Austria will end the long‑standing tax exemption for privately used electric company cars and introduce a fixed monthly "Sachbezug" for zero‑emission vehicles from 1 January 2027. The change — published in a September amendment to the Sachbezugswerteverordnung and repeatedly discussed by fleet advisers this autumn — affects drivers, employers, dealers and fleet‑planning across Austria and has direct consequences for cross‑border companies and German fleets that compare tax regimes.
What the rule says
Under the amended Sachbezugswerteverordnung, a privately usable, employer‑provided electric car with 0 g CO₂/km will carry a taxable benefit equal to 0.375% of the acquisition price in 2027, capped at €180 per month; from 2028 the rate rises to 0.625% with a €300 monthly cap. The amendment (BGBl. II Nr. 272/2026) was published in September and applies to wage periods from 2027 onwards.
The law leaves several practical details to employers and payroll departments: the basis is the actual acquisition cost (including VAT and NoVA where applicable), leased cars are measured by the leasing‑rate base, and low private use (an average of at most 500 km/month) can halve the taxable amount. Advisers and fleet portals flagged the changes again this week as sales and deliveries for 2027‑model cars accelerate.
Charging, reimbursements and transitional details
The regulation also clarifies charging reimbursements: employer payments for charging at workplace or public chargers are generally non‑taxable if properly documented; for home charging the employer may reimburse using an officially set per‑kWh rate (the 2026 figure is 32.806 cents/kWh) provided the charged kWh can be assigned to the vehicle. The government published these practical rules together with the Sachbezug novellæ to avoid arbitrary valuations.
The move is part of the broader budget package (Budgetbegleitgesetz) adopted earlier in 2026 that rewrote several tax rules affecting mobility and employer benefits; the parliamentary process concluded in mid‑2026 and the implementing regulation completed the technical steps this autumn. Employers should note that the obligation to apply the new values begins with wages paid in 2027 — so contract and fleet decisions made now will determine the first taxable year.
