Marginal Employment Threshold Austria 2027: €551.10

Editorial note: This guide is general information, not legal or social security advice. CheckEverything.at is not an official service of the Austrian Health Insurance Fund (ÖGK) or the Ministry of Social Affairs; what counts is the General Social Insurance Act (ASVG, published in the RIS legal database) and the annual promulgation in the Federal Law Gazette. Last updated: 17 October 2026.

Austria's marginal employment threshold (Geringfügigkeitsgrenze) for 2027 is €551.10 gross per month. It stays the same for the third year running: the amount was set for 2025 by BGBl. II No. 417/2024, frozen for 2026 by BGBl. I No. 25/2025 and frozen again for 2027 by the Budget Accompanying Act 2027-2028 (BGBl. I No. 62/2026). So far, no promulgation names €551.10 for 2027 explicitly; the figure follows from the statutory freeze in § 824 Abs. 2a ASVG. If you earn no more than this per job in a calendar month, you are marginally employed and covered by accident insurance only.

Key takeaways

• Marginal employment threshold 2027: €551.10 per month, the same as in 2025 and 2026
• Legal basis: § 824 Abs. 2a ASVG, which says the amount is not to be multiplied for the calendar year 2027
• Below the threshold: accident insurance only; health and pension insurance through voluntary self-insurance under § 19a ASVG
• Several marginal jobs above €551.10 combined: health and pension insurance, and since 2026 unemployment insurance as well
• Contribution ceiling 2027 (Höchstbeitragsgrundlage): the formula is in the law, the euro amount only comes with the promulgation
• Working a marginal job while drawing unemployment benefit is only allowed in exceptional cases since 1 January 2026

What does marginally employed mean?

Under § 5 Abs. 2 ASVG, an employment relationship counts as marginal (geringfügig) if the pay due from it in a calendar month does not exceed the threshold. What matters is monthly pay, not the number of hours. Marginally employed people are exempt from full social insurance (§ 5 Abs. 1 Z 2 ASVG) but are partly insured for accidents (§ 7 Z 3 lit. a ASVG).

Under § 5 Abs. 3 Z 1 ASVG, these cases, among others, do not count as marginal even when monthly pay is low:

• Pay stays below the threshold only because of short-time work (Kurzarbeit).
• A job agreed for at least one month or for an open-ended period starts, ends or is interrupted during the month, and that is the only reason pay for that month is lower.

So if you start a job paying more than the threshold on the 20th of a month, you are not marginally employed in that first, shorter month.

Marginal employment threshold 2027: why it does not rise

The marginal employment threshold does not rise in 2027 because § 824 Abs. 2a ASVG suspends the annual revaluation for that year. Normally the threshold is multiplied by the revaluation factor (Aufwertungszahl) each year (§ 5 Abs. 2, second sentence, ASVG). Lawmakers suspended this for 2026 and 2027. The Budget Accompanying Act 2027-2028 states that the amount under § 5 Abs. 2, first sentence, is not to be multiplied for the calendar year 2027. The rule for 2026 in § 810 Abs. 3 ASVG used the same wording.

The RIS lists the amounts up to 2025 in its note on § 5 ASVG. The 2026 promulgation (BGBl. II No. 263/2025) names no marginal employment threshold; the 2025 amount carries over under § 810 Abs. 3 ASVG. No promulgation for 2027 has appeared so far (as of 17 October 2026). The ÖGK also lists €551.10 in its provisional 2027 values, subject to the official promulgation.

Contribution ceiling 2027: formula and figures

The contribution ceiling (Höchstbeitragsgrundlage) is the income above which no further social insurance contributions are due. For 2027, § 108 Abs. 3 ASVG as amended by BGBl. I No. 62/2026 sets the calculation: in 2027 the daily ceiling is €231 multiplied by the revaluation factor for 2027, plus €5. The result is rounded to the full euro.

The formula is law, but the revaluation factor for 2027 had not been promulgated as of 17 October 2026. For 2026, the Ministry of Social Affairs promulgated a revaluation factor of 1.073 and a daily ceiling of €231.00 in BGBl. II No. 263/2025.

