Bitcoin in Austria: Tax, MiCA Licensing and the Right to Self-Custody

Bitcoin is legal to buy, hold, sell and self-custody in Austria. Income from Bitcoin falls under section 27b of the Income Tax Act and is generally taxed at a special rate of 27.5%, while businesses that provide Bitcoin services need authorization under the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), supervised by the Financial Market Authority (FMA). The Supreme Court has held that Bitcoin is not money or e-money under Austrian payment law.

Yes. No Austrian statute prohibits owning, buying or selling Bitcoin, and several statutes regulate it directly.

The Income Tax Act taxes it, the MiCA Enforcement Act (MiCA-Verordnung-Vollzugsgesetz, MiCA-VVG) puts its service providers under FMA supervision, and the Financial Markets Anti-Money Laundering Act (Finanzmarkt-Geldwäschegesetz, FM-GwG) applies anti-money laundering duties to those providers. I found no law of the nine federal provinces that regulates Bitcoin.

Austrian civil law has no Bitcoin-specific provision, and the Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof, OGH) has so far defined Bitcoin mainly by what it is not.

The General Civil Code (Allgemeines Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, ABGB) defines a thing (Sache) broadly. Section 285 ABGB, unchanged since 1812, reads in my translation: "Everything that is distinct from the person and serves the use of human beings is called a thing in the legal sense." Section 292 ABGB splits things into corporeal things, "which fall within the senses", and incorporeal things (unkörperliche Sachen), such as rights. No Supreme Court decision I opened applies these sections to Bitcoin.

In OGH 4 Ob 234/23z of April 26, 2024, the court held that Bitcoin is not issued by a central bank or public authority, is neither banknotes nor bank money, and does not meet the definition of e-money. A Bitcoin transfer was therefore not a payment transaction under the Payment Services Act 2018 (ZaDiG 2018).

Earlier, in OGH 3 Ob 95/20x of November 4, 2020, a claimant sought the transfer of about 6 Bitcoin. The court noted that it had not yet ruled on the legal classification of cryptocurrencies and decided the case on jurisdiction alone.

In practice: a claim to sats is treated as a claim to an asset, not to a sum of money. I found no Supreme Court ruling on Bitcoin in enforcement, insolvency or probate proceedings.

No provision I reviewed requires an individual to obtain a license or registration to hold Bitcoin for themselves. Licensing applies to businesses that provide services to others.

Article 59(1) MiCA states that a person "shall not provide crypto-asset services, within the Union" unless it is an authorized crypto-asset service provider (CASP) or a listed financial institution such as a credit institution. Section 1(1) MiCA-VVG, enacted as BGBl. I No. 111/2024, names the FMA as Austria's competent authority under MiCA.

The FMA announced on August 7, 2024 that the main MiCA rules for service providers apply from December 30, 2024.

The FMA itself treats self-custody as a normal option. In a notice of June 23, 2026, it advised customers of providers missing from the registers to move their assets to an authorized provider or to a personal wallet.

Austria's transition period for existing providers ended on December 31, 2025.

Section 23(1) MiCA-VVG, as amended by BGBl. I No. 5/2026, allowed providers that were registered as virtual currency service providers under the FM-GwG before December 30, 2024 to continue "until December 31, 2025" or until they received or were refused a MiCA authorization, whichever came first.

The EU-wide transition under MiCA ended on July 1, 2026, as the FMA confirmed on June 23, 2026. The FMA states that customers of unauthorized providers do not benefit from MiCA's protections and points them to the ESMA register and the FMA company database.

They apply to service providers, not to individual holders, and since December 30, 2024 they use MiCA's definitions.

Section 2 FM-GwG, in force since December 30, 2024 as amended by BGBl. I No. 151/2024, defines a crypto-asset (Kryptowert) by reference to Article 3(1)(5) MiCA in item 21 and a crypto-asset service provider (Anbieter von Kryptowerte-Dienstleistungen) by reference to MiCA in item 22.

