Austrian lawmakers have confirmed changes to vehicle taxes and company‑car rules that alter the fiscal advantage long enjoyed by battery electric vehicles (BEVs). The Budget Companion Act (Budgetbegleitgesetz 2027–2028), published in the Federal Law Gazette (BGBl. I Nr. 62/2026), sets out a new taxable benefit (“Sachbezug”) for privately used electric company cars from 1 January 2027 and tighter CO2 parameters for the Normverbrauchsabgabe (NoVA).
What the measures are
Under the enacted package, fully electric passenger cars will no longer be fully exempt from a monthly taxable benefit. The government plans a 0.375% monthly Sachbezug on the vehicle’s gross acquisition cost in 2027 (capped at €180 per month) and 0.625% in 2028 (capped at €300 per month). Employers and payroll teams must apply the new values from January 2027; existing guidance from Austrian tax and fleet advisers notes the change applies also to vehicles already supplied to staff unless a specific legal grandfathering is introduced.
The NoVA calculation — Austria’s purchase tax linked to WLTP CO2 values — will also be tightened for 2027 by lowering the CO2 deduction in the formula from 91 g/km to 88 g/km, effectively raising the NoVA burden for many petrol and diesel models by roughly one percentage point in the tax table. BEVs and hydrogen vehicles remain NoVA‑exempt. The government has published a transitional purchase rule that allows buyers to keep the 2026 tax basis if they sign an irrevocable written purchase contract by 30 November 2026 and accept delivery before 1 April 2027.
Immediate facts and dates
Key, verifiable points: the Budgetbegleitgesetz was published as BGBl. I Nr. 62/2026 on 29 July 2026; the Sachbezug takes effect 1 January 2027 with the two stepped rates (0.375% in 2027, 0.625% in 2028) and corresponding €180/€300 monthly caps; the NoVA CO2 deduction moves from 91 g/km to 88 g/km for 2027; and the contractual cut‑off to preserve 2026 NoVA treatment is 30 November 2026 (delivery by 1 April 2027).
