Your employee is usually employed in two or more Member States of the European Union (EU), the European Economic Area (EEA) and/or in Switzerland. It has been established that the person is subject to Austrian social security law. A PD A1 certificate has been issued.
As an employer, you are therefore required to register your employee for social security in Austria and pay the corresponding social security contributions. The Österreichische Gesundheitskasse (Austrian Health Insurance Fund) is your competent insurance institution for this purpose.
Accordingly, you have received a letter from the Austrian Health Insurance Fund, requesting that you register.
Registering for social security
In principle, employers must submit all social security registrations in Austria electronically via ELDA (the system for electronic data exchange with the social security authorities). If you have a tax representative or an otherwise authorised person in Austria, please instruct them to send the registrations via ELDA to the Austrian Health Insurance Fund.
However, as an employer without a registered office or authorised agent in Austria, you have the option of a simplified registration procedure. In this case, you must register using the electronic service Registration for employers abroad. Please do this as soon as possible. You will find the date of the start of mandatory insurance in Austria on the registration notification letter. The documents required are indicated when you fill in the electronic form. These must be submitted as attachments to the registration.
Once your employee has registered, you will receive a contribution account number, under which all your communications and payments are recorded. You must state your contribution account number in all communications and payments.
Social security contributions
Monthly contribution base notification (mGBM)
To enable us to calculate the contributions correctly, we need information on the amount of your employee’s gross monthly remuneration (= contribution base). In Austria, an employee’s monthly contribution base notification (mGBM) is provided to declare the monthly contribution base. To send us this information, use the electronic service mBGM for employers abroad and submit this to us by the 7th day of the month following the salary period. Please note that late payment fines may apply in the event of late submission.
If you do not pay your employees’ remuneration in euro, it will be converted into euro when the contributions are calculated. This is done using the daily rate published by the European Central Bank on the last day of the month.
Contribution amounts (valid for 2024)
The contribution amount depends on the insurance coverage. In the case of marginal employment (gross remuneration up to EUR 518.44), only accident insurance is mandatory. If the remuneration exceeds this amount, full insurance is required (accident, health, pension and unemployment insurance).
| Monthly remuneration (gross) | Contribution | Employee’s share | Employer’s share |
| up to EUR 518.44 | 1.10 % of the gross remuneration | - | 1.10 % |
| over EUR 518.44 | 37.45 % of the gross remuneration | 17.07 % | 20.38 % |
In individual cases, the contribution amount may change slightly due to surcharges or discounts. In the case of full insurance, you are entitled to deduct the employee’s share from the wage or salary payment.
Paying the contributions
Social security contributions are calculated on a monthly basis. You will receive the invoice ("Beitragsvorschreibung") by the middle of the following month. The contributions must be paid within 15 days.
In the case of marginal employment, you will receive the invoice every month, but payment is only due at the start of the following year. You will find the exact due date on the invoice.
End of mandatory insurance in Austria
Mandatory insurance in Austria ends,
- when the employment relationship ends or
- if the applicable law is redefined (amended Portable Document A1 (PD A1) certificate).
Please inform us immediately in either of these situations. Only then can we deregister the employee from the Austrian social security system and stop issuing the invoices at the correct time.
Agreement to transfer the registration and contribution obligation to employees
Employers without a place of business in Austria may, by means of an agreement pursuant to Article 21(2) of Regulation (EC) No 987/2009 ("Article 21 agreement"), transfer the registration and contribution obligation to their employees.
In the event of activities relating to the United Kingdom, the arrangement referred to in Article SSC.14(2) of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) will apply. The relevant form for the agreement can be found in the ‘"Forms" section.
If an agreement is validly concluded, your employee must themselves:
- register with the Austrian Health Insurance Fund as required and
- pay the entire social security contributions to the Austrian Health Insurance Fund. As an employer, you must continue to bear the employer’s share of the contributions.
Please note that, notwithstanding the conclusion of any agreement, if there are any contribution arrears, then you, as the employer, may still be held liable for contributions on a subsidiary basis.
If you wish to use the option of an agreement, please send the agreement signed by both parties to the competent provincial office of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund.
If you have any further questions about social security in Austria, please ask your contact person (PDF, 73 KB) at the Austrian Health Insurance Fund.