VAT on food in Austria in 2026 changed on July 1: milk, yogurt, butter, eggs, fresh and frozen vegetables, apples, pears and stone fruit, rice, wheat flour, dry pasta, bread and salt dropped from 10 to 4.9%. The rest of food — meat, fish, cheese, tropical fruit, cured meats, chocolate or pastries — remains at 10%. And almost all drinks — mineral water, juices, soft drinks, coffee, tea, beer and wine — pay 20%, the standard rate.
Section 10 of the Austrian VAT law (Umsatzsteuergesetz 1994) divides food into three annexes. Annex 3 lists what goes to 4.9% and annex 1, what goes to 10%. Anything not listed in either pays 20%. The two annexes define each product by its Combined Nomenclature code, the EU tariff, so before knowing a food’s rate you need to know its customs code. The 4.9% rate is permanent: the law that created it does not set an end date. The standard rates are in our VAT in Austria in 2026 guide; here is the food-by-food breakdown.
What VAT applies to each food in Austria
| Food or service | VAT | Umsatzsteuergesetz |
|---|---|---|
| Milk with up to 6% fat, including lactose-free | 4.9% | annex 3, no. 1 |
| Yogurt and butter | 4.9% | annex 3, no. 2 and 3 |
| Fresh hen eggs | 4.9% | annex 3, no. 4 |
| Fresh vegetables: potatoes, tomatoes, onions, garlic, cabbages, lettuces, carrots, cucumbers, peppers, mushrooms… | 4.9% | annex 3, no. 5 |
| Frozen vegetables | 4.9% | annex 3, no. 6 |
| Fresh apples, pears, quinces, apricots, cherries, peaches and plums | 4.9% | annex 3, no. 7 |
| Rice, and wheat flour and semolina | 4.9% | annex 3, no. 8 and 9 |
| Uncooked, unfilled pasta, with or without egg | 4.9% | annex 3, no. 10 |
| Bread without honey, egg, cheese or fruit, with no more than 5% sugar and 5% fat | 4.9% | annex 3, no. 11 |
| Table salt | 4.9% | annex 3, no. 12 |
| Fresh and frozen meat | 10% | annex 1, no. 2 |
| Fish and seafood, including lobster and oysters | 10% | annex 1, no. 3 |
| Cheese, cream, curd cheese and honey | 10% | annex 1, no. 4 |
| Dried legumes and vegetables not covered by the 4.9% rate | 10% | annex 1, no. 5 |
| Bananas, oranges, grapes, strawberries, nuts and other fruit | 10% | annex 1, no. 6 |
| Olive oil, sunflower oil and other oils, and margarine | 10% | annex 1, no. 15 |
| Ham, cured meats and canned meat or fish | 10% | annex 1, no. 16 |
| Sugar, sweets and chocolate | 10% | annex 1, no. 17 and 18 |
| Pastries, biscuits, filled pasta and other cereal preparations | 10% | annex 1, no. 19 |
| Jams, vegetable preserves, sauces, soups and ice cream | 10% | annex 1, no. 20 and 21 |
| Infusions of mint, chamomile, lime blossom, sage or elderflower | 10% | annex 1, no. 13 |
| Still water that is not mineral water, and milk drinks that do not contain coffee or tea | 10% | annex 1, no. 22 and 23 |
| Food served in bars and restaurants | 10% | § 10.2.1.b |
| Wine and cider sold by the farmer who produces them | 13% | § 10.3 |
| Coffee and tea, whole bean, ground or in capsules | 20% | outside the annexes |
| Mineral water, juices, soft drinks and plant-based drinks | 20% | outside the annexes |
| Beer, wine and spirits | 20% | outside the annexes |
Rates verified on September 29, 2026 against § 10 and annexes 1 and 3 of the Umsatzsteuergesetz 1994 in the legal information system of the Republic of Austria (text amended by BGBl. I no. 37/2026), the note from the Austrian state business portal on the new 4.9% rate, and the European Commission’s TEDB database.
Three questions to classify a food in Austria:
- Is its customs code in annex 3 and is the product sold on its own? Then it goes at 4.9%.
- If not, is it in annex 1? Then it goes at 10%.
- If it is in neither, it goes at 20%. That is what happens with almost all drinks.
Bars and restaurants: 10% on food and 20% on almost all drinks
The 4.9% rate only applies when selling the product. If it is served in a bar, restaurant or catering service, the dish goes at 10% even if it is a tomato salad or a fried egg: that is clarified by the Austrian Ministry of Finance.
Served drinks work the same way as in a shop. Only what appears in annex 1 drops to 10%: milk, milk cocoa or tap water. Coffee, tea, soft drinks, mineral water, beer and wine go at 20%. So an Austrian restaurant bill can include two rates, and a menu with a drink must be split between them. In Spain, everything served goes at 10%, alcohol included.
Takeaway food is a sale of goods, but it almost never reaches 4.9%: a sandwich or a ready meal mixes ingredients from both annexes and stays at 10%.
The cases that cause the most doubt
The 4.9% rate only covers the product as such
Section 10.1a requires the sale to include only products from annex 3. If a 4.9% food item is sold together with another item that is not, the whole bundle does not qualify. The Ministry gives two examples: a bread roll with cured meat and milk cocoa go at 10%, even though bread and milk separately go at 4.9%. The same applies to a bag of salad with its dressing sachet.
Bread and flour: rye bread yes, rye flour no
Bread goes at 4.9% regardless of the grain, as long as it contains no honey, egg, cheese or fruit and does not exceed 5% sugar or 5% fat. Sliced bread with more fat, brioche, biscuits and pastries remain at 10%. Flour is the opposite: only wheat flour drops to 4.9%. Rye or corn flour stays at 10%, even though rye bread is at 4.9%.
