Austria: what it costs and how it is taxed

This article applies to Austria.

What you pay per bike

We invoice you for the full amount, whatever you decide to contribute.

No Sachbezug, at all

A bike you make available to an employee carries a Sachbezugswert of zero under § 4b Sachbezugswerteverordnung and § 50 ASVG. That covers private use and the journey between home and work.

There's nothing to add to your employee's taxable income, nothing to report each month, and no Fahrtenbuch to keep.

It stays at zero with salary conversion

This is what makes Austria unusual. In most countries, an employee who funds a bike from gross salary still pays tax on a benefit in kind, which eats into the saving. Here they don't.

Since 1 January 2023, the Sachbezugswerteverordnung explicitly confirms that a Bezugsumwandlung in favour of a company bike keeps the Sachbezug at zero. Your employee converts gross salary, saves the income tax and social contributions on that amount, and pays nothing on the benefit itself.

The ÖGK applies the same treatment for contribution purposes, so the reduction flows through to the social security base as well.

What you save

A Bezugsumwandlung lowers your Lohnnebenkosten across the board: Lohnsteuer, DB, DZ, Kommunalsteuer, social contributions and betriebliche Vorsorge all calculate from the reduced gross figure.

Many employers pass that saving back as a contribution towards the bike, which makes the scheme close to cost-neutral.

You can also deduct the input VAT on the subscription. Because the Sachbezug is zero, no Eigenverbrauchsbesteuerung arises.

Three things to get right

Put it in writing. The conversion has to be documented as a Dienstvertragsänderung taking effect going forward. Both fixed-term and open-ended conversions are accepted.

Only above the Kollektivvertrag. Conversion applies to gross pay granted above the collective agreement minimum, so salary can't drop below the KV level. In practice the monthly amounts here are small enough that this rarely limits anyone, but it's worth checking for employees paid at or close to their KV minimum.

Decide what happens to Sonderzahlungen. Reducing ongoing gross pay also reduces the basis for the 13th and 14th salary, holiday pay, sick pay and overtime, unless you agree otherwise. Your contract should say which applies. Restricting the conversion to the twelve ongoing salaries is one common approach, though it doesn't use the Jahressechstel optimally.

The Pendlerpauschale

Your employees keep their full entitlement. Unlike a company car, riding a Dienstfahrrad doesn't create additional tax for the kilometres travelled.

What happens at the end?

Nothing to settle. The subscription is monthly, the bike stays ours, and there's no buyout.

Austrian bike leases typically run for a fixed term and end with a purchase option. With us there's no end date to plan for, and if someone leaves you cancel with 30 days' notice or their subscription moves into their own name.