Before MiCA, Austria ran a registration regime. The FMA states that the duty to register applied from January 10, 2020, and that offering the service without registration was an administrative offense punishable by a fine of up to EUR 200,000. For existing providers, MiCA authorization replaced that registration after the transition period.

The travel rule binds the provider, not your wallet. It requires providers to collect transfer information and, above EUR 1,000, to check that a self-hosted address is yours.

Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 on information accompanying transfers of funds and certain crypto-assets, the Transfer of Funds Regulation (TFR), was published in the Official Journal L 150 of June 9, 2023. Its recital 64 ties its application to the application date of MiCA, and the EUR-Lex record lists December 30, 2024.

Article 14(5) TFR covers transfers to a self-hosted address. The sending provider must obtain and hold the originator and beneficiary information. For a transfer of "an amount exceeding EUR 1 000", it must take adequate measures to assess "whether that address is owned or controlled by the originator". Article 16(2) mirrors this for transfers from a self-hosted address.

In practice: withdrawing more than EUR 1,000 to your own hardware wallet may require you to prove control of the address, for example by signing a message.

Bitcoin acquired after February 28, 2021 is taxed under section 27b EStG, generally at 27.5% and with no holding period exemption.

Section 27b(1) EStG, in force since July 22, 2023 as amended by BGBl. I No. 110/2023, splits income from cryptocurrencies (Einkünfte aus Kryptowährungen) into two types:

Under paragraph 3, a realization is a sale, or an exchange of Bitcoin for other assets or services, including legal tender. Spending sats on goods is therefore a taxable event. Exchanging one cryptocurrency for another is not.

Section 27a(1) EStG, as amended by BGBl. I No. 113/2024, applies a special rate of 27.5% to capital income other than certain bank deposits, which are taxed at 25%. Under section 27a(5), a taxpayer can apply for the normal progressive tariff instead.

The Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) states on its page last updated January 1, 2026 that realized gains are taxable regardless of any holding period, and that Bitcoin gains and losses can be offset against other capital income under the general rules. It names two exceptions taxed at the progressive tariff: private loans not offered to the public, and commercial miners.

Section 27b(2) treats lending fees and coins received for transaction processing as current income, taxed when received.

The Cryptocurrency Ordinance (Kryptowährungsverordnung, KryptowährungsVO), BGBl. II No. 455/2022, issued on December 13, 2022 and in force since January 1, 2023, sets the method. Section 2 requires a moving average price in euros as the acquisition cost for all units of the same cryptocurrency held at one address or in one wallet.

Bitcoin acquired before March 1, 2021 is old holdings (Altvermögen), outside the section 27b regime, and stays under the rules that applied before the reform.

The explanatory notes to government bill 1293 of the 27th legislative period state that cryptocurrencies acquired before the cut-off "are not subject to the new tax regime" as old holdings. The BMF confirms they remain taxed as before.

Before the reform, private Bitcoin gains fell under the speculative transaction rule in section 31 EStG. It taxes a sale of private assets where "the period between acquisition and sale does not exceed one year", and exempts such income if it does not exceed 440 euros in total in the calendar year.

The Federal Finance Court (Bundesfinanzgericht, BFG) applied that rule in RV/5100206/2024 of June 28, 2024. It held that swapping one cryptocurrency for another within one year of acquisition produced income from speculative transactions under the old law, and admitted an appeal to the Supreme Administrative Court.

Section 3 of the KryptowährungsVO lets a holder whose wallet mixes old and new coins choose which units are sold first. In case of doubt, the earlier-acquired unit is treated as sold first.

Domestic providers withhold capital gains tax (Kapitalertragsteuer, KESt) on Bitcoin income arising after December 31, 2023.

The BMF states that domestic debtors and service providers must withhold KESt on such income and that the withholding settles the tax, so the investor generally need not report that income again.

The Tax Amendment Act 2025 (AbgÄG 2025), BGBl. I No. 97/2025 of December 23, 2025, amended section 95(2)(3) EStG so that domestic service providers include crypto-asset service providers with a seat, residence or place of management in Austria, and Austrian branches of foreign providers.

In practice: for income received before withholding applied, the BMF page states that it had to be declared and taxed in the income tax return.

