Deferred does not mean forgotten.
Anyone who had the tax on hidden reserves deferred when moving away from Austria could, until now, safely leave the matter in the drawer. The Budget Measures Act 2026 (Budgetmaßnahmengesetz 2026) changes this fundamentally.
With immediate effect, the non-assessment concept (Nichtfestsetzungskonzept) is subject to a reporting obligation – in two variants:
New cases
Assessment notice issued after 30 June 2026, deferred income exceeding EUR 100,000: each year you must demonstrate that no event terminating the deferral has yet occurred. Missing the deadline will itself trigger the assessment of the entire deferred tax.
Legacy cases
Open deferrals from the period 31 December 2005 to 30 June 2026, likewise exceeding EUR 100,000: one-off report by 31 December 2026. This covers not only relocations of individuals, but also old non-assessments arising from reorganisations, transfers of business operations and transfers of assets – for both income tax and corporate income tax.
From practice
From my experience as an auditor and tax adviser: many of these legacy cases date back ten or fifteen years. The advisers have changed, the documents are in the archive, nobody thinks about them any more. These are exactly the cases that now have to be found and reported by the end of the year.
Have you had a relocation, a reorganisation or a transfer of business operations with deferred tax in the last 20 years? Contact me directly – I will review with you whether a legacy case exists.