Tax Debtor, Tax Collection and Tax Payment
Tax Debtor
Tax debtor is the insurance holder. The insurer is liable for the payment of the tax. He pays the tax on behalf of the insurance holder. If payment of the tax has been delegated to a person authorized to receive the insurance premium , then this authorised person is equally liable for payment of the tax. If the insurer has no place of business in Austria, the insurance holder can be held liable directly if the tax has not been paid in correspondence with the law by the insurer.
Insurer with a place of business (place of residence) in an EU Member State or in a Signatory State of the EEA Treaty other than Austria who conclude insurance contracts via Trade in Services may appoint an authorised representative fiscal representative who must also be an authorised recipient, and must declare this representative to the tax authority austria ('Dienststelle Sonderzuständigkeiten Gebühren, Verkehrsteuern und Glücksspiel' / Special Responsibilities Unit for Fees, Transfer Taxes and Games of Chance). The tax representative assumes the tax-related obligations of the represented company, and is likewise authorised to exercise the rights of the represented company. Only licensed trustees, lawyers and notaries public with a place of residence or place of business within Austria, as well as Austrian insurance companies, may be appointed as tax representatives.
If the insurance company has no place of business (place of residence) in an EU Member State or Signatory State of the EEA Treaty, but a representative authorised to receive the insurance premium has been appointed, then this representative is also liable for the payment of the tax. In this case, the representative must pay the tax on behalf of the insurance holder.
Tax Collection and Tax Payment
The insurer must calculate and pay the tax for a calendar month (tax period). The tax return has to be filed by the 15th day (due date) of the second consecutive month.
Example:
The tax for the month of April must be calculated and paid no later than 15 June.
Special Advance Payment of Insurance Tax for November of each Calendar Year:
For the tax return period of November, a special advance payment of 1/12 of the sum of the calculated tax amounts of the last 12 tax return periods has to be made no later than December 15. This special advance payment is credited against a subsequent self-calculation for the declaration period of November. The special advance payment obligation may be disregarded if the actual tax for the tax return period of November is calculated and paid in full by December 15.
Annual Tax Return
The insurer has to submit an annual tax return for the past calendar year to the tax authority austria ('Dienststelle Sonderzuständigkeiten Gebühren, Verkehrsteuern und Glücksspiel' / Special Responsibilities Unit for Fees, Transfer Taxes and Games of Chance) no later than 30 April. The insurer is required to keep records within Austria for the purpose of determining taxes and the basis for their calculation. These records have to include all important information for calculating the tax. Foreign insurers insuring risks located within Austria are required to submit on request a comprehensive list of those insurance relationships with all information of importance for calculation of the tax to the tax authority austria ('Dienststelle Sonderzuständigkeiten Gebühren, Verkehrsteuern und Glücksspiel' / Special Responsibilities Unit for Fees, Transfer Taxes and Games of Chance). This obligation also exists if the insurer is of the opinion that any or all requirements for tax liability or tax payment do not apply.
Tax Refunds
If the insurance premium is partially or completely refunded because the insurance relationship is terminated prematurely, or because the insurance premium or the insured amount is reduced, then the tax already paid can be refunded upon application insofar as it would not have been liable to collection as a result of the change in circumstances. Insurers liable for payment of the tax may calculate the refundable amount themselves and deduct it from the total tax amount.