Motor vehicle tax

General information

The following vehicles registered in an Austrian registration process are subject to motor vehicle tax:

• motor vehicles and trailers with a maximum authorised overall weight of more than 3.5 tonnes
• tractors and traction engines which are approved as such under vehicle law, irrespective of their maximum authorised overall weight
• motor vehicles which do not have liability insurance, regardless of their maximum authorised overall weight
• motor vehicles and trailers which are used on roads that are used for public transport without the authorisation necessary under vehicle law (section 36 of the Kraftfahrgesetz – KFG) (unlawful use)
  • Unlawful use may also apply to motor vehicles with a foreign license plate. Vehicles with foreign license plates that are brought into the federal territory for the first time or used in the federal territory by persons with their main residence or registered office in Austria are to be regarded as vehicles with a permanent location in Austria until proven otherwise.
    The use of such a vehicle without a domestic registration is only permitted for one month from the first entry into the federal territory. If it can be credibly demonstrated that it was not possible to register the vehicle in Austria within this month, the vehicle may be used for a further month.
• motor vehicles registered in a foreign authorisation process which are used on roads that are used for public transport, provided that there is no inter-state tax exemption agreement in place. Customs authorities are responsible for collecting the vehicle tax in these cases.

The following vehicles are not subject to motor vehicle tax: vehicles which are subject to the engine-related insurance tax and vehicles which are exempt from the authorisation requirement (section 1 paragraph 2 KFG).

Surplus trailers

No tax is levied on trailers whose number exceeds that of taxable towing vehicles with a maximum authorised weight of more than 3.5 tonnes belonging to the same taxable party ("surplus trailers") and those which have a lower tax base in relation to the total number of trailers. Trailers which are pulled by a vehicle belonging to another taxable party are not taken into account in this calculation.

Procedure for determining trailers not subject to tax

1. Determine the number of articulated lorries subject to tax with a maximum authorised overall weight of more than 3.5 tonnes (on the first of a calendar month)

2. Determine the number of other towing vehicles subject to tax with a maximum authorised overall weight of more than 3.5 tonnes (trucks, tractors, traction vehicles etc.) (on the first of a calendar month)

3. Determine the number of semi-trailers with a maximum authorised overall weight of more than 3.5 tonnes (on the first of a calendar month)

4. Determine the number of other trailers with a maximum authorised overall weight of more than 3.5 tonnes (on the first of a calendar month)

5. The difference between point 3 (semi-trailers) and point 1 (lorries) and the difference between point 4 (other trailers) and point 2 (other towing vehicles) add up to the surplus number of trailers.

6. Tax is not collected on the surplus, starting from the trailer with the lowest tax base.

Tax exemptions

Exemptions

If a tax exemption depends on a vehicle being used exclusively or primarily for a specific purpose, this condition is fulfilled if the vehicle is used for the designated purpose more than 80 per cent of the time.

There are significant exemptions from the Vehicle Taxation Act for example for:

• vehicles registered for the federal government or another territorial authority and intended for use by the public security service or the judicial guard, as well as army vehicles
• vehicles which are exclusively or primarily used by the fire brigade, for the emergency services or as ambulances
• vehicles which are used with temporary number plates or transfer number plates
• buses and vehicles which are exclusively or primarily used as rental vehicles or taxis
• tractors and traction vehicles which are exclusively or primarily used in agricultural and forestry operations and trailers towed solely by these
• self-propelled machinery and trailer machines
• electrically powered motor vehicles with a maximum permissible gross weight of over 3.5 tons
• motor vehicles that are licensed exclusively for people with disabilities and must be used by them for personal transportation
• trailers equipped for the delivery of railroad wagons and used exclusively for this purpose; the exemption does not extend to the towing vehicle
• vehicles for which the registration certificate and the licence plates are deposited at the competent authority
  • for vehicles whose maximum authorised overall weight is more than 3.5 tonnes, for a period of at least 10 days
  • for other vehicles, for a period of at least 45 days

The exemption applies from the day following deposit to the day following that of follow-up.

• motor vehicles registered in an Austrian registration process with a maximum authorised overall weight of more than 3.5 tonnes, in the calendar month in which they are used exclusively for collection and delivery of combined road/rail transport for distributing and collecting of containers of at least 20 feet in length, of removable superstructures or of railway trailers. Collection and delivery only qualifies if the nearest technically suitable rail loading or unloading station in Austria to the loading or unloading point is used

Transferable number plates

For vehicles with transferable number plates the tax is only payable on the vehicle subject to the highest tax. Vehicles exempt from tax for other reasons are not taken into account.

