What changed in Austria

Staking, airdrops, bounties and hardforks are not taxed on receipt, only later at zero cost basis

Crypto tax and legal status

Crypto acquired before 1 March 2021 is permanently tax-free, as long as it was never swapped

Crypto tax and legal status

The only inbound tax relief is narrow, for scientists, researchers, artists and athletes, and has a strict six-month deadline

Personal income tax

MiCA is fully in force under FMA supervision, and exchange-level reporting starts tightening from 2026

Crypto tax and legal status

Leaving Austria is a deemed disposal of your entire crypto book at 27.5 percent

Crypto tax and legal status

Whether every stablecoin swap qualifies for the tax-free deferral is not settled

Crypto tax and legal status

Cost basis is mandatory moving-average per wallet, and losses die at year end

Crypto tax and legal status

Crypto-to-crypto swaps are not realisation events by statute, a genuine tax deferral

Crypto tax and legal status

Mining and lending are taxed at receipt, not deferred like a swap or a sale

Crypto tax and legal status

Crypto income is taxed at a flat 27.5 percent, both current income and realised gains

Crypto tax and legal status

The statutory Selbstversicherung satisfies Austria's all-risk insurance test for residents with no compulsory cover

Healthcare coverage

A GmbH is cheap to form but Austria's tightened CFC rules now catch more foreign companies you control

Moving your company

No gift or inheritance tax, but gifts above EUR 50,000 or EUR 15,000 must still be reported

Leaving home: exit tax and ties

Becoming Austrian tax resident starts a 27.5 percent exit tax clock that expressly names crypto

Leaving home: exit tax and ties

Naturalising in Austria costs you your existing passport, with only narrow exceptions

Permanent residency and citizenship

Standard naturalisation needs ten years, and recognised refugees no longer get a six-year shortcut

Permanent residency and citizenship

The financially-independent Privatier route is real but quota-rationed and forbids all work

Residency routes

The Rot-Weiss-Rot Karte points system sets the 2026 thresholds for skilled third-country movers

Residency routes

No reciprocal healthcare cover, arrange private insurance before travel

Healthcare coverage

EHIC covers medically necessary care during a temporary Austrian stay

Healthcare coverage

No agreement at all means full double-coverage exposure

Social security

The telework Framework Agreement can preserve Austrian social security even with a quarter of your time at home

Social security

A posting certificate can keep you in your home social security system

Social security

Running your company from an Austrian home office can make the whole company Austrian tax resident

Permanent establishment risk

Under the 2026 framework, home office below half your working time is never a permanent establishment

Permanent establishment risk

Mandatory Austrian wage withholding turns on a low-bar payroll facility, not the income-tax PE

Employer payroll obligations

The 2024 Austria-Germany frontier rule can tax border-zone workers only at home, if you live and work inside the 30 km zone

Personal income tax

The treaty 183-day article can keep Austria from taxing a short posting, but the article number and period vary by treaty

Personal income tax

The 70-day second-home rule is the only escape, and it has a five-year precondition most people cannot meet

Tax residency

A stay over six months makes you resident from day one, backdated

Tax residency

A dwelling you merely hold the keys to makes you an Austrian tax resident, no minimum days required

Tax residency

Remote work on visitor status sits in an unresolved grey zone, and there is no nomad visa to fix it

Right to work

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals work in Austria without any permit

Right to work

Overstaying triggers fines and a Schengen-wide entry ban, not just an Austrian one

Immigration and visa

Visa-free Schengen entry for 90 days in any 180-day period

Immigration and visa

Register your address (Meldezettel) within three days of taking up accommodation

Local registrations

Register the Anmeldebescheinigung within four months, a separate clock from the Meldezettel

Immigration and visa

EU, EEA and Swiss nationals get free movement into Austria

Immigration and visa