Tax number

Steps

1. If you are an employee: give your employer your passport or identity card. They request your Sozialversicherungsnummer electronically (ELDA system), at the latest at the same time as your hiring declaration to social security.
2. Get the number from your employer. They must give it to you; you can use it at the doctor's even before you have received your e-card.
3. Receive your e-card. Your fund sends it to you by post. If you have no Austrian passport, identity card, driving licence (card format) or document from the register of foreigners (Fremdenregister), the e-card can only be issued once your photo has been recorded (the law provides a few exceptions to the photo requirement, according to the ÖGK): bring a photo to the competent registration point. In the meantime, your fund can give you a provisional proof (e-card Ersatzbeleg).
4. If you have a very part-time job, a service contract or you are a family member of an insured person: contact the competent social security body yourself to obtain a number and an e-card.
5. If you become self-employed: request a Steuernummer from the competent Finanzamt when you open your activity; the start of the activity must be notified to the Finanzamt within the month (USP). The questionnaire for individuals is the Verf 24, to be returned within the month, via FinanzOnline (online tax portal), as a PDF or on paper. Your first income tax return is made the following year.

Documents

• Passport or identity card: the employer takes your surname, first names, nationality and date of birth from this document.
• Photo for the e-card, if you have no Austrian identity document.
• For a self-employed activity: the Verf 24 questionnaire, with proof of your identity (passport, identity card or driving licence), as an attached copy or by appearing at the Finanzamt.

Costs and timelines

• Cost: no fee mentioned by the sources consulted for assigning the numbers. The e-card, however, gives rise to an annual Service-Entgelt (service fee), due every year on 15 November by people in insured employment, which the employer collects: €25 for 2026 and €26.85 for 2027 (ÖGK). Employees with very part-time work (geringfügig) are exempt; in case of multiple insurance, it can be refunded on request.
• Timeline: the Sozialversicherungsnummer is requested at the latest when your hiring is declared. The e-card is then sent to you automatically by post by your fund; no official deadline is published. In the meantime, your number is enough at the doctor's, and your fund can give you a provisional proof (e-card Ersatzbeleg).
• Self-employed: taxation threshold of €13,539 of taxable income for 2026 ("Checkliste Steuern" page).

Common pitfalls

• Looking for a "tax number" as an employee. Wage tax is withheld by the employer; you do not have to pay it yourself to the Finanzamt. A return (Arbeitnehmerveranlagung) may nevertheless get you an overpayment back, and it is mandatory in certain cases.
• No photo, no e-card. Without an Austrian document or a Fremdenregister document, the e-card is only issued once your photo has been recorded; if registration is not quick, your fund can give you a provisional proof.
• No job, no automatic number. According to the ÖGK (Österreichische Gesundheitskasse, health insurance fund), the number is requested for you when you enter the insurance system, for example if you ask to be co-insured with a relative (Mitversicherung) or take voluntary insurance (Selbstversicherung, see AT-SANTE-TOUS-001). Bring your passport or birth certificate, and your marriage certificate if applicable.

What changes by country of origin

• EU and EEA citizens: same procedure as Austrians. If you have neither an Austrian identity document nor a Fremdenregister document, remember the photo for the e-card.
• Swiss nationals: same procedure; the official Austrian pages treat Swiss nationals like EU citizens for social security.
• British nationals (including Scots): same mechanism for the numbers once the residence permit has been obtained (a third country since Brexit, see AT-SEJOUR-TOUS-001).