🇦🇹 The standard VAT rate in Austria for digital services is 20%. Here's everything SaaS founders, freelancers, and indie hackers need to know about charging VAT when selling to customers in Austria.
If you sell SaaS, digital downloads, apps, e-books, or any electronically supplied service to customers in Austria, EU VAT rules apply. The rate you charge depends on who your customer is and where your business is based.
| Scenario | VAT Rate | Who Pays |
|---|---|---|
| B2C to Austria consumer | 20% | You charge & remit |
| B2B to Austria business | 0% (reverse charge) | Customer self-assesses |
| Domestic sale within Austria | 20% | You charge & remit |
When selling digital services to individual consumers (B2C) in Austria, you must charge VAT at 20%. The key question is whether you need to use the One-Stop Shop (OSS) scheme:
Below €10,000/year in EU cross-border B2C sales: You can charge your home country's VAT rate instead of 20%. This threshold applies to your combined B2C sales across ALL EU countries, not just Austria.
Above €10,000/year: You must charge 20% (Austria's rate). Register for the OSS scheme in your home EU country to file a single quarterly return covering all EU countries.
For B2B sales to VAT-registered businesses in Austria, the reverse charge mechanism applies. You invoice at 0% VAT and your customer accounts for the VAT themselves. You must:
1. Verify your customer's VAT number using the EU VIES system
2. Include both VAT numbers on the invoice
3. Add the wording: "Reverse charge — VAT to be accounted for by the recipient under Article 196 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC"
If your business is outside the EU (e.g., US, UK, or other non-EU country) and you sell B2C digital services to consumers in Austria, you must register for the Non-Union OSS scheme in any EU member state. You'll charge 20% VAT on sales to Austria consumers and file quarterly returns through your chosen EU country.
For B2B sales from outside the EU, the reverse charge still applies — your Austria business customer handles the VAT.
Your invoice to a Austria customer must include: your business name and address, your VAT number (or OSS number), the customer's details (and VAT number for B2B), a clear description of services, the VAT rate applied (20% for B2C, 0% with reverse charge note for B2B), and the total amount including VAT.
Use our free invoice generator to create compliant invoices with the correct legal wording automatically.
The standard VAT rate in Austria for digital services including SaaS, apps, and e-books is 20%. This applies to B2C sales to consumers located in Austria.
If you sell B2C digital services to consumers in Austria and your total EU cross-border B2C sales exceed €10,000/year, you must either register for VAT in Austria directly or use the EU One-Stop Shop (OSS) scheme to report and pay VAT through a single EU country.
If you sell to a VAT-registered business in Austria (B2B), the reverse charge applies. You charge 0% VAT and your Austria customer self-assesses VAT at 20%. You must include "Reverse charge — VAT to be accounted for by the recipient" on your invoice.
The EU One-Stop Shop (OSS) threshold is €10,000 in combined cross-border B2C sales across ALL EU countries (not per country). Below this threshold, you can charge your home country's VAT rate. Above it, you must charge the destination country rate.
For B2C sales, include 20% VAT on your invoice. For B2B sales (reverse charge), invoice at 0% with the note: "Reverse charge — VAT to be accounted for by the recipient under Article 196 of Council Directive 2006/112/EC." Use our free invoice generator at paytaxfa.st/invoice.html to get the wording right automatically.
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