Home office allowance Austria 2026: last €1,200, what changes in 2027
For 2026 the self-employed in Austria still deduct their home office as a flat €1,200 or €300. From 2027 the Arbeitsplatzpauschale is abolished; €300 a year for ergonomic furniture remains. With a worked example.
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For 2026 the self-employed in Austria deduct their home office with the Arbeitsplatzpauschale (home workplace allowance) for the last time: €1,200 if they have no other office, otherwise €300 (§ 4(4) no. 8 EStG 1988). For financial years that start after 31 December 2026 the allowance is abolished; all that is left is up to €300 a year for ergonomic furniture.
Law as of 8 November 2026
The abolition is in the Budgetbegleitgesetz 2027-2028 (Budget Accompanying Act), BGBl. I No. 62/2026. The act has been passed and published; it is no longer a draft. The same act ends the Telearbeitspauschale (telework allowance) for employees. What this means for your 2026 and 2027 taxes is below.
The home workplace allowance in 2026 and 2027 at a glance
| Financial year 2026 | Financial year from 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| No other office, no other active income above €13,539 with an office | €1,200 flat | €0 |
| Other active income above €13,539 with an office outside the home | €300 flat | €0 |
| Ergonomic furniture (desk, office chair, lighting) | only next to the €300: up to €300 a year | up to €300 a year |
| Study (Arbeitszimmer) that is the centre of all your work | actual costs instead of the allowance | actual costs |
| On top of the Basispauschalierung or Kleinunternehmerpauschalierung (flat-rate expense schemes) | yes | no longer |
| Legal basis | § 4(4) no. 8 EStG 1988 (2026 version) | § 4(4) no. 8 EStG 1988 as amended by BGBl. I No. 62/2026; § 124b no. 495 EStG 1988 |
Who gets the allowance for 2026
You qualify if you have business income and no room other than your home is available for your work (§ 4(4) no. 8 lit. a EStG 1988). That covers Einzelunternehmer (sole traders), trade licence holders, Neue Selbständige (new self-employed) and freelancers who work from home. You do not need a separate room: a desk in the living room is enough. If you deduct a study, you cannot claim the allowance as well.
The amount depends on whether you have other income from active work for which you have a room outside your home, for example a job with an office:
- €1,200 (full allowance): in 2026 you have no such other income above €13,539. This covers all costs caused by the business use of your home, for example a share of rent, electricity and heating.
- €300 (small allowance): your other income with an office is above €13,539 in 2026. On top, you may deduct ergonomic furniture for the workplace in your home of up to €300 a year.
The €13,539 threshold for 2026 equals the zero-rate band of the income tax scale (2025: €13,308).
Short year: if you start or close your business during the year, you get one twelfth per month, so €100 a month for the full allowance (§ 4(4) no. 8 lit. b EStG 1988). If you run several businesses, you get the allowance only once, split by business receipts (lit. c).
What applies to your home office from 2027
The Budget Accompanying Act 2027-2028 replaces § 4(4) no. 8 EStG 1988 for financial years starting after 31 December 2026 (§ 124b no. 495 EStG 1988). From then on, for the self-employed:
- No allowance any more, neither €1,200 nor €300.
- Ergonomic furniture up to €300 a year for a workplace in your home, for everyone who does not deduct a study. Costs above €300 can be deducted in later years within the same annual cap.
- The study stays: if a study in your home is the centre of all your business and professional work, you keep deducting its share of costs, including furnishings (§ 20(1) no. 2 lit. d EStG 1988).
- Work equipment stays: a laptop, monitor and printer are business expenses as before, for the business share. Up to €1,000 net per item you deduct them at once; see the guide to low-value assets.
- Flat-rate schemes: if you use the Basispauschalierung or the Kleinunternehmerpauschalierung, you can no longer deduct the allowance on top from 2027 (§ 17(1) and (3a) no. 3 lit. a EStG 1988, new version).
Furniture you use both for a job and for your business is deducted entirely as employment expenses or entirely as business expenses, never split.
Non-calendar financial year: what counts is when the financial year starts. A financial year from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027 still gets the full allowance. One that starts on 1 January 2027 or later does not.
