Austria's €500 flat notary fee for single-person GmbH no longer covers founding-privilege clauses
Section 5(8a) of the Austrian Notary Tariff Act (NTG – Notariatstarifgesetz) has been revised: a single-person GmbH founding declaration that includes provisions on the founding privilege (Gründungsprivilegierung, §10b GmbHG) no longer qualifies for the €500 flat notary fee. Founders who include such clauses will instead pay the standard fee based on half the registered share capital.
What changed
Previously, §5(8a) NTG allowed the €500 flat notary fee even when the founding declaration included optional provisions on the founding privilege (Gründungsprivilegierung — a mechanism permitting lower initial cash contributions while keeping the registered share capital at the statutory minimum). That reference has now been removed. Only declarations limited to the mandatory minimum content, the appointment of the managing director, and optionally reimbursement of formation costs and profit-distribution rules still qualify for the €500 flat fee. Additionally, duplicate text blocks throughout the law have been editorially removed, and a cross-reference annotation (Anm. 8) has been added to item 10 of the value-fee tariff table.
Who is affected
Notaries in Austria and individuals (natural persons) founding a single-person GmbH who wish to include founding-privilege provisions in their formation declaration. Those who need the founding privilege to reduce their initial cash contribution will no longer benefit from the €500 fee cap.
What to look out for
If you plan to found a single-person GmbH and want to include founding-privilege clauses, ask your notary about the resulting fee — it will now be calculated on half the registered share capital rather than a flat €500. Founders who keep the declaration to the basic required content without founding-privilege provisions still qualify for the €500 flat fee.