Banking, Money and Taxes in Austria

Austria has the twelfth-largest economy in the world and an AA (high-grade) sovereign debt rating, and so – unsurprisingly – expats relocating to Austria can look forward to dealing with a banking system that is modern, efficient, stable and user-friendly.
 

The currency used in Austria is the Euro, which is subdivided into 100 Cents.

Banks in Austria

Austria's centralised, government-regulated banking system ensures that there are a myriad of reliable, high-quality banking institutions for expats to choose from. 
 

The country's main central bank, the Austrian National Bank (Österreichische Nationalbank, or OeNB) is a corporation with capital shares (50 percent of which, by law, are owned by the government), and its chief function is to promote financial stability within the country. The Austrian banking system also includes joint-stock banks, private banks, banking houses, postal savings banks, private savings banks, mortgage banks, building societies, and specialised cooperative credit institutions. Some of the more established of these include Allgemeine Sparkasse Oberosterreich, Bankhaus Spaengler, Easybank, Erste Bank, Bank Austria Creditanstalt, and Österreichische Volksbanken AG.
 

Opening times vary between banks, but in Vienna, are usually from 8am to 3pm on all weekdays except Thursdays (when they stay open till 5.30pm).  It is not uncommon for banks, especially in more rural areas, to close over lunch (between 12.30 and 1.30pm).
 

Almost all bank branches have ATMs that let you withdraw cash, get account statements and transfer money 24 hours a day.

Opening a Bank Account in Austria

Opening a bank account in Austria is, by all accounts, a straightforward and pain-free process. To open an account, expats simply need to appear in person at their bank of choice, in possession of the following documents:

• Passport
• Proof of residence in Austria
• Meldezettel (Residence Registration Form – not always required)
• Employment details 

You will be required to fill out forms, which will be captured by a teller. You will then be provided with an information pack, detailing the bank's personal banking and financial services, and you will be assigned a personal banker to help you with future transactions. Your new account details (kontonummer), and the bank's swift code (bankleitzahl) – both of which are essential for receiving payments and transferring funds – will be included in this information pack; however, your new card will arrive in the post about three days later.
 

The most common type of bank account in Austria is a girokonto, or current account.  Upon opening one of these, you will be issued with a bankomatkarte (ATM card – usually bearing the Maestro logo), which allows you to withdraw cash and make debit purchases at large retail outlets. Most banks in Austria will not issue you a credit card until you have been employed in Austria for three months.
 

Telephone, mobile and Internet banking are all popular in Austria, and are offered as free services by the major banks.
 

It is also common practice in Austria to use your bank account to set up standing orders (dauerauftrag) for fixed monthly expenses, such as rent, and direct debit authorisation (einzugsermächtigung), for variable monthly expenses, such as telephone and utility bills.

Taxes

All foreign nationals working in Austria for more than six months are defined, for taxation purposes, as residents in Austria, and are therefore liable for taxation on all the income they derive from Austrian sources.
 

Personal income tax and social security contributions are deducted directly from your pay-cheque, on a progressive scale:

• 0% on incomes under €11,000
• 36.5% on incomes between €11,000 and €25,000
• 43.2% on incomes between €25,000 and €60,000
• 50% on incomes higher than €60,000

Note that Austria has double taxation agreements in place with more than 40 countries. Expats who hail from a country with one such agreement in place will not have to pay tax on their Austrian-source income as well as any income they generate from within their country of origin.