Austria Standard Audit File for Tax SAF-T relaunch 2024

Austria to relaunch its SAF-T regime March 2024; was one of the earliest to adopt the OECD’s format for exchanging data with the tax authorities

Austria’s is relaunching its version of the OECD’s Standard Audit File for Tax (SAF-T). This is expected to be launched from March 2024. The current version has effectively been dormant in the past few years as a on-demand only regime. It is likely that the revamp will include mandatory element to supplement VAT returns and as an alternative to VAT e-invoicing. Although Austria is said to be still considering a form of domestic e-invoicing or real-time digital reporting. The existing SAF-T is relatively light in data demands compared to countries such as Poland; so likely to be far more invasive information requirements, too.

Austria introduced its version of the SAF-T in 2009. This is a transactional level analysis (XML Schema Definition (XSD)) of accounting and tax data in a standard schema to enable simple and efficient transfer of date to the tax authorities.

Austrian SAF-T requirements

The Austrian Bundesministerium für Finanzen tax office may request a SAF-T report on a on-demand basis. This is generally ahead of a VAT audit. The Austrian SAF-T is organised as follows:

• Header
• Enterprise master files:
  • General Ledger, Customer, Supplier, Owner master files
• General Ledger Entries
• Inventory Stock Levels
• Source Documents
• Fixed Asset Statement

Check which countries have implemented SAF-T.

OECD Standard Audit File for Tax (SAF-T)

The OECD launched v1 of SAF-T as a standard for tax authorities and taxpayers to efficient exchange information. It is XML-based. Since May 2005, SAF-T is recommended in the following five formats (per v2, 2010):

1. General Ledger: journals;
2. Accounts Receivable: customer master files; invoices; payments;
3. Accounts Payable: supplier master file; invoices; payments;
4. Fixed Assets: asset master files; depreciation and revaluation; and
5. Inventory: product master files; movements.

If you need to complete SAF-T or returns, our VAT Filer can accurately populate any country submission with verified VAT or GST data from our VAT Calculator or VAT Auditor services

Standard Audit File for Tax SAF-T countries