Handmade jewellery sold through an online shop at the weekend, or tutoring alongside your studies: many people start small and look up the small business (Kleingewerbe) in Austria for it. The term is common, but it is not in the law. What is usually meant is a perfectly normal trade with low turnover, for which some relief on taxes and social insurance can apply.
This article explains what lies behind the Kleingewerbe and which limits apply for VAT, income tax and social insurance. After that, it covers doing it on the side, invoices and getting started in five steps. The information comes from the Austrian Economic Chamber (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKO) and the Trade Regulation Act (Gewerbeordnung, GewO); amounts are as of 2026.
Key points at a glance:
- The Trade Regulation Act does not know a separate Kleingewerbe; behind the term there is, as a rule, a trade with low turnover.
- For VAT, anyone whose turnover currently exceeds €55,000 gross in neither the current nor the previous year counts as a small business owner (Kleinunternehmer); no VAT is then charged.
- With the Social Insurance Institution for the Self-Employed (SVS), small business owners with income of currently up to €6,613.20 and turnover of up to €55,000 a year can apply for an exemption if they meet personal conditions; accident insurance remains.
- An income tax assessment applies once income exceeds the tax-free threshold for the respective calendar year.
- The trade registration itself is free of charge.
What is a Kleingewerbe in Austria?
The Trade Regulation Act distinguishes free trades, regulated trades and partial trades. A Kleingewerbe as a separate type of trade does not appear in it. Anyone who wants to register a small business in Austria therefore registers a perfectly normal trade, usually as a sole proprietorship. It only becomes small through the figures: with low turnover and low income, some special rules apply that ease the burden on the business.
The WKO also uses the term, for example when it speaks of the social insurance of small traders (Kleingewerbetreibende) on its information pages. What is meant by Kleingewerbe can be summed up as follows:
| Area | What applies | Limit (as of 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Trade law | Normal free or regulated trade | No separate Kleingewerbe limit |
| VAT | Small business rule: no VAT on invoices | 55,000 euros turnover gross a year |
| Social insurance | Exemption from health and pension insurance on application | 6,613.20 euros income and 55,000 euros turnover a year |
| Income tax | Tax only above the annual tax-free threshold | Threshold of the respective calendar year |
The rules do not depend on each other. Anyone who stays within the VAT limit is therefore not automatically exempt from social insurance, and vice versa. Each form of relief has its own requirements.
Kleingewerbe and taxes
When it comes to taxes for a small business in Austria, two kinds need to be told apart: income tax and VAT. According to the WKO, anyone whose income exceeds the tax-free threshold for the respective calendar year is assessed for income tax. For VAT, the small business rule (Kleinunternehmerregelung) applies: small business owners are entrepreneurs whose turnover has exceeded the limit of €55,000 neither in the current nor in the previous calendar year. Since 2025, this has been a gross limit. Anyone who carries out several business activities adds the turnovers together.
A tolerance applies to small business owners: if the turnover limit is exceeded by no more than 10%, invoices may still be issued without VAT until the end of the year. If it is exceeded by more, all further invoices are taxable from that point on. The exemption works in both directions: small business owners may not deduct input VAT from incoming invoices. Anyone who mainly sells to businesses entitled to deduct input VAT or invests a lot at the start, for example, can waive the exemption.
The tolerance limit in an example
The WKO works through the tolerance limit with an example. Only from a total turnover of more than €60,500 are all invoices taxable from the point the limit is exceeded. On 1 November, a business owner has a turnover of €52,000, and on 5 November another €8,000 is added. The total turnover of €60,000 is therefore only around 9.1% above the limit, so the invoice for this turnover may still be issued without VAT.
Which turnover counts towards the limit
The total turnover of a year counts towards the limit. According to the WKO, not included are, among other things, turnover from ancillary transactions such as the sale of fixed assets, imports and intra-Community acquisitions, and turnover where the tax liability passes to the small business owner. Numerous tax-exempt turnovers are also left out. If the place of a supply or service is abroad, the Austrian small business rule does not apply to it; the rules of the respective country then count. Business owners from third countries cannot use the exemption.
