Notice: This will all be new in the tax refund process
Employees in Austria need to pay attention to several changes and deadlines in the employee assessment for 2025 (Arbeitnehmerveranlagung) if they want to receive refunds or tax benefits before the end of the year. The tax consultancy firm BDO highlights that the extension of remote work benefits and the expiration of the five-year claim period for 2020 assessments on December 31, 2025, are key considerations.
One of the main updates is the expansion of the work-from-home rules to include remote work not tied to a location. Employees can now claim days of work outside the home, such as working in cafes or co-working spaces. Employers can continue to pay a tax-exempt remote work allowance of up to 300 euros per year, with a maximum of 3 euros per day for up to 100 remote workdays. If the allowance is less than 3 euros per day, the difference can be claimed as income-related expenses, provided that no tax-recognized office is claimed. The number of remote workdays and allowance amounts are automatically taken from payroll.
The expenses for comfortable furniture, including chairs and desks, are deductible up to 300 euros, but only for offices set up at home. It requires working remotely for at least 26 days a year, and expenses for the year 2025 must be declared in full. Amounts exceeding the limit will be automatically carried over to 2026 if the remote work condition is met again. The surplus from 2024 cannot be declared in 2025 as it has already been carried over.
Other deductible expenses include training and retraining costs, specific expenses such as certain donations, optional contributions to retirement insurance, tax consulting fees, and extraordinary expenses such as medical expenses exceeding the allowable limit, disability-related expenses, disaster damages, or external vocational training costs for children. Various allowances such as maintenance expenses or Family Bonus Plus can also be claimed. BDO expert Julia Mieder confirms that these expenses must be paid by December 31, 2025, to be included in the assessment.
Employee assessment becomes mandatory if the annual taxable income exceeds 14,448 euros or if other income exceeds 730 euros, or if there are multiple sources of taxable income. Additionally, receiving employee bonuses exceeding 1,000 euros or total tax-exempt bonuses exceeding 3,000 euros triggers the mandatory assessment. If the assessment is not submitted by June 30, the Finanzamt (tax office) will conduct an automatic assessment without request, with the excess withheld tax being refunded automatically after two years—by 2023, this must be completed by December 31, 2025.