Capital contribution and internal financing evidence account

General information

The Körperschaftsteuerrecht provides that capital contributions made by share owners are tax-neutral. Therefore capital contributions do not increase taxable profit at corporation level. At shareholder level they increase the acquisition costs or book value of the shareholders’ participating interest.

A capital repayment is the reverse process of such a capital contribution and should therefore be treated as a mirror-image. At corporation level, a capital repayment does not impact the taxable profit; at shareholder level, it reduces the acquisition costs or book value of the shareholders’ participating interest. If the acquisition costs or book value are reduced by a capital repayment to less than zero, this always represents a taxable disposition in the business (and non-business) sector.

Section 4 paragraph 12 EStG stipulates the right to choose whether a declared distribution of net profit under company law would be taxed either as a capital repayment or as a profit distribution. Taxation of profit distribution under company law as a capital repayment requires positive capital contribution levels, while taxation as declared dividends generally requires positive internal financing levels. Capital repayments reduce the capital contribution levels, and declared dividends reduce the internal financing levels of the distributing corporation.

Internal financing levels are increased by annual surpluses within the meaning of the Unternehmensgesetzbuch and are reduced by annual deficits within the meaning of the Unternehmensgesetzbuch and by declared dividends; disguised capital contributions and retained repayments of capital contributions are excluded here. Profits which arise as result of reorganisation at fair value increase internal financing levels only when and insofar as they can be distributed according to the provisions of the Unternehmensgesetzbuch. Disguised dividends are taxed as dividends, even if the internal financing account is negative.

In order to ensure that the relevant capital contribution and internal financing levels are documented and transparent, Section 4 paragraph 12 of the Einkommensteuergesetz (EStG) provides for corporations to record the capital contributions and internal financing levels in an evidence account and any changes hereto must be constantly updated. Since it depends on the tax-related concept of capital contributions, the equity shown on the balance sheet does not necessarily correspond to the equity relevant for tax purposes.

In accordance with the sub-division under company law of 'internal financing' and 'external financing' into tied-up and non-tied up balance sheet items, capital contributions and internal financing are also divided into 'available' and 'unavailable' amounts for tax purposes. This sub-division defines the framework for exercising the choice between capital repayments and declared dividends.

At least the four following evidence sub-accounts must be kept:

1. Unavailable capital contributions sub-account
2. Available capital contributions sub-account
3. Unavailable internal financing sub-account
4. Available internal financing sub-account

As an alternative, there can also be a further sub-division of the evidence accounts for presentation purposes, which is more closely linked to the presentation of equity on the balance sheet in the balance sheet classification scheme under Section 224 paragraph 3 UGB (e.g. nominal capital sub-account, tied-up and non-tied up capital reserves sub-account, statutory and non-tied up retained profit, net profit sub-account).

A surrogate capital sub-account and a loan capital sub-account must also be kept, where necessary, independently of the evidence accounts outlined above.

The evidence account must be attached to the annual tax declaration.

Enterprises affected

All Austrian corporations which have capital contributions in the tax sense are affected by potential capital repayments. Thus, ownerless corporations or associations could be affected if they issue surrogate capital.

Competent authority

The capital contribution and internal financing evidence account must be attached to the corporation tax return in an appropriate form.

The right to choose to make a capital repayment must be exercised in the capital yield tax (KESt) application. If no capital repayment is made, the capital yield tax (KESt) must be paid to the tax office (→ BMF) of the party liable for the deduction.

Legal bases

• sections 4 paragraph 12, 15 pragraph 4, 27 paragraph 3, 96 paragraph 2 of the Einkommensteuergesetz (EStG)
• Körperschaftsteuergesetz (KStG)
• section 235 of the Unternehmensgesetzbuch (UGB)

Expert information

Capital repayment and internal financing decree (from 27 September 2017) of the Federal Ministry of Finance (→ BMF)