Austria: from 1 October a receipt on the display is enough, including for Bankomat card payments

What happened

On 1 October 2026 the new version of § 132a of Austria’s Bundesabgabenordnung (BAO, Federal Fiscal Code) comes into force, adopted with the Abgabenänderungsgesetz 2025 (BGBl. I No. 97/2025). The receipt must still be created and signed by the cash register, but according to the Ministry of Finance it may be provided digitally: by email, app or download, or shown on a customer-facing display from which the customer scans or photographs it. The type of receipt issued must be documented in the till system. Customers and officers of the tax authority can demand a paper receipt, immediately or until closing time on the same day. The receipt lottery via FinanzOnline, planned as an accompanying measure, is not coming: the Finance Committee adjourned the motion in January, and in May the Ministry of Finance cancelled it, according to ORF.

Who is affected

All businesses in Austria subject to the cash register obligation, i.e. from 15,000 euros annual turnover per business where cash sales exceed 7,500 euros. Important for card acceptance: under § 131b BAO, payment by Bankomat or credit card also counts as cash payment.

Assessment

The most common mistake I see among merchants: anyone who only takes cards believes they have no cash sales. In Austria that is wrong, the Bankomat card counts like a banknote. So the new receipt rule hits exactly the businesses that have long run their till digitally, and the slip from the card terminal is not a signed cash register receipt. It does not replace it.

The relief itself is well designed, because it leaves the choice with the business and the right to paper with the customer. In practice it hinges on a question the law does not address: does the till have a display the customer can see while paying at the terminal? Many small businesses do not. And the right to paper until closing time means the printer stays in the shop. Incidentally, Germany is planning the same only for 2028; the federal cabinet adopted the draft on 23 September.

What to do now

1. Check with the till provider whether the cash register can issue digital receipts and document the type of receipt issued.
2. Walk through the payment flow at the counter: where does the customer see the QR code while paying by card?
3. Do not remove the receipt printer, paper on request remains mandatory.