Cost to Hire an Employee in Austria (2026)

• Gross salary, paid in 14 instalments a year.
• Employer costs of about 29.6% at a €60,000 salary: €17,742 a year, of which the largest is employer social security.
• An EOR fee, if you hire without your own entity. The providers in our Austria guide publish starting prices of US$199–699 per employee per month.

Mandatory employer costs at a €60,000 salary (mid-level professional). Employee contributions and income tax come out of gross pay and aren't included.

Contribution ceilings mean employer costs can be a smaller share of higher salaries. Figures exclude the EOR fee.

• Employer social security: 20.98% for salaried employees, up to €6,930 a month
• Severance fund (BV): 1.53% of all pay
• Payroll taxes: 3.7% DB, 0.31–0.40% DZ, 3% municipal tax
• Minimum wage: None by law; set by collective agreements
• Salary payments: Usually 14 a year (13th and 14th under most collective agreements)
• Paid annual leave: 30 working days (5 weeks), 36 after 25 years

• Annual salaries here are 14 × the monthly salary. Social security stops at €6,930 a month on regular pay and €13,860 a year on special payments, which together come to €97,020 a year when pay is split into 14 equal payments.
• The severance fund (BV), DB, DZ and municipal tax have no ceiling and apply to all pay, including the 13th and 14th salaries.
• The DZ default is Vienna's 0.36%; it ranges from 0.31% (Upper Austria) to 0.40% (Burgenland).
• Employee social security (18.07% for salaried employees, with a reduced unemployment share on lower pay), the 0.50% chamber of labour levy and wage tax are deducted from pay and are not employer costs.

Without your own entity in Austria, an Employer of Record can employ your hire for a monthly fee. The alternative is setting up your own Austrian GmbH or branch. See the comparison in our Austria guide and EOR vs local entity.