Can I Run a Side Business in Austria While Employed Full-Time?
Do I Even Need to Register a Trade?
For most side activities: yes. As soon as you work regularly, independently and with the intention of earning, you need a trade registration — employment is no legal obstacle, and the trade authority does not ask about your job. The main exceptions (lecturers, authors, artistic work — the “new self-employed”) are covered in Activities that need no trade licence.
The €730 Myth, Explained Properly
Few numbers are misunderstood as often. The €730 is the income-tax assessment allowance — since the 2024 tax amendment act it sits in § 39 (5) EStG, no longer in § 41. Nothing more:
| Side profit per year | Tax consequence (with employment income above €14,769, value 2026) |
|---|---|
| up to €730 | tax-free — no income tax on the side profit |
| €730 to €1,460 | Phase-in rule: only the part above €730 counts; it is doubled and added to your taxable income. The tax office applies this automatically — you always declare the full profit |
| above €1,460 | the entire profit is taxed at your marginal rate |
Social Insurance: The Real Question
Registering a trade normally makes you insured with the SVS — in addition to your ÖGK insurance from employment (multiple insurance). For side businesses there is the small-business exemption:
What it hangs on matters more than any figure. § 2 (1) 1 GSVG names as compulsorily insured simply „the members of the chambers of commerce“. That membership arrives with the trade licence — so the obligation follows a piece of paper, not a profit, and it applies in a year with no profit at all. A profit threshold acts as the trigger only for the „new self-employed“ (§ 4 (1) 5 GSVG). With a trade licence, the only way out is the application under § 4 (1) 7 GSVG — not simply staying below a limit.
SVS Small-Business Exemption (2026 values)
- Profit threshold: €6,613.20 yearly income (as per your income-tax assessment)
- Turnover threshold: €55,000 yearly turnover from all business activities
- Effect: no health- and pension-insurance contributions from the trade — only accident insurance of €12.95 per month remains
- Personal requirement: at most 12 months of GSVG insurance within the last 5 years — or certain age and child-care constellations
- Application: to the SVS (online form); you declare credibly that you will stay under the thresholds
- Later check: The SVS verifies against your tax assessment. Exceed a threshold and the exemption lapses retroactively — contributions are charged after the fact
If you exceed the threshold without having notified the SVS, a surcharge of 9.3 percent is added. Without the exemption, the normal contribution system applies, with minimum contributions regardless of profit — the concrete numbers are on What does it cost to start a business?
What About My Employer?
There is no general statutory ban on side activities — but your employment contract may require notification or consent, and competing with your employer is risky territory. Before registering: read your contract (keywords side activity, non-compete clause) and, when in doubt, talk to your employer first.
Worked Example: €5,000 Side Profit
- Trade: registration free; the WKO chamber levy applies (roughly €100–500 a year depending on trade group)
- SVS: 5,000 < 6,613.20 — the small-business exemption is available (if the personal requirements fit): only €12.95 accident insurance per month
- Tax: 5,000 > 1,460 — the full profit is taxed at your marginal rate. Depending on your salary, roughly €3,000–4,000 of the €5,000 remain net
- Duty: file an income-tax return — side income does not report itself
Sources
- WKO — Social insurance for small businesses (thresholds and requirements 2026, German)
- AK NÖ — Earning extra alongside employment (€730 rule, phase-in, surcharge; German)
- RIS — § 39 EStG (assessment allowance, para 5) and § 41 EStG (mandatory assessment — same figure, different section)