Car fines, ORF fee, vignette: what will change in 2024

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The coming year will bring many changes. Find out what will be more expensive and where you can get more or save money here.

Car fines, ORF fee, vignette: what will change in 2024
In the future, speeding cars can be confiscated, while flagrant speeding violations could be auctioned off.
What’s in store for us in the new year? From March, speeding cars can be auctioned off. The brilliant national team travels to Germany in June for the European Football Championship. The super-election year is coming up, with EU elections, National Council elections, and regional elections in Vorarlberg and Styria. What else will be different regarding e-cards, taxes, ORF contributions, and rents? Find out here in the list:

What will be more expensive in 2024:
CO2 tax: The climate tax on fossil fuels introduced in October 2022 will be raised by 3.7 cents to 13.5 cents per liter of diesel and by 3.4 cents to 12.3 cents per liter of petrol at the turn of the year. A further increase of 3.0 cents (diesel) and 2.7 cents (petrol) is planned for January 1, 2025.
Prescription fee: This will rise from the current 6.85 euros per pack to 7.10 euros at the turn of the year.
NoVA increase: The standard consumption tax, payable once when buying a new car, will increase at the turn of the year for all cars that produce more than 99 grams of CO2 per kilometer. This means that there will be an increase for all pure gasoline and diesel cars. For a lower mid-range car costing around 30,000 euros, this means a surcharge of 300 euros, according to ÖAMTC calculations. For motorcycles over 125 cc, the NoVA will increase automatically for the first time in 2024. A typical bike with CO2 emissions of around 100 grams will rise by one percentage point. Motorcycles up to 125 cc and electric cars will continue to be exempt from the NoVA.
E-Card service fee: The fee due per calendar year increases from 12.95 euros to 13.80 euros.
Engine-related insurance tax: For (almost) all cars registered for the first time as of January 1, it will be €34.56 higher per year than in 2023. Only very efficient or low-powered cars will see a lower tax increase or no tax increase at all. Nothing will change for vehicles already registered.
You will get more money here:
Social benefits: All social and family benefits will be increased by inflation. They will therefore rise by 9.7 percent. This applies, for example, to family allowances, child deductions, and school and study grants.
Pensions: Pensions will be increased by 9.7 percent up to a maximum pension of 5,850 euros gross per month. There is a flat-rate gross increase of 567.45 euros per month for higher total pension income.
Marginal employment: The monthly income threshold will be raised from 500.91 euros to 518.44 euros gross per month. 518.44 euros per month is also the permitted additional income for early retirement.
Care allowance: The support benefit for people in need of care will increase by 9.7 percent at the turn of the year to up to 2061.80 euros net per month at the highest care level of 7. The family member bonus will double to 1,500 euros in 2024.
Overtime: As an incentive to work overtime, employers can pay up to 200 euros tax-free for the first 18 hours of overtime per month. The regulation only applies until the end of 2024 for the time being.
Employee bonus: In 2024, 3,000 euros can still be paid out to employees tax and duty-free. However, the rules have been tightened.
This is new in the new year:
ORF contribution: the excitement of the year: from January 1, all main residence addresses are legally obliged to “jointly and severally” finance ORF, even if they do not own or operate a receiver. The fee amounts to 15.30 euros per month. In four federal states, there is also a monthly “state fee” of EUR 3.10 (Tyrol), EUR 4.60 (Burgenland, Carinthia), and EUR 4.70 (Styria).
Vehicle confiscation: From March 2024, speeding drivers can have their cars confiscated and auctioned off. This is possible for extreme speeding of more than 80 km/h (local area) or more than 90 km/h outside built-up areas.
E-card: From 2024, only e-cards with a photo will be permitted. Exceptions apply to children under 14, pensioners over 70, and people in care levels 4, 5, 6, and 7. In these cases, the card will remain valid without a photo until the printed expiration date.

