Getting a pay rise in Austria: what you actually keep
For employees in Austria weighing an offer: the maths behind a raise, including the spots where a little more gross means less net.
In Austria in 2026 you keep between 49 % and 85 % of a pay rise, depending on your salary. On €3,000 gross a month, a 3 % raise adds €90 gross and €51.62 net, so 57.4 % reaches you; over a year, with holiday and Christmas pay rising as well, the gain is €760. Why so little? Each extra euro first loses 18.07 % in social insurance, and the rest is taxed at your marginal rate on the wage tax scale: 20, 30, 40 or 48 percent. There is a trap just above €2,225, €2,427 and €2,630 gross, where the unemployment insurance rate steps up for your whole salary and one extra euro gross can cost up to €16.91 net. Only at €2,252 gross is the loss at the first step recovered. A raise that starts in autumn also pushes part of your Christmas pay above the annual sixth in November; the December check usually gives the extra tax back.
How much of a pay rise reaches you net
Extra net per month
€51.62
| Extra gross per month | €90.00 |
| Extra net per year | €760 |
| Net share of the rise | 57.4 % |
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Calculation method
Marginal rates: what you keep from an extra €100
A raise is taxed at the margin, not at your average rate. Social insurance comes off first; the rest is taxed at the marginal rate of the wage tax scale in section 33 of the Income Tax Act. Above the contribution ceiling, social insurance stops and more of each raise reaches you.
| Gross per month | SI rate | Marginal tax rate | kept from €100 |
|---|---|---|---|
| €1,200 | 15.12 % | 0 % | €84.88 |
| €1,500 | 15.12 % | 20 % | €82.45 |
| €2,000 | 15.12 % | 20 % | €67.91 |
| €2,800 | 18.07 % | 30 % | €57.35 |
| €3,500 | 18.07 % | 30 % | €57.36 |
| €5,000 | 18.07 % | 40 % | €49.15 |
| €6,500 | 18.07 % | 40 % | €49.15 |
| €8,000 | 18.07 % | 48 % | €52.00 |
At low salaries wage tax is still zero but social insurance bites in full. In the middle range, social insurance and the 30 percent band combine; from €3,722 gross it is 40 percent. The jump at €8,000 comes from the contribution ceiling: above €6,930 a month, extra pay carries no social insurance.
A 3 percent raise at different salaries
A percentage raise gives more euros on a high salary but a smaller share net. Austrian employees are usually paid 14 times a year, so the annual figure includes the two special payments, which normally rise too.
| Gross before | extra gross/month | extra net/month | net share | extra net/year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €2,000 | €60 | €40.75 | 67.9 % | €586 |
| €2,500 | €75 | €43.51 | 58.0 % | €640 |
| €3,000 | €90 | €51.62 | 57.4 % | €760 |
| €4,000 | €120 | €58.99 | 49.2 % | €895 |
| €5,000 | €150 | €73.73 | 49.2 % | €1,119 |
| €6,000 | €180 | €88.48 | 49.2 % | €1,342 |
At €2,000 you keep the largest share: even the new gross of €2,060 is below €2,225, so no unemployment insurance is due, and tax on the extra only runs at 20 percent. From €5,000 barely half arrives, because full social insurance meets the 40 percent band. On €2,500 you already pay 2 % unemployment insurance and 30 percent tax on the gain.
The unemployment insurance trap
From 2026 the employee's unemployment insurance share is charged in steps (ÖGK, reduced rates for low earnings): nothing up to €2,225, 1 % up to €2,427, 2 % up to €2,630 and 2.95 % above. The rate applies to the whole monthly gross, not only to the part above the step. Cross a step by one euro and the extra contribution outweighs the gain.
| Step | Net exactly at the step | Net €1 above | Loss | recovered from gross |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €2,225 | €1,775.56 | €1,760.57 | €14.99 | €2,252 |
| €2,427 | €1,878.59 | €1,862.18 | €16.41 | €2,457 |
| €2,630 | €1,979.37 | €1,962.46 | €16.91 | €2,661 |
Wage tax softens the drop slightly, since the lower taxable pay carries less tax, but it cannot cancel it. If a proposed salary lands in one of these gaps, it is reasonable to ask for a slightly bigger raise or for part of it as a tax-free benefit. Apprentices have their own, lower scale.
Timing and the annual sixth
The start date does not change your monthly net. It does affect how holiday and Christmas pay are taxed, because the annual sixth (Jahressechstel, the share of special payments taxed at low fixed rates) is built from salaries already paid (section 67(2)). A raise from October makes the November Christmas pay larger, while the sixth only reflects three of eleven months at the new level.
| Scenario | Annual net | gain vs. no raise | Christmas pay above the sixth |
|---|---|---|---|
| no raise | €35,023.96 | €0 | €0.00 |
| 3 % from January | €35,910.42 | €886.46 | €0.00 |
| 3 % from October | €35,276.05 | €252.09 | €66.82 |
In the October case, €66.82 of the Christmas pay sit above the sixth and are taxed on the scale in November. In December the control calculation looks at all twelve salaries, the amount fits again and the extra tax is refunded (here €2.85). So an autumn raise means a slightly smaller Christmas payout than expected and a slightly larger December salary.
What a raise brings beyond net pay
A higher gross also counts where you do not see it straight away. Your contribution base rises, and later unemployment benefit and your pension are worked out from it. Your employer also pays 1.53 % of your pay into your severance fund, so the new-style severance grows with every raise. A one-off bonus pays once and lifts neither the annual sixth nor future special payments.
Negotiate gross, check net
Before you accept, run the new salary through the gross-to-net calculator with your federal state, children and commuter allowance; those credits change your wage tax but not the marginal rate on the next euro. If you have a net target instead, the net-to-gross calculator finds the gross you need to ask for.