Employee Tax Assessment: Tax Equalisation | WORK in AUSTRIA

The employee tax assessment (Arbeitnehmerveranlagung) involves a recalculation of your income. If it is determined that too much income tax was paid, you will get money back from the tax office. Here you will find out how this tax equalisation (Steuerausgleich) works and what you need to consider in 2024.

If your income changes in the course of a calendar year, for example due to a job change or a salary adjustment, this could mean that the income tax (wage tax) deducted from your income was too high. For this reason, it is recommended to submit an application for the employee tax assessment. In turn, this will cause the income tax to be recalculated and distributed equally over the entire calendar year. If too much tax has been paid, the tax office will refund this amount to you. On average, the tax refund received by employees equals € 200-500 per year. It is important to note that there is a five-year deadline, which means that the application for the tax equalisation for a specific calendar year can be applied for retroactively for up to five years. 

The application for the employee tax assessment can be easily submitted electronically via finanzonline.at. For this purpose, you need suitable access, which can be applied for via the electronic signature ID Austria. After registration, fill out Form L1 and subsequently submit the form online. To ensure that the tax equalisation is implemented, the annual pay slip issued by the employer is required. It is to be sent to the tax office no later than at the end of February. Furthermore, it is recommended to collect any invoices on expenditures related to your profession, in light of the fact that these costs can also be tax deductible. The following represents examples of items which can be claimed:

• Single-earner or single-parent tax credit
• Lump-sum commuter allowance
• Multiple child bonus
• Child allowance
• Family Bonus Plus
• Income-related expenses i.e., expenditures on the part of the employee which are related to his or her specific profession
• Donations
• Church tax

Important note: the additional forms L1k and L1ab are required for several of these items.

Here you will get a brief overview of the following changes to enable you to successfully implement tax equalisation in 2024 and be aware of what you are entitled to:  

• The Family Bonus Plus is an annual tax credit of up to € 2,000 for each child up to the age of 18 and € 650 for children who are older than 18.
• Supplementary tax credit for children: this was increased from € 550 to € 700 p.a. for the employee tax assessment.
• Multiple-child bonus: increased by 5.8% (€ 21.19 per child)
• Single-earner and single-parent tax credit: raised by 5.8%.
• Lump-sum commuter allowance and commuter euro: the lump-sum commuter allowance was increased, and you are now entitled to the simplified commuter euro.  
• Transportation deduction: increased by 5.8%.