Checklist

Setting up FinanzOnline (the portal is German-only — this guide isn't)

FinanzOnline is where Austrian tax life happens: the opening questionnaire, UVAs, tax returns, and every official decision (Bescheid) — delivered into its inbox, the Databox. There is no English interface. Here's the map.

Getting access

Instant — log in at finanzonline.bmf.gv.at via "Anmelden mit ID Austria". No separate registration, no waiting for credentials by post. (Still no ID Austria? It's step 1 of the checklist for exactly this reason — one setup, every portal.)

First two things inside

1. Activate email notifications — click the person icon top right → Zustelloptionen. On the "Zustellung" page: keep Elektronische Zustellung ist aktiviert selected, tick "Ich möchte eine Email-Verständigung bei behördlichen Zustellungen…" and enter your email address below. Without this, Bescheide sit unread in the Databox and deadlines run anyway — this single setting prevents the most expensive class of beginner mistakes.
2. Find your Databox — top menu. Every official letter lands here as PDF.

Your first UVA (if VAT-registered)

Filing the quarterly VAT return deserves its own walkthrough — Kennzahlen, deadlines, rookie mistakes: Your first UVA, explained. (Kleinunternehmer skip UVAs entirely — the Kleinunternehmer guide.)

Status: 2026. Amounts and thresholds change (SVS values adjust yearly) — this is careful general information, not individual tax or legal advice. For your specific case, talk to a licensed Steuerberater.