Austria: Taxes, subsidies, pensions, and cars: What consumers should know – 25 important changes in 2025

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The new year draws attention to many changes for consumers. There’s a lot of news about energy bills, for example, but also about taxes, pensions, and fees. Here are 25 important points for 2025.

Home loans. The strict lending criteria for real estate loans will expire in mid-2025, so it should become easier to obtain home loans again. Since the summer of 2022, the so-called KIM Regulation has regulated, among other things, the equity share when taking out loans (at least 20 per cent) and the amount of the repayment instalment (a maximum of 40 per cent of net disposable household income). This will now become a “recommendation.”

Provision for the future. The subsidy for state-subsidized pension provision is increasing slightly and is linked to the ASVG maximum contribution basis. The maximum possible payment for a subsidy in 2025 is EUR 3552.66 (2024: EUR 3337.85), and the maximum subsidy in 2024 is EUR 150.99 (2024: EUR 141.86). The premium, however, remains at 4.25 percent.
Bank transfers. From 9 January, banks in the EU will be obliged to receive real-time transfers in euros; from 9 October, this will also apply to customers, and instant transfers may not cost more than normal transfers.
Family benefits. Social and family benefits will be automatically adjusted in line with average inflation; the figure for 2025 is 4.6 percent. The family allowance, the child deduction, and the multiple-child supplement will be increased, as will the childcare allowance and the family time bonus. Retraining allowance, study allowance, and pupil allowance will also be adjusted.
Additional income. The additional income limit for students will also be adjusted in line with inflation. This means that in the future, it will be possible to earn an additional 17,212 euros per year without losing the entitlement to family allowance (2024: 16,455 euros).

Vignette. The freeway vignette, which will be sea green in color, will become more expensive in 2025. The price will be increased by 7.7 percent, meaning that the annual vignette will cost 103.80 euros, exceeding 100 euros for the first time. The annual motorcycle vignette will cost 41.50 euros. The variants during the year (2-month, 10-day, and daily vignette) will also be valued accordingly.
Climate ticket. At the turn of the year, the price of the climate ticket for the whole of Austria will rise by around 84 euros to 1179.30 euros. The price of the discounted youth, senior, and special tickets will rise by around 63 euros to 884.20 euros.
CO2 tax. The CO2 tax in Austria will be increased further: it will rise from the current 45 euros per ton to 55 euros per ton. At the pumps, this means an increase of around three cents, with diesel being hit harder due to its higher CO2 content per liter. Overall, the CO2 costs in 2025, including VAT, will account for 15 cents of the pump price for petrol and 16.5 cents for diesel.
NoVA. The motor-related insurance tax (mVSt) will increase by around 35 euros per year for almost all new registrations. In contrast, the increase in the NoVA depends on the CO2 values in the vehicle documents.
Mileage allowance. The mileage allowance will be increased to 50 cents per kilometer – also for motorcyclists and cyclists—and a contribution of 15 cents can be claimed in the future for passengers.
Pension increase. Pensions will increase by 4.6 percent in 2025. The increase will be lower for very high salaries of 6060 euros or more; there will be a fixed amount of 276.76 euros.
Women’s retirement age. The retirement age for women will be raised by another six months. It is now 61 years. The age limit will gradually rise to 65 by 2033.
Minimum pensions. The so-called equalization supplement reference rate for minimum pensions will rise to 1273.99 euros per month.

Electricity costs. Although the energy prices per kilowatt hour (kWh) remain stable, the abolition of the electricity cost brake (over 10 cents per kWh, up to 25 cents) means that electricity will become significantly more expensive for many households—with an average electricity consumption of 4000 kWh, this will increase by 435 euros. The electricity levy rises from 0.001 to 0.015 euros per kWh.
Subsidiary for e-cars. According to the ÖAMTC, it is still unclear how the subsidy for private e-cars will continue. If budget funds are available, you can still register for the funding program until 31. Private individuals receive up to 5,000 euros for the purchase of an electric car and up to 2,300 euros for electric motorcycles. Private charging infrastructure, such as wall boxes and charging cables, is subsidized with up to 600 euros, and communal systems in multi-party buildings with up to 1800 euros.

Network charges for gas. Gas grid fees will become significantly more expensive for the average gas-heated household—by an average of 16.6%, or five euros per month across Austria. In Styria, the average increase is 14.5, or 47.3 euros per year; in Carinthia, it is 2.2 percent or 8.57 euros.
Grid fee for electricity. The electricity grid will also become significantly more expensive: household charges will rise by an average of 23 percent. For an average household with an annual consumption of 3,500 kWh, the grid cost increase amounts to around EUR 73 per year or EUR 6.10 per month. In the Styria grid area, the increase is particularly steep at 29.2 percent (additional costs: 103.4 euros); in Carinthia (KNG) it is 14.8 percent (63.7 euros), while in the Graz grid area (not identical to the city limits), the grid fee will fall by 4.5 percent (-14.65 euros).
Home office. The “Teleworking Act” is new for employees. It replaces the home office and makes it possible to work from any location, such as a coffee house, if the employer agrees.
charging cable. Since 28 December, the EU has been cutting a swathe through the jungle of different connections and charging cables, depending on the manufacturer: electronic devices such as smartphones, cameras, headphones, tablets, portable video game consoles, keyboards, e-readers, navigation devices, headsets, and mobile speakers must be equipped with a USB-C connection, and from 2026, notebooks must also be equipped with a USB-C connection.
Prescription fee. The prescription fee increases from 7.10 to 7.55 euros.

Medical aids. The minimum cost share for medical aid increases from 40.40 to 43 euros.
self-insurance. The contribution base for self-insurance in health insurance will be 6977.40 euros in 2025, so the monthly contribution will be 526.79 euros. The preferential self-insurance for students amounts to EUR 73.48 per month.
Building society premium. In 2025, the building society premium will again be 1.5 percent. In the new year, a maximum deposit of 1200 euros per year will also be subsidized to build society’s savings; the maximum premium will therefore be 18 euros.

Tariff limits. At the beginning of the year, the rate limits for income tax will increase. As part of the automatic inflation adjustment, there will be an increase of 3.33 percent, with the exception of the threshold amount for top incomes over one million euros. The threshold amounts for the first five tax brackets will also be increased by a further 0.5 percentage points. The first 13,308 euros are now tax-free.
Deductions. In 2025, key tax deductions, such as the single-earner and single-parent deductions and the transport and pensioner deductions, will be adjusted 100 percent in line with inflation. This measure also includes the social insurance refund, the social insurance bonus, and income and deduction limits.