Dairy: milk drops, cheese does not
Milk — including lactose-free —, yogurt and butter go at 4.9%. Cream, which exceeds 6% fat, cheese and curd cheese remain at 10%. Plant-based drinks, such as oat or soy drinks, are not milk for Austrian VAT purposes and are not listed in any annex: they go at 20%.
Fruit and vegetables: the species matters
Fresh and frozen vegetables go at 4.9%, mushrooms included. Truffles, shiitake mushrooms and matsutake mushrooms are excluded and remain at 10%. For fruit, 4.9% is only for pome and stone fruit: apple, pear, quince, apricot, cherry, peach, nectarine and plum. Bananas, oranges, grapes, strawberries and nuts go at 10%. For anyone selling Spanish fruit, oranges carry twice the VAT of apples.
Drinks: almost all at 20%
- Water: non-mineral and still, 10%; mineral water, sparkling spring water and flavoured water, 20%.
- Juices and soft drinks: 20%. Annex 1 expressly excludes fruit and vegetable juices.
- Coffee and tea: 20%. Herbal infusions such as chamomile or mint, however, go at 10%.
- Milk drinks: 10%, except those containing coffee or tea, such as bottled milky coffee, which pay 20%.
- Wine, beer and spirits: 20%. Only wine or cider sold by the farmer who produces it drops to 13%.
Baskets and assortments
A bundle with products of different types does not benefit from the 4.9% rate, because of the exclusive sale rule. If the basket combines olive oil, cheese and a bottle of wine, each product keeps its own rate only if it is sold and invoiced separately. Sometimes that pays off.
Selling food from Spain to customers in Austria
A Spanish shop shipping food to Austrian private customers applies Spanish VAT while its distance sales to consumers in other EU countries — added together — do not exceed €10,000 per year. Above that, it applies the Austrian VAT rate that corresponds to each food item and reports it through the one-stop shop (OSS), as explained by the European Commission. We cover this in the €10,000 threshold for distance sales.
Distance sales are supplies of goods, so the 4.9% rate also applies to online orders. And the same product does not fall into the same category in Spain and Austria:
| Product | VAT in Spain | VAT in Austria |
|---|---|---|
| Common bread and milk | 4% | 4.9% |
| Unfilled pasta and butter | 10% | 4.9% |
| Apples and pears | 4% | 4.9% |
| Oranges and bananas | 4% | 10% |
| Cheeses | 4% | 10% |
| Olive oil | 4% | 10% |
| Cured ham and cured meats | 10% | 10% |
| Coffee | 10% | 20% |
| Mineral water and juices with no added sugar | 10% | 20% |
| Wine | 21% | 20% |
| Drink served in a bar, except milk and tap water | 10% | 20% |
Spanish rates verified on September 17, 2026 against Article 91 of Law 37/1992 (boe.es) and the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) document “Tipos impositivos en el IVA 2026”. Details in VAT on food in Spain.
Three more things before sending the first parcel:
- Wine and beer: they count as distance sales for VAT purposes, but excise duties on alcohol are handled separately; the one-stop shop only covers VAT.
- Business customers: if you sell to an Austrian restaurant or shop with a valid VAT number and the goods leave Spain, the intra-Community supply is exempt and the customer self-assesses VAT in Austria. Check the number first with the VAT number checker in VIES.
- Customs code: in Austria the rate depends on the Combined Nomenclature code. Record each product’s code in your catalog before assigning it a tax class.
How to set it up in WooCommerce
The tax classes you already use for Spain do not match Austria. If you reuse the Spanish 4% “super-reduced” class, bread, milk and apples fit well into 4.9%, but cheese, olive oil and oranges would be undercharged: in Austria they go at 10%. And with the 10% “reduced” class, pasta and butter would be overcharged, while coffee and mineral water would be undercharged. What works is creating your own classes for the food groups that change rate between countries and assigning them product by product. For a quick check, the EU VAT calculator gives you the rate and amount according to the customer’s country, whether they are a business or a private customer, and the product type; for a specific food item, cross-check the result with the tables above.
Do you sell food to Austria from your WooCommerce?
When destination VAT applies, EHERO Woo VAT applies each country’s rate according to the product’s tax class (standard, reduced or super-reduced) and respects any custom classes you create for foods that change rate between countries. It also monitors the €10,000 threshold, validates the VAT number in VIES during checkout, and prepares the OSS report by country.
Frequently asked questions
What VAT do foods have in Austria in 2026?
From July 1, 4.9% for milk, yogurt, butter, eggs, vegetables, apples, pears, stone fruit, rice, wheat flour, dry pasta, bread and salt; 10% for the rest of food, and 20% for almost all drinks, including coffee, mineral water and juices.
Since when has the 4.9% rate applied in Austria?
Since July 1, 2026. The National Council, Austria’s lower house, approved the reform on May 21. It has no end date: it is a permanent cut from 10 to 4.9% for products in annex 3.
How much VAT is paid in a restaurant in Austria?
10% on food and 20% on almost all drinks: coffee, soft drinks, mineral water, beer and wine. Served milk and tap water go at 10%. The 4.9% rate does not apply in hospitality.
What VAT does coffee have in Austria?
20%, whole bean, ground or in capsules, and also when served in a café. Herbal infusions such as chamomile or mint go at 10%.
What VAT does wine have in Austria?
20%, in shops and in restaurants. Only wine sold by the farmer who produces it drops to 13%.
Continue here
- VAT in Austria in 2026: the new 4.9% and the other rates
- VAT on food in Spain in 2026: what goes at 4, 10 and 21%
- VAT on food in Italy in 2026: from 4% on bread to 22% on wine
- VAT rates by EU country in 2026: the full table
