Austria: crypto taxes when leaving Germany

• Disposal: Gains from new holdings: KESt of 27.5 % regardless of holding period, no threshold. Old holdings remain tax-free. Losses can be offset against other KESt-liable investment income of the same year. Classic NFTs not accepted as a medium of exchange fall outside this regime: the progressive rate and the one-year speculation period apply; within the period a threshold of €440 applies, and losses can't be offset against other income.
• Exchange: Crypto-for-crypto isn't a realization and triggers no tax.
• Staking, airdrops, hard forks: Genuine consensus staking, airdrops and hard forks aren't taxed on receipt (acquisition value of zero euros); on a later sale the full proceeds are subject to the 27.5 %. A hard fork after 28 February 2021 creates new holdings, even for coins from old holdings.
• Lending, mining, liquidity mining: KESt of 27.5 % already on receipt.
• Method: Since 1 January 2023, the moving average price (average cost basis) is the statutory method, per cryptocurrency and per wallet address; FIFO and LIFO are no longer permitted for new holdings.
• Declaration: Anyone trading through domestic exchanges generally doesn't need to handle the tax themselves, as the provider remits the KESt automatically; for foreign exchanges or wallets, Schedule E1kv, due 30 June of the following year.

Year of departure

• German unlimited tax liability only ends once residence and habitual abode are actually given up, not on deregistration. In Austria it arises as soon as a residence or habitual abode — generally more than six months — is established in the country. In case of dual residency, the DTT's tie-breaker rules decide (permanent home, center of vital interests, habitual abode).
• If the German home has already been given up at the time of a sale, the gain isn't domestic income under § 49 EStG.

First year after leaving

• Emigrating from Germany to Austria doesn't itself trigger any tax (different for tokens held as German business assets: § 16(3a) EStG); existing holdings keep their acquisition date.
• Step-up: when Austria's taxing right arises for the first time, the fair market value at the time of relocation replaces the historical acquisition cost; only the increase in value after the move is taxed. Anyone who previously left Austria with a non-finalized exit-tax liability and returns keeps the original acquisition cost, though capped at fair market value.
• Tokens from an earlier commercial activity (e.g. mining): Austria only examines its own period from relocation onward and its own old-holdings/new-holdings cutoff; the German classification as business assets doesn't carry across the border. Anyone who generated the tokens before 1 March 2021 and holds them as a private individual after relocating sells them in Austria tax-free as old holdings; tokens generated later are taxed at 27.5 % KESt on sale. Continuing German commercial status is only a consideration if the activity is actually continued in Austria; in that case, the business rules of Austrian law apply. If the tokens are still held as German business assets on emigration, because the mining activity was merely stopped at the time without a formal cessation of business being declared, § 16(3a) EStG deems a cessation of business in Germany and discloses the hidden reserves.

More than ten years

• The regime is unchanged on the current position; changes are possible.
• No wealth, inheritance or gift tax (abolished in 1994 and with effect from 31 July 2008 respectively); a notification obligation under the Gift Notification Act remains.
• Because the treaty was terminated, German extended unlimited inheritance tax liability applies to German nationals if the deceased or donor was fully taxable in Germany within the last five years before the inheritance or gift. After more than ten years, this window has expired.

Moving on to a third country

• For crypto new holdings, losing Austria's taxing right counts as a deemed disposal at market value (§ 27(6) EStG).
• EU/EEA: on a timely application (subject to a deadline, in the tax return for the year of departure), non-assessment until a sale or a further move to a third country. Third country: the hidden reserves are taxed immediately at 27.5 %.
• Since 1 July 2026, where non-assessment applies and income exceeds €100,000 in total, annual proof that no assessment-triggering event has occurred (in writing or via FinanzOnline, each time by the end of the following year); without any proof, it counts as an actual disposal (tax due immediately).

Returning to Germany

• From Austria's perspective, this is emigration to an EU member state and generally triggers the same exit taxation: non-assessment only on application; anyone who misses it risks an immediate Austrian tax on unrealized gains from crypto new holdings.
• Germany: unlimited tax liability again, no new valuation. Positions held for longer than a year in total are tax-free under § 23 EStG; the deferred Austrian tax is unaffected.
• If the Austrian tax was assessed and paid: the DTT's value linkage (Art. 13(6)) was deleted without replacement effective 1 January 2024; no crediting is provided for, and for crypto assets under § 23 EStG Germany has no step-up on relocation. On a sale within the one-year period, the same increase in value can be captured twice. Example (purchase €30,000, market value €50,000 on return, sale €70,000): €5,500 Austria plus €16,800 Germany (42 % marginal rate) = €22,300, nearly 56 % of the €40,000 gain. Proceedings on exit taxation are pending before the ECJ; they change nothing about the legal position for decisions due today.