⏱️ 22 min read · 4,284 words · Updated Jun 25, 2026

Understanding DEGIRO tax report Austria is essential for making informed decisions in today’s market.

If you’ve been investing through DEGIRO for any length of time and you’re based in Austria, you’ve probably stared at your tax situation and felt a knot form in your stomach. You’re not alone.

“The intersection of a Dutch brokerage platform and Austrian tax law is not exactly a smooth ride.”

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“It’s more like a mountain road with missing guardrails and signs in a language you half understand.”

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Here’s the thing most people get wrong right from the Start. They assume DEGIRO handles everything for them. It doesn’t. DEGIRO provides data. Raw, sometimes confusing, occasionally incomplete data. The actual tax reporting? That’s on you. And if you get it wrong, the Finanzamt doesn’t care that the platform’s interface was confusing. They care that your numbers don’t add up.

So let’s walk through this properly. No fluff, no generic advice you’ve already read on five other blogs. Just the specific reality of filing your DEGIRO tax report in Austria as of right now.

Throughout this guide, we’ll explore DEGIRO tax report Austria and how it directly impacts your financial future.

The Basics of Austrian Capital Gains Tax on Investments – DEGIRO tax report Austria

Austria taxes capital gains from securities at a flat rate of 27.5%. This is the KESt, the Kapitalertragsteuer, and it applies to dividends, interest, and realized gains from selling stocks, ETFs, and other financial instruments. There’s no distinction between short-term and long-term holdings like you might see in other countries. You sell something for more than you paid, and 27.5% of that profit is owed.

For most Austrian residents using a domestic bank or broker, this tax is withheld automatically. The bank deducts it and sends it to the Finanzamt. You get a net amount in your account and a tax confirmation that makes your filing straightforward. This is the system working as intended.

DEGIRO complicates this because it’s not an Austrian institution. It’s a Dutch brokerage. And while it does have obligations under European tax law, the automatic withholding that Austrian investors are used to simply doesn’t happen the same way. DEGIRO will withhold dividend withholding tax in some cases, particularly US-sourced dividends where a 15% rate applies under the tax treaty. But capital gains from selling positions? That’s entirely your responsibility to report.

This is the single most important thing to understand about your DEGIRO tax report in Austria. Nobody is doing this for you. The platform gives you the tools and the data, but the filing is yours.

What DEGIRO Actually Provides for Austrian Tax Reporting – DEGIRO tax report Austria

DEGIRO offers a few documents that are relevant for your tax report. The main one is the annual tax summary, which you can find in the platform under Reports. This document shows your dividend income, interest, and fees for the calendar year. It’s useful, but it’s not sufficient on its own.

You’ll also want the transaction history, which you can export as a CSV file. This contains every buy, sell, dividend, and fee from your account. For capital gains calculations, this is the document that Matters most. You’ll need to match your sell transactions against your buy transactions to determine your realized gains and losses.

There’s a catch though. DEGIRO’s CSV export doesn’t always make it easy to calculate your cost basis, especially if you’ve been trading frequently or if you’ve transferred shares into or out of the platform. The FIFO method, First In First Out, is what Austrian tax law generally requires for calculating gains. But DEGIRO’s export doesn’t automatically apply this method for you. You’ll need to do the matching yourself or use a tool that does it for you.

Some Austrian investors use services like CoinTracking or Blockpit, which can import DEGIRO’s CSV and calculate gains automatically. These tools aren’t free, but they save hours of spreadsheet work. If you’ve made more than a handful of trades in a year, they’re worth the cost. Think of it as paying someone to do your dishes. You could do it yourself, but your time has value.

Dividend Tax and the US-Austria Tax Treaty

If you hold US-domiciled ETFs or individual US stocks in your DEGIRO account, dividend withholding tax comes into play. The standard US withholding rate is 30%. But under the US-Austria tax treaty, this drops to 15% if the proper documentation is in place.

DEGIRO handles this through a W-8BEN form, which you should have filled out when you opened your account. If you haven’t, do it now. It’s in the platform settings. Without it, 30% gets withheld from every US dividend, and getting that extra 15% back is a bureaucratic headache you don’t want.

Here’s where it gets a bit messy. The 15% withheld at source in the US can be credited against your Austrian KESt. So if you receive a US dividend, 15% is withheld by the US, and you owe 27.5% in Austria. The difference, 12.5%, needs to be paid to the Finanzamt. This is done through your annual tax return, specifically on the Anlage KAP.

