Investing in Austria
Capital gains tax, pension age and the rules that matter for long-term investors in Austria. Amounts in euros; every figure with its source and an as-of date.
Key figures
How gains are taxed
Gains, dividends and fund distributions from securities are taxed at a flat 27.5 % capital gains tax (Kapitalertragsteuer, KESt), which the Austrian bank withholds and settles for you. Interest on bank deposits is taxed at 25 %. There is no saver's allowance and no partial exemption for equity funds; the flat rate applies to the whole gain. If your marginal income tax rate is lower than 27.5 %, you can opt to have capital income taxed at the regular tariff instead.
Losses on securities offset gains and dividends of the same year — automatically within one bank, across banks via the tax return — but not deposit interest, and nothing can be carried forward. Accumulating funds are taxed once a year on their retained income (ausschüttungsgleiche Erträge), which raises the cost basis for a later sale.
Pension
- The statutory retirement age is 65 for men; for women it rises by six months a year from 60 to 65 between 2024 and 2033 and stands at 61.5 in 2026.
- The corridor pension allows retiring early with a deduction: since 2026 from 63 with 42 insurance years (previously 62 with 40), phased in by year of birth, at 5.1 % less per year of early retirement.
- A job below the marginal earnings threshold can be combined with any pension without social insurance contributions; above it, the pension is unaffected for old-age pensioners but insurance is due.