Austria · Company formation
Company Registration in Austria for Foreign Founders
GmbH, FlexCo, AG, branch or ready-made.
- EUR 522 state court fee, from 1 August 2026
- EUR 10,000 capital, EUR 5,000 paid in first
- No official Firmenbuch processing time exists
What we set up and run in Austria
Nine lines of work, each with a page of its own. Every figure on those pages carries the paragraph it comes from and the date that version took effect.
GmbH and FlexCo formation.
The two working forms for a founder abroad: gmbh company austria, and the flexible company introduced in 2024, Company Registration Austria: FlexCo (FlexKapG): Austria's Flexible Company.
AG, holding and foundation structures.
Larger or layered arrangements: ag austria for a stock corporation, holding austria for a group parent, and the austrian private foundation where assets are held for a purpose.
A branch or a subsidiary of a foreign company.
A branch has no separate legal personality, a subsidiary does, and the choice changes liability, accounts and the court fee: branch registration austria and Company Registration Austria: Austrian Subsidiary.
Register filings and extracts.
Entries, amendments and extracts at the Firmenbuch kept by the commercial courts, and what the public record shows about a company: Company Registration Austria: The Austrian Company Register (Firmenbuch).
Corporate tax and tax advisory.
The rate, the minimum tax and the filing calendar: Company Registration Austria: Corporate Tax in Austria. Advice on a taxpayer's own position is reserved to a licensed Steuerberater, and the tax advisory guide sets out who may do what.
Bookkeeping and payroll.
Books run from the first invoice and payroll from the first employee. Both are reserved activities in Austria, and these pages set out the obligation and who may lawfully carry it out: Company Registration Austria: Accounting Services in Austria and payroll austria.
VAT and the UID number.
The standard rate is 20 percent, and an Austrian VAT identification number is applied for rather than issued on incorporation: our VAT registration service and vat austria.
Regulated activities.
Where the activity needs an authorisation from the financial market authority: our crypto licence service, our MiCA licence service, e money license austria and our financial services licence service.
Trade marks.
A company name entered in the register is not a trade mark. Protection is applied for separately at the Austrian Patent Office: austria trademark search.
Austrian company forms at a glance
Four forms cover almost every enquiry that reaches this page. The table gives the two figures that decide the filing: the minimum share capital, and the cash that has to be in place before the court will register the company. The full comparison, partnerships and the sole trader included, is in austria company types.
| Form | Minimum share capital | Minimum cash before registration | Liability | Where to read more |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GmbH (Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung) | EUR 10,000, each contribution at least EUR 70 (§ 6 Abs. 1 GmbHG) | EUR 5,000 in total, and a quarter of each cash contribution, at least EUR 70 on each (§ 10 Abs. 1 GmbHG) | only the company is liable, with its assets; shareholders owe their subscribed contributions | gmbh company austria |
| FlexCo (Flexible Kapitalgesellschaft, FlexKapG) | EUR 10,000, each contribution from EUR 1 (§ 3 FlexKapGG, § 1 Abs. 2 FlexKapGG) | a quarter of each cash contribution, at least EUR 1 on each (§ 5 FlexKapGG); the EUR 5,000 aggregate of § 10 Abs. 1 GmbHG still applies | as GmbH | Company Registration Austria: FlexCo (FlexKapG): Austria's Flexible Company |
| AG (Aktiengesellschaft) | EUR 70,000 nominal share capital (§ 7 AktG) | on the AG page, with the higher court fee that goes with it | as GmbH | ag austria |
| Branch (Zweigniederlassung) of a foreign company | none: a branch has no separate legal personality | none | the foreign company remains the bearer of the rights and duties | branch registration austria |
One figure is worth checking on any page you read. The GmbH minimum has been EUR 10,000 since 1 January 2024 (BGBl. I Nr. 179/2023). Anything still saying EUR 35,000, or that it must be raised to EUR 35,000 within ten years, describes the law before that date and the founding privilege abolished with it.
Minimum share capital and the cash due before registration, for the four forms foreign founders use most. Figures read in GmbHG, FlexKapGG and AktG in the versions in force on 17 September 2026.