But not all ETFs are US-domiciled. Many European investors hold Irish-domiciled ETFs specifically to avoid this double layer of withholding tax. Ireland has a 0% withholding tax on dividends paid to non-residents, and the US-Ireland treaty reduces US withholding to 15% as well. For Austrian investors, Irish-domiciled ETFs are generally more tax-efficient for US equity exposure. This is one of those structural decisions that matters more than picking the “right” stock.

The DAC7 Factor and Why It Changes Everything

Starting in 2023 and fully operational now, the EU’s DAC7 directive requires platforms like DEGIRO to report user data to tax authorities. This means DEGIRO is now required to report your account information, including income and transactions, to the Dutch tax authorities, who then share it with the Austrian Finanzamt.

This is a big deal. Previously, there was a gap. The Finanzamt might not have had full visibility into what you were doing on a foreign brokerage platform. That gap is closing. If you’ve been assuming that your DEGIRO activity is somehow invisible to Austrian tax authorities, that assumption is no longer safe.

DAC7 reporting includes your name, address, tax identification number, account number, and financial activity. DEGIRO collects your TIN, Steueridentifikationsnummer, for this purpose. If you haven’t provided it, the platform will prompt you. And if you refuse, your account may be restricted.

This doesn’t change your tax obligations. You’ve always been required to report investment income in Austria. But it does change the enforcement landscape. The Finanzamt now has a direct data feed. Discrepancies between what DEGIRO reports and what you file will be flagged. This makes accurate reporting not just a legal obligation but a practical necessity.

“The era of hoping the Finanzamt won’t notice your foreign brokerage account is over. DAC7 means they’ll know. The question is whether your numbers match theirs.”

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How to Actually Calculate Your DEGIRO Capital Gains

Let’s get into the mechanics. To calculate your capital gains for Austrian tax purposes, you need to determine the difference between the sale price and the purchase price of each position you’ve sold during the year. This sounds simple. It’s not always simple.

First, you need to account for fees. DEGIRO charges transaction fees, and these can be added to your cost basis. If you buy a stock for 100 euros and pay a 2 euro fee, your cost basis is 102 euros. If you sell for 120 euros with a 2 euro fee, your proceeds are 118 euros. Your gain is 16 euros, not 20. This matters because fees add up, especially if you trade frequently.

Second, you need to handle corporate actions. Stock splits, mergers, spinoffs, and ticker changes can all mess with your cost basis tracking. DEGIRO’s CSV export may not always reflect these adjustments cleanly. You might need to manually adjust your records or cross-reference with the company’s investor relations announcements.

Third, there’s the issue of currency. If you buy a US stock in euros, the exchange rate at the time of purchase matters. DEGIRO converts at its own rate, which includes a small markup. For tax purposes, you should use the exchange rate from the European Central Bank on the transaction date. This is the official rate that the Finanzamt expects. The difference between DEGIRO’s rate and the ECB rate is usually small, but over many transactions, it can add up.

Fourth, and this is where people make expensive mistakes, you need to handle losses correctly. In Austria, capital losses can be offset against capital gains. If you sell one position at a loss and another at a gain, the loss reduces your taxable gain. But you need to track your losses carefully, especially if you have wash sale concerns. Austria doesn’t have a formal wash sale rule like the US, but the Finanzamt may scrutinize transactions where you sell and immediately repurchase the same security.

Common Mistakes People Make with Their DEGIRO Tax Report

The most common mistake is simply not reporting at all. Some investors, especially those who started with small amounts, assume that their DEGIRO activity is below some threshold that makes reporting unnecessary. There is no such threshold for capital gains in Austria. If you realize a gain, it’s taxable. Period.

The second most common mistake is reporting dividends but forgetting about capital gains. Dividends show up clearly in DEGIRO’s tax summary, so people include them. But capital gains require you to dig into your transaction history, and many people skip this step entirely. This is the mistake that DAC7 is specifically designed to catch.

A third mistake is double-counting. If you transfer shares between brokers, you might accidentally count the same gain twice. Or if you reinvest dividends through a DRIP program, the reinvested amount becomes part of your cost basis. Failing to account for this means you’ll pay tax on the same money twice.

And then there’s the foreign account reporting requirement. If your DEGIRO account holds more than 50,000 euros in assets at any point during the year, you need to report it on the Anlage AUS, the foreign asset declaration. This is separate from the capital gains reporting on Anlage KAP. Missing this form can trigger penalties even if your tax calculations are correct.

