The business idea is set, the first customers are interested, and a company with partners is not on the cards. Anyone who wants to become self-employed in Austria this way often ends up with the sole proprietorship, the Einzelunternehmen, as the obvious route. According to the WKO, starting a sole proprietorship in Austria is quick and simple. Even so, a number of registrations are due, and several of them come with their own deadline.
If you want to start a sole proprietorship, you will find the steps here in the right order: trade licence, tax office, social insurance and, where needed, the commercial register. After that, the article covers the costs, the exemptions under the New Business Promotion Act (Neugründungsförderungsgesetz) and the business account. The information comes from the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO).
Key points at a glance:
- For anyone starting a sole proprietorship: according to the WKO, it generally comes into being with the trade registration, and for tax purposes with the first business expenses.
- The start of the activity is reported to the tax office within one month, which then assigns a tax number.
- The trade authority forwards the trade registration automatically to the social insurance institution for the self-employed (SVS).
- A sole proprietorship only has to enter the commercial register once net turnover exceeds €700,000 in two consecutive years or €1,000,000 in one year; voluntary entry is possible earlier.
- The New Business Promotion Act (NeuFöG) waives certain founding-related fees and charges.
What is a sole proprietorship in Austria?
A sole proprietorship in Austria belongs to a single person. That person bears the full risk and, according to the WKO, has unlimited liability for the business’s debts, including with their private assets. In return, the profit belongs to them alone. Sole proprietors in Austria do not have to work alone, though: they can take on staff, and family members can also help out.
For tax purposes, the sole proprietorship is assessed for income tax as soon as the threshold applicable in the calendar year is exceeded. VAT must also be paid, unless the small-business scheme applies.
Advantages and disadvantages
The WKO sums up the features of this legal form in a short list. For the sole proprietorship, liability weighs most: the unlimited liability extends to private assets, and the WKO expressly lists personal liability as a disadvantage. On the other side are a quick founding and the option of the small-business scheme (Kleinunternehmerregelung):
| According to the WKO | |
|---|---|
| Founding | Quick and simple; the sole proprietorship generally comes into being with the trade registration |
| Balance sheet | Only required after net annual turnover exceeds 700,000 euros twice |
| Social insurance | Exemption from compulsory trade insurance possible under the small-business scheme |
| Liability | Unlimited personal liability |
| Qualification | Trade qualification (where required) in person, otherwise a managing director under trade law |
Starting a sole proprietorship: the steps
Registering a sole proprietorship in Austria involves a few official procedures. All of them can also be handled online via the business service portal (USP). These are the steps you complete, with the official procedures as described by the WKO:
A commercial activity requires a trade licence. Depending on the trade, general and special requirements apply.
Anyone who wants to use the exemptions submits the new-business declaration straight away with the applications, because a refund afterwards is generally not possible.
Registration takes place with the trade authority, which then informs the SVS automatically.
Report the start of the activity within one month, via FinanzOnline or with the Verf24 questionnaire, and receive the tax number.
Entry is voluntary until the turnover thresholds are exceeded. Once registered, a name can be used with the suffix e.U.
A separate account keeps the business’s income and expenses apart from private money and makes record keeping easier.
Trade licence and managing director
According to the WKO, anyone running a sole proprietorship commercially needs a trade licence (Gewerbeberechtigung), colloquially the Gewerbeschein. The general and, where applicable, special requirements must be met for it. If the professional or commercial requirements are missing, another person can be appointed as managing director under trade law. That person must work actively in the business and be employed as a fully insured worker for at least half of the normal weekly working hours.
According to the WKO, a personal trade qualification is only needed where the trade requires it. Compulsory insurance with the SVS also generally begins with the trade licence.
Registering with the tax office
The start of the business activity is reported to the tax office within one month. Anyone who previously filed an employee tax assessment can apply for a change of return type via FinanzOnline. Otherwise, the business opening questionnaire goes to the tax office; for sole proprietorships this is the Verf24 form. The tax office then assigns a tax number and sets up a tax account.
In the questionnaire, the profits of the first two years are estimated. The tax office uses this estimate to set the quarterly income tax prepayments, so a cautious and realistic estimate is recommended. The estimated turnover also shows whether the small-business VAT exemption applies, according to the WKO currently up to a turnover of €55,000. The tax office issues a VAT ID automatically if the exemption does not apply, otherwise on request. For the tax office, a founder counts as an entrepreneur from the first preparations: purchases in this phase count as business expenses, and start-up losses can be deducted as special expenses in the following years.
According to the WKO, entrepreneurs are obliged, among other things, to keep books or records, file tax returns and cooperate with tax audits. All payments to the tax office run through the tax account, for example for income tax and, where applicable, VAT. The tax number serves as identification and belongs on all documents sent to the tax office.
Registering with the social insurance for the self-employed
Anyone working commercially as a sole proprietor, and therefore becoming a WKO member, is compulsorily insured with the social insurance institution for the self-employed (SVS), namely for health, pension and accident insurance. Compulsory insurance generally begins on the day the trade licence is obtained. For the SVS registration, the trade authority passes the registration on automatically. A welcome letter arrives within four weeks of the effective date of the trade.
The WKO also points out that registration with the SVS must take place during the first month after founding. If the welcome letter does not arrive, the SVS is the right point of contact. Anyone who is self-employed on the side and also works as an employee falls under so-called multiple insurance. Health and pension insurance are governed by the Commercial Social Insurance Act (GSVG), accident insurance by the General Social Insurance Act (ASVG); the SVS also collects the contributions to self-employed provision (Selbständigenvorsorge) and passes them on to the chosen provident fund.