How an Austrian company is registered
Eight steps, from the first decision to the last filing. Four of them carry a deadline set by statute, and the register entry itself carries none. Each step names the paragraph that governs it.
Form, name, shareholders and seat.
A GmbH may be formed by one person. The seat must be a place of operation, management or administration (§ 5 Abs. 2 GmbHG): Company Registration Austria: Virtual Office and Registered Address in Vienna.
The articles before a notary, or the electronic route.
The Gesellschaftsvertrag needs the form of a Notariatsakt, which may be executed electronically (§ 4 Abs. 3 GmbHG, § 69b Notariatsordnung). § 9a GmbHG opens a simplified founding to a sole shareholder who is a natural person and at the same time sole managing director, with a participating bank.
Pay in the cash.
The called-up amount is credited at a credit institution, to an account of the company or of the managing directors at their free disposal, or to the notary's escrow account as trustee (§ 10 Abs. 2 GmbHG): the business bank account guide.
File with the Firmenbuch court.
The application goes to the commercial court of the seat, which keeps the Firmenbuch. The entry is constitutive: the company exists from it. A file the court cannot accept comes back as a Verbesserungsauftrag, an order to remedy, or is refused.
Notify Finanzamt Österreich within one month.
The start of the activity and the business location are notified, the Steuernummer is requested, and the UID is applied for at the same time where trade inside the EU is planned: vat id austria.
Register the trade.
A GmbH or FlexCo holds the licence in its own name, and a legal person must always appoint a gewerberechtlicher Geschäftsführer. The GISA entry follows within three months of a legally valid registration, or at once through GISA-Express: gewerbeschein austria.
Notify the SVS within one month.
Managing shareholders are compulsorily insured with the social insurance institution for the self-employed, and cover runs from the day of the trade registration.
File the beneficial owners within four weeks.
The filing is made electronically through the business service portal, within four weeks of the first entry in the source register (§ 5 Abs. 1 WiEReG): austria beneficial ownership register.
On timing, no statutory deadline for the Firmenbuch entry exists and no official average is published, so this page states none. Every deadline above is one the law sets, and each of them runs after registration. If you are shown a number of days or weeks for the entry itself, ask which instrument it comes from.
Austria · eight steps, four statutory deadlines
- 01Form, name, shareholders and seat§ 5 Abs. 2 GmbHGNo statutory deadline
- 02The articles before a notary, or the electronic route§ 4 Abs. 3 GmbHG, § 69b Notariatsordnung, § 9a GmbHGNo statutory deadline
- 03Pay in the cash§ 10 Abs. 2 GmbHGNo statutory deadline
- 04File with the Firmenbuch courtThe entry is constitutive: the company exists from itNo statutory deadline, no published average
- 05Notify Finanzamt ÖsterreichSteuernummer, and the UID where EU trade is planned1 month
- 06Register the tradeGISA entry, held in the company's own name3 months, or at once via GISA-Express
- 07Notify the SVSCover runs from the day of the trade registration1 month
- 08File the beneficial owners§ 5 Abs. 1 WiEReG4 weeks
Ready to register a company in Austria?
Tell us the form, the shareholders and the activity. You get the route, the documents and the state fees in writing.
What the Austrian state charges, and what the company owes each year
These are fees and rates fixed by Austrian law, not our fees; what we charge is quoted on request. Each row names the instrument behind the figure and the date that version took effect, so every number here can be checked against the statute instead of being taken on trust.
