Employee social insurance contributions in Austria
What comes off your gross pay for health, pension and unemployment insurance, where the low-income scale jumps, and how holiday and Christmas pay differ.
Employees in Austria pay 18.07 % of their gross salary in social insurance in 2026 once they earn more than €2,630 a month: 3.87 % health insurance, 10.25 % pension insurance, 2.95 % unemployment insurance, plus 0.5 % each for the Chamber of Labour levy and the housing subsidy contribution. In Vienna the housing contribution rose to 0.75 % in January 2026, so the total there is 18.32 %. Low earners pay less unemployment insurance: nothing up to €2,225, 1 % up to €2,427, 2 % up to €2,630. Holiday pay and Christmas pay carry no Chamber levy and no housing contribution, so at most 17.07 % applies. Contributions stop growing at the ceiling of €6,930 a month, where they reach €1,252.25. If you earn no more than €551.10, you are a marginal employee and pay nothing at all. All of it is collected by the ÖGK, the Austrian health insurance fund, through your employer.
Your social insurance contribution item by item
Social insurance per month
€386.88
| Total rate | 16.12 % |
| Pension | €246.00 |
| Health | €92.88 |
| Unemployment (1.00 %) | €24.00 |
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Calculation method
The 2026 rates item by item
Social insurance in Austria is compulsory. Anyone earning more than the marginal-employment limit is automatically covered for health, pension, accident and unemployment. You cannot opt out, choose a private insurer instead or pick a different fund: your employer registers you with the ÖGK, deducts your share each month and pays it over together with its own. The rates below come from the Chamber of Commerce overview of 2026 contributions.
| Contribution | Employee | Employer | Your share on €3,200 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health insurance (KV) | 3.87 % | 3.78 % | €123.84 |
| Pension insurance (PV) | 10.25 % | 12.55 % | €328.00 |
| Unemployment insurance (AV) | 2.95 % | 2.95 % | €94.40 |
| Accident insurance (UV) | 0.0 % | 1.10 % | €0.00 |
| Chamber of Labour levy (AK) | 0.50 % | 0.0 % | €16.00 |
| Housing subsidy (Vienna) | 0.50 % (0.75 %) | 0.50 % (0.75 %) | €16.00 |
| Total outside Vienna | 18.07 % | €578.24 |
Pension insurance is by far the largest item. It feeds your personal pension account (Pensionskonto), where every month of contributions raises your future Austrian pension. Health insurance gives you access to doctors and hospitals with your e-card and pays sick pay during longer illness. Unemployment insurance funds benefits from the AMS, the public employment service. The Chamber of Labour levy funds the AK (Arbeiterkammer), the statutory body representing employees, which you automatically belong to as an employee.
Vienna: higher housing contribution
Since 1 January 2026 the housing subsidy contribution (Wohnbauförderungsbeitrag) for jobs in Vienna is 0.75 % instead of 0.50 %, for both employee and employer (ÖGK). What matters is where you work, not where you live. On €3,200 gross the difference is €8.00 a month; the Vienna gross-to-net page shows the full year.
The reduced unemployment contribution
For low incomes the employee share of unemployment insurance is cut (ÖGK, as of 1 January 2026). The limits are uprated every year:
- up to €2,225.00 gross: 0.0 %
- €2,225.00 to €2,427.00: 1.0 %
- €2,427.00 to €2,630.00: 2.0 %
- above €2,630.00: 2.95 %
The scale is a staircase, not a ramp. Once you pass a limit by a cent, the higher rate applies to your entire salary. That creates three points where one more euro of gross means less take-home pay:
| Limit | Net exactly at the limit | Net one euro above | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| €2,225 | €1,775.56 | €1,760.57 | -€14.99 |
| €2,427 | €1,878.59 | €1,862.18 | -€16.41 |
| €2,630 | €1,979.37 | €1,962.46 | -€16.91 |
Two rules from the ÖGK matter in practice. Each month stands alone, with no averaging over the year, so overtime can lift a single month into a higher step. And separate jobs are never added together: with two part-time jobs paying €1,500 each, neither deducts unemployment insurance. If a pay offer lands just above a limit, check the net figure; the pay rise page works through such cases.
Your social insurance contribution item by item
Social insurance per month
€386.88
| Total rate | 16.12 % |
| Pension | €246.00 |
| Health | €92.88 |
| Unemployment (1.00 %) | €24.00 |
Contributions by monthly gross
| Monthly gross | Unemployment rate | Overall rate | Contribution | In Vienna |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €1,200 | 0.00 % | 15.12 % | €181.44 | €184.44 |
| €2,000 | 0.00 % | 15.12 % | €302.40 | €307.40 |
| €2,300 | 1.00 % | 16.12 % | €370.76 | €376.51 |
| €2,500 | 2.00 % | 17.12 % | €428.00 | €434.25 |
| €2,800 | 2.95 % | 18.07 % | €505.96 | €512.96 |
| €3,500 | 2.95 % | 18.07 % | €632.45 | €641.20 |
| €5,000 | 2.95 % | 18.07 % | €903.50 | €916.00 |
| €6,930 | 2.95 % | 18.07 % | €1,252.25 | €1,269.58 |
| €9,000 | 2.95 % | 13.91 % | €1,252.25 | €1,269.58 |
Special payments: fewer items, their own ceiling
Most Austrian employees receive a 13th and 14th salary (Sonderzahlungen, special payments), usually as holiday pay in summer and Christmas pay in late autumn. They carry health, pension and unemployment insurance, but no Chamber levy and no housing contribution, even in Vienna, so the rate is at most 17.07 %. The unemployment scale looks at the special payment on its own. The ÖGK example: €2,500 of salary and a €2,300 special payment in the same month mean 2.0 % on the salary but only 1.0 % on the special payment.
Special payments have their own ceiling of €13,860 per calendar year (ÖGK variable values 2026). If each of your two extra salaries is above €6,930, the second one is only partly charged. The net value of both is worked out on the 13th and 14th salary page.
The floor, the ceiling and the effect on tax
At the top, the maximum contribution base of €6,930 a month caps contributions. At the bottom sits the marginal-employment limit of €551.10: below it you pay nothing and are covered for accidents only, as explained under marginal employment. Contributions also lower your wage tax, because they are deducted from gross pay before the tax scale applies. For low earners, the annual tax assessment even returns part of them, up to €496 a year.