Deadline for VAT refund claims from EU member states for the year 2024

The deadline for Austrian businesses to reclaim VAT paid on purchases in other EU member states for the year 2024 is 30 September 2025. This is a cut-off deadline, and any applications that are not received or are incomplete by the end of the deadline will be rejected. Applications must be submitted electronically via FinanzOnline. The Austrian tax authority will examine the application for completeness and admissibility and forward it to the relevant member state. The submission of original receipts (or copies thereof) is not required in the electronic procedure, unless the reclaiming country specifically requests them. Individual EU member states may request the submission of invoice copies for amounts exceeding €1,000 (or €250 for fuel invoices).

The processing of the application should generally be completed by the refunding Member State within four months. If further information is requested, this period is extended to up to eight months. The refund period must generally cover at least three months and a maximum of one calendar year – periods of less than three months may only be requested if they represent the remainder of a calendar year (e.g. November and December). In addition to the refund period, minimum refund amounts dependent on this must also be observed. For a calendar year, €50 is considered the minimum amount, and for three months, €400 is the minimum. Although the deadline and application procedure are the same for all EU Member States, it should be noted that tax regulations regarding the type and extent of VAT refunds can regularly differ from country to country. Restrictions regularly affect, among other things, subsistence and entertainment expenses, representation costs, car expenses, etc.

In practice, it has been found that foreign authorities sometimes require certified translations of invoices and contracts, and therefore the amount to be reimbursed should always be kept in mind. Difficulties can also occasionally arise with the timely (electronic) delivery of supplementary requests or decisions.

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