Payroll Rules and Regulations in Austria: A Comprehensive Guide

Austria is an economy known to have one of the most skilled, talented, and educated workforces in several industries, which include mechanical engineering, steel construction, luxury commodities, the food industry, and vehicle manufacturing industries. This has attracted global businesses to hire their workforce from Austria.

However, when hiring an Austrian workforce, it is important to understand the payroll rules and regulations in Austria to ensure you are compliant with the regulations. This article covers everything you must know about payroll in Austria.

The payroll policies and procedures in Austria are extensive for people in paid employment or self-employed. Austria’s payroll rules and regulations mandate contributions from both employers and employees.

The payroll in Austria is a well-thought-out plan with considerations such as –

• There is no statutory minimum wage in the country; however, collective agreements must require a minimum of 1,500 EUR per month. 
• Oral employment procedures are legal, but a written employment summary is integral to the work culture. 
• A compulsory social insurance coverage.
• Both employees and employers must contribute to social security

Additionally, both parties must contribute to the social security funds at various rates.

Employees may contribute to religious communities through a church tax or a trade union. Employers subtract these contributions from the employee’s salary. Austria’s payroll requirements demand tax returns by April 30 — but it only needs to be filled if the employee earns over a minimum amount from other areas other than their work.

Payroll tax in Austria also demands a specific amount of percentage of the employee’s salaries in funds such as – 

• Municipal Employees Tax: 3% of gross salaries
• Tax on insurance contracts: 1% and 11% on insurance premiums
• Chamber of Commerce: 0.44% of the gross salaries
• Pension Fund: 1.53% of the gross salaries

Some of the essential elements of the Salary structure in Austria include: 

Basic pay

An employee in Austria demands a basic pay of 1,500 EUR, as stated by the Austrian government. 

Overtime allowance

Employees are entitled to overtime allowances at a minimum of 50% for every hour worked. 

Leaves

In Austria, the employee has a contractual right to 25 days of leave each year. Also, every year, the employees receive 13 mandatory holidays. 

13th and 14th-month pay: It is customary for employers to offer 13th and 14th-month pay to their employees. This is offered semi-annually in June and December.

Social security deductions

Austria’s payroll rules and regulations include compulsory social security deductions such as old age, disability, and unemployment insurance. This means that the employees have basic health insurance and are automatically insured when working for you. Employers also contribute to funds like unemployment funds, work-related disability, and paid parental leaves. If the funds are required, as the employer, you will have to withhold the employee’s contribution and pay them with your contributions.

Before setting up your payroll deductions in Austria, you must first create a subsidiary. Finishing the step can take months of your crucial time, depending on Austria’s structure, policy, and rules and regulations.

Thankfully, you can choose Multiplier as your global partner and gain access to our team of experts who will outsource your payroll and adhere to the rules and regulations in the country. This will help you in focusing on other vital aspects of your business. 

Following the set rules and regulations of payroll policies and procedures in Austria is essential for running a successful company. These step-by-step processes of payroll processing should be kept in consideration before you start paying your employees:  

1. The first step in the payroll processing is to create your Employer Identification Number (EIN); alongside your local tax and state tax IDs. 

2. Before processing the payroll, your employees should fill out various tax forms so you can account for their salaries and other tax details. As an employer, you should keep documents such as job applications, deductions, and wage garnishments at hand as they are necessary for the process.

3. Once you file the relevant legal and tax information to create payroll, you can choose a timetable that works the best for your business. The four main schedules are – monthly, semimonthly, biweekly, and weekly. You can select the best plan according to your needs, and once you choose a timetable, set up calendars with paydays and make a note of when to process the payroll.

4. Employers also benefit from noting important dates such as tax rates, annual tax filing dates, and holidays. This process has to be repeated at the beginning of every year. You will also have to create a preferred payment system, as many companies allow employees to choose between direct deposits and paper checks. 

5. After you have completed your payroll policies in Austria, you can begin processing your first payroll. To do so, you will need to compute each employee’s gross salary using – Employee gross salary = (total number of work hours) x (hourly rate),

6. Survey to gather information about your employees’ insurance requirements, state and federal requirements, and benefits requirements to decide the salary deduction. Social security, Medicare, and other various benefits are considered in most cases. 

Normal working and overtime hours must be considered to comply with Austrian payroll policies and procedures.

Keeping track of your transaction records is critical as you process payroll for tax and adherence purposes. If an employee disputes a payment or the government later requests documentation from the company, the records should be kept on hand.

The payroll rules and contributions in Austria state that both the employees and the employers have to make specific contributions to the payroll. Due to these specific rules, the employers and employees follow different sets of contribution percentages, as shown in the tables below:

Both parties must contribute to the social security funds: 

Employee Income Tax:

The payroll in Austria is monthly. As the employer, you are responsible for paying wages by the last working day of every month unless described in a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) or on an employment contract. 

The payroll reports are expected to be kept for seven years. Many businesses in Austria provide their employees a 13th-month salary, split into two installments, one coming in June and the other in November.

There are four payroll policies and regulations in Austria that an employer can choose from, the options being – 

Internal: Large companies in Austria often run their local payroll from all employees, local and foreign. To accomplish this, companies must complete the incorporation of their business, register it under state, federal, or local laws, and then hire the required staff. Under the internal form, payroll deduction in Austria requires hiring a specific human resources personnel who will manage the Austria payroll while fulfilling all withholding payroll and tax filing requirements.

Remote: A remote payroll system is when a foreign company, i.e., a non-resident business, payrolls an employee in Austria. Under specific Austrian laws, companies must be registered in other countries to require a business license and hire employees.

Local Payroll Administration:  In many cases, companies register their business in Austria under one of the many available forms:  

• Foreign branches
• Public Companies
• Partnerships
• Limited liability companies

However, your payroll administration can be accomplished through a payroll provider. 

‍Payroll Outsourcing: Finally, the last policy is to work with an outsourcing partner for your Payroll policies. You can work with outsourcing companies such as Multiplier, as you gain a qualified team of local experts who will help you in outsourcing payroll and following payroll rules and regulations in Austria. 

In Austria, employee contracts can be terminated immediately if the employer has a good reason for the firing. The termination follows the same rule as employment, as it can be carried out in writing or verbally. 

If an employee chooses to terminate their employment voluntarily, a notice period is required, and the length of the period depends on the length of the employee’s service. 

The notice period in Austria is as follows: 

Upon resignation, the employer must provide the employee with an employment certificate, salary statements, deregistration from health insurance funds, confirmation of remuneration and work, and a payslip alongside a testimonial. The employer also has to pay any outstanding dues to the employee.

Austria Payroll Processing Company

To get the most out of Austria’s payroll policies and procedures, you can either choose to do it yourself or partner up with global outsourcing companies like Multiplier. If you are interested in learning more about the process, contact us today to learn more about this!

The process of creating and regulating an Austrian payroll system involves numerous factors. You must consider the various integral elements, such as setting up the payroll, payroll cycle, etc. These processes can take up a considerable amount of your time and stop you from exploring the other parts of your business. 

You can rest easy by partnering up with Multiplier, as our team will work 24×7 to give you the best experience and help you operate your business without any drawbacks.