General costs of employer events not treated as monetary benefits to employees
The Austrian Federal Finance Court (BFG) held (decision RV/7102103/2022, dated November 13, 2024) that because certain events organized by an employer (i.e., Christmas party and company outing) were predominantly in the employer's own business interest (team building and networking between employees), the general costs for the events (e.g., room rental, decoration, staff, and artists) were not treated as monetary benefits to the employees participating in such events that could potentially exceed the €365 per employee, per calendar year tax-exempt amount. Rather, only the benefits directly consumed by the employees (in particular meals) were taken into account as monetary benefits.
In Austria, there is currently no supreme court case law on calculating the monetary benefit from participating in company events. An ordinary appeal against the decision was allowed and is now pending before the Administrative Court.
Read an February 2025 report (German) prepared by the KPMG member firm in Austria