Commercial register and e.U.: when entry is required
A sole proprietorship can voluntarily enter the commercial register (Firmenbuch). Entry only becomes mandatory if net turnover exceeds €700,000 in each of two consecutive financial years or €1,000,000 in one year. Voluntary entry does not bring an obligation to prepare a balance sheet. Sole proprietorships can also register with the commercial register online using ID Austria; a certified signature is then not needed.
Entry also determines the name. Without entry, the sole proprietorship operates under the family name with at least one first name written out. A registered business (eingetragenes Unternehmen), by contrast, may use a personal, descriptive or fantasy name, always with the suffix «eingetragener Unternehmer», «eingetragene Unternehmerin» or e.U. for short. If the first and last name are not part of it, traders must add them. The WKO gives examples such as «Springer e.U.» or «XY Holzhandel e.U.». Businesses entered in the commercial register state their company name, legal form, registered office, register number and register court on business letters and websites. For descriptive or fantasy names, the WKO recommends a prior check, for example via search engines, at the Patent Office and with the competent chamber.
What does it cost to start a sole proprietorship?
On the fee side, the costs of starting a sole proprietorship in Austria stay low thanks to two rules: since the 2017 trade law amendment, the trade registration is free of fees anyway, and, under certain conditions, the NeuFöG waives further founding fees. Over time, social insurance contributions and income tax prepayments matter more. How high they turn out depends mainly on the profit.
NeuFöG: which fees are waived
The New Business Promotion Act, NeuFöG for short, exempts new businesses from certain fees and charges. According to the WKO, this mainly covers:
The condition is a new business structure. Anyone who has already been self-employed in a comparable way in Austria or abroad in the last five years is excluded. The NeuFöG form, the declaration of the new business, is submitted with the relevant application, for example to the commercial register or the tax office. You get the form from the WKO’s founders’ service, or you submit it via the USP with ID Austria. Before that, advice from the statutory professional body is required, which for a commercial activity is the WKO.
Social insurance: contributions at a glance
SVS contributions are calculated from a percentage and a contribution basis, which is the income from the business according to the income tax assessment. The WKO gives the following figures:
| Contribution | Amount according to the WKO (as of 2026) |
|---|---|
| Health insurance | 6.8% of the contribution basis |
| Pension insurance | 18.5% of the contribution basis |
| Self-employed provision | 1.53% of the contribution basis |
| Accident insurance | Fixed €12.95 per month, €155.40 per year |
| Minimum contribution basis | €551.10 per month in health and pension insurance |
Because there is a minimum contribution basis, contributions are due even if income is lower or a loss arises. In the first two calendar years, fixed minimum contribution bases apply to first-time WKO members. Small sole proprietorships with an annual profit of currently up to €6,613.20 and gross turnover of up to €55,000 can apply to be exempted from compulsory insurance; accident insurance, however, remains payable.
Employees in a sole proprietorship
New staff are insured under the ASVG and registered with the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) in the relevant federal state before they start work. For hires in the first three years after founding, the WKO recommends presenting the confirmation under the New Business Promotion Act to the ÖGK and the tax office. This reduces non-wage labour costs.
In short: A sole proprietorship generally comes into being with the trade registration, followed by the tax office and the SVS, each within one month. The NeuFöG saves fees; social insurance contributions depend on the profit, with a minimum.
A business account for the sole proprietorship
A business account for the sole proprietorship keeps the business’s finances separate from the private account. At Vivid, sole proprietors (Einzelunternehmer) and new self-employed people (Neue Selbständige) from Austria can open a business account, including those who are self-employed on the side. Opening the account itself costs nothing. This is what the account offers for the start:
Even in the plans without a monthly basic fee, some services can incur charges. These include additional cards, cash withdrawals above certain free allowances or premium features from higher plans.
Vivid in brief: an online business account for the self-employed in Austria, with plans from €0 per month and invoicing directly in the account.
A business account for the self-employed in Austria
Open the Vivid business account online and separate business and private money from day one.
Frequently asked questions
How do I start a sole proprietorship in Austria?
According to the WKO, it generally comes into being with the trade registration. The tax office follows within one month, and compulsory insurance with the SVS applies. It can be entered in the commercial register voluntarily.
What does it cost to start a sole proprietorship?
No fees have applied to the trade registration since 2017, and, under certain conditions, the NeuFöG waives further founding fees. Over time, social insurance contributions and income tax prepayments are added.
Does a sole proprietorship have to enter the commercial register?
Only once net turnover exceeds €700,000 in two consecutive years or €1,000,000 in one year. Before that, entry is voluntary.
When do I have to register with the tax office?
Within one month of starting the activity, via FinanzOnline or with the Verf24 questionnaire. The tax office then assigns a tax number.
When do I register with the SVS?
The trade authority forwards the trade registration automatically to the SVS. According to the WKO, registration must take place during the first month after founding.
What does the NeuFöG waive?
Among other things, founding-related stamp duties and federal administrative charges and court fees for the commercial register. Certain payroll charges for hires in the first 36 months are also waived.
How is a sole proprietor liable?
Without limit and personally, including with private assets. In return, the profit belongs to the sole proprietor alone.
This article is for general information and is not legal or tax advice. The rules, deadlines and amounts mentioned come from the information published by the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO); for your own case, an 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.
