Self-employed without a trade licence in Austria (Neue Selbständige)

What it is

• Neue Selbständige are people with business income from self-employment or a business who are not already compulsorily insured for that work under the GSVG or another law. (GSVG § 2 (Pflichtversicherung))
• Liberal professions are occupations practised on the basis of a special qualification that are not governed by trade law; many have their own chambers and professional rules. (Freie Berufe)

Who it is for

• Excluded from the Trade Code are, among others, literary work, the fine arts, self-publishing by authors, and private teaching and education. The full list is in § 2 GewO. (GewO 1994 § 2 (Ausnahmen vom Geltungsbereich))
• Neue Selbständige are compulsorily insured only once their income exceeds the insurance threshold: €6,613.20 in 2026. Filing an Überschreitungserklärung gives cover straight away. If the SVS establishes compulsory insurance only after the year ends, it adds a surcharge of 9.3 % of the pension and health contributions; you avoid it by reporting within eight weeks of your income tax assessment. (Werte und Grenzen für das Jahr 2026; Neue Selbständige – Beginn und Ende der Versicherung; GSVG, geltende Fassung (§ 18 Meldepflicht))

What it costs

• No trade registration. Notifying the tax office and the SVS is free. (GewO 1994 § 2 (Ausnahmen vom Geltungsbereich); Anzeige an das Finanzamt (Einzelunternehmen))

