No sales this quarter: do you file a zero VAT return in Austria?

Yes, if your turnover in the previous year was above €55,000: then you file the Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung (UVA, the preliminary VAT return) for every month or quarter, even when you had no sales. If it was €55,000 or less, you need no UVA for a period with nothing to pay, as long as there is no refund due and the tax office has not asked for one.

Law as of 14 November 2026

Austrian VAT law has no separate "Nullmeldung" (zero return). It simply means an ordinary UVA in which every amount is zero. Whether you must file it depends only on your prior-year turnover and on whether the period produces a payment due (Zahllast) or a refund (Überschuss).

Zero returns at a glance

The €55,000 limit applies to return periods from 2025. Until the end of 2024 it was €35,000. It counts the prior year's supplies of goods and services; sales exempt under § 6 Abs. 1 Z 7 to 28 UStG 1994 are left out.

Above €55,000 prior-year turnover: the UVA applies to zero too

§ 21 Abs. 1 UStG 1994 requires every business to file a UVA electronically for every return period. The only general exception is in the regulation BGBl. II 206/1998 as amended by BGBl. II 401/2024, and it applies only up to €55,000 prior-year turnover. Above that, it does not apply. So a month or quarter without a single euro of sales still needs a UVA, filled with zeros.

Typical cases:

• a quarter of Karenz (parental leave) or illness in which you bill nothing;
• a GmbH that is set up but has not sold anything yet;
• a seasonal business between seasons;
• a project business where the invoice only goes out next quarter.

§ 21 Abs. 2 UStG 1994 sets the period: if your prior-year turnover was €100,000 or less, your return period is the calendar quarter. Above it, you file monthly. You can choose monthly filing below the limit too, by filing the UVA for Jänner (January) on time; the choice then applies to the whole year.

In your founding year there is no prior-year turnover. According to the Unternehmensserviceportal (USP, the government business portal), you then estimate the turnover of your first year. If the estimate is above €100,000, you file monthly from the start.

Up to €55,000: when you need no UVA

If your turnover in the previous year was €55,000 or less, the UVA lapses when you pay the prepayment in full by the due date or when none arises for the period (§ 1 of the regulation). A period without sales and without input VAT therefore needs no return.

You then also need no Aufstellung der Besteuerungsgrundlagen (a summary of the tax figures). § 21 Abs. 1 UStG 1994 otherwise requires it from everyone exempt from the UVA, but only for periods with a payment or a refund.

Three cases still make the UVA necessary:

1. A refund. If you have more input VAT than VAT, for example because you bought a laptop but billed nothing, you only get the money with a UVA. The credit takes effect on the day you file the UVA, at the earliest on the day after the period ends (§ 21 Abs. 1 UStG 1994).
2. You pay late or too little. The exemption only applies if the prepayment is in your tax account in full by the due date. Otherwise the UVA is due.
3. The tax office requests it. If you do not pay prepayments properly, do not report refunds correctly or neglect your records, you can be required to file (§ 2 of the regulation).

Kleinunternehmer: no UVA

As a Kleinunternehmer with no more than €55,000 gross turnover in the previous and the current year, you are exempt from VAT (§ 6 Abs. 1 Z 27 UStG 1994). While the exemption applies, you file no UVA, and no zero return either. It is different if you have opted into standard VAT (Regelbesteuerung): then the rules in the section above apply, and a UVA is needed mainly when you want to reclaim input VAT.

If you go over €55,000 in the current year (with a 10% tolerance for the rest of the year), the exemption ends. From then on you charge VAT, and whether you file UVAs depends on your prior-year turnover again.

Deadlines 2026 and 2027

The UVA and the payment are due on the 15th of the second following month (§ 21 Abs. 1 UStG 1994). For quarterly filers that means:

Monthly filers report October 2026 by 15 December 2026 and November 2026 by 15 Jänner (January) 2027.

