Fiscal Representative in Austria: VAT Obligations and New Thresholds for Foreign Businesses from 2025

„A fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive in Aus­tria is often the key to suc­cess­ful mar­ket pres­ence.“

More and more for­eign com­pa­nies – espe­cial­ly from EU mem­ber states – are dis­cov­er­ing Aus­tria as an attrac­tive mar­ket for trade and ser­vices. How­ev­er, doing busi­ness in Aus­tria also comes with tax oblig­a­tions. Those pro­vid­ing VAT-liable ser­vices in Aus­tria must com­ply with the country’s com­plex VAT reg­u­la­tions. In many cas­es, a fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive in Aus­tria is required – a key part­ner in ensur­ing tax com­pli­ance.

What Is a Fiscal Representative in Austria?

A fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive is a tax rep­re­sen­ta­tive based in Aus­tria who acts on behalf of a for­eign com­pa­ny. Their role includes reg­is­ter­ing the com­pa­ny with the Aus­tri­an tax author­i­ties, han­dling com­mu­ni­ca­tion with the tax office, and sub­mit­ting VAT returns on time. This ser­vice is par­tic­u­lar­ly cru­cial for non-EU com­pa­nies, but many EU-based busi­ness­es also appoint a fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive in Aus­tria to min­i­mize tax risks.

New VAT Thresholds from 2025: What Businesses Need to Know

As of Jan­u­ary 1, 2025, Aus­tria has intro­duced a new thresh­old for the small busi­ness reg­u­la­tion:

• €55,000 gross per cal­en­dar year

This replaces the pre­vi­ous thresh­old of €35,000. Addi­tion­al rules apply to for­eign busi­ness­es:

• A VAT exemp­tion may apply for EU-wide annu­al turnover under €100.000.
• If turnover exceeds €55.000 in Aus­tria, VAT reg­is­tra­tion becomes manda­to­ry.

Who Needs a Fiscal Representative in Austria?

EU-Based Companies

• Not legal­ly required
• Vol­un­tary appoint­ment pos­si­ble for B2C trans­ac­tions, intra-com­mu­ni­ty sup­plies, or when not using the EU-OSS scheme

Non-EU Businesses

• Manda­to­ry appoint­ment of a fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive
• Applies to the sup­ply of goods or ser­vices with the place of per­for­mance in Aus­tria

Typical Scenarios Requiring a Fiscal Representative

E‑commerce / Distance Selling

A Ger­man online shop deliv­ers to Aus­tri­an pri­vate cus­tomers. If the EU-wide deliv­ery thresh­old of €10,000 is exceed­ed and the EU-OSS scheme is not used, Aus­tri­an VAT reg­is­tra­tion is required. A fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive in Aus­tria han­dles the tax pro­ce­dures.

Intra-Community Supplies

An Ital­ian machin­ery man­u­fac­tur­er deliv­ers to Aus­tria. To ensure cor­rect tax treat­ment, a fis­cal rep­re­sen­ta­tive in Aus­tria for intra-com­mu­ni­ty sup­plies can assist.

Advantages of Having a Fiscal Representative in Austria

• Legal­ly com­pli­ant VAT reg­is­tra­tion
• Time­ly fil­ings and avoid­ance of penal­ties
• Com­mu­ni­ca­tion with tax author­i­ties
• Guid­ance on reverse charge, OSS, and VAT ID appli­ca­tions

Risks Without a Fiscal Representative

• Fines for delayed reg­is­tra­tion
• Loss of input tax deduc­tion
• Dam­age to busi­ness rep­u­ta­tion