Your household goods to Austria: no customs, but a vignette, tolls and a parking ban

Moving your household goods to Austria costs nothing at the border. The Austrian Ministry of Finance is brief about it: anyone moving from an EU country in principle pays no tax on their household goods and doesn't have to complete any special formalities. No declaration, no inventory, no customs post. The costs and the pitfalls are elsewhere: in the drive itself, in the toll that goes with the weight of your removal van, and on arrival in front of your new home.

Do I have to declare anything at the border?

No, with one exception: the car. It doesn't fall under the exemption for household goods. Before the first Austrian registration you pay the Normverbrauchsabgabe, and that comes with its own calculation. It's in your car to Austria.

For alcohol and tobacco the EU rule is that they are free as long as they are for your own use. If you go above the guide quantities, you must be able to show that they are for your own use. Anyone taking their wine cellar along wants to know these limits.

What you bring	Guide quantity for own use
Cigarettes	800 pieces
Cigars	200 pieces
Smoking tobacco	1 kilogram
Spirits	10 litres
Wine	90 litres, of which at most 60 litres sparkling
Beer	110 litres

Which vignette do I need for the drive?

For the Austrian motorways you need a vignette if your vehicle has a technically permissible total mass of up to 3.5 tonnes. For the moving drive a short vignette is usually enough:

Vignette 2026, vehicle up to 3.5 tonnes	Price
1 day	€ 9.60
10 days	€ 12.80
2 months	€ 32.00
year	€ 106.80

Don't buy the annual vignette online on the day you leave. A digital annual or two-month vignette that you buy online as a consumer is only valid eighteen days after purchase, because of the legal right of withdrawal. If you drive earlier, you drive without a vignette. A sticker vignette only counts if it is on the windscreen before the drive; carrying it loose does not count as paid.

Anyone caught without a valid vignette is offered an Ersatzmaut. If you don't pay it, you risk a fine of € 300 to € 3,000. Also watch the Alpine routes: on a number of expensive stretches through the Alps the vignette doesn't apply, and you pay a section toll instead.

What if my removal van is heavier than 3.5 tonnes?

Then the vignette doesn't apply. Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes fall under the distance-based toll, the GO-Maut. If you rent a large box truck yourself, ask the rental company how the toll for that vehicle is arranged; if you use a removal company, it belongs in the quote.

From 2027 the sticker vignette no longer exists: there will only be the digital vignette, linked to your number plate.

Where does the removal van park?

In Vienna you can have a temporary parking ban set up for a move at the MA 46, the traffic organisation department. The rules are strict:

• apply at least ten working days before moving day;
• the ban applies for at most a week or five working days, and only for the hours of loading;
• there has to be a regular parking lane, and you check that yourself beforehand;
• the costs depend on the traffic measures needed.

Vienna gives a practical tip of its own: park your own car in the spot you need and drive it away when the removal van arrives. That saves the application and the costs. In other cities the municipality arranges this in its own way; ask in good time.

What goes in the hand luggage?

The Austrian government gives movers from the EU a short list. Bring your passport or identity card, and also your birth certificate and marriage certificate. Diplomas, employer statements and references go along as originals if you need them for work, possibly with a translation. School reports and school statements of the children, translated into German or English, help the school place them in the right year. And don't forget proof of your health insurance. Keep that folder with you, not in the container.

What comes first after arrival?

Within three days of moving into the home, you register with the municipality. That clock runs from the day you move in, so plan the unpacking around it. How that works is in the Meldezettel and the four-month clock. If a dog or cat comes along, it has its own rules and deadline: see your pet to Austria.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 3 of 5 of the journey, step 3.1: the same steps, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Austria or go straight to step 3.1 in the open plan.