Austria Benefits Check
Answer a few short questions about your situation – we'll show you which subsidies and support programs might apply to you.
All benefits at a glance
If you'd rather not take the quiz, here is the full list of the Austrian benefits covered by this check, grouped by area. Amounts are 2026 values; each entry links to the official source for the exact conditions and how to apply.
Family & Children
- Family Allowance (Familienbeihilfe)
- Monthly family benefit for all parents – regardless of income. 2026: €138.40 from birth, rising to €200.40 from age 19, plus a child tax credit of €70.90 per child. AK
- Increased Family Allowance for Disability
- An extra €189.20 per month on top of the family allowance for children with a significant disability, regardless of age. Sozialministeriumservice
- School Start Allowance
- A one-off payment of €121.40 every August for children aged 6 to 15, paid automatically together with the family allowance. AK
- Childcare Allowance (Kinderbetreuungsgeld)
- Benefit for parents after birth, available as an account or flat-rate model (approx. €17.65–41.14 per day, depending on duration). Applied for through your health insurer. Bundeskanzleramt
- Family Time Bonus (Papamonat)
- For the second parent taking time off in the weeks right after birth: €54.87 per day, around €1,700 for a month. AK
- Family Hardship Fund
- One-off bridging aid for families facing an unforeseeable hardship through no fault of their own, when other support isn't enough. No legal entitlement – case-by-case decision. AK
Work & Income
- Unemployment Benefit
- 55% of your previous net income if you became unemployed through no fault of your own, are registered with the AMS, and are able and willing to work. AMS
- Emergency Unemployment Assistance (Notstandshilfe)
- Follow-on benefit once unemployment benefit runs out, if you're in financial need: 92–95% of your previous unemployment benefit, with no time limit. AMS
- Further Training Allowance (formerly Bildungskarenz)
- Financial support during a career break for further training, restructured since June 2026: €41.49–69.77 per day. Requires at least 12 months of continuous insured employment. AMS
- Apprentice Support
- Annual support for apprentices of up to €800, plus further AK grants for apprentices (e.g. subsidies for courses and study materials). AK
- Commuter Allowance (Pendlerpauschale)
- Tax relief for your commute: €31–306 per month depending on distance and whether public transport is reasonable, plus a €6 commuter euro per kilometre per year. AK
Education & Training
- Skilled Worker Scholarship (Fachkräftestipendium)
- Scholarship for training in a shortage occupation (e.g. STEM, health/social care), at least €41 per day. Requires 208 weeks of employment in the last 15 years and prior AMS counselling. AK
- Study Grant (Studienbeihilfe)
- Income-dependent grant for students with satisfactory academic progress: base amount from September 2026 is €451, up to €1,151 per month at the top rate. 2026 earnings limit: €17,677/year. stipendium.at
- Pupil Grant (Schülerbeihilfe)
- Support for pupils in financial need from the 10th grade at secondary schools: base amount €1,845 per school year (2025/26). oesterreich.gv.at
Housing
- Housing Safety Net (Wohnschirm)
- Emergency support for rent or energy bill arrears to prevent an imminent eviction or homelessness. wohnschirm.at
- Housing Allowance (Wohnbeihilfe)
- State-level support with housing costs for low-to-middle income households. Income limits, amounts and the application office differ by federal state. Overview by state
Health & Care
- Care Allowance (Pflegegeld)
- Monthly cash benefit for ongoing care needs, regardless of age or cause: 7 levels ranging from approx. €206 to €2,215 (2026). Sozialministeriumservice
- Prescription Fee Exemption
- If your income is low (2026: below €1,308.39 for single people) or you have high medication needs, you can be exempted from the prescription fee (€7.55). AK
Social Support
- Social Assistance (Sozialhilfe)
- Minimum income support when your income doesn't cover basic needs: up to approx. €1,230 for single people, €1,722 for couples, plus supplements for children and disability. Sozialministerium
- ORF Fee Exemption
- With low income (2026, e.g. below approx. €1,465 for single-person households) and social or health-related need, you may be exempt from the ORF broadcasting fee. oesterreich.gv.at
Note: This check is based on publicly available information from the Austrian Chamber of Labour (AK), the AMS and other bodies (as of 2026) and simplifies many detailed criteria (exact income, assets, federal state, case-by-case assessment). It does not replace legal advice and does not establish any entitlement. To find out whether and to what amount you're actually entitled, please check with your AK advice centre, the AMS, your municipality, or the relevant authority. Your answers are processed exclusively locally in your browser.
Frequently asked questions
- Is this a binding eligibility assessment?
- No. Many benefits depend on detailed criteria that this check deliberately simplifies: exact income thresholds, assets, waiting periods and rules that differ by federal state. It gives you a first orientation – binding information comes from your Chamber of Labour advice centre, the AMS or the responsible authority.
- Are my answers stored?
- No. Everything you enter is processed locally in your browser only. It is not transmitted, not stored and not analysed – not by us either.
- Why is a benefit missing from my result?
- The check asks about the criteria that decide most cases: income, children, housing situation and employment status. Detailed criteria such as asset limits, waiting periods or state-level rules are left out. If a benefit you know of is missing, ask the responsible body directly.
- Can I receive several benefits at the same time?
- Often yes, but some are mutually exclusive or offset against each other – unemployment benefit and childcare allowance, for instance. The result list shows candidates, not a verified combination.
- Does the benefits check cover Germany?
- No. It covers Austrian benefits only. For Germany, the salary calculator is what this site currently offers.
Sources and further reading
- Arbeiterkammer Free advice for employees – the best first port of call whenever an entitlement is unclear.
- AMS Österreich Unemployment benefit, emergency assistance, training allowances and the skilled worker scholarship.
- Sozialministerium – Sozialhilfe Social assistance and minimum income support, including how the federal states differ.
- oesterreich.gv.at – Familie Family benefits from family allowance to the school start payment, with the application routes for each.
- Bundeskanzleramt – Kinderbetreuungsgeld The official account of both childcare allowance variants.
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