Starting out in Austria · 2026 figures
In Austria you do not need a trade licence for art86. As an artist you are compulsorily insured with the social insurance institution SVS from €6,613.20 profit a year229, and up to €55,000 turnover you charge no VAT230. If you receive family allowance, your taxable income in 2026 may be at most €17,212231.
Free, nothing is stored or sent. Not tax advice: if in doubt, ask the linked authority or a tax adviser.
01 · Trade or not
Art
For works of visual art and its contemporary forms, explicitly including multimedia art, you need no trade licence if you are artistically qualified, for example through a degree86. You then count as one of the “Neue Selbständige” (new self-employed)229.
Advertising and commissioned design
For advertising graphics, including web, app and screen design, you register the free trade “Werbegrafik-Designer” (advertising graphic designer). No proof of qualification is required94.
If you do both, both can apply side by side. The Creative Region in Linz gives free advice on how to classify your work71.
02 · Limits 2026
| What | Limit | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Social insurance (SVS) | €6,613.20 profit a year232 | Art: above it compulsorily insured, register within 1 month; below it voluntary insurance is possible229. With a trade licence generally compulsorily insured; exemption on application up to €6,613.20 income and €55,000 turnover233. |
| VAT | €55,000 gross turnover230 | Below it, invoices without VAT. Up to 10% above it, this still applies until the end of the year230. |
| Flat rate for expenses | 20% of income, at most €11,000234 | Rate for service businesses, including graphic design and artistic work235. Only up to €55,000 turnover. |
| Basic allowance | 15% of the first €33,000 profit236 | Up to €4,950 stays tax-free, also with the flat rate236,234. |
| Income tax | 0% up to €13,539 income237 | Then 20%, from €21,992 30%, from €36,458 40%237. |
| Family allowance | €17,212 taxable income231 | Applies from the year in which you turn 20. Above it, you only pay back the amount over the limit238. |
| Artists’ social insurance fund | art at least €6,613.20, total at most €35,821.50113 | Then a subsidy of up to €158 a month towards pension insurance113. |
03 · Calculator
Enter what you expect in a year. The default is an example with €12,000 income. The calculator roughly shows which limits you exceed. It uses the 20% flat rate if that is better for you, and the basic allowance. Social insurance contributions lower your income further; they are not included.
Rough guidance, not tax advice. Your income tax assessment is what counts.
04 · Tax rules
Flat rate
Up to €55,000 turnover you may claim 20% of your income as expenses, at most €11,000, plus social insurance contributions and the basic allowance234.
Allowance
15% of the first €33,000 profit stays tax-free, without you having to invest for it236.
For art only
You can apply to spread a good year of artistic income over 3 years. This smooths fluctuating income and can lower the tax. The application is irrevocable114.
05 · Legal form
For the start
You work under your own name, need no start-up capital and register with the tax office and the SVS229.
Later, with high profits
At least €10,000 share capital and at least €500 corporation tax a year, even without profit239. It is rarely worth it for the start.
06 · Funding
Federal
€9,000 for 6 months, up to 90 grants, also for media art and design88.
Insurance
Subsidy of up to €158 a month, up to 4 years retroactively, plus a support fund of up to €5,000113.
Advice
Free funding advice, coaching and portfolio reviews71.
Prize
€10,000 for a Golden Nica70. In 2026, submissions ran from January to March92.
07 · Steps
Art without a trade licence, or advertising graphics as a free trade86,94.
Apply for a tax number at the tax office229.
Art: above €6,613.20 profit, within 1 month of starting229. With a trade licence always, unless you apply for the exemption233.
Only for advertising graphics: the free trade “Werbegrafik-Designer”94.
Up to €55,000 turnover without VAT230.
By 30 April on paper or by 30 June via FinanzOnline in the following year229.
08 · Questions
Not for art, not even for multimedia art, if you are artistically qualified, for example through a degree86. For advertising graphics you need the free trade “Werbegrafik-Designer”94.
As one of the new self-employed, from €6,613.20 profit in 2026. Register within 1 month of starting. Below that you can insure yourself voluntarily229,232. With a trade licence you are generally compulsorily insured. Up to €6,613.20 income and €55,000 turnover you can apply for an exemption; accident insurance remains233.
Not automatically. From the year in which you turn 20, your taxable income in 2026 may be at most €17,212231. If you are above it, you only pay back the amount over the limit238.
Usually not: you need at least €10,000 share capital and pay at least €500 corporation tax a year, even without profit239.