The current minimum: EUR 10,000
The share capital (Stammkapital) of an Austrian GmbH is the company's total registered capital. It must be at least EUR 10,000, and each shareholder's contribution (Stammeinlage) must be at least EUR 70 under § 6 Abs. 1 GmbHG. The EUR 10,000 minimum has applied since 1 January 2024, when it replaced the earlier EUR 35,000.
Three paragraphs of the GmbH Act (GmbHG) set the figures a founder works with: § 6 sets the minimum capital and the minimum contribution, § 6a the share that must come in cash, and § 10 the cash that must be paid in before the company is entered in the Firmenbuch, the companies register. The table lists each figure with its paragraph. For what a GmbH is as a legal form, see the separate guide; the formation procedure is on the page on GmbH Formation in Austria.
GmbH capital figures in Austria, each with the provision that sets it, as in force on 28 September 2026.
| Item | Figure | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum share capital (Stammkapital) | EUR 10,000 | § 6 Abs. 1 GmbHG |
| Minimum contribution per shareholder (Stammeinlage) | EUR 70 | § 6 Abs. 1 GmbHG |
| Share capital covered by cash contributions | At least half | § 6a Abs. 1 GmbHG |
| Cash paid in before registration, per cash contribution | At least one quarter, and at least EUR 70 | § 10 Abs. 1 GmbHG |
| Cash paid in before registration, in total | At least EUR 5,000 | § 10 Abs. 1 GmbHG |
| Share capital on the simplified route | Exactly EUR 10,000, of which EUR 5,000 in cash | § 9a Abs. 2 GmbHG |
| Minimum corporate tax per full calendar quarter | 5% of one quarter of EUR 10,000: EUR 125 | § 24 Abs. 4 Z 1 KStG |
| Minimum share capital before 1 January 2024 | EUR 35,000 | 2024 reform (WKO) |
Source: Austrian Federal Legal Information System, GmbH Act (GmbHG) §§ 6, 6a, 9a, 10 and Corporate Income Tax Act (KStG) § 24; Austrian Economic Chambers (WKO), GmbH guide. Consulted September 2026.
Stammkapital vs Stammeinlage
The two German terms name two different things. Stammkapital is the total: the capital of the company as a whole, at least EUR 10,000. Stammeinlage is one shareholder's part of that total, the contribution each shareholder takes on, at least EUR 70 (§ 6 Abs. 1 GmbHG). A GmbH with one shareholder has one contribution; with several shareholders, the share capital is divided among their contributions.
The EUR 70 floor applies to each contribution on its own. It sets the smallest stake the articles can give any one shareholder, while the EUR 10,000 minimum applies to the sum of all the contributions together.
At least half of the share capital must be fully covered by cash contributions (bar zu leistende Stammeinlagen) under § 6a Abs. 1 GmbHG. On the statutory minimum, that means at least EUR 5,000 of the EUR 10,000 comes from cash contributions. This cash share is a floor on how the capital is raised. It is not the amount that must be in the bank on the day of registration; that second figure comes from § 10, set out further down this page.
A different company form sets a lower floor: a FlexCo contribution may be as low as EUR 1 under § 3 FlexKapGG. The two forms are set side by side in the GmbH vs FlexCo guide.
Stammkapital and Stammeinlage
On the statutory minimum
Cash cover: § 6a Abs. 1 GmbHG. The three contributions are an illustration; a GmbH with one shareholder has one.
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What changed on 1 January 2024?
The reform effective 1 January 2024 lowered the minimum share capital of a GmbH to EUR 10,000 (it had been EUR 35,000) and abolished the Gründungsprivilegierung (founding privilege), according to the Austrian Economic Chambers (WKO). With the minimum at EUR 10,000, the founding privilege was no longer needed. Figures of EUR 35,000 still found online describe the law as it stood before that date.
The lower capital also changed the minimum corporate tax (Mindestkörperschaftsteuer), because the tax is calculated from the statutory minimum capital. Under § 24 Abs. 4 Z 1 KStG, a company owes, for each full calendar quarter of unlimited tax liability, 5% of one quarter of the statutory minimum nominal capital of its legal form. For a GmbH that is 5% of EUR 2,500: EUR 125 per quarter.
The reduced amounts that once applied in a company's first years were in § 24 Abs. 4 Z 3 KStG, which was repealed by BGBl. I Nr. 200/2023. EUR 125 per quarter is therefore the ordinary amount in every year. Where the minimum tax paid exceeds the actual corporate tax, the excess is credited like an advance payment, without time limit, up to the amount by which the actual tax exceeds the minimum in later years (§ 24 Abs. 4 Z 4 KStG).
