Registration only
Gewerbeanmeldung
€ 150one-off
- Gewerbeanmeldung with GISA
- Choosing the right Gewerbe
- ID Austria activation
- Gewerbeschein by email
Arrive. Understand. Grow.
Your own Gewerbe in Austria — without the Amtsdeutsch.
We register you as a sole trader (Einzelunternehmer) in 2–5 working days: GISA, Finanzamt, SVS. You sign once — from there we do the talking with the authorities.
- GISA-Nr. 37528447
- Licensed Unternehmensberatung
Packages
A fixed price, with no "it depends"
You pay once — we do the rest. If the registration fails through our fault, we refund the full amount.
Not a single trip to an office — with any package we handle everything.We file the documentsWe register you with GISA · Finanzamt · SVSWe send full confirmation to your inbox
The usual choice
Finanzamt and SVS
€ 250one-off
- Versicherungserklärung filed with the SVS
- Registration with the Finanzamt + Steuernummer
- UID (VAT) number if needed
- NeuFö 2 — saving on administrative fees
Registration and bookkeeping
“Turnkey”
€ 500one-off
- A personal manager on WhatsApp/Telegram
- Setting up Zvitly for your own bookkeeping
- Invoice template and a Kleinunternehmer briefing note
- A 1-hour consultation: SVS, VAT, Pauschalierung
- A calendar of deadlines for the year and practical tips
Prices in euros, excluding VAT — the tax is added to the invoice at the rate in force. Payment by card or transfer; we send the invoice straight away.
Reglementiertes Gewerbe (Befähigungsnachweis required) — assessed separately: first we check your qualifications and experience, and only then take the case on. Two legal routes — a partner acting as gewerberechtlicher Geschäftsführer under §39 GewO, or your own individuelle Befähigung under §19 GewO — are explained on the Gewerbeberechtigung page.
Not sure which package to take? Book 15 minutes — we will look at your case and advise you.
Finder
Which Gewerbe you actually need
Describe what you plan to do, in plain words. We will show you whether it is a freies Gewerbe (registered straight away) or a reglementiertes one (proof of qualification required).
Your case is not on the list, or you are torn between two Gewerbe? We will work it out together — the first 15 minutes are free.
A guide, not a legal opinion: the final wording of your Gewerbe is fixed when you register with GISA.
Basics
In Austria a sole trader is called Einzelunternehmer
Three things decide your money and your peace of mind: the trade licence, social insurance and taxes. The numbers for your own case come next.
A licence, not a company
A Gewerbeschein is the right to provide services, not a separate legal entity. A freies Gewerbe is registered straight away; a reglementiertes one requires proof of qualification.
Find my Gewerbe
Insured from day one
Contributions accrue from the day you register — even if you have not issued a single invoice yet. For the first two years the minimum contribution is €160.81/month.
Calculate contributionsOne return a year
The Einkommensteuererklärung is filed once a year. Profit up to €13,539 is not taxed, and as a Kleinunternehmer you charge no VAT up to €55,000.
Tax detailsBureaucracy never gets simpler. Someone just has to translate it into your language.
Calculator 2026
Work out what is left for you
The 2026 rates, thresholds and reliefs: SVS, Einkommensteuer, flat-rate expenses, Familienbonus Plus and VAT. Every explanation sits right under the numbers.
Turnover
€/ mo
€/ yr
Expenses (Basispauschalierung)
€/ yr
SVS — social insurance
Minimum contribution €160.81/month for the first 2 years. Later the SVS charges the difference — the pension part (PV) only
VAT (Umsatzsteuer)
Family and childrenno children
Children under 18
0
18+ in education
0
€700 from the age of 18.
Calculating…
Rates, thresholds and reliefs valid as of January 1, 2026
Your financial load for the year
—
SVS plus Einkommensteuer in your calculation.
The calculator shows the standard scenario. How much of that is genuinely unavoidable depends on decisions you make once — and that then apply for years.
- How you account for expensesBasispauschalierung, Kleinunternehmer-Pauschalierung or actual expenses (EAR) — three different bases. On the same turnover the gap between them can run into thousands of euros a year.
- Start date and SVS modeYour registration date decides which years the start-up relief covers and when the Nachbemessung lands. Moving the start by one month is sometimes worth more than it looks.
