boundaries actually moved, computed directly from each year's stored brackets (averaged over the indexed brackets; the fixed €1,000,000 threshold is excluded). This reflects the indexation as actually applied; the mechanism behind it is explained below.
How the inflation adjustment works
Since 2023 cold progression is offset by law (§ 33a EStG): the five thresholds below €1,000,000 are adjusted every year, based on average inflation from July of the previous year to June. Two thirds apply automatically, published by the finance minister by 31 August in a regulation; the final third is decided by the federal government and can be allocated differently (e.g. boosting the lower brackets). From 2025 to 2026 the indexed thresholds rose by 1.73 % on average, while the €1,000,000 threshold stayed put.
Rate transitions: background
- 2020: marginal rate 25.00 % to 20.00 %.
- 2022: marginal rate 35.00 % to 32.50 %.
- 2023: marginal rate 32.50 % to 30.00 % and 42.00 % to 41.00 %.
- 2024: marginal rate 41.00 % to 40.00 %.
- For income above €1,000,000 the rate under § 33 (1) EStG is 55.00 % in the calendar years 2016 to 2029; after that, under current law, the rate of the bracket below applies.
- The €1,000,000 threshold itself is not inflation-adjusted, the only threshold of the tariff outside the indexation. In real terms it falls every year.
Note: standard case vs. special cases
This page describes the standard case of tariff taxation. The calculation is modified in certain situations: Hälftesteuersatz (§ 37 EStG) for extraordinary income, Progressionsvorbehalt when receiving unemployment benefits temporarily, separate tariff application for foreign-source income under double-taxation treaties. The tariff tax is additionally reduced by applicable tax credits (Familienbonus, Verkehrsabsetzbetrag, AVAB/AEAB, etc.), the gross-to-net calculator models this in full.
Example: taxable income €40,000, 2002 to 2026
A round taxable annual income rather than a gross salary, because § 33 is written on income; run through each year's own tariff. Only the years where the tariff changed are shown: a year that inherits its predecessor unchanged has nothing to add here. The difference between two columns is exactly what that reform or inflation adjustment did.
At €40,000, the 2026 tariff tax is €5,281.40 lower than in 2002, roughly 13.2 ppt in effective burden. The marginal rate on the next euro was 41.00 % in 2002 and is 40.00 % today.
See also
- Special payments (13th and 14th), their own § 67 staffel (6.00 / 27.00 / 35.75 %) instead of the progressive tariff.
- Familienbonus Plus, the most consequential tax credit, subtracted directly from the tariff result.
- Negative tax, what can come back below the first bracket.
- •§ 33 Abs 1 und 1a und § 33a EStG 1988 (RIS)
- •§ 33a idF BGBl. I Nr. 163/2022 (from 28.10.2022)
- •Inflationsanpassungsverordnungen BGBl. II Nr. 251/2023 (from 1.1.2024), BGBl. I Nr. 153/2023 (PrAG 2024) (from 1.1.2024), BGBl. II Nr. 232/2024 (from 1.1.2025), BGBl. I Nr. 144/2024 (PrAG 2025) (from 1.1.2025), BGBl. II Nr. 191/2025 (from 1.1.2026), BGBl. II Nr. 260/2026 (from 1.1.2027)