Motorway vignette: The price for the 2024 annual vignette for cars remains unchanged at 96.40 euros, while there is a slight increase of 30 cents to 38.50 euros for bikes. The 2-month sticker will be slightly cheaper and now cost 28.90 euros (car instead of 29.00 euros) or 11.50 euros (bike instead of 14.50 euros). The price for the ten-day vignette increases from 9.90 euros to 11.50 euros (cars); for motorcycles, it drops from 5.80 euros to 4.60 euros. Completely new: the purely digital 1-day vignette. This will cost 8.60 euros (cars) and 3.40 euros (motorcycles). The change is due to a new fixed price scale for the different types. This stipulates that the 2-month vignette costs 30 percent of an annual vignette, the 10-day vignette 12 percent, and the 1-day vignette 9 percent.
Vignette transfer: Also new: in the future, the digital vignette can be re-registered once per calendar year in the event of a license plate change. This will cost 18 euros.
Veterinary Medicines Act: The use of antibiotics, for example, to increase yields or to compensate for poor husbandry conditions, is expressly prohibited from January 1st. This is intended to prevent antibiotic resistance.
Rent control: In the future, rent increases will only take place from April 1. In 2025 and 2026, category rents and guideline rents may be increased by a maximum of five percent; no increases are planned for 2024. A five percent cap will also be introduced for non-profit apartments. This means that rents cannot increase by more than five percent from April 1, 2024. Private rents are exempt from the regulation.
It will be cheaper here:
Church contributions and donations: The deductibility of church contributions will be increased from 400 to 600 euros. This will be automatically taken into account in the annual employee tax assessment. In addition, donations to significantly more associations and corporations will be tax-deductible than before.
Abolition of cold progression: As of January 1, 2024, the rate limits from which you fall into the next higher income tax bracket will be adjusted to inflation. This means, for example, that in the future, you will only pay tax on an income of EUR 12,816 (previously EUR 11,693). Finance Minister Magnus Brunner said this should leave taxpayers with around 3.65 billion euros more in their wallets in 2024. Many deductions, such as the single-earner deduction (AVAB), the single-parent deduction (AEAB), and the maintenance deduction (UAB), will now also be adjusted annually.
Master craftsman’s examination: The fees for the first and second entry to master craftsman’s and qualification examinations will be abolished as of January 1. Depending on the profession, fees of up to 2,000 euros were previously payable.
New year, new subsidies:
Solar systems: The previously very complicated subsidy system is being simplified. From January 1, private households will no longer have to pay VAT when purchasing a PV system with an output of up to 35 KWp (kilowatt peak, i.e., the possible peak output).
Replacing heating systems: The switch from oil and gas heating systems to climate-friendly alternatives is subsidized by the federal and state governments by around 75 percent. Low-income households receive up to 100 percent reimbursement.
Promotion of e-mobility: Private individuals will continue to receive a grant of 5,000 euros to purchase an electric car, while the Climate Protection Ministry and importers will pay 2,300 euros for an electric motorcycle. Private charging infrastructure, such as wall boxes and charging cables, will receive up to 600 euros, while installers of shared systems in multi-party buildings will receive up to 1,800 euros. Funding of up to 30,000 euros is possible for publicly accessible charging systems.
Free climate ticket: From 2024, young adults will receive a one-off Austria-wide climate ticket as a gift on their 18th birthday.
Electricity price brake: the electricity cost subsidy (available to every private household), supplementary electricity cost subsidy (for households with more than three people registered as their “main residence”), and grid cost subsidy (for low-income households, a maximum of 200 euros per year) will be extended by six months until the end of 2024.
This remains the same (for the time being):
Unemployment benefit: no change; unemployment benefit remains unchanged at 55 percent of daily net income.
One-way deposit: Nothing will change here next year. This will be a huge issue in 2024 and come into force on January 1, 2025. A 25-cent deposit will then be charged on disposable bottles and cans (except milk and milk mix drinks). The money will be refunded in return.