- Kleinunternehmer or UIDThe VAT exemption is not always the better deal: with a UID you reclaim input VAT on equipment, rent and services. We calculate both options.
- Family reliefsFamilienbonus Plus, Alleinverdiener, Alleinerzieher. The most common reason people overpay is not that they were not entitled — it is that they never claimed.
We are a licensed Unternehmensberatung. Years of practice have given us our own set of working moves: which expense base fits your particular activity, which month to start in, what legitimately goes into Betriebsausgaben and which reliefs most people simply never claim. We look at your case as a business model — and show you what legally brings the figure above down.
The calculation is indicative: 2026 rates (BGBl. II Nr. 263/2025). This is not tax advice — the final amounts follow from your Steuerbescheid.
The overview
What an Einzelunternehmen in Austria actually means
Six terms that shape your day-to-day as an Einzelunternehmer: what each one means in practice and the 2026 figure behind it.
2026 figures. SVS rates and the Kleinunternehmer threshold are indexed every year.
Validity
Rates and thresholds valid as of January 1, 2026
The figures in the calculator and tables on this page have been checked against the versions of Austrian law currently in force. The last check was made manually on August 12, 2026 — this date is not advanced automatically when the site is updated.
Primary sources
This page sets out the general rules and does not replace individual advice. Wenexus is an Unternehmensberatung (business consultancy); for questions beyond business consulting, engage an independent Steuerberater.
Fine print
Six things people find out far too late
None of this is hidden — it is all in the law. It just never gets mentioned at the moment of registration, and the bill arrives two years later.
The third year costs more than the first two
For the first two years the SVS charges contributions on the minimum base — the payment is low. When the Steuerbescheid arrives after roughly two years, the difference is recalculated against your actual profit, and only the pension part is affected.
Turnover €40,000, services: €1,930 for the year → a top-up of ≈ €5,006, that is +€1,252 every quarter of year 3. On request it can be spread over 12 quarters.
The SVS exemption is revoked retroactively
The exemption holds as long as BOTH limits are met: profit up to €6,613.20 and turnover up to €55,000. Breach one of them and contributions are recalculated from 1 January, not from the day you crossed the line.
Fail to notify the SVS within 8 weeks of the Steuerbescheid and a 9.3% penalty on PV+KV is added. The application must be filed in advance (prospektiv), not after the fact.
Kleinunternehmer: the 10% tolerance works once
Up to €55,000 of turnover there is no VAT. Going over by up to 10% (up to €60,500) is forgiven once: the exemption still holds this year, from next year USt registration is compulsory.
Above €60,500 the exemption falls away from the invoice that crossed the threshold, and that invoice is taxed in full. There is no retroactive effect — invoices issued earlier are not recalculated.
20% or 45% of expenses without a single receipt
Kleinunternehmer-Pauschalierung lets you deduct 20% of turnover for services or 45% for trade — with no receipts to collect. But only while turnover stays within €55,000.
After that you are left with Basis-Pauschalierung 15% (6% for consultants and artists) or real expense accounting. If turnover drops back below €55,000, the right to 20%/45% returns.
The Grundfreibetrag people keep forgetting
15% of profit after SVS is not taxed — automatically, with no application and no investment. It is the cheapest relief in the system.
Capped at €4,950 a year. On €32,000 of profit with €1,930 of SVS that is already −€4,511 off the taxable base.
SVS starts on the day you register, not with your first invoice
The duty to pay contributions arises from the date of the Gewerbeanmeldung. A pause "until the clients come" does not exempt you — which is why the registration date is worth planning together with your first invoices.
Quarterly deadlines: 29.03 · 30.06 · 29.09 · 29.12. Late payment means Verzugszinsen; a forgotten return means a Verspätungszuschlag of up to 10% of the tax.
What to do about itWe go through these six points in the first call — and set the registration date, the SVS mode and the expense method so that year three does not come as a surprise.
How it works
From the first call to the Gewerbeschein
Four steps, two to five working days. Your part: one signature and a few files.
A 15-minute call
In your language. We go through the activity, the type of Gewerbe, the start date and the SVS mode.
You send the documents
Passport, Blaue Karte EU or Aufenthaltstitel, Meldezettel, criminal record certificate. We check the set is complete.
