Congratulations. Now comes the paperwork — and it's all in German. Found in Austria walks you through every step in English: Finanzamt, SVS, FinanzOnline, your first invoice. Written by locals who've explained this a hundred times.
Get the free founding checklist → Already drowning in letters? See how useAccount.AI helps →You're not doing it wrong. It's just genuinely confusing — in any language.
Austria has two kinds of solo self-employment, and the answer decides where you register, what you pay and whether the WKO is in your life. Most online answers mix them up.
Find out which one you are →Social insurance starts friendly and then sends a back-payment for your successful years. We show the real numbers — including the year-3 trap nobody warns you about.
See the real numbers →Reverse charge, Zusammenfassende Meldung, "VAT exempt — small business": invoicing across borders sounds scary, but it's a short set of rules once someone states them plainly.
Get the rules in plain English →From "I have an idea" to "my first invoice is out" — every office, every form, every deadline, in order. In English, updated for 2026 rules (yes, the €55,000 Kleinunternehmer threshold — not the outdated €35,000 you'll still find elsewhere).
Every account gets a personal inbox address. Forward any German letter or invoice — you get a plain-English explanation of what it is and what's usually next.
Snap a receipt or upload a PDF. The bookkeeping happens automatically, BAO-compliant and audit-proof — you review in English.
See exactly what goes in each Kennzahl of your quarterly VAT return — no more guessing in FinanzOnline.
Try useAccount.AI free for 7 days → No credit card. No address. Just an email.
Found in Austria is made by David, founder of useAccount.AI, the accounting inbox for Austria (Twentyone Solutions GmbH, Vienna). Austrian, fluent in Amtsdeutsch, patient with FinanzOnline. We build accounting software for Austrian solo businesses — this site is everything we wish someone had handed us on day one.
Everything here is general information, carefully researched and kept current — but it is not individual tax or legal advice. For decisions specific to your situation, talk to a licensed Steuerberater.
No — it's German-only, and so are the official help pages. That's exactly why our guides walk you through every screen with annotated screenshots in English.
You can generally start once your activity is registered; the tax number arrives after you file the Finanzamt questionnaire. What matters from day one: correct invoices and complete records.
€55,000 gross per year since 2025, with a one-off 10% tolerance. Many articles still quote €35,000 — that's outdated.
Yes. SVS regularly agrees to a Ratenzahlung if you ask before the due date. The only wrong move is ignoring the letter.
Depends on profit: income tax is progressive (0% up to ~€13k profit, then rising brackets), plus ~26–27% SVS on top. The tax-calendar guide walks through a full example so you can budget realistically.
Usually yes: Austria's employment restrictions (AuslBG) cover jobs, not self-employment — so registering as a freelancer is normally possible even on a student permit. What you must protect is your permit renewal: keep your study progress on track and your work genuinely self-employed. Details in the GISA guide.
For everything this site deliberately doesn't cover — residence permits, city registration, settling in — the Expat Center Vienna (run by the Vienna Business Agency) is the official first stop: free, English-speaking, and genuinely helpful. For the founding and tax paperwork itself, you're already in the right place.
found in austria