Waiving the exemption
Anyone who waives the exemption declares this in writing to the tax office, using form U12. According to the WKO, it always takes effect on 1 January of the chosen year. The declaration can only be revoked until the assessment for the first year becomes final; after that, it is binding for at least five years. Anyone who switches from the exemption to being liable for VAT can claim input VAT retroactively: in full for current assets, and proportionately for fixed assets acquired within the adjustment period, which is five years for movable fixed assets.
Kleingewerbe and tax returns
The start of the activity is reported to the tax office within one month. For VAT, the effort for small business owners is low: according to the WKO, they do not have to submit advance VAT returns unless the tax office asks them to, and generally do not have to file an annual VAT return either. They only receive a VAT identification number (UID) on application. For income tax, the general rules for sole proprietorships apply.
Kleingewerbe and social insurance
Anyone who registers a trade is generally insured with the SVS for health, pension and accident insurance. Contributions are based on income, with a minimum contribution base. For social insurance in a small business in Austria, however, there is an exemption: small business owners can apply to be exempted from health and pension insurance under the Commercial Social Insurance Act (GSVG). The WKO gives these figures for it:
| Item | According to the WKO (as of 2026) |
|---|---|
| Annual income | No more than 6,613.20 euros, according to the income tax assessment |
| Annual turnover | No more than 55,000 euros from all business activities |
| What remains | Accident insurance at 155.40 euros a year |
| Who can apply | Only natural persons, not partners or managing directors of a company |
A personal requirement must also be met. An application can be made by anyone who has not been compulsorily insured under the GSVG for more than 12 calendar months within the last 60 calendar months. Alternatively, having reached the statutory pension age for women is enough. Having turned 57 is also enough, if the limits were kept in the last five calendar years before the application. The exemption is also possible while receiving childcare allowance. The application is made to the SVS, also via an e-form. With the exemption, the self-employed pension provision (Selbständigenvorsorge) also no longer applies.
Contributions without the exemption
Without the exemption, the regular contributions apply. According to the WKO, currently 6.8% of the contribution base is payable for health insurance, 18.5% for pension insurance and 1.53% for the self-employed pension provision; accident insurance costs a fixed €12.95 a month. The contribution base is the profit, more precisely the income from the business according to the income tax assessment. Because there is a minimum contribution base of €551.10 a month, contributions are due even with lower income. For first-time WKO members, fixed minimum contribution bases apply in the first two calendar years.
What the exemption means
If no benefits from health and pension insurance have been received in the year of the application, the exemption applies retroactively from the start of the calendar year. The WKO points out that the trade activity then provides no health and pension insurance cover. This is not a problem if cover exists elsewhere, for example through a job, a pension or receiving childcare allowance.
Running a Kleingewerbe on the side
Many people start their trade alongside a job. Anyone in Austria who is self-employed on the side is subject to so-called multiple insurance: the job is insured under the General Social Insurance Act (ASVG), the trade under the GSVG, and contributions are paid for both. Overall, however, contributions are capped by a common maximum contribution base.
For a sideline trade in Austria, one point is particularly relevant: if the income from the job already reaches the GSVG minimum contribution base of currently €551.10 a month, the GSVG contributions are, according to the WKO, only calculated on the actual income from the trade. With very low turnover and income, someone insured under the ASVG may also be able to be exempted from compulsory GSVG insurance. Tradespeople are still included in the self-employed pension provision (Selbständigenvorsorge), as long as no exemption applies.
Maximum contribution base and refunds
Contributions from the job and the trade together are only payable up to a maximum contribution base. According to the WKO, it is currently €6,930 a month plus €13,860 for special payments a year under the ASVG, and €8,085 a month or €97,020 a year under the GSVG. If income is above this, the SVS automatically issues a difference assessment and, where applicable, refunds the excess contributions without an application by 30 June of the year after full payment, at around 45% in ASVG pension insurance.
