Tip: New Uniform Flat Rates Planned Nationwide in Austria

In Austria, tips are not subject to tax, but they are subject to a social security contribution. Due to card payments, the amount of tips in individual businesses has become increasingly visible in recent years, leading to sometimes high back payments to social security. There were only partial and regionally different flat rates. The government now wants to enable uniform flat rates nationwide for calculating social benefits on tips.

The necessary law passed the social committee on Wednesday with the votes of the ÖVP, SPÖ, NEOS, and Greens. The FPÖ voted against it, seeing the measure as the "introduction of a new tax."

Tips: Social Security Set Flat Rates

Since tip income is difficult to capture, social benefits were often omitted. From 2026, social security will be able to set different, but nationwide valid flat rates depending on the industry, type of activity, and extent of working hours, which will then serve as the upper limit for contribution payments.

For the hotel and catering sector, proposals from the social partners are already available according to explanations: Accordingly, the flat rate for employees with cash handling will be 65 euros in 2026, 85 euros in 2027, and 100 euros monthly in 2028. Without cash handling, it will be 45 euros in 2026 and 2027, and 50 euros in 2028. From 2029, an adjustment of all flat rates is planned, writes the parliamentary correspondence.

The social security is responsible for setting the flat rates - as before. Until a new determination is made for the respective industry, current flat rates should continue to apply. The law provides for a statute of limitations for back payments, provided a new flat rate is set for the relevant industry by the end of September next year.

Employers Should Provide Information on Paid Tips

Newly, employers will have to provide their employees with information about the tips given. If the employer distributes the tips, they must inform their employees about the distribution key by the end of February 2026.

While representatives of the governing parties point out that there will be legal certainty in the future and that the long-unadjusted flat rates will be adapted, the FPÖ wants to abolish the obligation for social benefits so that tips remain 100 percent with the recipients as a "personal gift." FPÖ tourism spokesperson Christoph Steiner recommends in a statement to explicitly give tips to employees as a "gift" before leaving the premises in the future.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.