| Item | Amount | Instrument, and the date this version took effect |
|---|---|---|
| Firmenbuch application fee (Eingabengebühr), GmbH first registration | EUR 47 | GGG Tarifpost 10 Z I lit. a Z 5, Anm. 2, as raised by BGBl. II Nr. 227/2026, from 1 August 2026 |
| Firmenbuch first-registration fee (Eintragungsgebühr), GmbH | EUR 475 | GGG Tarifpost 10 Z I lit. b Z 5, Anm. 9, as raised by BGBl. II Nr. 227/2026, from 1 August 2026 |
| Total state court fee on a first GmbH registration | EUR 522 | the two rows above, added |
| Surcharge where the filing and all of its documents are not submitted by electronic legal communication | plus EUR 24 | GGG Tarifpost 10 Z I, Anmerkung Z 1a with Anm. 1, BGBl. II Nr. 227/2026, from 1 August 2026 |
| Qualifying new business under NeuFöG | EUR 0 | § 1 Z 3 NeuFöG, claimed on form NeuFö 2 with a chamber consultation confirmation; the form may still reach the competent court within 14 days of the application (GGG Tarifpost 10, Anmerkung Z 8) |
| Trade registration (Gewerbeanmeldung) | free of charge, with no stamp duties and no federal administrative charges | business service portal, Trade registration, read live 17 September 2026 and linked at step 6 |
| Minimum corporate income tax, GmbH or FlexCo | EUR 125 per full calendar quarter, EUR 500 a year, from the first year | § 24 Abs. 4 Z 1 KStG; the reduced amount for the first years was repealed by BGBl. I Nr. 200/2023 |
| Corporate income tax | 23 percent for calendar years from 2024 | § 22 Abs. 1 KStG, version in force 1 January 2026 to 31 December 2027; from 1 January 2028 the part of the income above EUR 1,000,000 is taxed at 24 percent (BGBl. I Nr. 62/2026) |
| Value added tax, standard rate | 20 percent | § 10 Abs. 1 UStG 1994, version in force 1 July 2026 |
One figure in circulation is worth holding against the tariff. The chamber's own start-up cost page, dated 6 February 2025 and read again on 16 September 2026, still puts the registration of a GmbH at about EUR 450. The tariff has read EUR 475 since 1 August 2026, which is why the row above carries its annotation number.
One annual duty is not a fee at all. The annual accounts are filed with the Firmenbuch court of the seat at the latest nine months after the balance sheet date (§ 277 Abs. 1 UGB, version in force 1 April 2026), and a company that never trades still owes the minimum corporate income tax in the row above.
Two other forms in the table carry their own court fees. A first AG registration is EUR 130 plus EUR 780, and so is a branch of a company seated outside the EU. A branch of an EU-seated company pays EUR 47 plus EUR 475, the GmbH figures (GGG Tarifpost 10 Z I, lit. a and lit. b).
The tariff does not name the FlexCo separately. The same GmbH item applies to it through § 1 Abs. 2 FlexKapGG, which applies the GmbH provisions wherever the FlexKapGG is silent, so the FlexCo figure is a reading of the statute and not a line quoted from it.
What the Austrian state charges on a first GmbH registration, and the standing rates a company carries afterwards. Court fees from the Gerichtsgebührengesetz tariff in the amounts raised by BGBl. II Nr. 227/2026 with effect from 1 August 2026. Source: RIS, Gerichtsgebührengesetz, Tarifpost 10.
Ready-made Austrian companies
A company that is already registered, has never traded, and is transferred to you. It shortens the register stage and nothing else.
What you are buying.
A dormant company already entered in the Firmenbuch, with its capital paid in and no trading history. The shares are transferred, and the name, the seat and the object of the business are then changed to yours.
What it does not include.
A shelf company arrives without a UID and without a trade licence. Both are applied for after the transfer, exactly as they would be for a company you form yourself, and both are on the list of steps above.
The current list.
Availability changes, so the stock sits on one page with the date it was last checked: shelf company austria. Each entry carries a request button that opens an enquiry about that company.
Who we help, and what to read next
Four situations cover most of what arrives through this page, and each of them has a page that answers it in full.
A first company inside the EU.
Founders outside the EU or the EEA who need an Austrian entity in order to trade, invoice and bank inside the single market: the full guide to starting a business.
A founder who also has to move.
Forming the company and obtaining a residence title are two separate procedures before two separate authorities, and only one of them is company law: red white red card austria.
An Austrian company that has to change.
A new managing director, a new address, a new shareholder or a new object of the business: change director austria. Mergers, demergers and conversions sit on company restructuring in austria.
A company that has finished.
Winding up is a procedure of its own, with register steps, a creditor call and a waiting period before the company can be struck off: the company liquidation guide.
How we work, and where every figure comes from
Last checked 17 September 2026. We deal with the Firmenbuch courts, Finanzamt Österreich, the trade authority and GISA, the SVS, the chamber, and the financial market authority where an activity is licensed. Every figure on this site names its paragraph, its gazette reference and the date it took effect. What we charge is quoted on request: about this firm.