We fill everything in
Gewerbeanmeldung, Verf 24, U 15, NeuFö 2. You sign once with ID Austria (or another electronic signature).
Gewerbeschein by email
Registration with GISA, Steuernummer, access to SVS and FinanzOnline. You can issue your first invoice.
Your part stays minimalWe will not ask you to read German forms.
We prepare only what the authorities genuinely need.
We prepare only what the authorities genuinely need.
Ready to take the first step?
After registration
The Gewerbeschein has arrived. Now comes the bookkeeping
Invoices under Austrian rules, quarterly SVS contributions, UVA, the annual return. It is not hard — it is simply regular. And this is exactly where people lose money two years after a good start.
Zvitlyfull bookkeeping for sole traders in Austria
One place instead of five folders and two portals
- Invoices with every mandatory detail under §11 UStG — so they hold up in an audit
- Income and expense records: a ready base for E1 and E1a, not a folder of receipts in April
- A calendar of deadlines: quarterly SVS, UVA, the annual return — with reminders in advance
- Monitoring of the €55,000 threshold and the SVS exemption limits — a warning before you cross them
- An income report for the bank, MA 35 or the renewal of your Aufenthaltstitel — exported in a minute
You do it yourself
With the “Turnkey” package we set Zvitly up for your activity and show you how to use it.
You want more
We take the bookkeeping on: you issue the invoices — deadlines, reports and correspondence with the authorities stay with us.
Why clients trust us: numbers and facts
2–5working days to the Gewerbeschein
500+cases registered
5areas of consulting
4languages we work in
Why you can trust us
- A registered business, GISA-NR. 37528447
- Licensed Unternehmensberatung (§94 Z74 GewO) — business consulting as a regulated profession
- A personal manager who speaks UA/RU/DE/EN
- An office in the centre: Fleischmarkt 14/5a, 1010 Wien — drop in for a melange
Clients
People who are already working legally
„They registered my Gewerbe in three days. The manager explained everything in my own language — I never saw a single German document.“
„As a developer the bureaucracy was what scared me most. Here it was all closed out: Gewerbe, SVS, FinanzOnline and the first UVA.“
„The hardest part was choosing the right Gewerbe. They showed me the difference between Handel and Handelsagent immediately — that saved me time and money.“
Questions
Short answers to what people ask most
SVS with the start-up relief ≈ €1,930, Einkommensteuer ≈ €2,761 → that leaves roughly €35,300 net for the year. In year three, though, an SVS top-up of ≈ €5,006 is added — we plan for it from the start. This is an indicative figure — for your own case use the calculator above or book a personal consultation.
Yes. Services supplied outside the EU carry no VAT (Drittland), but the income still belongs in your Austrian return. What matters is correctly issued invoices and proof of the place of supply.
Freies means free: registered straight away, no exams (IT, trade, photography, tutoring, home cleaning). Reglementiertes requires a Befähigungsnachweis: a diploma, a Meisterprüfung or recognition of experience under §19 GewO (cosmetics, construction, car mechanics, consulting).
Yes, with no limit. Each is registered separately, but SVS and the tax return stay single. A second freies Gewerbe is usually registered at a 50% discount.
Quarterly: 29.03, 30.06, 29.09, 29.12. For the first two years the minimum contribution is €160.81/month. In year three the Nachbemessung arrives based on your actual profit — only the pension part (PV 18.5%) is topped up. A single SVS form — exemption, change of contribution base, instalments — is filled in through our SVS forms service.
A VAT exemption for turnover up to €55,000 a year: you do not add 20% to your invoices and you file no UVA. The one-off 10% tolerance (up to €60,500) forgives the first overshoot; from the following year USt registration is compulsory.
You can combine the two. The SVS looks at the overall base: if your income from the Gewerbe is small, the exemption under §4 Abs.1 Z7 GSVG applies (UV only). Einkommensteuer rates are applied to both incomes combined — which is exactly why there is only one return.
We give you a Rechnung template, a briefing note on the Kleinunternehmer rules and a calendar of SVS and tax deadlines. We help you set up your personal accounting software ZVITLY — for issuing invoices, recording expenses, calculations, reminders and tax reporting. With the Premium package the first hour of consulting is free and we prepare your first invoices together with you.