Tax reduction for vehicles (trailers) in piggyback transportation

Upon application, tax is reduced for vehicles (trailers) with a maximum authorised overall weight of more than 3.5 tonnes which are empty or are carried loaded in piggyback transportation by rail within Austria, by 15 per cent of the monthly tax payable on the vehicle for each rail transport. The maximum reduction, however, is the amount of tax payable for the vehicle in a calendar year.

Taxable parties

For motor vehicles which have been registered in an Austrian registration process, the person to whom the vehicle is registered is liable for the tax.

In all other cases (e.g. unlawful use), it is the person who is using the vehicle.

Duration of tax obligation

For vehicles registered in an Austrian registration process, the tax obligation begins on the date of registration and lasts until the day on which registration ends (tax calculated daily). Days commenced count as full days.

In the event of unlawful use the tax would be collected from the beginning of the calendar month in which the Austrian registration would have taken place to the end of the calendar month in which the unlawful use ends. The tax is collected for a minimum period of one month in any case.

Tax base and tax rate

Motor vehicles and trailers with a maximum authorised overall weight of more than 3.5 tonnes and tractors and traction vehicles

The values entered in the type certificate or in the decision of individual approval are decisive for tax calculation.

If this entry is lacking, a maximum authorised overall weight of 8 tonnes must be applied.

The monthly tax rate for each tonne of maximum authorised overall weight is

• for vehicles with a maximum authorised overall weight of up to 12 tonnes 1.55 Euro, at least 15 Euro,
• for vehicles with a maximum authorised overall weight of more than 12 tonnes up to 18 tonnes 1.70 Euro,
• for vehicles with a maximum authorised overall weight of more than 18 tonnes 1.90 Euro, at most 80 Euro, for trailers at most 66 Euro.

Partial tonnes are rounded up to full tonnes for calculating the tax. For daily calculation of the motor vehicle tax, a month is considered to have 30 days.

Other motor vehicles

The rules and regulations for all other motor vehicles can be found on the web page of the Federal Ministry for Finance^{German text}.

When assigning transferable number plates to vehicles, where one is subject to engine-related insurance tax (e.g. a passenger car) and the other is subject to motor vehicle tax (e.g. a truck over 3.5 tonnes), the engine-related insurance tax is to be offset against the motor vehicle tax, provided that this relates to the tax calculation period.

Charging the tax

Duty of disclosure

Where there is an obligation to pay motor vehicle tax, the taxable party must notify the tax office (→ BMF)^{German text} of this fact within one month. The duty of disclosure arises upon registration of the first taxable vehicle. The disclosure can be made using Form Kr20 or without a form.

Record-keeping obligation

In Austria, records must be kept detailing the model and number plate of the vehicle, the duration of the tax obligation and the tax base.

If these records are kept for other reasons, separate records for the purpose of motor vehicle tax are not necessary.

Declaration obligation and payment of the tax

Tax liability arises at the end of the calendar quarter. The tax to be paid for the calendar quarter in question is self-assessed by the taxable party and must be paid to the tax office by the 15th day of the second calendar month following the end of the calendar quarter. Therefore, payment must be made for the

• first calendar quarter by 15 May
• second calendar quarter by 15 August
• third calendar quarter by 15 November
• fourth calendar quarter by 15 February of the following year.

At the end of each calendar year, a tax declaration (Form Kr1) relating to the taxable vehicles must be submitted to the tax office by 30 June of the following calendar year. Form Kr2 – Explaining the Motor Vehicle Tax Declaration (Kr1) for the respective year can be used to help fill in Form Kr1 and to calculate the tax.

Further links

Motor vehicle tax declaration

Responsibility for collection

For motor vehicles registered in an Austrian registration process, the Tax Authority Austria or the Tax Authority for Large Traders is responsible for collecting the tax.

In the case of unlawful use of a vehicle, the Tax Authority Austria is always responsible.

The Customs Authority Austria is responsible for cross-border traffic with motor vehicles not registered in Austria.

Revocation of registration

Non-payment or incomplete payment of the motor vehicle tax is grounds for revocation of registration, which the tax office can apply for with the authority that registered the vehicle.

Further links

Motor Vehicle Tax (→ BMF)^{German text}

Forms

• Motor Vehicle Taxation Act – Disclosure – Kr20^{German text}
• Motor Vehicle Tax Declaration – Kr1^{German text}
• Explaining the Motor Vehicle Tax Declaration – Kr2^{German text}

Legal bases

• Exemptions from the registration requirement: section 1 of the Kraftfahrgesetz (KFG)
• Admission to circulation: section 36 of the KFG
• Use of motor vehicles and trailers with foreign license plates: section 82 paragraph 8 of the KFG
• Taxable item: section 1 of the Kraftfahrzeugsteuergesetz (KfzStG)
• Kraftfahrzeugbesteuerungsrichtlinien (KfzBStR)