ETFs and the Accumulating vs Distinguishing Question

Austrian investors love ETFs. DEGIRO’s selection of commission-free ETFs made the platform especially popular for this. But not all ETFs are created equal from a tax perspective.

Distributing ETFs pay out dividends directly. These show up in your DEGIRO account as cash, and you owe 27.5% KESt on them. Accumulating ETFs reinvest dividends internally. You don’t receive cash, but you still owe tax on the deemed distributed income, the ausschüttungsgleiche Erträge.

For accumulating ETFs, DEGIRO doesn’t provide a breakdown of the deemed distributions. You need to get this information from the ETF issuer. Most major issuers, like iShares and Vanguard, publish this data on their websites. It’s usually available by February or March of the following year. You’ll need to look for the “ausschüttungsgleiche Erträge” or “deemed distributed income” figure for the relevant tax year.

This is one area where DEGIRO’s reporting falls short for Austrian investors. The platform doesn’t calculate or display this figure. You have to go to the source. And if you hold multiple accumulating ETFs, this becomes a tedious process. But skipping it means underreporting your income, which is exactly the kind of discrepancy that DAC7 data sharing will expose.

What About Crypto on DEGIRO?

DEGIRO offers crypto trading, though the selection is limited compared to dedicated exchanges. The tax treatment of crypto in Austria changed significantly. As of March 2022, crypto gains are taxed at 30% if held for less than a year, and tax-free if held longer. This is different from the 27.5% rate for traditional securities.

But here’s the thing. DEGIRO’s tax reporting tools are designed for traditional securities. They don’t handle crypto well. If you’re trading crypto on DEGIRO, you’ll almost certainly need a separate tracking solution. The CSV export may not include all the data you need for accurate crypto tax calculations.

My honest advice? If you’re serious about crypto, use a dedicated exchange and a dedicated tax tool. DEGIRO is great for stocks and ETFs. It’s not great for crypto tax reporting. Trying to force it into that role will cost you more in time and errors than it saves in convenience.

Using Tax Software with DEGIRO Data

Several tax software options work with DEGIRO data for Austrian filers. ELSTER, the official Austrian tax filing system, doesn’t have a direct DEGIRO import. You’ll need to enter your figures manually or use a third-party tool that generates ELSTER-compatible output.

Apps like Taxfix or Smartsteuer are popular in Austria, but their support for investment income varies. Some handle basic dividend reporting well but struggle with complex capital gains calculations. If your DEGIRO activity is straightforward, a few ETFs and occasional trades, these tools might suffice. If you’re an active trader, you’ll likely outgrow them quickly.

Dedicated portfolio tax tools like Blockpit or CoinTracking are better suited for complex situations. They can import DEGIRO’s CSV, apply FIFO calculations, handle corporate actions, and generate reports in the format you need for your Austrian tax return. They cost money, typically 50 to 200 euros per year depending on your transaction volume. For anyone with more than 50 transactions a year, this is money well spent.

Deadlines and Filing Logistics

The Austrian tax year is the calendar year. Your tax return for a given year is due by June 30 of the following year if you file electronically, or by March 31 if you file on paper. These deadlines have been extended in recent years, so check the current Finanzamt website for the exact dates applicable to your situation.

If you need to file an Anlage KAP for capital gains, it’s part of your main tax return. There’s no separate filing for investment income. The Anlage KAP is where you report your dividends, interest, and capital gains. You’ll need to fill in your Total income from each category, and the tax calculation at 27.5% is done automatically.

For the Anlage AUS, the foreign asset declaration, you report the total value of your foreign accounts as of December 31 of the tax year. This includes your DEGIRO account balance plus the market value of all holdings. The threshold is 50,000 euros across all foreign accounts combined. If you’re below this, you don’t need to file the Anlage AUS.

Late filing penalties in Austria can be steep. If you fail to file on time, the Finanzamt can impose a penalty of up to 10% of the tax owed. If they determine you intentionally failed to report income, the penalties are higher. With DAC7 data flowing in, the Finanzamt will know if you should have filed and didn’t. This isn’t theoretical. It’s happening now.

“With DAC7, the Finanzamt doesn’t need to audit you to find discrepancies. They get a data file from DEGIRO and compare it to your return automatically. Accuracy isn’t optional anymore.”

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Transferring Shares and the Tax Implications

Some investors move their holdings from DEGIRO to another broker, or vice versa. This is called an ACATS transfer or an off-book transfer. It’s not a sale. You’re not realizing a gain or loss. You’re moving the same securities to a different custodian.