Questions founders ask before they file
Can a foreigner register an Austrian company without living in Austria?
Company law sets no residence requirement for shareholders or managing directors. Trade law can: a legal person must always appoint a gewerberechtlicher Geschäftsführer, and that person needs an Austrian domicile unless he is an EEA national resident in an EEA state, or service and enforcement of administrative penalties are secured by agreement (§ 39 Abs. 2a GewO 1994).
Do I have to travel to Vienna to sign, or can the notarial deed be done remotely?
The articles need the form of a Notariatsakt, and § 4 Abs. 3 GmbHG says that deed may also be executed electronically, using an electronic means of communication under § 69b Notariatsordnung. Where a proxy signs instead, the law requires a special power of attorney, notarially certified, issued for that single transaction and attached to the deed.
How much share capital do I actually have to transfer before the company can be registered?
For a GmbH, share capital is EUR 10,000 and each shareholder's contribution at least EUR 70 (§ 6 Abs. 1 GmbHG). Before the application, a quarter of each cash contribution and EUR 5,000 altogether must be paid in (§ 10 Abs. 1). A FlexCo contribution starts at EUR 1, and the EUR 5,000 aggregate still applies.
What does the Austrian state itself charge to register a GmbH, and when is it nothing?
EUR 47 for the application and EUR 475 for the first entry, EUR 522 together, under Gerichtsgebührengesetz Tarifpost 10 Z I in the amounts in force from 1 August 2026 (BGBl. II Nr. 227/2026). NeuFöG § 1 Z 3 waives those court fees for a qualifying new business, claimed on form NeuFö 2 with a chamber consultation confirmation.
The bank will not open the account until the company exists, and the court will not register the company until the bank confirms the money. How is that solved?
§ 10 Abs. 2 GmbHG allows the called-up cash to be credited to the escrow account of the notary who records the deed, who holds it as trustee and transfers it on after registration. The alternative it names is an account of the company, or of the managing directors at their free disposal, at a credit institution.
How long does registration really take?
No statutory deadline for the Firmenbuch entry exists and no official average is published, so this page states none. The deadlines that do exist run afterwards: Finanzamt within one month, SVS within one month, the GISA entry within three months, the beneficial owners within four weeks. A defective file draws a Verbesserungsauftrag, an order to remedy.
Who receives official post and tax notices if none of the directors lives in Austria?
The register records the seat and, separately, the business address relevant for service, and it also records the fact that such an address is unknown (§ 3 Abs. 1 Z 4 and Z 4a FBG). The seat itself must be a place where the company has an operation, its management or its administration (§ 5 Abs. 2 GmbHG).
Does my new company get an Austrian VAT number (UID) automatically when it is registered?
No. The UID is applied for, either together with the tax registration or separately, and the published decision practice of the tax administration records it being refused where the applicant is not an entrepreneur. The Steuernummer and the UID are both requested when the start of the activity is notified to Finanzamt Österreich.
If someone holds the shares on my behalf, does that arrangement have to be reported in Austria?
Yes. WiEReG § 2a defines the Nominator, the Nominee, the Nominee-Direktor and the Nominee-Vereinbarung, and such an arrangement removes the reporting exemption in § 6 Abs. 2 even where every registered shareholder is a natural person. Failing to disclose them is punishable by up to EUR 200,000. What is lawful is set out under nominee director austria.
What is a GmbH in Austria?
A Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung is the Austrian limited liability company. Minimum share capital has been EUR 10,000 since 1 January 2024, with each contribution at least EUR 70, and only the company is liable with its assets while shareholders owe their subscribed contributions. It exists from the moment the Firmenbuch court enters it.
What is the corporate tax in Austria?
Corporate income tax is 23 percent for calendar years from 2024, and was 24 percent for 2023 (§ 22 Abs. 1 KStG). From 1 January 2028 the rate stays at 23 percent and rises to 24 percent on the part of the income above EUR 1,000,000 (BGBl. I Nr. 62/2026). Minimum corporate income tax is EUR 125 per full quarter.
Tell us what you are setting up
Send the form you have in mind, the shareholders and the activity. You get the route, the documents and the state fees.