Invoices in a Kleingewerbe
Anyone who wants to write an invoice in a small business pays attention above all to VAT as a small business owner. According to the WKO, the following applies to the small business invoice in Austria:
This means that the same details are enough on a small business invoice as on an invoice for a small amount. If the exemption no longer applies because the turnover limit has been exceeded, the simplified form is only allowed for invoices up to €400. The simplification does not apply to distance sales or to supplies in other EU countries that require an invoice. Which details a full invoice needs is set out in the VAT Act.
Selling to other EU countries
A small business owner who sells to other EU countries first checks the place of supply. For services to businesses in other EU countries, the tax liability, according to the WKO, generally passes to the customer, known as reverse charge. For electronically supplied services and distance sales to private customers in the EU, a combined threshold of €10,000 a year applies; above it, the turnover is taxable in the country of destination. Both reverse charge and registering for the EU OSS system require a VAT identification number, which can be applied for at the tax office.
How to start a Kleingewerbe
Getting started follows the same steps as for any other trade. For a small business, only the turnover estimate for the tax office and, where applicable, the application to the SVS are added:
Clarify which trade covers the activity and whether it is free or regulated; the Economic Chamber advises on this.
Register the trade with the trade authority or online. The registration is free of charge.
Report the start of the activity to the tax office within one month and estimate the expected turnover realistically.
If income and turnover are likely to stay below the limits and the personal conditions are met, an application is possible. It covers the exemption from health and pension insurance.
Set up an invoice template without VAT and with the note on the small business rule.
In short: A Kleingewerbe is a normal trade with low turnover, with no VAT up to €55,000 gross. With low income, an exemption from health and pension insurance is possible under personal conditions.
A business account for the Kleingewerbe
A small trade also benefits from keeping income and expenses apart from the private account; this makes record-keeping easier and helps keep an eye on the turnover limit. With Vivid, sole traders and new self-employed persons (Neue Selbständige) from Austria can open a business account, including for self-employment on the side. Opening the account itself costs nothing. What a business account offers the Kleingewerbe:
Even on plans without a monthly fee, individual services can incur charges. These include additional cards, cash withdrawals above certain allowances or premium features from higher plans.
Vivid at a glance: an online business account for the self-employed in Austria, including on the side, with plans from €0 a month and invoicing directly in the account.
An account for a small start
Open the Vivid business account online and keep business and private matters apart from the start.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a Kleingewerbe in Austria?
Not as a separate type of trade. The Trade Regulation Act knows free and regulated trades and partial trades. What is usually meant is a trade with low turnover, for which relief on VAT and social insurance can apply.
How much can I earn with a Kleingewerbe?
There is no fixed upper limit for the trade. The VAT exemption currently applies up to €55,000 turnover gross. For the SVS exemption, income of up to €6,613.20 a year is added.
Do I have to charge VAT in a Kleingewerbe?
Not as long as turnover stays below the small business limit. In return, no input VAT can be deducted. The exemption can be waived.
Do I have to be insured with the SVS?
In principle, yes. Small business owners can, under certain conditions, apply for an exemption from health and pension insurance. Accident insurance still has to be paid, though.
Can I run a Kleingewerbe alongside my job?
Yes. Multiple insurance under the ASVG and GSVG then applies. If the income from the job already reaches the minimum contribution base, only the actual income counts for the trade.
What must be on an invoice in a Kleingewerbe?
As a small business owner, no VAT, but a note on the small business rule, as the WKO recommends. Since 2025, the details of a small-amount invoice are enough.
How much does registration cost?
The trade registration itself is free of charge. On an ongoing basis, social insurance contributions and the basic contribution to the Economic Chamber are added.
This article is for general information only and is not tax or legal advice. The rules, limits and amounts mentioned come from the information published by the Austrian Economic Chamber and from the Trade Regulation Act; for your own case, a tax adviser is the right point of contact. Payment services are provided by Vivid Money S.A., 21 rue Glesener, Luxembourg, L-1631, Luxembourg, an Electronic Money Institution authorized and regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier, Luxembourg, under the register number W00000015.
