Working in Austria: the fourteenth month and the six percent
An Austrian salary can't be compared one-to-one with a Dutch one: many salaries include a thirteenth and fourteenth month, and those are largely taxed at six percent. How that adds up, why the collective agreement is your minimum wage, what you arrange as self-employed and with a diploma, and how your Dutch unemployment-insurance years count.
4 min read
Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.
Yes, as a Dutch citizen you may work in Austria without a permit. An EU citizen needs no work permit there, neither as an employee nor as self-employed.
Anyone who puts an Austrian job offer next to their Dutch payslip and only looks at the monthly amount does make themselves poor on paper:
- Many salaries include a thirteenth and fourteenth month.
- After a free allowance (a tax-free part) of € 620 those are taxed at six percent.
The pitfall is in what isn't there: a statutory minimum wage. Your collective agreement decides what you earn at least.
How are the thirteenth and fourteenth month taxed?
The tax advantage is in § 67 of the income tax act. It names the thirteenth and fourteenth monthly salary explicitly as an example of a "sonstiger Bezug", a payment on top of ordinary pay. Such extras are taxed at fixed rates, as long as they stay within a sixth of your annual pay. That limit is called the Jahressechstel:
| Part of the extras | Rate |
|---|---|
| the first € 620 | 0% |
| the next € 24,380 | 6% |
| the next € 25,000 | 27% |
| the next € 33,333 | 35.75% |
| above the Jahressechstel or above € 83,333 | that month's ordinary rate |
For an ordinary income it therefore stays at the free allowance and the six percent. If the Jahressechstel is no higher than € 2,100, the fixed rate doesn't apply.
Ordinary pay falls under the brackets:
- the first € 13,539 is tax-free in 2026;
- after that the rate rises from 20% to 50%;
- above a million it is 55%.
The limits move with inflation every year.
Is there a minimum wage?
No, not a general one. The Austrian government puts it briefly: the minimum wage is in the Kollektivvertrag, the collective agreement, sometimes in a separate minimum wage tariff. Your collective agreement therefore decides your minimum wage, and often also the extra months and the annual increase.
So check in your offer which agreement applies and which pay grade you fall into. That one line says more than the monthly amount below it.
Your employer must register you with the health insurer before your first working day and give you a copy as soon as possible. How healthcare works from there is in healthcare in Austria. If you commute to work, you can apply for the Pendlerpauschale through your employer, an allowance for commuting.
What if I become unemployed?
Unemployment insurance is in your pay. For Arbeitslosengeld, the Austrian unemployment benefit, you must have worked insured for 52 weeks in the last 24 months. The basic benefit is 55% of your net income, and with family supplements at most 80%.
If you worked in the Netherlands before, those periods can count. Your Europe, the EU's portal for citizens, advises requesting a U1 form for this in the country where you worked before. Without that form the employment office can request the data itself, but with the form it usually goes faster.
Re-register straight away after a break. Since 1 July 2025 you must register with the AMS (the employment service) again immediately after a break in your benefit, for example a stay abroad. Your money only runs from the day of that new registration.
What if I'm self-employed or have a professional diploma?
As self-employed you never need a work permit within the EU. For VAT the Kleinunternehmerregelung, the small business scheme, applies since 2025:
- Up to € 55,000 turnover a year you are exempt from VAT, but you also don't deduct VAT.
- If you go up to 10% over that limit, you may still invoice without VAT that year. Above it you may not.
For a regulated profession, for which you need a particular diploma, exam or registration with a professional body, you first apply for recognition. Which professions those are differs per country. The European database of regulated professions tells you for Austria.
For doctors, nurses, midwives, dentists, pharmacists, architects and vets separate European rules apply. In Vienna, Linz, Graz and Innsbruck there are offices that advise on recognition of foreign qualifications. In the other state capitals there is a weekly consultation hour.
If your work is research, also look at the Zuzugsbegünstigung, the only Austrian tax scheme for newcomers.
In Vertrekklaar this is phase 1 of 5 of the journey: the same considerations, but for your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines watched. See the whole journey to Austria.
What this rests on
The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.
- EStG § 67 — the fixed rate for the 13th and 14th month: 0%, 6%, 27% and 35.75% — ris.bka.gv.at
- BMF — the tax brackets 2026 — bmf.gv.at
- Oesterreich.gv.at — no general minimum wage, the collective agreement decides — oesterreich.gv.at
- AMS — Arbeitslosengeld: 52 weeks in 24 months, 55% of net income — ams.at
- USP — the duty to register with the ÖGK before the first working day — usp.gv.at
- Your Europe — working in another EU country without a work permit — europa.eu
- Your Europe — unemployed abroad and the U1 form — europa.eu
- Your Europe — recognition for a regulated profession — europa.eu
- Oesterreich.gv.at — work checklist: registration, Pendlerpauschale and recognition offices — oesterreich.gv.at
- USP — the Kleinunternehmerregelung: VAT-free up to € 55,000 turnover — usp.gv.at
Read on
- AustriaOrientation4 min
The Zuzugsbegünstigung: Austria's tax advantage for researchers, and for whom it isn't
Austria has one tax scheme for newcomers, and it is narrow: scientists and researchers can leave 30% of their income from research untaxed for five years. You apply within six months of your move, and according to the ministry a doctorate alone is not enough. For anyone not working in research, nothing comparable exists.
Updated 26 September 2026
- AustriaOrientation5 min
Staying in Austria: three routes, four months and the right after five years
As a Dutch citizen you need no permit in Austria, but you do need a right of residence that rests on one of three grounds: work, your own means with health cover, or education. Within four months of entering the country you record it in the Anmeldebescheinigung, which costs € 44. If you don't work, you have to show that you won't need a top-up to the minimum pension.
Updated 26 September 2026
- ArubaOrientation5 min
Working and earning on Aruba: florin, cessantia and the zero band
Since 1 January 2026 Aruba has a minimum hourly wage of Afl. 11.58, your gross pay first loses 5% AOV/AWW and 1.6% AZV, and only then does wage tax begin, above a zero band of Afl. 34,930. On dismissal through no fault of your own there is the cessantia; when ill, the SVb pays 80% from the fourth day. What really appears on an Aruban payslip, and what is not there.
Updated 26 September 2026