Austria does not levy the inheritance and gift tax of the 1955 Act anymore, but gifts above set thresholds must be reported.

The Constitutional Court (Verfassungsgerichtshof, VfGH) struck down the tax on acquisitions on death in G 54/06 of March 7, 2007, and the tax on gifts between living persons in G 23/07 of June 15, 2007. Both repeals took effect "at the end of July 31, 2008". I found no later federal statute that reintroduces either tax.

Section 121a of the Federal Fiscal Code (Bundesabgabenordnung, BAO), in the version in force until December 31, 2026, requires notification of gifts of covered assets where the donor, recipient or burdened party lives in Austria. The covered assets include cash, receivables, company shares and "movable tangible assets and intangible assets" (immaterielle Vermögensgegenstände). No primary source I opened names Bitcoin in this list.

The thresholds are:

The recipient, the donor and any lawyer or notary involved are jointly liable to notify, within three months of the acquisition.

From January 1, 2026, Austrian Bitcoin service providers collect user data for automatic exchange with tax authorities.

The Crypto Reporting Act (Krypto-Meldepflichtgesetz, Krypto-MPfG) implements Directive (EU) 2023/2226, known as DAC8. It was enacted as Article 1 of the Fraud Prevention Act 2025 Part Data, BGBl. I No. 96/2025, issued on December 23, 2025. Section 46(1) states that it enters into force on January 1, 2026.

Under section 18, a reporting provider reports each user's name, address, tax residence and tax identification number, plus aggregated purchases, sales, exchanges and transfers per asset. Section 19 makes the reporting period the calendar year, with reports due by July 31 of the following year. Users with a relationship that began before January 1, 2026 must provide self-certifications by January 1, 2027.

In practice: Bitcoin bought through an Austrian or EU provider in 2026 will reach the tax office from mid-2027. Coins held in self-custody are not reported by the holder under this act, but the purchase and the withdrawal will be.

Two changes are known but not yet in force.

Yes. No Austrian statute prohibits owning, buying or selling Bitcoin. Section 27b of the Income Tax Act taxes Bitcoin income, and the MiCA Enforcement Act (BGBl. I No. 111/2024) makes the Financial Market Authority the supervisor of Bitcoin service providers. The Supreme Court held in 4 Ob 234/23z that Bitcoin is not money or e-money.

Income from Bitcoin acquired after February 28, 2021 is generally taxed at the special rate of 27.5% under section 27a(1) of the Income Tax Act, with no holding period exemption. Taxpayers can apply for the progressive tariff instead. The BMF names commercial miners and non-public private loans as cases taxed at the progressive tariff.

No, for coins under the current regime. Section 27b(3) of the Income Tax Act states that exchanging one cryptocurrency for another is not a realization, so the original acquisition cost carries over. Exchanging Bitcoin for euros, goods or services is a realization and is taxable. Older holdings follow the pre-2022 rules.

Bitcoin acquired before March 1, 2021 is old holdings outside the section 27b regime and stays under the pre-reform rules. Those rules, in section 31 of the Income Tax Act, tax a sale of private assets only where acquisition and sale lie no more than one year apart, with a 440 euro annual exemption limit.

No provision I reviewed requires one. Article 59(1) MiCA restricts the provision of crypto-asset services to others, not holding your own Bitcoin. In June 2026 the FMA itself advised customers of unauthorized providers to move their assets to an authorized provider or to a personal wallet.

The inheritance and gift tax under the 1955 Act was struck down by the Constitutional Court, effective at the end of July 31, 2008, and I found no statute reintroducing it. Gifts must still be notified under section 121a BAO above 50,000 euros within a year between relatives, or 15,000 euros within five years otherwise.

The Crypto Reporting Act, BGBl. I No. 96/2025, entered into force on January 1, 2026. The reporting period is the calendar year, and providers must report by July 31 of the following year, so data for 2026 is due by July 31, 2027. Existing users must provide self-certifications by January 1, 2027.

This article is general information and not legal advice.

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This article is general information and not legal advice.