Austria MOF Clarifies Individual Income Tax Exemption for Hardship Allowances

The Austrian Ministry of Finance April 14 posted Federal Finance Court Decision No. RV/2101238/2018, clarifying the exemption for hardship allowances. The taxpayer, a biomedical analyst, claimed an exemption for a hardship allowance from their employer in 2015. The Tax Office denied the exemption, and the taxpayer appealed. The Federal Finance Court dismissed the taxpayer’s appeal, finding that: 1) hardship allowances are exempt under Section 68(1) of the Income Tax Act for taxpayers predominantly entrusted with work representing an extraordinary hardship or inevitably endangering their life, health, or physical safety; 2) the taxpayer’s work didn’t involve extraordinary hardship compared to generally ...