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.
Finn does your books in Austria
AccountsOS runs full accounting for Austria businesses, tax, expenses and deadlines, in plain English. Ask Finn about yours, no signup needed.
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.
Try Free