Austrian Budget Accompanying Act 2027-2028 passed by the Austrian National Council / Austrian Budget Measures Act 2026 published

Before the summer recess, among other things, the Austrian Budget Accompanying Act 2027-2028 (BBG 2027-2028) was passed by the Austrian National Council and the Austrian Budget Measures Act 2026 was published in the Austrian Federal Law Gazette.

Austrian Budget Accompanying Act 2027-2028 (BBG 2027-2028)

We have already reported on the government draft for the BBG 2027-2028 in our newsletter dated 10 June 2026, and our Workforce blog post dated 15 June 2026. During the deliberations in the Austrian National Council, however, the following changes were made in particular:

Increase of the Corporate Income Tax Rate

• It is now explicitly stipulated by law that no progression clause applies within the scope of corporate tax.

Deemed distribution for shareholder current accounts of natural persons

• The deemed receipt of the distribution is now to occur on the day after the adoption of the financial statements (or at the latest within five months), rather than on the day after the balance sheet date.
• The de minimis threshold of 50,000 Euro is generally applicable and not limited to shareholders with a participation level of at least 10%, as initially provided in the government draft.
• Additionally, it was clarified that the regulation (i) not only applies to the shareholders directly but also to shareholder-related persons, and (ii) indirect shareholders.
• Furthermore, regarding the (timely) conversion into an arm’s length loan, it was explicitly stated that the written loan agreement must provide for ongoing interest payments and a repayment obligation.

Introduction of the Austrian Package Tax Act (PakStG)

• The delivery of packages within Austria in the context of mail-order sales by mail-order companies is subject to taxation.
• The package tax is only to be applied when the sale of goods is concluded using remote communication means. Stationary sales transactions followed by delivery or pick-up models (“click and collect”) are not affected.
•  Both deliveries from abroad and within Austria are covered.
• Only mail-order companies who generated mail-order sales exceeding 100 million Euro in the previous year are subject to package tax.
• Sales made via platforms, marketplaces, portals etc. are attributed to the platform operator. This means that actual sellers can also be economically affected by the package tax if they use a platform whose operator exceeds the threshold.
• The package tax amounts to 2.00 Euro and forms part of the VAT base, which typically results in an additional charge of 2.40 Euro.
•  The tax is normally calculated per package. However, the mail-order company has the option to calculate the tax per (combined) order. This option cannot be drawn individually per order/package but must be applied uniformly within a quarter.
• The tax liability arises upon acceptance of payment for the mail-order sale. After the delivery of the package, the tax can no longer be waived. Therefore, returns do not result in a subsequent relief of the package tax.
• The Package Tax Act comes into effect on 1 October 2026. The new regulation applies to deliveries for which the tax liability arises after 30 September 2026.
• The package tax is designed as a self-assessed tax. Thus, the mail-order company must calculate the tax themselves and pay it quarterly on the last day of the month following the end of the quarter. Further, a tax return must be filed.

Austrian Budget Measures Act 2026

Annual Evidence Requirement in the Context of Exit Taxation (Non-Assessment)

• If the non-assessment concept applied with regards to exit taxation, the taxpayer or their legal successor must in the future prove that no event triggering the assessment of tax (e.g., sale of the asset, etc.) has occurred yet.
• The reporting and evidence obligation differentiates between old cases and new cases.
  • Old cases: one-time reporting/one-time evidence
    • Non-assessments granted in rulings issued up to 30 June 2026 are considered “old cases”.
    • For non-assessed amounts from income exceeding 100,000 Euro, it must be proven by 31 December 2026, that no event triggering the assessment of still outstanding tax liabilities has occurred so far.
    • The regulation for old cases is comprehensive and applies to all cases where non-assessment was determined based on provisions in the Austrian Income Tax Act (EStG), Austrian Corporate Income Tax Act (KStG) or Austrian Reorganization Tax Act (UmgrStG).
  • New cases: amount-dependent, recurring evidence obligation
    • All cases where non-assessment was stipulated in rulings issued after 30 June 2026, are considered “new cases”.
    • For non-assessed amounts from income exceeding (in total) 100,000 Euro in the assessment year, it must be proven annually that no event triggering the assessment has occurred.
    • The evidence must be submitted by the end of the following year.
    • In case of insufficient evidence, an additional deadline shall be granted.
    • Failure to comply with the evidence obligation results in the immediate assessment of the amounts (sec. 27 para. 6 no. 1 EStG).

Tax-Free Employee Bonus 2026 (sec. 124b no. 478 subsec. f EStG)

For 2026, the payment of a tax-free employee bonus of up to a maximum of 500 Euro shall be possible under certain conditions. For more information, please also refer to our Workforce blog post.