SVS: the two figures to know from year one
Out of their own pocket, the self-employed pay 18.5 % pension and 6.8 % health insurance — 25.3 % of the contribution base combined. For the early years the SVS takes that base from the third preceding year, then re-assesses retroactively once the income tax assessment arrives. That re-assessment (Nachbemessung) is not a mistake.
The two rates the contribution is made of
The statute names 7.65 % for health and 22.8 % for pension insurance — but those are the full rates. The insured person pays 6.8 % and 18.5 %; the federal budget covers the rest (0.85 % and 4.3 %). So the figure to plan with is 25.3 %, not 30.45 %. These are not all SVS payments: accident insurance and Selbständigenvorsorge come on top — their rates sit in other statutes and are not quoted here.
Where this year's base comes from
The provisional monthly base is the base of the third preceding calendar year, divided by the months of insurance and multiplied by the indexation factors of the current and the two preceding years. If there was no compulsory insurance three years ago, the minimum base applies. The base can never fall below the minimum or exceed the maximum.
Why a bill for the past arrives later
Once the income tax assessment for that year exists, the final base replaces the provisional one — and the difference is charged. There is a second reason the amount exceeds expectations: the contributions prescribed in that year are ADDED to the base. The base is therefore almost always higher than the profit your own books show.
Nachbemessung is neither a penalty nor a bookkeeping error. It is the statute working as written: the first bills were an advance payment.
How to avoid the surprise
The provisional base can be changed on application — upwards as well as downwards — if this year's income differs substantially from the third preceding year. The application can be filed until the end of the relevant contribution year, and again if the estimate changes. Raising the base in time is almost always cheaper than receiving a re-assessment for several years at once.
How much to set aside
25.3 % is a share of the BASE, not of profit — and the base exceeds profit by the contributions themselves. A reserve calculated from «income minus expenses» is therefore systematically too low. Zvitly computes the base by this rule and shows the gap between what is billed now and what is likely to follow.
Frequently asked
Sources
- § 27 GSVG — the insured person's own share: 6.8 % health and 18.5 % pension insurance (version in force since 01.01.2020)
- § 25a GSVG — provisional contribution base: third preceding year, the health-insurance exemption for the first two years, and change on application (version in force since 01.01.2016)
- § 25 GSVG — the final base replaces the provisional one (Abs 6) and includes the contributions themselves (Abs 2 Z 2), version in force since 01.01.2017
Legal basis verified in RIS, the official Austrian legal information system. Current as of the article's update date.
Not tax advice. When in doubt, consult a Steuerberater.