Arbeitnehmerveranlagung: claiming back tax in Austria

According to oesterreich.gv.at, the Austrian government portal, employees, officials and pensioners subject to wage tax are assessed through the employee assessment — formerly known as the annual settlement. The tax is recalculated and spread evenly across the year, which often reveals that too much tax was paid, with a credit paid straight to your account.

With form L1, you can also claim allowances after the year ends — for example the single-earner or single-parent tax credit and the commuter lump sum. If the result is an extra payment instead, you can withdraw a voluntary application, unless the assessment is mandatory.

Sources: oesterreich.gv.at — General information on the employee assessment; oesterreich.gv.at — Employee assessment without application; both read 10 October 2026.

• Voluntary assessment: you have five years to apply — the application for 2025 can be made until the end of December 2030
• Mandatory assessment: due by 30 April, or 30 June for online returns, of the following year

The tax office asks for a mandatory return in certain cases — for example, if you had two or more incomes subject to wage tax at the same time that weren't taxed together, or received sick pay from statutory social security.

Since 2017, Austria can carry out the assessment without an application. The tax office calculates overpaid wage tax automatically, issues a notice and transfers the credit to your bank account.

It happens automatically only if you haven't applied yourself by 30 June for the previous year, the calculation produces a refund, you had only income subject to wage tax, and you haven't claimed special expenses or deductions. If you have costs to claim, file your own L1 via FinanzOnline — even after an automatic assessment, within the five-year window.