The ÖGK published the 2027 values in advance in its employer newsletter of August 2026:

• Revaluation factor 2027: 1.046, provisional, per ÖGK, subject to the official promulgation.
• Daily contribution ceiling 2027: €247.00, provisional, per ÖGK, subject to the official promulgation (using the formula in § 108 Abs. 3 ASVG: 231 x 1.046 + 5 = 246.63, rounded to 247).
• Monthly contribution ceiling 2027: €7,410.00, provisional, per ÖGK, subject to the official promulgation.
• Ceiling for special payments (Sonderzahlungen) 2027: €14,820.00 per year, provisional, per ÖGK, subject to the official promulgation.

The promulgation for 2026 appeared on 28 November 2025. As soon as the 2027 promulgation is in the Federal Law Gazette, we will replace these figures with the official values. For 2028, the 2027 ceiling is multiplied by the revaluation factor for 2028 and increased by €1.67; from 2029 it is again only multiplied by the revaluation factor.

Insurance cover below the marginal employment threshold

A marginal job on its own gives you no health or pension insurance, only accident cover. The ASVG offers voluntary self-insurance (Selbstversicherung) under § 19a for this:

• It is open to people who are exempt from full insurance as marginal employees and are not compulsorily insured for health or pension anywhere else.
• You must live in Austria; you apply to the health insurance fund for your place of residence.
• It covers health and pension insurance together.
• If a contribution due is not paid within two months after the end of the month, the self-insurance ends.

The ÖGK has not yet officially published the monthly contribution for 2027, so we do not state an amount here. Students have further options, such as co-insurance through their parents and student self-insurance, explained in our guide to health insurance for students in Austria. For an overview of the whole system, see our health insurance guide for Austria.

Several jobs under the marginal employment threshold

If you have two or more marginal jobs and your combined pay exceeds €551.10 a month, the special rules in §§ 471f ff. ASVG apply. You are then compulsorily insured for health and pension, even though each single job stays below the threshold. It happens sooner than many people expect: two jobs paying €300 a month each are already enough.

Since 1 January 2026, unemployment insurance has been added: under § 1a of the Unemployment Insurance Act (AlVG), inserted by BGBl. I No. 25/2025, employees with several marginal jobs are also covered by unemployment insurance for as long as this compulsory insurance lasts.

Marginal work while on unemployment benefit

Since 1 January 2026, a marginal job alongside unemployment benefit is only possible in five exceptional cases. Until the end of 2025, unemployed people could earn up to the marginal threshold on top of their benefit. From 1 January 2026, the Budget Accompanying Act 2025 (BGBl. I No. 25/2025) rewrote § 12 Abs. 2 AlVG, and BGBl. I No. 118/2025 added the fifth case from the same date. Despite a marginal job, you now only count as unemployed if you

1. had already held the marginal job for at least 26 weeks without a break alongside a fully insured job and continue it after that job ends,
2. take it up after 365 days of unemployment benefit or emergency assistance (Notstandshilfe), for at most 26 weeks,
3. take it up after 365 days of benefit and are 50 or older, or have a disability under the Disability Employment Act or a disability pass,
4. take it up after at least 52 weeks of illness with sickness, rehabilitation or retraining benefit, for at most 26 weeks, or
5. work it while taking part in further training or retraining commissioned by the AMS that lasts at least four months and takes at least 25 hours a week.

Breaks of up to 62 days do not count against the 365 days. If you are unemployed and planning a mini-job, check with the AMS (Public Employment Service) first whether one of these exceptions applies.

Pensioners with a marginal job

There is one restriction for people who draw their own pension: § 19a ASVG excludes from self-insurance anyone with an awarded entitlement to an ongoing benefit from their own statutory pension insurance. How much pensions rise in 2027 is covered in our guide to the pension increase in Austria 2027.

Worked examples: marginal employment threshold 2027

Four typical cases show how the €551.10 threshold works in practice. All amounts are gross pay per calendar month.

How many working hours fit under the threshold depends on your hourly wage. At €15 gross per hour it is about 36 hours a month (551.10 divided by 15 is 36.74); at €13 it is about 42 hours (42.39). The law looks at each calendar month on its own. If you are planning overtime or getting a pay rise, it is worth doing the sums first and, if in doubt, asking your payroll office or the ÖGK.

