The 13th and 14th salary: holiday pay and Christmas pay
Where the right to Austria’s two extra salaries comes from, how they are taxed and what actually reaches your account.
Most employees in Austria are paid fourteen times a year. The 13th and 14th salary, called Urlaubszuschuss (holiday pay) and Weihnachtsremuneration (Christmas pay), come from the collective agreement (Kollektivvertrag) of your industry or your contract, not from statute. They are taxed far more lightly than regular pay: the first €620 a year are tax-free and the rest is taxed at a flat 6 % instead of the normal scale (section 67 of the Income Tax Act), as long as both together stay within the annual sixth. Social insurance applies, but without the Chamber levy and housing contribution, at most 17.07 %. On a €3,000 salary, holiday pay leaves €2,375.83 net and Christmas pay €2,338.63, both more than the regular monthly net of €2,174.08. Holiday pay comes out higher because it uses up the allowance. Up to a monthly salary of €1,307.50 both are entirely free of wage tax. Between July and December 2026 employers may also pay a tax-free bonus of up to €500.
What remains of the 13th and 14th salary
Holiday pay net
€2,220
| Christmas pay net | €2,183 |
| Regular monthly net for comparison | €2,059 |
| Tax on both together | €241 |
| Net share of special payments | 78.6 % |
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Calculation method
Where the right comes from
If you come from a country with twelve salaries a year, Austrian pay offers can be confusing: the monthly figure is paid fourteen times. The two extra payments are Urlaubszuschuss (holiday pay, usually with the June salary) and Weihnachtsremuneration (Christmas pay, usually in November). They are not a goodwill gesture, nor a statutory right. They are set in the collective agreement (Kollektivvertrag) for your sector, in a works agreement or in your contract, which also fix the amount, the payment month and what happens when you join or leave. One monthly salary each is the common pattern, but some agreements differ.
Tax law mentions them as the typical example of “other payments” an employee receives from the same employer alongside regular pay (section 67(1) of the Income Tax Act). That wording matters: the tax advantage applies per employer, and it also covers one-off bonuses and rewards, not only the 13th and 14th salary.
How the special payments are taxed
Instead of the scale, which takes 30.0 % or 40.0 % of each extra euro on mid-range salaries, fixed rates apply. Social insurance comes off first, then:
- the first €620 per calendar year: tax-free,
- the next €24,380: 6.0 %,
- beyond that 27.0 % and 35.75 %, which only matters for very large special payments.
This holds only as far as the special payments fit within the annual sixth, which with a steady salary means up to two monthly salaries. What happens above it, and how payroll checks it again in December, is covered in detail on the annual sixth page.
The exemption limit for small salaries
If the annual sixth is no more than €2,615, special payments bear no wage tax at all. With twelve equal salaries that is the case up to €1,307.50 gross a month. It is a limit, not an allowance: once exceeded, the whole amount is taxed at the fixed rates. At €1,300 gross both payments are free of wage tax; at €1,400 they cost €107.08 together. For 2027 the limit has already been raised to €2,675.
Social insurance without the Chamber levy and housing contribution
Special payments carry health, pension and unemployment insurance, at most 17.07 % in total. The reduced unemployment rate for small amounts looks at the size of the special payment itself. Both share an annual ceiling of €13,860 (ÖGK), so high earners pay fewer contributions on Christmas pay than on holiday pay. Details on each item are on the social insurance page.
Net table: holiday pay and Christmas pay
| Monthly gross | Holiday pay net | Christmas pay net | Wage tax on both | Regular monthly net | Net share of special payments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| €1,300 | €1,116.44 | €1,116.44 | €0.00 | €1,103.44 | 85.9 % |
| €1,800 | €1,490.29 | €1,453.09 | €148.30 | €1,491.46 | 81.8 % |
| €2,200 | €1,813.20 | €1,776.00 | €189.52 | €1,760.70 | 81.6 % |
| €2,600 | €2,087.23 | €2,050.03 | €224.50 | €1,961.97 | 79.6 % |
| €3,000 | €2,375.83 | €2,338.63 | €261.34 | €2,174.08 | 78.6 % |
| €3,500 | €2,765.60 | €2,728.40 | €311.10 | €2,460.83 | 78.5 % |
| €4,000 | €3,155.37 | €3,118.17 | €360.86 | €2,724.79 | 78.4 % |
| €5,000 | €3,934.91 | €3,897.71 | €460.38 | €3,216.37 | 78.3 % |
| €6,000 | €4,714.45 | €4,677.25 | €559.90 | €3,707.95 | 78.3 % |
| €8,000 | €6,273.54 | €6,579.72 | €780.84 | €4,737.28 | 80.3 % |
The table shows why Austrians value these payments: from mid-range salaries on, far more of them reaches your account than of an ordinary month’s pay. At €3,000, 78.6 % of the two payments is left after deductions, against 72.5 % of a regular salary. When comparing a job offer in Austria with one abroad, annual gross must include both extra salaries; the annual salary page does that conversion. At the top of the table the order of holiday and Christmas pay flips, because the contribution ceiling for special payments is largely used up in June.
What remains of the 13th and 14th salary
Holiday pay net
€2,220
| Christmas pay net | €2,183 |
| Regular monthly net for comparison | €2,059 |
| Tax on both together | €241 |
| Net share of special payments | 78.6 % |
Joining or leaving during the year
If you are not with one employer for the full year, you normally receive the special payments pro rata. How exactly, and whether resigning or dismissal changes it, is set by your collective agreement; this page cannot replace the rules of the many sector agreements. For tax little changes: pro-rata Christmas pay in the final settlement is still an “other payment” at the fixed rate, and the sixth is built from the months already paid.
Take €3,000 gross, holiday pay in June and a departure at the end of September. With the last salary come nine twelfths of Christmas pay, €2,250.00 gross. After €340.20 social insurance and €114.59 wage tax, €1,795.21 remain. Because the job ends, the December control calculation, which could otherwise claw back over-favoured amounts, does not apply. At a new employer the allowance and the sixth start again; your annual tax assessment then combines the special payments from both.
The 2026 employee bonus
On top of holiday and Christmas pay, the law allows one more tax-free payment in 2026, the Mitarbeiterprämie (section 124b). The conditions:
- paid in July to December 2026, tax-free up to €500 per employee;
- based on a collective or works agreement; without a works council, a contractual arrangement for all employees is enough;
- an additional payment not usually made before, or a temporary bonus in place of a pay rise;
- together with a tax-free profit share, no more than €3,000; if more is treated as tax-free, a tax assessment becomes mandatory.
For your special payments the key point is that the bonus neither raises the annual sixth nor counts against it. Holiday and Christmas pay keep the same tax advantage as without it. Model your own year, with bonus, pay rise or departure, in the holiday and Christmas pay calculator.