Special Payments (Sonderbezüge): 13th & 14th Salary

Definition

Sonderbezüge (also "special payments") are payments made in addition to the regular monthly salary, in Austria, most commonly the 13th (Urlaubsgeld, holiday pay) and the 14th (Weihnachtsgeld, Christmas pay). They get preferential tax treatment: under §67 EStG, a separate staffel rate applies instead of the progressive tariff, social-insurance is charged at only 17,07 % (KV + PV + AV, no AK, no WBF), and a yearly tax-free allowance of € 620 (2026) applies. The Austrian social-insurance system additionally caps the SV-eligible base at 2 × HBG/Mo = € 13.860 per year (2026), summed across the 13th and 14th.

Example: Gross € 6.980 / month (Vienna, 2026)

SI is deducted first from each special payment. The 13th gets the full rate (€ 6.980 × 17,07 % = € 1.191,49). For the 14th the yearly cap binds: € 13.860 − € 6.980 = € 6.880 remain SI-eligible, the last € 100 are SI-free. The € 620 yearly allowance is then applied once (conventionally to the 13th), and the §67 staffel at 6 % covers everything up to the first € 24.380. Result: € 5.478,40 net for the 13th and € 5.457,25 net for the 14th.

§67 staffel by year

See also

• Höchstbeitragsgrundlage (HBG) , the SI cap that bites the 14th payment when gross exceeds HBG/Mo.