Taxes and contributions

• Profit is subject to income tax (Einkommensteuer) under § 33 EStG; in 2026 the first €13,539 is tax-free, then the rate rises in bands (20 % up to €21,992, 30 % up to €36,458, 40 % up to €70,365 and higher above). (EStG 1988 § 33 (Steuertarif))
• Profit allowance (Gewinnfreibetrag): 15 % of the first €33,000 of profit (at most €4,950) is tax-free without any investment (Grundfreibetrag). Above that, the allowance applies only as far as qualifying investments cover it, up to €46,400 a year in total. With flat-rate profit methods only the basic allowance applies. (EStG 1988 § 10 (Gewinnfreibetrag))
• Basic flat rate (Basispauschalierung): if you keep no books and your turnover was at most €420,000 in the previous year, you can take business expenses as a flat 15 % of turnover (at most €63,000), or 6 % (at most €25,200) for commercial or technical consulting and for writing, lecturing, scientific, teaching or educational work. Only certain other expenses are deductible on top, such as goods purchased and wages. (EStG 1988 § 17 (Durchschnittssätze, Pauschalierung))
• Small business flat rate (Kleinunternehmerpauschalierung): if the small business VAT exemption covers all your sales, you can take expenses as 45 % of receipts (at most €24,750), or 20 % (at most €11,000) for a service business. (EStG 1988 § 17 (Durchschnittssätze, Pauschalierung))
• VAT (Umsatzsteuer): standard rate 20 %; reduced rates of 10 % and 13 % apply to the supplies the law lists. (UStG 1994 § 10 (Steuersätze))
• Small business scheme (Kleinunternehmerregelung): sales are VAT-exempt if they did not exceed €55,000 in the previous year and have not yet exceeded it in the current one (until 2024 the limit was €35,000). If the limit is exceeded by no more than 10 %, the exemption still applies until the end of the year. You can waive the exemption from the start of a calendar year; the waiver binds you for at least five years. (UStG 1994 § 6 (Steuerbefreiungen, Kleinunternehmer); Kleinunternehmen (Umsatzsteuer))
• Social insurance with the SVS (GSVG): pension 18.5 % and health 6.8 % of the contribution base (the state adds 4.3 % and 0.85 % respectively), self-employed provision (Selbständigenvorsorge) 1.53 % of the health insurance base, plus a fixed monthly accident insurance contribution that the insured person pays alone. (GSVG § 27 (Beitragssätze); BMSVG § 52 (Beitrag zur Selbständigenvorsorge); ASVG § 8 (Teilversicherung in der Unfallversicherung); ASVG § 74 (Unfallversicherungsbeitrag Selbständiger))
• The contribution base is your income as defined for income tax from the insured work, as a monthly average, plus the social insurance contributions prescribed; in 2026 at least €551.10 and at most €8,085.00 a month. According to the umbrella body of the social insurers (Dachverband), the health contribution in 2026 is therefore €37.47 to €549.78 and the pension contribution €101.95 to €1,495.73 a month. (GSVG § 25 (Beitragsgrundlage); ASVG § 810 (keine Aufwertung der Geringfügigkeitsgrenze 2026); BGBl. II Nr. 263/2025 (Aufwertungszahl und Höchstbeitragsgrundlagen 2026); Vorläufige Berechnung in den ersten drei Jahren; Beitragsrechtliche Werte in der Sozialversicherung 2026)
• In the first three years the SVS calculates provisional contributions from the minimum base. Once the income tax assessment is in, it recalculates (Nachbemessung), which can mean a credit or an extra payment. An extra payment for the first insured year and the two after it can be paid in twelve quarterly instalments over three years, if you apply by 31 March of the year after the final calculation. (GSVG § 25a (vorläufige Beitragsgrundlage); GSVG § 25 (Beitragsgrundlage); GSVG § 35 (Fälligkeit, Teilbeträge); Vorläufige Berechnung in den ersten drei Jahren)
• Only for: Trade under the Trade Code (Gewerbe). For traders with a Gewerbe, the minimum base is final for health insurance in the first two calendar years, with no recalculation, if there was no GSVG insurance in the 120 months before. (GSVG § 25a (vorläufige Beitragsgrundlage); Endgültige Berechnung in den ersten drei Jahren)
• From the fourth year the provisional base is that of the third preceding year, revalued; if current income differs substantially, you can apply by the end of the year to lower or raise it. (GSVG § 25a (vorläufige Beitragsgrundlage))
• The SVS bills contributions quarterly; they are due on 28/29 February, 31 May, 31 August and 30 November, or in monthly instalments on application. The full contribution is owed for the month in which insurance starts. (GSVG § 35 (Fälligkeit, Teilbeträge); Fälligkeit der Beiträge; GSVG § 27 (Beitragssätze))
• 2026 credit: anyone health-insured under the GSVG on 31 May with a monthly base of at most €2,900 gets a credit of €60 to €315 on health contributions, depending on the base, with the third-quarter bill. (GSVG § 27f (Gutschrift von Krankenversicherungsbeiträgen))

Bookkeeping

• Sole traders can work out profit as receipts minus expenses (Einnahmen-Ausgaben-Rechnung). Double-entry accounts under the Business Code (UGB) are needed only once a business has more than €700,000 revenue a year: from the second following year if that happens two years running, or from the next year if the limit is exceeded by at least €300,000. Members of the liberal professions are exempt from this duty. (Buchführungspflicht und Buchführung; UGB § 189 (Rechnungslegungspflicht))
• Cash register duty (Registrierkassenpflicht): from €15,000 annual turnover per business, cash takings must be recorded with an electronic system once they exceed €7,500 a year. The duty starts with the fourth month after the end of the VAT period in which the limits were first exceeded. (BAO § 131b (Registrierkassenpflicht))

Steps

1. Optional: NeuFöG declaration (NeuFö 2) before the official steps. If you belong to no statutory professional body, the advice it requires comes from the SVS or the chamber of commerce. (Neugründungs-Förderungsgesetz (NeuFöG))
2. Within one month of starting, notify the tax office (Finanzamt Österreich); this is free of charge. (Anzeige an das Finanzamt (Einzelunternehmen))
3. Report the work to the SVS within one month; if you expect income above the threshold, file an Überschreitungserklärung. (GSVG, geltende Fassung (§ 18 Meldepflicht); Neue Selbständige – Beginn und Ende der Versicherung)