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Chamber levies and surcharge rates from 1 January 2026
The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber announced that the surcharge rates and thresholds announced in 2024 will also remain unchanged for 2026. Only the KU 2 surcharge rates of the Lower Austrian and Salzburg chambers have been reduced.
The Austrian Federal Economic Chamber acts as an interest representative and service organisation for businesses. The financing of the chamber is primarily carried out through levies on its members. These are divided into Chamber levy 1 (KU 1), Chamber levy 2 (KU 2 or surcharge on the employer contribution) and the basic levies. The individual levies each finance different organisational units of the WKÖ.
Chamber levy 1
Chamber levy 1 (KU 1) remains unchanged and is generally payable by every member, provided that the taxable net turnover in the calendar year exceeds EUR 150,000. The assessment base is the value‑added tax invoiced to the chamber member, the import VAT due, as well as the VAT that has been shifted to another entrepreneur under the reverse‑charge procedure.
Chamber levy 2
Chamber levy 2 (KU 2 or surcharge on the employer contribution – DZ) is payable by every chamber member that employs staff. The assessment base for KU 2 corresponds to the contribution base for the employer contribution to the Family Burden Equalisation Fund (DB) and includes all wages paid to employees in a calendar month. If the monthly gross wages do not exceed EUR 1,460, the assessment base is reduced by EUR 1,095.
The DZ rate consists of a federal chamber share of 0.12% applicable to all federal states and a share set by each regional chamber. Effective from 1 January 2026, the KU 2 surcharge rates of the Lower Austrian and Salzburg chambers are each reduced by 0.01 percentage points.
Chamber levy 1
Chamber levy 1 (KU 1) remains unchanged and is generally payable by every member, provided that the taxable net turnover in the calendar year exceeds EUR 150,000. The assessment base is the value‑added tax invoiced to the chamber member, the import VAT due, as well as the VAT that has been shifted to another entrepreneur under the reverse‑charge procedure.
Chamber levy 2
Chamber levy 2 (KU 2 or surcharge on the employer contribution – DZ) is payable by every chamber member that employs staff. The assessment base for KU 2 corresponds to the contribution base for the employer contribution to the Family Burden Equalisation Fund (DB) and includes all wages paid to employees in a calendar month. If the monthly gross wages do not exceed EUR 1,460, the assessment base is reduced by EUR 1,095.
The DZ rate consists of a federal chamber share of 0.12% applicable to all federal states and a share set by each regional chamber. Effective from 1 January 2026, the KU 2 surcharge rates of the Lower Austrian and Salzburg chambers are each reduced by 0.01 percentage points.