The commuter euro in 2026: three times last year’s amount
What the tripled Pendlereuro takes straight off your wage tax, and the cases in which your payslip shows none of it.
The Pendlereuro, Austria’s commuter euro, is worth €6 a year for every kilometre of the one-way distance between home and work since January 2026, up from €2 in 2025. It is a tax credit under section 33(5)(4) of the Income Tax Act: it comes off the wage tax already calculated, so each euro of it is a euro of tax saved, whatever your marginal rate. A 35 km commute now earns €210 a year instead of €70, an extra €140, the exact example the Finance Ministry used. You only get it if you qualify for the commuter allowance (Pendlerpauschale), and it is reduced the same way: full from eleven commutes a month, two thirds with eight to ten, one third with four to seven. On €3,000 gross with a 35 km commute it adds €17.50 net a month on its own, more than the small allowance itself. If your wage tax is already zero, for example because of Familienbonus Plus, it pays off only in the annual tax return, through a social insurance refund of up to €750.
Commuter euro 2026 versus 2025
Commuter euro 2026 per year
€210
| Commuter euro 2025 | €70 |
| Extra tax saving 2026 | €140 |
| per month | €11.67 |
Only with a commuter allowance (small from 20 km, large from 2 km).
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Calculation method
What changed in 2026
Until the end of 2025 each kilometre of your commute saved €2 of tax a year. Since 1 January 2026 it saves €6. The Finance Ministry explained the change in its announcement of 30 December 2025 with one example: a 35 km one-way commute brings €140 more per year. The increase concerns the commuter euro and reaches every commuter with an allowance, regardless of salary.
| One-way distance | Commuter euro 2025 | Commuter euro 2026 | per month 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 km | €20 | €60 | €5.00 |
| 20 km | €40 | €120 | €10.00 |
| 35 km | €70 | €210 | €17.50 |
| 50 km | €100 | €300 | €25.00 |
| 70 km | €140 | €420 | €35.00 |
A credit, not a deduction
Expats often meet two Austrian terms here. A Freibetrag is a deduction from taxable income; an Absetzbetrag is a credit against the tax itself. The commuter allowance under section 16(1)(6) is a deduction, so it saves your marginal rate times its amount. The commuter euro under section 33(5)(4) is a credit, so €210 of commuter euro saves exactly €210 of tax, whether you sit in the 20 or the 40 percent band.
At €3,000 gross a month your marginal rate is 30.0 %. The small allowance of €696 therefore saves about €17.40 a month, while the commuter euro saves €17.50. Together your payslip shows €34.90 more net pay. Since the tripling, the commuter euro is the larger of the two items for average salaries and average distances.
Trips per month and other rules
The law applies the allowance rules to the commuter euro by cross-reference. In practice:
- Part-month trips: eleven or more trips a month give the full amount, eight to ten two thirds, four to seven one third. For 35 km that is €210, €140 or €70 a year.
- Distance: the distance set by the Pendlerrechner counts, not the route you actually drive.
- Company car: if your employer gives you a motor vehicle for the commute, both allowance and commuter euro lapse. A company bike does not affect them.
- Several homes: the commuter euro follows the distance used for the allowance, from the home nearest to work or from the family home.
Commuter euro 2026 versus 2025
Commuter euro 2026 per year
€210
| Commuter euro 2025 | €70 |
| Extra tax saving 2026 | €140 |
| per month | €11.67 |
Only with a commuter allowance (small from 20 km, large from 2 km).
When the payslip cannot use it
A credit can only reduce tax that exists. On lower salaries the monthly wage tax runs out quickly. The table compares monthly wage tax without a commute and with a 35 km commute on the small allowance; the saving combines allowance, commuter euro and, on low incomes, the higher transport credit (Verkehrsabsetzbetrag).
| Gross per month | Wage tax, no commute | Wage tax, 35 km | Saving per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| €1,600 | €2.43 | €0.00 | €2.43 |
| €2,000 | €70.34 | €41.24 | €29.10 |
| €2,500 | €168.05 | €133.15 | €34.90 |
| €3,000 | €283.82 | €248.92 | €34.90 |
| €4,000 | €552.41 | €511.71 | €40.70 |
At €1,600 gross the wage tax already drops to €0.00, although the credits would cover more. Families hit the same wall: section 33(2) deducts Familienbonus Plus first and every other credit afterwards. At €3,000 gross with two children under 18, wage tax is €0.00 with or without the commute, so the commuter euro has nothing left to reduce on the payslip.
How you still get the money
File the annual employee tax assessment. The tax office recalculates the whole year, and if the transport credit and commuter euro push your tax below zero, it refunds 55.0 % of your own social insurance contributions, up to €750 a year for commuters instead of €496. With income up to €19,761 a social insurance bonus of up to €804 is added. The refund cannot exceed the negative tax, and the commuter euro is what helps you reach that ceiling. Low earners with long commutes should therefore always file, even when the payslip already shows zero wage tax.
What the commuter euro is not
It is not a travel reimbursement from your employer and not a subsidy for the Klimaticket, Austria’s nationwide transport pass. It never arrives as a separate payment; you see it as lower wage tax, usually on the same payslip line as the allowance. Your mode of transport does not matter. To see what your own commute is worth each month, use the commuter allowance calculator with your gross salary; it also shows whether the small or large allowance makes the difference. How the transport credit rises on low incomes is covered on the transport credit page.