The Einzelunternehmen is the cheapest start: registration in 2–5 working days, from €150, no share capital — but you are liable for debts with your private assets. A GmbH separates private and business assets: €10,000 share capital (€5,000 paid in at formation), 23% KÖSt instead of the progressive scale and a minimum of €500 KÖSt even with no profit. Starting as a sole trader costs you nothing — you can move the business into a GmbH later at any time.
No. The 50% is a marginal rate and applies only to the part of the profit above €104,859; the 55% rate starts above €1,000,000 and is temporary, until 2029. The scale is progressive: each slice of income is taxed at its own rate. On a profit of around €50,000 the effective Einkommensteuer burden works out at roughly 20–25%.
Yes — in the year of the Nachbemessung the SVS top-up can exceed your Einkommensteuer, and that is arithmetic, not a mistake. Only the pension part (PV) is recalculated: for the first two years the KV is already final under the Neuzugangsgrundlage. So from year one, set aside the difference between the real 18.5% PV and the minimum you actually paid.
No statutory interval exists, and there is no official statistic by business size either — selection is risk-based. In our own practice the gap is usually 2–5 years, and it is highly individual: some clients are audited every two years, others every five. What the law does fix: assessments can reach back 5 years, 10 where evasion is suspected, and records must be kept for at least 7 years (§207 Abs.2, §132 Abs.1 BAO).
Yes — no law obliges you to hire a Steuerberater (§134 BAO), and you can file yourself through FinanzOnline. The hard part is not the filing but the content: allocating Betriebsausgaben correctly, not missing the Pauschalierung, booking the SVS in the right year. For a simple activity this is manageable; with mixed income or VAT it is worth going through the first year with an independent Steuerberater.
Once a year, for the previous year: by 30 April on paper or by 30 June through FinanzOnline (§134 Abs.1 BAO). The online form walks you through the sections and pre-fills what the authority already knows. If you record income and expenses as you go, it is an evening's work — if you start hunting for receipts in December, it is not.
No — the SVS is Pflichtversicherung (pension and health cover), not a tax, and the contributions buy you insurance entitlements. What matters for the maths is different: SVS contributions are Betriebsausgaben and reduce your profit BEFORE the tax rates are applied (§27 GSVG, §4 Abs.4 Z1 lit.a EStG). Your real burden is therefore lower than simply adding 26.83% to your tax rate.
Betriebsausgaben are all business-related costs: equipment, software, rent, travel, professional liability insurance. Instead of collecting receipts you can take a flat rate: Basispauschalierung of 6% of turnover (max €25,200) for consulting, science and the arts, otherwise 15% (max €63,000), up to €420,000 turnover. Kleinunternehmer have their own: 45% in trade (max €24,750), 20% in services (max €11,000).
Mainly the Familienbonus Plus: €166.68 per month per child under 18 (§33 Abs.3a EStG). If you raise the children on your own, the Alleinerzieherabsetzbetrag is added — €828 a year for two children. And where your tax is too small to absorb the Familienbonus in full, the Kindermehrbetrag of up to €700 per child steps in.
The tax itself. Familienbonus Plus, Alleinerzieherabsetzbetrag and Kindermehrbetrag are Absetzbeträge: they come off the already calculated Einkommensteuer, euro for euro (§33 EStG). That is worth considerably more than a Freibetrag, which only shrinks the base and saves you just your marginal rate.
The standard rate is 20%, the reduced rates are 13% and 10%, and since 01.07.2026 there is an additional 4.9% rate (Anlage 3 UStG). You become liable as soon as turnover exceeds the Kleinunternehmer threshold of €55,000 — or voluntarily, earlier. From that point VAT has to be shown on every invoice, and in exchange you gain the right to deduct input VAT (Vorsteuer).
Monthly — or quarterly if last year's turnover did not exceed €100,000 (§21 Abs.1–2 UStG). One deadline covers both: the UVA is filed and the amount paid by the 15th of the second month after the period, so January is due by 15 March. The annual USt return comes on top; it does not replace the UVA.
See you on Fleischmarkt.
Let's start with a conversation — over a melange.
15 minutes, in your language. You tell us what you want to do — we tell you what it takes and how much will be left for you.
- Fleischmarkt 14/5a, 1010 Wien
- Online — if that is quicker
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