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Running a Business From Home

A flat you work in is almost always a business installation (Betriebsanlage) — and still usually needs no permit. Those are two different questions, and the Gewerbeordnung answers them in two consecutive paragraphs. People who know only the first one go to the authority without having to.

Test 1 — what a business installation is

§ 74 (1) GewO defines it as any locally fixed facility intended to serve a trade activity not merely temporarily. Two low thresholds; a desk in the living room clears both. On its own that says nothing about a permit.

Test 2 — when it needs a permit

§ 74 (2) GewO ties the duty to a condition, not to an address: a permit is required only if the installation is capable of endangering life or health of the trader, neighbours or customers, or of impairing the neighbours' property — because of the machinery used, the way it is operated, its fittings, or otherwise.

The permit follows the hazard, not the address Advising, coding, translating or writing on a laptop triggers nothing. Installing a milling machine, generating regular customer traffic in the stairwell, or working with chemicals does. The individual assessment is made by the district administrative authority.

And if a permit is needed

Then almost always the simplified procedure. § 359b (1) GewO gives two routes into it, and a flat falls under both:

No. 1 — the machinery is of a kind „vornehmlich oder auch dazu bestimmt …, in Privathaushalten verwendet zu werden“ (intended, primarily or also, for use in private households). This is the one that matters in practice.
No. 2 — total business floor space no more than 800 m² and connected electrical load not exceeding 300 kW. Every flat is far below both.

Two deadlines from the same paragraph: neighbours must raise objections within the period set, otherwise their party status ends — and the authority must say so expressly in the public notice. The authority itself decides within two months.

For changes, notification is often enough

§ 81 (2) GewO lists what is in any case not subject to permit. Two items apply to a flat: replacement by equivalent equipment (no. 5), and changes that do not adversely affect the installation's emissions towards neighbours (no. 7). The latter need only be notified in advance under § 81 (3).

Many businesses are expressly exempt

Correction — 27 August 2026 For a few hours this page said the opposite: that no list of permit-free businesses exists. That was wrong. We had searched the statute for the words Freistellung and genehmigungsfrei, which genuinely do not appear. The statute uses a different phrase, and the list does exist.

§ 74 (7) GewO allows types of installation to be designated „für die jedenfalls keine Genehmigung erforderlich ist“ — for which no permit is required in any case. The 2. Genehmigungsfreistellungsverordnung lists twelve of them in § 1 (1). The second reads simply: Bürobetriebe — office businesses.

For desk work, the hazard test never comes up The exemption applies first. Also listed: retail up to 600 m², storage up to 600 m², cosmetic, foot-care, hairdressing, massage and bandagist businesses, alteration tailoring and shoe repair, photographers, and data centres without a firing installation.

Two conditions remain. Operating hours (§ 1 (2)): Mon–Fri 6:00–22:00, Sat 6:00–19:00, with deliveries restricted to 19:00 and 18:00 respectively. And the counter-exceptions in § 2: the regulation does not apply where mechanical ventilation or heat-transfer parts sit outside the building envelope — a split air conditioner on the façade can cost you the exemption.

The ladder goes downwards

Expressly exempt? Office businesses, yes — § 74 (7) with § 1 (1) no. 2 of the 2. Genehmigungsfreistellungsverordnung
A business installation? Almost always yes — § 74 (1)
Permit needed? Usually no — § 74 (2)
If yes, which procedure? Almost always the simplified one — § 359b (1)
For changes? Often just a notification — § 81 (2) no. 7 with (3)

Every rung leads downwards. Knowing only the first one leaves you with the strictest part of the rule and none of the ways out.

The expensive mistake is at the tax office

Under trade law almost anyone may work from home. Under tax law almost nobody may deduct it, and the two questions get confused. § 20 (1) no. 2 lit d EStG is a prohibition on deduction: expenses for a study located within the home are, as a rule, not deductible.

The centre test The exception applies only where the study forms the centre of the taxpayer's entire business and professional activity — not merely a place where work also happens. If your client meetings are elsewhere, you will regularly fall outside it.

Three routes, by type of home

Owned flat

§ 16 (2) WEG 2002 says three things that are rarely stated together: a change of designated use counts expressly as an alteration; the consent of all other owners is needed only where an impairment of their protected interests is possible; and consent withheld can be replaced by a court. Neighbours have no free right of veto.

Rented flat

The tenancy agreement decides first — that is contract law, not trade law. The MRG applies under § 1 (1) to the renting of flats, parts of flats, and business premises of every kind. The termination test in § 30 (2) no. 3 MRG is not „commercial yes or no“ but whether the tenant makes a seriously detrimental use of the rented object.

Own house

WEG and MRG fall away. What remains are the two tests of § 74 GewO — and provincial law, see below.

If you change something later

§ 81 (1) GewO applies the same yardstick a second time: altering a permitted installation needs a permit where that is necessary to protect the interests described in § 74 (2). It is the hazard again, not the alteration as such.

What we do not know for certain

The regulations listing the machinery under § 76 (1) and § 359b (5). We have read the enabling provisions, not the lists themselves.
Provincial law. Building codes and zoning are a provincial matter and may add a further barrier. They are not in the Gewerbeordnung.
The individual case. Whether a given activity is capable of causing hazard within § 74 (2) is assessed by the district administrative authority.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does my flat become a business installation if I work there?

Almost always yes, and that is rarely the problem. § 74 (1) GewO sets two low thresholds: locally fixed, and not merely temporary. A desk in the living room meets both. The question that matters is the second one, whether the installation needs a permit.

Do I then need a business installation permit?

Usually not. Under § 74 (2) GewO a permit is required only if the installation is capable of endangering life or health, disturbing neighbours or impairing their property, because of the machinery used, the way it is operated, or its fittings. Advising, coding or writing on a laptop does not trigger that.

Can I deduct a home office from tax in Austria?

Only under a narrow condition. § 20 (1) no. 2 lit d EStG is a prohibition on deduction: expenses for a study located within the home are in principle not deductible. The exception applies only where the room forms the centre of the taxpayer's entire business and professional activity.

Legally binding: German text of GewO 1994.