The wider tax position of the company is covered in the guide to GmbH taxes in Austria.
How much must be paid in cash before registration?
Before a GmbH is registered, at least one quarter of each cash contribution must be paid in, at least EUR 70 per contribution, and at least EUR 5,000 across all cash contributions together (§ 10 Abs. 1 GmbHG). All three conditions must be met at once.
On the statutory minimum, the EUR 5,000 total is the condition that decides. A GmbH with EUR 10,000 raised entirely in cash needs only EUR 2,500 to meet the one-quarter rule, so the EUR 5,000 floor sets the amount paid in. The share capital stays EUR 10,000; the cash paid in before registration is a separate, lower figure.
Where the money may be paid. The called-up amount can reach the company only as a credit with a credit institution: to an account of the company or of its managing directors (Geschäftsführer) at their free disposal, or to a notary's escrow account (Anderkonto) for onward transfer after registration (§ 10 Abs. 2 GmbHG). The statute names a domestic credit institution or a CRR credit institution within the meaning of § 9 BWG, so an EU or EEA bank operating in Austria under that provision is covered. The deposit service is described on Bank Account and Share-Capital Deposit for an Austrian GmbH.
E-money institutions: an open question. Section 10 names credit institutions and the notary as trustee. Whether a confirmation issued by an e-money institution satisfies § 10 is not settled, and this guide takes no position on it. Until it is settled, the statute's own wording is the only fixed point: a credit institution, or the notary.
The bank confirmation. The application to the Firmenbuch must declare that the cash contributions are paid in and freely available. Proof is in every case a written confirmation from a credit institution or from the notary as trustee, and that bank or notary is liable to the company for its accuracy (§ 10 Abs. 3 GmbHG). If taxes, fees or costs were paid out of the deposited amount, this must be shown by type and amount.
The managing directors' liability. The managing directors are personally and jointly liable for damage caused by false statements in the application, and those claims lapse five years after registration (§ 10 Abs. 4 and 5 GmbHG).
On this route the bank verifies the founder's identity in person against an official photo ID and takes the specimen signature. After a waiver of banking secrecy it sends the bank confirmation, the ID copy and the specimen signature directly to the Firmenbuch (Austrian start-up portal, Stammeinlage und Bankverfahren). The service itself is described on the online GmbH formation page, and the guide on how to set up a GmbH in Austria step by step places the deposit in the full formation sequence.
The cash contribution under § 10 GmbHG
- Cash paid in, § 10 Abs. 1At least one quarter of each cash contribution, at least EUR 70 each, at least EUR 5,000 in total
- Where, § 10 Abs. 2An account of the company or of the managing directors with a credit institution, or a notary's escrow account
- Proof, § 10 Abs. 3Written confirmation of a credit institution or of the notary as trustee, liable to the company for its accuracy
- Application to the FirmenbuchDeclaration that the cash is paid in and freely available
§ 9a route: share capital exactly EUR 10,000, of which EUR 5,000 in cash (§ 9a Abs. 2 GmbHG).
If your GmbH was formed before 2024
A GmbH formed under the old rules may still carry founding-privilege clauses in its articles. Those clauses must be deleted when the articles are next amended, according to the Austrian Economic Chambers (WKO). The trigger is the next amendment of the articles, whatever that amendment concerns.
The minimum corporate tax does not depend on the capital a company actually holds. Section 24 Abs. 4 Z 1 KStG takes the statutory minimum of the legal form, so the EUR 125 per full calendar quarter applies to a GmbH formed before 2024 in the same way as to one formed today.
The amendment procedure, including changing a managing director or the seat, is described on its own page.
Sources
The rules on this page are taken from these official sources, consulted in September 2026:
- Austrian Federal Legal Information System (RIS), GmbH Act (GmbHG), consolidated version: § 6, § 6a, § 9a and § 10.
- Austrian Federal Legal Information System (RIS), Corporate Income Tax Act (KStG), § 24, and FlexCo Act (FlexKapGG), § 3.
- Austrian Economic Chambers (WKO), Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH): the 2024 capital reform and the founding privilege.
- Austrian start-up portal (USP), Gründungsfahrplan GmbH und FlexKapG and Stammeinlage und Bankverfahren: the eGründung and the bank procedure.
FAQ
What is the minimum capital for a GmbH in Austria?
The minimum share capital of an Austrian GmbH is EUR 10,000 under § 6 Abs. 1 GmbHG, and each shareholder's contribution must be at least EUR 70. Before registration, at least EUR 5,000 must be paid in cash under § 10 Abs. 1 GmbHG. The EUR 10,000 minimum has applied since 1 January 2024.