How to file a zero return in FinanzOnline

1. Log in to FinanzOnline, the tax office's online portal. The UVA must be filed electronically; the paper form U30 is only allowed if electronic filing is not reasonable for you, for example without internet access.
2. Open the Umsatzsteuervoranmeldung (form U30) and pick the month or quarter.
3. Enter zero for sales and input VAT, or leave the fields empty, as the form asks.
4. Check that the result shows neither a payment nor a refund.
5. Send the UVA by the due date and keep the confirmation.

What happens if the zero return is missing

• Assessment: If you do not file a UVA, the tax office can set the prepayment itself (§ 21 Abs. 3 UStG 1994).
• Coercive penalty: The tax office can ask you in writing and threaten a Zwangsstrafe (coercive penalty); a single one is at most €5,000 (§ 111 BAO).
• Late-filing surcharge: The Verspätungszuschlag is up to 10% of the tax, and only if the delay is not excusable (§ 135 BAO). With a true zero return the tax is zero, and surcharges below €50 are not imposed. It gets expensive mainly when VAT was in fact due for the period.

Worked examples

Sandra, graphic designer, prior-year turnover 2025: €72,000. She files quarterly in 2026. From October to December 2026 she is on Karenz, bills nothing and buys nothing.

Because her prior-year turnover is above €55,000, she files a UVA with all zeros by 15 February 2027.

Thomas, IT consultant, prior-year turnover 2025: €38,000, opted into standard VAT. In Q4 2026 he bills nothing but buys a laptop for €1,440 gross.

Without a UVA there is no credit. Thomas files the UVA, and €240 is credited to his tax account from the day he files. He deducts the laptop itself at €1,200 net as a low-value asset.

Anna, translator, prior-year turnover 2025: €48,000, opted into standard VAT. In Q4 2026 she bills €4,000 net and has €60 input VAT.

If Anna transfers the full €740 by 15 February 2027, she needs no UVA; she keeps the summary of the tax figures with her records. If she pays only €500 or pays late, she must file the UVA.

Austria is not Germany

If you search for "Nullmeldung" on German sites, you read about the Umsatzsteuer-Voranmeldung due on the 10th of the following month. In Austria the deadline is the 15th of the second following month, and up to €55,000 prior-year turnover you need no UVA at all without a payment or refund. Forms, limits and deadlines differ; for a business in Austria, use only the Austrian rules.

Other returns: ZM and OSS

The UVA rules do not apply to every return. You file the Zusammenfassende Meldung (ZM, EC sales list) only for periods with reportable supplies to other EU states; without such sales there is no ZM (Art. 21 Abs. 3 UStG 1994, annex on the single market). The EU One-Stop-Shop (OSS) works the other way round: once registered, you file the return even for quarters without OSS sales, according to the USP, within one month after the quarter ends.

The UVA has one more effect: the return period also decides when a cash register duty starts. What you can still do for your taxes before 31 December is in the year-end tax tips.

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 start in Austria.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to file a UVA if I had no sales?

If your prior-year turnover was above €55,000, yes: then you file a UVA for every period, even with all zeros. If it was lower and there is neither a payment nor a refund, you need none.

Do I have to file a zero return as a Kleinunternehmer?

No. As long as you are VAT-exempt as a Kleinunternehmer, you file no UVA. Only when you opt into standard VAT or go over the limit do the normal UVA rules apply.

Do I get input VAT back if I do not have to file a UVA?

Only if you file a UVA anyway. The refund is credited only with the UVA, from the day you file it.

What does it cost if I forget the zero return?

A true zero return carries no late-filing surcharge, because the surcharge depends on the tax and is not imposed below €50. The tax office can, however, ask you to file and threaten a coercive penalty of up to €5,000.

Does my GmbH have to file a UVA without sales?

In the founding year the period depends on your turnover estimate. If the GmbH's turnover in the previous year was above €55,000, it files a UVA even for periods without sales; below that, the same exceptions apply as for sole traders.