Kleinunternehmer and E-Invoicing in Austria: What the €55,000 Threshold Does (and Doesn't) Change
Austria's Kleinunternehmergrenze rose to €55,000 gross on 1 January 2025. Here's what that VAT exemption means for e-invoicing — and why it doesn't exempt you from the B2G mandate.
Kleinunternehmer and E-Invoicing in Austria: What the €55,000 Threshold Does (and Doesn't) Change
If you're a freelancer, sole trader, or small operator in Austria using the Kleinunternehmerregelung (small business VAT exemption), it's worth being precise about what that status actually affects — because it's easy to assume "VAT-exempt" also means "exempt from e-invoicing rules." It doesn't, and the distinction matters if any of your clients are Austrian public bodies.
The 2025 Threshold Change
Since 1 January 2025, the Kleinunternehmergrenze is €55,000 gross per year — up from the previous €35,000 net threshold. Below this amount, small business operators are exempt from charging VAT, but correspondingly cannot claim input tax deductions.
A 10% tolerance rule applies: if you exceed €55,000 by no more than 10% in a given year, you can continue invoicing without VAT until year-end — but the exemption cannot be applied again the following year once that tolerance has been used. Since 2025, the exemption has also become usable cross-border: businesses established in other EU member states can apply the Austrian small business exemption (and vice versa), via a separate small business identification number carrying the "EX" suffix.
What Kleinunternehmer Status Affects
- Whether you charge and remit VAT on your invoices
- Whether you can deduct input VAT on your own purchases
- The VAT-specific fields required on your invoices (a Kleinunternehmer invoice cites the exemption basis instead of a VAT breakdown)
What Kleinunternehmer Status Does Not Affect
Your VAT status has no bearing on Austria's e-invoicing format requirements. Specifically:
- If you invoice private businesses or consumers (B2B/B2C), structured e-invoicing remains voluntary in Austria regardless of your VAT status — same as for any other business. See our Austria regulations guide for the full B2B picture.
- If you supply an Austrian federal government agency (B2G), you are subject to the same ebInterface or Peppol BIS 3.0 structured-invoice mandate as any other supplier, under §5 IKTKonG — being a Kleinunternehmer does not exempt you from this. A VAT-exempt freelancer invoicing a federal ministry still must submit a compliant structured e-invoice through USP or e-Rechnung.gv.at, just with the invoice's VAT section reflecting the exemption rather than a standard rate.
This is a common point of confusion: "small business" status is a VAT concept, while the e-invoicing mandate is a procurement/format concept. They're evaluated independently.
Practical Steps for Kleinunternehmer Supplying Government Clients
- Don't assume your VAT-exempt status simplifies e-invoicing — the format and submission requirements are identical to those for VAT-registered suppliers.
- Confirm your accounting or invoicing software can generate a Kleinunternehmer-compliant ebInterface or Peppol invoice — most Austria-focused tools (BMD, RZL) support this, but it's worth checking before your first government invoice.
- Register on USP (usp.gv.at) the same way any other supplier would — there is no simplified track for small businesses.
- Track the €55,000 threshold and the 10% tolerance across the calendar year so you know when standard VAT invoicing rules would kick in.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: I'm a Kleinunternehmer — do I need to send structured e-invoices to my private clients? A: No. B2B and B2C e-invoicing remain voluntary in Austria for all businesses, regardless of VAT status.
Q: I'm VAT-exempt but supply a federal ministry — am I exempt from the e-invoicing mandate too? A: No. The B2G mandate under §5 IKTKonG applies to all suppliers of covered government bodies, independent of VAT registration status.
Q: Did the €55,000 threshold change anything about invoice formats? A: No. It only changed the VAT exemption threshold (from €35,000 net to €55,000 gross) and added the cross-border EU SME scheme. Format requirements for B2G suppliers are unchanged.
Q: Where can I read the official rules on the threshold change? A: The Unternehmensserviceportal (USP) — the same portal used for B2G e-invoicing registration — publishes the current Kleinunternehmer rules at usp.gv.at.
Last updated: August 2026. VAT threshold details sourced from USP (Unternehmensserviceportal); e-invoicing mandate scope cross-checked against our Austria regulations guide.