ORF contribution: obligatory contribution for companies from 2024
With effect from 1 January 2024, the financing of the ORF was newly regulated. The ORF Contribution Act (ORF Beitrags-Gesetz) has replaced the Gebühren Info Service GmbH (GIS) fee that was payable until 31 December 2023 with the newly created ORF contribution. In this article we will take a closer look at the most important regulations regarding the contribution obligation for companies.
Obligatory contribution for companies
From 1 January 2024, every household and every business in Austria must pay the ORF contribution. For companies, the obligatory contribution applies per municipality, for permanent establishments within the meaning of section 4 Municipal Tax Act (KommStG), for which municipal tax was paid in the last calendar year. Therefore, if there are multiple permanent establishments in different municipalities in Austria, the ORF contribution must be paid for each individual address. If the address of the company is also a private place of residence, the ORF contribution is payable only once.
Contribution amount
Section 31 para. 19 subsec. 2 ORF act sets a maximum amount of EUR 15.30 per month per ORF contribution for the 2024 to 2026 period. The number of ORF contributions to be paid is based on the total wages paid to the employees of each permanent establishment subject to municipal tax in the last calendar year. Special payments, benefits in kind, allowances and surcharges must be taken into account in total. You can find the scale of contributions to be paid under the following link (in German only): https://www.wko.at/oe/oesterreich/neuer-orf-beitrag-ab-2024-unternehmen-betroffen
In case of permanent establishment subject to municipal tax the maximum amount to be paid according to section 4 para. 4 ORF Contribution Act is capped at EUR 1,530 (corresponds to 100 ORF contributions).
Reporting obligation
Companies that are subject to the obligatory contribution are required to report both the start and the end of their obligation to pay the contribution as well as any changes to personal data by 15 April of the calendar year, in which the contribution is due. The reporting obligation does not apply to companies that have already been registered with the GIS and paid the fee by 31 December 2023. Violation of the reporting obligation can be sanctioned with administrative penalties of up to EUR 2,180.00.
If you have any questions regarding the new ORF contribution payable from 2024, please do not hesitate to contact us. Furthermore, we refer to the ORF Contribution Act 2024 (in German only).
