Can I Claim Beratungskosten (Professional Fees) as a Business Expense in Austria?
Professional fees for Steuerberater (tax advisers), Rechtsanwälte (lawyers), and Wirtschaftsprüfer (auditors) are fully deductible as business expenses under §4 Abs 4 EStG. Court and notary fees for business matters are also deductible. Costs for raising capital may need to be capitalised.
What Finanzamt Österreich / BMF says
§4 Abs 4 EStG (deductible business expenses); UGB §203 on capitalisation requirements.
When you can claim
- Annual Steuerberater fees for preparing tax returns (KSt, USt, Lohnsteuer) — fully deductible
- Legal fees for drafting commercial contracts, shareholder agreements, employment contracts — fully deductible
- Audit fees (Wirtschaftsprüfung) for companies meeting UGB audit size thresholds — fully deductible
- Notary fees for business transactions (shareholder changes, Firmenbuch filings) — fully deductible
- Debt collection and litigation costs for recovering trade receivables — fully deductible
- Consulting fees for business strategy, IT implementation, or HR — fully deductible if directly business-related
- Due diligence fees for acquisition of a business — may be partially capitalised as part of acquisition cost
When you cannot claim
- Personal legal fees unrelated to the business (divorce, personal property, criminal defence for personal matters)
- Costs related to acquiring shares in another company — these are part of the investment cost and not immediately deductible
- Fines and penalties (Strafen) — never deductible regardless of business context
Good to know
Pro tip: VAT on Steuerberater and legal fees is fully reclaimable as Vorsteuer (unlike entertainment). Ensure your advisers invoice with 20% USt and keep the invoices for your USt Voranmeldung.
Important: Steuerberater fees for your personal Einkommensteuererklärung (as a private individual, not the company) are deductible as Sonderausgaben on your personal tax return — not on the company's books. Keep personal and company advisory fees on separate invoices.
Stop guessing what you can claim in Austria
AccountsOS automatically categorises expenses with Finanzamt Österreich / BMF-aware rules and tells you exactly what is claimable.
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