What is the SVS and who has to be part of it?
The Social Insurance for the Self-Employed (SVS) is, for the self-employed, what the ÖGK plus the pension fund is for employees — just bundled into one package. With your business registration, you are automatically registered and covered by mandatory insurance. So you do not need to worry about registering separately — you just need to understand the contributions.
What does the SVS cost in 2026?
- Total contribution rate
- approx. 26.8%
- of profit: 18.5% pension + 6.8% health + 1.53% provision
- Minimum contribution
- approx. €161/month
- at minimum contribution base of €551.10/month
- Accident insurance
- €155.40/year
- fixed amount, regardless of profit
- Insurance threshold
- €6,613.20/year
- relevant for new self-employed people and exemptions
At the start you almost always pay the minimum contribution of around €161 a month — together with accident insurance around €175 a month. Contributions only rise once your profit is above the minimum base.[1]
Why does the SVS back payment happen — and how do you stay relaxed about it?
The SVS only finds out your profit once your tax assessment arrives — often one to two years later. Until then, you pay provisional contributions. Then it recalculates:
-
Year 1–2: you pay little, provisionally
Minimum contributions, as long as your real profit is not yet known. -
Your tax assessment arrives
The SVS learns your real profit and calculates your final contributions. -
Recalculation
If your profit was higher than the provisional base, you pay the difference afterwards — on request, also in instalments.
The 30% rule
What do you get for your money?
- Health insurance — doctor, hospital, medication, including check-ups. With an e-card, like everyone else.
- Sick pay — support if you are ill for a longer period and cannot work.
- Pension — every insured year counts. Undeclared work does not count: zero pension.
- Accident insurance — cover for workplace accidents, including rehabilitation.
- Self-employment provision — 1.53% goes into a provision fund, like a severance payment.
This is the real point: working legally means being insured. You can read why this especially pays off in cleaning work under Working legally as a cleaner.
Can you lower or pause SVS contributions?
- Putting your business on hold: if you are not working for a longer period (for example a summer break or illness), you can put your trade on hold — this also pauses your SVS contributions.
- Micro-business exemption: with turnover below €55,000 and profit below €6,613.20 a year, you can apply for exemption from health and pension insurance — for example if you were covered under GSVG for no more than twelve months in the last five years, or if you are of pension age. Then only the accident insurance of €12.95 a month remains. Caution: this means you miss out on health insurance cover and pension years from your self-employed work — usually only sensible if you are already insured another way, for example through a job or a pension.[2][3] Full details and how to apply: SVS exemption for micro-businesses.
- Contributions are business expenses: everything you pay to the SVS lowers your taxable profit.
How do you stay on top of all this?
bop shows you every month how much you should set aside for SVS and taxes, reminds you of deadlines, and explains every SVS letter to you in your language. You can find the full overview on starting up in the guide Becoming self-employed in Austria, and the tax basics under Small business VAT exemption.