Worked examples
Graphic designer, home office only. She works as a sole trader at her dining table, has no other office and no job. Her taxable income after all deductions is about €30,000, so in 2026 and 2027 she is in the 30% band of the tax scale (§ 33 EStG 1988).
| 2026 | 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| Home office deduction | €1,200 allowance | €300 for a new office chair costing €450 |
| Tax saved at 30% | €1,200 × 30% = €360 | €300 × 30% = €90 |
She deducts the remaining €150 for the chair in 2028. If she buys no furniture in 2027, she saves nothing at all. The end of the allowance costs her €270 to €360 in tax a year.
Employee with a side business. He earns more than €13,539 in a job with an office and writes code at home in the evenings for clients. For 2026 he gets the €300 allowance plus up to €300 for ergonomic furniture; from 2027 only the furniture, up to €300.
Start in autumn. If you start on 1 September 2026 and work only from home, you get four twelfths for 2026: 4 × €100 = €400.
Employees: the telework allowance ends too
Employees have their own rules, and they change on 1 January 2027 as well (§ 124b no. 497 EStG 1988):
| 2026 | from 2027 | |
|---|---|---|
| Telework allowance from the employer | up to €3 per telework day, at most 100 days (€300), tax-free | abolished |
| Shortfall up to €3 a day as employment expenses | yes | abolished |
| Ergonomic furniture as employment expenses | up to €300, from 26 telework days | up to €300 if you work (also) from home under an agreement with your employer |
| Digital work equipment provided by the employer | tax-free | tax-free |
The legal basis is § 26 no. 9 and § 16(1) no. 7a EStG 1988. From 2027 you no longer need 26 telework days for the furniture deduction, but you do need an agreement with your employer.
Austria is not Germany
If you search for "home office allowance", you often land on German pages with €6 a day. That daily flat rate does not exist in Austria. Austria had the Arbeitsplatzpauschale for the self-employed (€1,200 or €300 a year) and the Telearbeitspauschale for employees (up to €3 a day), and both end with 2026.
What to do before 31 December 2026
- Check which allowance you get. If you have a job with an office in 2026 and earn more than €13,539 there, it is €300; otherwise €1,200.
- Claim it in your 2026 return. You enter it as a business expense in your 2026 income tax return, via FinanzOnline by 30 June 2027 (§ 134 BAO).
- Plan furniture. With the small allowance you deduct ergonomic furniture up to €300 on top in 2026. From 2027 this cap applies to everyone.
- Check larger purchases. If your profit is above €33,000, new assets above €1,000 net with a useful life of at least four years, such as office furnishings, also cover the profit allowance in 2026. The free profit allowance calculator shows what that is worth.
- Keep receipts. The allowance needs no receipts; furniture and equipment do.
Norman in Austria
Norman is an AI bookkeeping app for the self-employed and companies. In Germany and Poland it captures receipts by photo, matches bank transactions, writes invoices and prepares tax returns; for Austria, Norman is in preparation. Until then you will find free guides to Austrian law here, for example on the profit allowance, and everything about Norman's launch in Austria.
Frequently asked questions
Is there still a home office allowance in Austria in 2027?
No. The Arbeitsplatzpauschale for the self-employed applies for the last time to financial years starting in 2026 or earlier, and the Telearbeitspauschale for employees ends with 2026. From 2027, ergonomic furniture up to €300 a year and the study remain.
Can I still claim the allowance for 2026?
Yes. You claim it in your income tax return for 2026, which you file in 2027. The abolition applies only to financial years that start after 31 December 2026.
Do I need a separate study for the allowance?
No. It is enough that no room outside your home is available for your work. If you deduct a study, you do not get the allowance.
How much do I get if I also have a job?
If you have a job with an office and earn more than €13,539 there in 2026, you get €300 plus up to €300 for ergonomic furniture. Below that, you get €1,200.
Can I still deduct my desk from 2027?
Yes, as ergonomic furniture up to €300 a year, if you do not deduct a study. If the desk costs more, you deduct the rest in the following years, up to €300 each year.