Accountants and company formation in Austria

Setting up a company in Austria

A common way to set up a company in Austria from abroad is a GmbH or its newer sibling, the FlexCo: a notary records the articles as a notarial deed, at least €5,000 of the capital goes into an Austrian bank account, and the regional court enters the company in the Firmenbuch, the companies register. A trade licence, a tax office notification and a beneficial owner report follow before the business can run normally.

The sequence for a GmbH or FlexCo:

1. Pick the legal form and the name, and check the name for conflicts with existing companies.
2. Have the articles drawn up as a notarial deed, signed in person, by video or through a certified power of attorney.
3. Pay in the cash capital at an Austrian bank and obtain its written confirmation.
4. File for entry in the Firmenbuch at the regional court; the company exists from the entry.
5. Register the trade with the business authority and appoint a manager under trade law.
6. Notify the tax office, request a VAT number, report the beneficial owners and register with social insurance.

Can foreigners set up a company in Austria?

Yes. A GmbH or FlexCo can be formed by one or more persons, and a single founder can do it alone. The GmbH Act asks only that managing directors be natural persons with legal capacity, appointed by the shareholders. A company cannot sit on the management.

Residence starts to matter in three places. The trade licence needs a manager under trade law who lives in Austria, another EEA state or Switzerland, and who holds a residence permit if they come from outside the EU and EEA. The fully online formation through the government’s business portal is open only to founders with an Austrian main domicile. And anyone from a non-EU country who wants to work in the business in Austria needs a residence title of their own.

GmbH, FlexCo, AG or branch: choose the legal form

Four structures cover nearly every foreign project.

The minimum share capital of a GmbH is €10,000, and each shareholder’s contribution must be at least €70. Assets can be contributed in kind, but the articles must then describe the asset and its value precisely.

The FlexCo, in force since 2024, follows the GmbH rules unless its own Act says otherwise. Under the Flexible Companies Act, a contribution can be as small as €1, and the company can issue enterprise value shares (Unternehmenswert-Anteile) below 25% of the share capital, which carry a share in profits but no vote. Share transfers need a document drawn up by a notary or a lawyer instead of a full notarial deed. The name must end in “FlexCo” or “FlexKapG”, and the minimum share capital is still €10,000.

The AG has a minimum share capital of €70,000 and a heavier governance structure; the business portal itself advises using a notary or lawyer for it. A branch is not a new company. A foreign GmbH-type company files its Austrian branch with the Firmenbuch, and if its home state is outside the EU or EEA it must appoint at least one representative who habitually lives in Austria. The foreign company’s articles go with the filing as a certified copy, translated into German if needed.

Partnerships (OG, KG and the GmbH & Co KG) exist too. They are taxed at the level of the partners rather than the company, so they suit different plans and need advice of their own.

Step 1: The name, the articles and the notary

Start with the name. It must carry the suffix “GmbH” (or “FlexCo”), must not mislead and must stand apart from other businesses. The federal business portal’s roadmap recommends asking the Austrian Economic Chamber (WKO) for an opinion on the name, which can speed up the court’s review.

The articles state the name, seat, purpose, share capital and each shareholder’s contribution. For a GmbH they must take the form of a notarial deed (Notariatsakt). A founder who cannot attend has two options. The notary can draw up the deed electronically, through a video session, or the founder signs a power of attorney for this specific transaction, which must itself be certified and is attached to the deed. A power signed abroad usually also needs an apostille or legalisation and a German translation, so plan time for it. When one person forms the company, the document is called a declaration of establishment rather than a contract.

Step 2: Pay in the share capital

Before filing, cash must reach the company. The GmbH Act requires at least a quarter of every cash contribution and at least €5,000 in total. The money has to be credited to an account at a domestic credit institution, in the name of the company or a managing director, or held by the notary as trustee. The court sees a written confirmation from the bank.

The portal confirms that it is legal and common practice to pay in only half of the €10,000 at first. Managing directors who sign a false declaration about the capital are personally liable for the damage, so the figures in the filing must match the bank’s confirmation.

Banks run their own checks on a company in formation and its owners. Expect questions on the founders, the business plan and where the money comes from, and approach the bank early.

The simplified route for a single founder

One founder who is also the only managing director can skip the notary. The simplified formation under the GmbH Act fixes the capital at €10,000, with €5,000 paid in cash. The declaration is made electronically, and the bank identifies the founder in person, takes a specimen signature and sends its confirmation straight to the Firmenbuch.

In practice this runs through the portal’s electronic start-up, which also covers a single-member FlexCo. The conditions exclude many founders abroad: you need an ID Austria, EU, EEA or Swiss citizenship or an Austrian residence permit, and your main domicile in Austria. The standard articles must be used, and not every bank offers the procedure. Founders who do not qualify use the notary route.

Step 3: Entry in the Firmenbuch

The application for entry goes to the regional court of the company’s seat; in Vienna that is the Commercial Court of Vienna. All managing directors sign it, and their signatures are notarised. The filing carries the notarised articles, the bank confirmation, the directors’ specimen signatures and any approval a professional law requires.

