Gewinnfreibetrag 2026 in Austria: up to €46,400 and the 2027 change

The Gewinnfreibetrag (profit allowance) makes up to €46,400 of your profit tax-free in Austria in 2026: you get 15 % of the first €33,000 (at most €4,950) automatically, and for everything above that you must invest by the end of the financial year (§ 10 EStG 1988). 2026 is the last year in which securities can cover that investment; for financial years starting in 2027 to 2029 only physical investments count.

Law as of 6 November 2026

The allowance is for individuals with business income: sole traders (Einzelunternehmer), trade licence holders, Neue Selbständige (new self-employed), freelancers, farmers and foresters, and the partners of an OG or KG partnership. It does not matter whether you use cash-basis accounting (Einnahmen-Ausgaben-Rechnung) or keep full books.

The 2026 profit allowance at a glance

How the allowance is calculated

The base is your business profit, excluding capital gains on selling the business and capital income taxed at the special 27.5 % rate (§ 10 Abs. 1 Z 1 EStG 1988). The allowance grows in steps:

The tax office (Finanzamt Österreich) applies the basic allowance automatically in your assessment. The investment-based allowance above €33,000 must be claimed in your tax return, and you only get it as far as qualifying investments in the same year cover it (§ 10 Abs. 1 Z 4 and 5 EStG 1988). Invest less and you get less. The allowance stays tax-free for good as long as you keep the assets for four years.

Which investments cover the allowance

Qualifying are new, depreciable, physical fixed assets with a useful life of at least four years that serve a business or permanent establishment in Austria (§ 10 Abs. 3 Z 1 EStG 1988). Typical examples are machines, tools, office furniture, shop fittings, cargo bikes or a lorry.

Not qualifying under § 10 Abs. 4 EStG 1988:

1. Cars and estate cars, except driving-school cars and vehicles used at least 80 % for commercial passenger transport, such as taxis.
2. Aircraft.
3. Low-value assets up to €1,000 that you write off at once. More in the guide to low-value assets.
4. Used assets.
5. Assets bought from a company you control.
6. Assets for which you claim the research premium.

Securities in 2026: for financial years starting before 1 January 2027, securities within the meaning of § 14 Abs. 7 Z 4 EStG 1988 also cover the allowance. These are euro bearer bonds from issuers in the EU or EEA (for example Wohnbauanleihen, housing bonds), promissory-note loans to EU and EEA states, and shares in funds that invest only in such bonds. Shares and equity funds do not count. The securities must stay in the business for four years.

Every asset and security that covers the allowance must be listed in the fixed-asset register or a separate list, showing how much of the allowance it covers (§ 10 Abs. 7 EStG 1988).

What changes in 2027

The Budgetbegleitgesetz 2027-2028 (BGBl. I Nr. 62/2026) has been passed and published. For the profit allowance it means:

Securities you already bought for earlier years still qualify; their four-year holding period runs on as normal (§ 124b Z 496 EStG 1988). If your financial year does not follow the calendar and starts, for example, on 1 July 2026, it can still be covered with securities. For a calendar year the last day is 31 December 2026. Allow a few bank working days for the purchase, because the date of acquisition counts.

That makes 2026 a special year for self-employed people without large physical investments. If your profit is above €33,000 every year and you have covered the allowance with bonds so far, from 2027 you get only the basic allowance unless you invest in machines, furniture or equipment.

Profit allowance or investment allowance

You cannot have both for the same physical investment: an asset that covers the investment-based profit allowance gets no Investitionsfreibetrag (investment allowance, § 11 Abs. 3 Z 1 EStG 1988). The investment allowance is 20 % of the cost for acquisitions from 1 November 2025 to 31 December 2026 (22 % for ecological investments), and 10 % or 15 % again from 2027 (§ 11 and § 124b Z 480 EStG 1988).

An investment of €10,000 therefore brings either up to €10,000 of profit allowance, as far as your profit above €33,000 leaves room for it, or €2,000 of investment allowance. Depreciation runs as normal in both cases. If you invest more than the profit allowance needs, use the investment allowance for the rest.

Worked example: €80,000 profit in 2026

A graphic designer using cash-basis accounting makes a profit of €80,000 in 2026. In October she buys new office furniture for €3,800 net, and in December a housing bond for €2,310.

1. Basic allowance: €33,000 × 15 % = €4,950.
2. Possible investment-based allowance: (€80,000 − €33,000) × 13 % = €47,000 × 13 % = €6,110.
3. Cover: furniture €3,800 + bond €2,310 = €6,110. The allowance is fully covered.
4. Total profit allowance: €4,950 + €6,110 = €11,060.
5. Taxable profit: €80,000 − €11,060 = €68,940.

With the 2026 tax bands (§ 33 EStG 1988) and no other deductions, that gives:

The €6,110 of investments save her €2,818.80 of income tax: €4,685 of the allowance falls in the 48 % band (€2,248.80) and €1,425 in the 40 % band (€570.00). She also depreciates the furniture as normal. In 2027 she could not cover the €2,310 with a bond, only with further physical investments.

Before 31 December: the checklist

1. Estimate your profit. If it is below €33,000, you need to do nothing: the basic allowance is automatic.
2. Work out the room. 13 % of your profit above €33,000 is the investment that fully covers the allowance.
3. Bring planned purchases forward. The acquisition in the financial year counts, not the payment, even with cash-basis accounting. That differs from low-value assets, where cash-basis businesses go by the payment date.
4. Securities only in 2026. If you want to close the gap with bonds, this is the last chance until 2029.
5. Keep the list. Record every asset and security with the amount it covers.
6. Keep them four years. Sell earlier and the allowance is taxed back in the year the asset leaves (§ 10 Abs. 5 EStG 1988).

Austria is not Germany

People searching for the profit allowance often land on German pages about the Investitionsabzugsbetrag. Austria has no such thing. The Austrian Gewinnfreibetrag does not bring future depreciation forward; it is a final allowance, and €4,950 of it comes with no investment at all.

A GmbH gets no profit allowance either, because it is only for individuals. But if you hold more than 25 % of your GmbH, your managing director's pay is taxed as self-employment income (§ 22 Z 2 EStG 1988), and the profit allowance applies to that business income.

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 low-value assets, and everything about Norman's launch in Austria.

Frequently asked questions

How high is the profit allowance in 2026?

At most €46,400 a year. Of that, 15 % of the first €33,000 of profit, so up to €4,950, comes with no investment. For profit above that you need qualifying investments in the same year.

Do I have to apply for the basic allowance?

No. The Finanzamt Österreich applies the basic allowance automatically in your assessment. Only the investment-based allowance is claimed in your tax return.

Can I still buy securities for the profit allowance in 2027?

No. For financial years starting in 2027, 2028 or 2029 only physical investments cover the allowance. From financial years starting in 2030, securities count again.

Does a company car count for the profit allowance?

A normal car or estate car does not, electric cars included. The only exceptions are driving-school cars and vehicles used at least 80 % for commercial passenger transport.

Do I get the profit allowance with flat-rate profit (Basispauschalierung)?

Only the basic allowance of up to €4,950. The investment-based allowance is not available with Basispauschalierung or Kleinunternehmerpauschalierung (§ 10 Abs. 1 Z 6 EStG 1988).