30 September is a key deadline in tax law. Several important deadlines for business owners expire on this day. Here is an overview of the most important tax deadlines.
Submission of annual accounts to the Companies Register
Companies such as GmbHs and AGs must submit their annual accounts to the Companies Register by the deadline. In principle, this must be done within nine months of the balance sheet date. For companies with a balance sheet date of 31 December, this deadline therefore falls on 30 September. In the event of late submission, administrative fines may be imposed, not only on the company itself but also on each of its authorised representatives.
Reduction in income tax instalments
Income tax instalments are based on the amount of income tax assessed in previous years. If profits for the current year are expected to be lower than in previous years, an application to reduce the income tax instalments for the current year may be submitted to the tax office by 30 September. The application must include a justification for the lower profit forecast, together with supporting evidence (e.g. interim balance sheet, turnover comparison). This also applies to corporation tax.
Income Tax/Corporation Tax Advance Payment
If an additional income tax or corporation tax payment is expected for the previous year, a corresponding advance payment may be made voluntarily to the tax office by 30 September of the following year. This allows you to avoid interest on tax arrears entirely. It is important that the correct payment reference is provided when making the transfer to the tax office (known as a ‘Verrechnungsweisung’) so that the payment can be allocated to the correct tax.
Application for Input Tax Refund
Austrian businesses that paid input VAT in another EU Member State in the previous year may claim a refund of this VAT there. The application for an input VAT refund must be submitted electronically via FinanzOnline by 30 September at the latest (this deadline cannot be extended), whilst taking into account country-specific variations regarding invoice thresholds or the documents to be submitted. The Austrian tax office then forwards the application to the relevant EU Member State for the refund.
Renewal of tax relief on donations
Charitable organisations that benefit from tax relief on donations must renew this annually to ensure that their supporters’ donations remain tax-deductible. An application to extend the tax-deductible status of donations must be submitted annually via FinanzOnline by a professional party representative within nine months of the end of the financial year. If the financial year of the charitable organisation corresponds to the calendar year, the application must therefore be submitted by 30 September.
Together, we’ll keep track of your tax deadlines for you and help you ensure that you meet them in good time. If you have any questions about the deadlines mentioned or what you need to do in your particular situation, please do get in touch – we’re here to help.