What is Stammkapital?
Stammkapital is the German term for the share capital of a GmbH: the company's total registered capital. For an Austrian GmbH it must be at least EUR 10,000 under § 6 Abs. 1 GmbHG. It is made up of the shareholders' contributions, and at least half of it must be covered by cash contributions under § 6a Abs. 1 GmbHG.
What is a Stammeinlage?
A Stammeinlage is one shareholder's contribution to the share capital of a GmbH. Under § 6 Abs. 1 GmbHG each contribution must be at least EUR 70, and together the contributions make up the Stammkapital of at least EUR 10,000. Before registration, at least one quarter of each cash contribution, and at least EUR 70, must be paid in.
What is another name for share capital?
In an Austrian GmbH the share capital is the Stammkapital, the term the GmbH Act uses in § 6. In English it is also called registered capital. A single shareholder's part of it is the Stammeinlage, or capital contribution. The Firmenbuch, the Austrian companies register, checks both figures when the company is incorporated.
What is a GmbH in Austria?
A GmbH, Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung, is the Austrian limited liability company, governed by the GmbH Act (GmbHG) and entered in the Firmenbuch. It needs a share capital of at least EUR 10,000 and at least EUR 70 per contribution. It can have a single shareholder: under the simplified § 9a route, that shareholder is also the sole managing director.
Is the minimum capital of an Austrian GmbH still EUR 35,000?
No. The reform effective 1 January 2024 lowered the minimum share capital to EUR 10,000 (it had been EUR 35,000) and abolished the founding privilege (Gründungsprivilegierung). Pages quoting EUR 35,000 describe the earlier law. Existing GmbHs whose articles still contain founding-privilege clauses must delete them the next time they amend their articles.
How much cash must be paid in before a GmbH is registered?
Under § 10 Abs. 1 GmbHG: at least one quarter of each cash contribution, at least EUR 70 per contribution and at least EUR 5,000 in total. On a EUR 10,000 capital raised in cash, one quarter comes to EUR 2,500, so the EUR 5,000 total decides. The simplified § 9a route fixes the cash at EUR 5,000.
What does "paid-up share capital" mean?
Paid-up share capital is the part of the subscribed contributions actually paid to the company. It can be lower than the Stammkapital in the articles: an Austrian GmbH with EUR 10,000 share capital can be registered with EUR 5,000 paid in cash, the total that § 10 Abs. 1 GmbHG requires across all cash contributions.
Where must the share capital be paid in?
Under § 10 Abs. 2 GmbHG, only as a credit with a credit institution: to an account of the company or of its managing directors at their free disposal, or to a notary's escrow account (Anderkonto) for transfer after registration. The institution is a domestic credit institution or a CRR credit institution within the meaning of § 9 BWG.
Can an e-money institution confirm the capital deposit?
The point is not settled. Section 10 GmbHG names a domestic credit institution or a CRR credit institution under § 9 BWG as the place of payment, and a credit institution or the notary as trustee as the issuer of the written confirmation. Whether a confirmation from an e-money institution meets that requirement is an open question.
Who is liable if the capital confirmation is wrong?
The credit institution or the notary that issued the written confirmation is liable to the company for its accuracy under § 10 Abs. 3 GmbHG. Separately, the managing directors are personally and jointly liable for damage caused by false statements in the application, and those claims lapse five years after registration.
How much capital does the simplified § 9a formation require?
Exactly EUR 10,000, of which EUR 5,000 is paid in cash, under § 9a Abs. 2 GmbHG. The route is open to a GmbH whose only shareholder is a natural person who is also its sole managing director. The bank verifies the founder's identity in person and sends the bank confirmation directly to the Firmenbuch.
Is there a minimum corporate tax linked to the share capital?
Yes. Under § 24 Abs. 4 Z 1 KStG a company owes, for each full calendar quarter of unlimited tax liability, 5% of one quarter of the statutory minimum capital of its legal form. For a GmbH that is EUR 125 per quarter in every year, since the reduced first-years amounts were repealed by BGBl. I Nr. 200/2023.
Related service
Share-capital deposit and bank account. Where the capital is paid in and confirmed: Bank Account and Share-Capital Deposit for an Austrian GmbH.
GmbH formation. The formation itself, from the articles to the register entry: GmbH Formation in Austria.
GmbH & Co KG. For founders forming a GmbH & Co KG rather than a stand-alone GmbH: GmbH & Co KG Formation in Austria.