A GmbH or FlexCo only comes into being with the entry. Court fees cover filing and publication, plus the cost of certifying signatures. The New Business Promotion Act (NeuFöG) exempts qualifying new businesses from certain start-up charges, as long as the declaration form is presented before the charge is paid, since amounts already paid are not refunded.

Step 4: Trade licence and manager under trade law

Entry in the register does not allow the company to trade. A GmbH needs a licence to trade, obtained by registering the activity with the business authority; in Vienna that is the Municipal District Office or MA 63, depending on the trade. The registration itself carries no stamp duties or federal administration fees.

Every company must appoint a manager under trade law. That person answers for compliance with trade law and must either represent the company or be employed for at least half of normal weekly hours. For regulated trades, listed in section 94 of the Trade Act, the manager must also prove professional qualifications, and some activities, such as travel agencies or master builders, may only start once the licence decision takes effect. A founder living abroad who cannot fill this role can employ a qualified manager in Austria instead.

Step 5: Tax office, VAT number and beneficial owners

The tax office must hear about the new business within a month of commencing the activity. An informal notice is enough, the office sends a questionnaire to complete, and the notification costs nothing. The company then receives a tax number and a tax account, and it can apply for a VAT identification number with the same first application.

Within four weeks of the first entry in the register, the company reports its beneficial owners to the Register of Beneficial Owners, and every later change within four weeks of learning of it. Managing partners who hold a trade licence through the company also register with the social insurance institution for the self-employed (SVS) within a month.

How an Austrian company is taxed

Corporate income tax. The Corporate Income Tax Act sets a flat rate of 23% for calendar years from 2024. The version in force from 1 January 2028 keeps 23% but raises the rate to 24% on the part of income above €1,000,000.

Minimum tax. A GmbH owes a minimum corporate tax for every full calendar quarter of its existence, even in a loss year. It is calculated from the statutory minimum capital and credited against corporate tax in later profitable years.

Dividends. Profits stay with the company until they are distributed. The portal explains that distributed profits are then taxed at the shareholder’s level, and for a foreign shareholder the tax treaty between the two countries may also apply.

VAT. The standard VAT rate is 20%. Reduced rates of 10% and 13% apply to listed supplies, and the version in force since 1 July 2026 adds a rate of 4.9% to goods listed in Annex 3 of the VAT Act. Advance returns are due on the 15th day of the second month after each period; the period is the quarter for businesses whose turnover in the previous year did not exceed €100,000, and the month otherwise.

A business from outside the EU that supplies in Austria without a seat or fixed establishment in the EU generally has to appoint a tax representative, such as an Austrian chartered accountant, lawyer or notary. An Austrian GmbH deals with its own tax office directly.

Red-White-Red Card: working in Austria as a non-EU founder

Owning shares from abroad needs no permit. Working in the company in Austria does, and the migration portal describes two Red-White-Red Card routes.

• Start-up founders must show at least €30,000 of capital for the new company with an equity share of at least 50%, score at least 50 points, present a consistent business plan and personally control the management. The card runs for up to 24 months.
• Self-employed key workers must show a benefit to the Austrian economy beyond their own business, for example a sustained investment of at least €100,000, new or secured jobs, new technology or significance for the region. No points system applies.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens rely on free movement and need neither route.

Running the company after registration

The yearly calendar is short but strict.

• Annual accounts. File them with the Firmenbuch within nine months of the balance sheet date.
• Tax returns. Corporate income tax and annual VAT returns, plus the advance VAT returns and payroll filings during the year.
• Register changes. New managing directors, a new business address or a change in capital must be reported to the court, and some of them need notarised signatures.
• Beneficial owners. Update the register within four weeks of any change.

Bookkeeping, payroll and tax returns are often handled by a Steuerberater, whose remit under the Public Accountants Act (WTBG) covers tax advice, bookkeeping including payroll, closing the books and representation before the tax authorities.

Mistakes foreign founders make

• Treating the register entry as a licence. Without a trade registration the company cannot start trading.
• Leaving the manager under trade law to the end. If no shareholder or director qualifies, the hire can take longer than the formation.
• Counting on the online route from abroad. E-start-up requires a main domicile in Austria and an ID Austria.
• Sending an unsigned or uncertified power of attorney. The notary needs a certified power for this one transaction.
• Paying start-up charges before filing the NeuFöG form. Charges already paid are not refunded.
• Assuming a share purchase settles residence. A Red-White-Red Card is a separate application with its own conditions.

Who can help you set up a company in Austria

Accountanty lists 45 firms in Austria, all of them in Vienna: 42 accounting firms, 2 corporate services providers and 1 law firm. 44 work with foreign clients, 38 offer English and 11 offer company formation. If you would rather work in Italian, see the Italian-speaking accountants in Austria.

How to compare formation providers, Steuerberater, notaries and lawyers, and what a quote should contain, is explained on company formation in Austria. After the entry, firms listed for accounting, tax compliance, VAT, payroll and residency and visas handle the ongoing work. The Austrian Business Agency also offers information on establishing companies to investors from abroad. One free quote request, reviewed by Accountanty and forwarded to suitable firms, is a simple way to set up a company in Austria with comparable offers.