But you need to keep your cost basis records. When you eventually sell these shares, you’ll need to know what you originally paid for them. DEGIRO’s transaction history should show the original purchase dates and prices. Save this data before you transfer. Once the shares leave DEGIRO, you may lose easy access to the historical records.

If you’re transferring into DEGIRO from another broker, you’ll need to enter the cost basis manually in whatever tracking system you use. DEGIRO won’t know what you paid for the shares at your previous broker. This is entirely on you.

I’ve seen people lose track of their cost basis after multiple transfers. They end up either overpaying tax by not accounting for their true cost basis, or underpaying and risking a penalty. Keep a spreadsheet. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Just track every purchase with the date, quantity, price, and fees. This is your insurance policy.

What Happens If You Made a Mistake in Previous Years

If you’ve been using DEGIRO for years and you’re realizing now that your tax reporting wasn’t correct, you have options. Austrian tax law allows you to file a corrected return, a Berichtigung, for previous years. The statute of limitations is generally five years from the end of the tax year in question.

Filing a corrected return voluntarily is almost always better than waiting for the Finanzamt to find the error. Voluntary correction typically results in no penalty, just the payment of the tax owed plus interest. If the Finanzamt discovers the error first, penalties apply.

This is another area where DAC7 changes the calculus. The data DEGIRO is now reporting covers multiple years. If there are discrepancies between what DEGIRO reported and what you filed, the Finanzamt may reach out proactively. Getting ahead of this by filing corrections yourself is the smart move.

Some investors in this situation work with a Steuerberater, a tax advisor, to prepare corrected returns. The cost depends on complexity, but for a straightforward investment income correction, you might pay 200 to 500 euros. Compared to the potential penalties and the stress of dealing with a Finanzamt audit, this is reasonable.

Comparing DEGIRO’s Tax Reporting to Other Brokers

Not all brokers are equal when it comes to Austrian tax reporting. Here’s how DEGIRO stacks up against some alternatives.

The key takeaway from this comparison is that Austrian-based brokers like Flatex and Trade Republic handle more of the tax work for you. They withhold KESt automatically, they provide deemed distribution data for accumulating ETFs, and they generate tax confirmations that integrate directly with ELSTER. DEGIRO doesn’t do any of this.

This doesn’t mean DEGIRO is a bad broker. Its fees are competitive, its ETF selection is broad, and its platform is functional. But if tax convenience is a priority, an Austrian-based broker saves you significant effort. You’re trading some cost savings for administrative simplicity.

The Steuerberater Question

Do you need a Steuerberater for your DEGIRO tax report in Austria? Legally, no. You can file yourself. Practically, it depends on your situation.

If you hold a few accumulating ETFs, reinvest dividends, and make occasional trades, you can probably handle this yourself with some careful spreadsheet work. The Anlage KAP isn’t complicated for straightforward investment income.

If you’re an active trader, hold individual stocks across multiple countries, have transferred shares between accounts, or have crypto positions, a Steuerberater becomes more valuable. They can ensure your cost basis calculations are correct, your foreign tax credits are applied properly, and your Anlage AUS is filed accurately.

The cost of a Steuerberater for investment income reporting in Austria typically ranges from 150 to 500 euros, depending on complexity. For most passive investors, this is an unnecessary expense. For active traders, it’s insurance.

My personal take is that most people overestimate how complicated their situation is and underestimate how much they can learn. If you’ve read this far, you already understand more about DEGIRO tax reporting in Austria than the average investor. That knowledge is worth something. Use it.

Practical Steps to Get Your DEGIRO Tax Report Right

Start by downloading your annual tax summary and full transaction history from DEGIRO. Do this in January or February, as the annual summary may not be available immediately after year end. The transaction history CSV is available year round.

Next, categorize your transactions. Separate dividends, buys, sells, fees, and any corporate actions. If you’re using a tax tool, import the CSV and let it do the categorization. If you’re doing it manually, create columns for each category.

Calculate your capital gains using FIFO. Match each sell transaction against the earliest unmatched buy transaction for the same security. Account for fees on both sides. Convert any non-euro transactions using the ECB exchange rate for the transaction date.

For accumulating ETFs, look up the deemed distributed income from the issuer’s website. Add this to your dividend income total. Don’t skip this step. It’s the one most people miss, and it’s the one most likely to create a discrepancy with DAC7 data.