If you earn above the threshold

If your pay from one job exceeds €551.10 a month, you are fully insured, meaning health, pension, accident and unemployment insurance, and contributions are deducted from your gross pay. How much income tax applies at higher incomes and which tax credits you get is shown in our guide to income tax brackets in Austria.

Frequently asked questions about the marginal employment threshold 2027

What is the marginal employment threshold in Austria for 2027?

The marginal employment threshold (Geringfügigkeitsgrenze) for 2027 is €551.10 gross per month, the same as in 2025 and 2026. The legal basis is § 824 Abs. 2a ASVG as amended by the Budget Accompanying Act 2027-2028 (BGBl. I No. 62/2026), under which the amount is not multiplied for 2027.

Why is the threshold not going up in 2027?

Lawmakers suspended the annual revaluation, for 2026 with the Budget Accompanying Act 2025 and for 2027 with the Budget Accompanying Act 2027-2028. So far (as of 17 October 2026) there is no promulgation with a 2027 figure; under § 824 Abs. 2a ASVG the €551.10 promulgated for 2025 continues to apply.

How is the 2027 contribution ceiling calculated?

Under § 108 Abs. 3 ASVG, €231 is multiplied by the revaluation factor for 2027 and increased by €5, and the result is rounded to the full euro. That gives the daily figure. The revaluation factor for 2027 had not been promulgated as of 17 October 2026. In 2026 the daily contribution ceiling was €231.00.

Am I covered by health and pension insurance in a marginal job?

No, a marginal job on its own only gives you accident insurance. You can get health and pension insurance on application through self-insurance under § 19a ASVG, provided you live in Austria and are not already compulsorily insured elsewhere.

What applies if I have several marginal jobs?

If the pay from two or more marginal jobs together exceeds €551.10 a month, you are insured for health and pension under §§ 471f ff. ASVG. Since 1 January 2026 you are then also covered by unemployment insurance under § 1a AlVG.

Can I work a marginal job while receiving unemployment benefit?

Since 1 January 2026 only in exceptional cases: if the mini-job had already run for 26 weeks alongside a fully insured job, after 365 days on benefit for at most 26 weeks, after 365 days on benefit if you are 50 or older or have a disability, after at least 52 weeks of illness for at most 26 weeks, or during AMS-commissioned retraining lasting at least four months at 25 or more hours a week. Check with the AMS first.

Can pensioners use self-insurance for a marginal job?

Not if they draw their own pension from the statutory pension insurance. § 19a Abs. 1 ASVG excludes anyone with an awarded entitlement to an ongoing benefit from their own statutory pension insurance from this self-insurance.

Conclusion

The marginal employment threshold stays at €551.10 a month in 2027, because the Budget Accompanying Act 2027-2028 suspends the revaluation again. If you have several mini-jobs, keep an eye on the total: from €551.10 combined, health, pension and, since 2026, unemployment insurance apply. For the 2027 contribution ceiling the formula is fixed; the official euro amount comes with the promulgation, and the one for 2026 appeared on 28 November 2025.

Last updated: 17 October 2026. Legal basis: §§ 5, 7, 19a, 108 Abs. 3, 471f and 824 Abs. 2a ASVG; §§ 1a and 12 Abs. 2 AlVG; BGBl. I No. 25/2025, BGBl. I No. 118/2025, BGBl. I No. 62/2026, BGBl. II No. 263/2025.

Sources

• RIS: § 5 ASVG (marginal employment threshold, amounts up to 2025, German)
• RIS: § 7 ASVG (partial accident insurance, German)
• RIS: § 19a ASVG (self-insurance for marginal employment, German)
• RIS: § 108 ASVG (contribution ceiling, German)
• RIS: § 471f ASVG (several marginal jobs, German)
• RIS: Budget Accompanying Act 2027-2028, BGBl. I No. 62/2026 (PDF, German)
• RIS: Budget Accompanying Act 2025, BGBl. I No. 25/2025 (PDF, German)
• RIS: Revaluation and adjustment promulgation 2026, BGBl. II No. 263/2025 (PDF, German)
• ÖGK: 2027 values for employers (newsletter 8/2026, German)