Fill out your Anlage KAP with the totals. Dividends and deemed distributions go in one section, capital gains in another. The tax calculation at 27.5% is automatic. If you have foreign tax credits from US dividend withholding, claim them on the appropriate line.

Check whether you need to file an Anlage AUS. If your total foreign account holdings exceeded 50,000 euros at any point during the year, you do. Report the December 31 value of your DEGIRO account.

File by the deadline. Set a reminder for May 1 if you’re filing electronically. Don’t wait until June 30. Technical issues with ELSTER are common near deadlines, and you don’t want to be the person scrambling at 11:59 PM.

Looking Ahead: What Might Change

Tax law isn’t static. The EU is working on further harmonization of investment taxation, and Austria periodically adjusts its rules. The DAC7 framework may expand to include more data points or lower reporting thresholds.

There’s also ongoing discussion about a potential EU-wide withholding tax framework that could simplify cross-border investment taxation. If implemented, this could reduce the burden on investors using foreign brokers like DEGIRO. But this is years away, if it happens at all.

For now, the rules are what they are. DEGIRO provides data. You report it. The Finanzamt checks it against what DEGIRO reported to them. The system works best when your numbers match. Make sure they do.

FAQ

Does DEGIRO automatically deduct Austrian capital gains tax? – DEGIRO tax report Austria

No. DEGIRO does not withhold Austrian KESt on capital gains. You are responsible for calculating and reporting your capital gains on your Austrian tax return. DEGIRO may withhold US dividend withholding tax at 15% if your W-8BEN is on file, but this is separate from Austrian tax obligations.

Do I need to report my DEGIRO account to the Finanzamt even if I didn’t sell anything? – DEGIRO tax report Austria

If you only held positions and received no dividends, you may not have taxable income to report. However, if your total foreign account holdings exceeded 50,000 euros at any point during the year, you still need to file the Anlage AUS to declare the account’s existence and value.

How do I handle accumulating ETFs from DEGIRO on my Austrian tax return?

You need to report the deemed distributed income, ausschüttungsgleiche Erträge, for each accumulating ETF you hold. DEGIRO does not provide this figure. You must obtain it from the ETF issuer’s website. Add this amount to your dividend income on the Anlage KAP and pay 27.5% KESt on it.

What exchange rate should I use for US stock transactions on DEGIRO?

Use the European Central Bank’s reference exchange rate for the date of each transaction. This is the official rate accepted by the Austrian Finanzamt. DEGIRO’s internal conversion rate includes a markup and should not be used for tax calculations.

Can I deduct DEGIRO fees from my taxable gains?

Yes. Transaction fees paid on both purchases and sales can be included in your cost basis or deducted from your sale proceeds. This reduces your taxable gain. Keep records of all fees, as they appear in your DEGIRO transaction history.

What happens if I don’t report my DEGIRO income?

Under DAC7, DEGIRO reports your account activity to Austrian tax authorities. If you fail to report income that DEGIRO has reported, the Finanzamt will likely identify the discrepancy. Penalties for unreported income can include back taxes, interest, and fines of up to 10% of the tax owed. Voluntary correction before being contacted reduces or eliminates penalties.

Is it better to use an Austrian broker instead of DEGIRO for tax purposes?

Austrian brokers like Flatex or Trade Republic handle KESt withholding automatically and provide tax documents that integrate with ELSTER. This saves significant effort. DEGIRO offers lower fees and a broader product selection but requires more manual tax work. The right choice depends on your trading frequency and how much you value convenience versus cost.

Sources

• Austrian Ministry of Finance Tax Guide
• DEGIRO Tax Documentation Help
• European Commission DAC7 Directive

Conclusion

Getting your DEGIRO tax report right in Austria isn’t glamorous work. It’s not the reason anyone starts investing. But it’s the part that keeps you out of trouble and keeps more of your money in your pocket.

The core message is simple. DEGIRO gives you data. You turn that data into accurate tax filings. DAC7 means the Finanzamt can verify your numbers against DEGIRO’s reports, so accuracy matters more than ever.

Start by downloading your documents early. Calculate your gains carefully using FIFO. Don’t forget about accumulating ETF deemed distributions. File your Anlage KAP and, if needed, your Anlage AUS by the deadline. And if your situation is complex, don’t hesitate to bring in a Steuerberater.

The investors who do well with this aren’t the ones with the best stock picks. They’re the ones who keep good records and file on time. Be that person.