Deducting application costs: What counts for travel, documents and supporting evidence

A professional photo, printouts, train tickets, and perhaps an overnight stay: during a long job search, significant expenses can quickly add up. Many of these can be deducted as application costs, provided they are clearly related to the search for non-self-employed employment, are borne by you personally, and are sufficiently documented. A successful hiring is not strictly required for this.

However, application costs are not automatically fully reimbursed by the tax office. Furthermore, three paths must be distinguished: potential cost reimbursement by the inviting company, an AMS (Public Employment Service) interview allowance, and the consideration of self-borne costs in the employee tax assessment. This guide explains the differences, shows typical deductible expenses, and helps in building a verifiable collection of receipts. It does not replace individual tax or legal advice.

Why job search expenses can be income-related expenses (Werbungskosten)

According to Federal Ministry of Finance, income-related expenses are work-related expenditures that serve to acquire, secure, or maintain income. A serious search for a new job is aimed at future income from non-self-employed work. Therefore, corresponding expenses can be considered as anticipated income-related expenses.

The decisive factor is the recognizable connection to specific applications. An invitation, sent documents, email correspondence, an appointment, or a traceable application overview show that it did not remain a general intention to change jobs. Even an unsuccessful application can count. A current one in the Decision published in the BMF's Findok database confirms that proven job interviews and travel expenses are not excluded solely because no employment contract was concluded.

This does not only apply during unemployment. Employees can also apply for a new position and have work-related expenses. Anyone who systematically prepares their documents for this can use the jobspot.at checklist for Reviewing application documents as well.

Three ways for application costs: reimbursement, subsidy, or tax

1. Cost reimbursement by the inviting company

Travel and accommodation costs for a personal interview may, under certain circumstances, be reimbursed by the potential employer. The Economic Chamber on interview costs refers to the case law of the Supreme Court: If a company expressly requests a person to attend a personal interview, this can give rise to a claim for reimbursement of the necessary expenses.

However, the company may expressly exclude reimbursement in whole or in part in the invitation. Anyone who appears in person solely on the basis of an advertisement without a specific invitation cannot simply assume that expenses will be covered. Therefore, the question of costs should be clarified in writing before a long journey. A neutral phrasing is:

Thank you for the invitation. As my travel involves significant costs, I would like to clarify briefly before booking whether and to what extent the company will cover these expenses.

The response should be kept with your records. If the company reimburses an expense, the same amount may not additionally be claimed as self-borne income-related expenses.

2. AMS Interview Assistance

For job seekers in financial distress, there is, under certain conditions, the AMS interview, employment, or apprenticeship commencement allowance. For interviews outside the region, it can partially cover verifiable costs for travel and, if applicable, accommodation and meals.

The timing is important: The AMS requires contact to be made in good time before the job interview or the start of employment. The funding is not a retroactive standard reimbursement, and there is no automatic legal entitlement. Anyone registered with the AMS should therefore first clarify via MeinAMS or with the responsible office whether the appointment is eligible for funding, and only then purchase a non-refundable ticket.

Those who have just lost a job can find the most important first steps in the article Registering as unemployed: What matters immediatelyAn AMS benefit must also be deducted from one’s own costs in the tax calculation.

3. Deduction in the employee tax assessment

Costs that are not covered by an employer, the AMS or another agency can, if sufficiently related to one’s work, be claimed as work-related expenses. The tax office examines their nature, amount and documentation. The deduction reduces taxable income; it is not a one-to-one reimbursement of the bill.

For active employees, an annual flat-rate deduction for work-related expenses of €132 is already taken into account in payroll. Costs that are offset against this allowance therefore only have an additional tax effect if the total corresponding work-related expenses for the year exceed €132.

Which job application costs are typically deductible

There is no rigid list covering every conceivable application. What matters is the specific context, reasonableness and personal burden. The following items are often relevant:

Expense	What should be documented	Important limit
Printouts, copies, paper, application folders and postage	Invoice and association with specific applications	General stock purchases without an application-related connection are harder to justify
Professional application photo	Invoice from the studio and timing in relation to the job search	Private portraits or family photos are not tax-deductible
Fees for profession-specific portfolios or job application platforms	Invoice, service description and applications used	Private or generally usable subscriptions must be separated
Train, bus, flight or taxi costs to the interview	Ticket, invitation, date, route and purpose of travel	Only costs personally borne and incurred for professional reasons
Journeys by private car	Date, company, route, kilometers and record of conversation	No double charging for vehicle costs already covered by a flat-rate
Necessary overnight stay	Hotel bill, invitation, itinerary and justification	Exclude private extensions and accompanying persons
Telephone and Internet	A verifiable business share or specific individual costs	Deduct the private portion; no arbitrarily estimated full deduction

Documents, photos and digital applications

Even a purely digital application is not entirely free. Costs for a portfolio used exclusively for professional purposes, specific file conversion, a shipping service, or an application-related printout can be allocated more easily than the general monthly fee for a private internet connection. For devices and connections used for mixed purposes, a reasonable private portion must be excluded.

Purchasing expensive new devices solely for a job application does not automatically allow a full immediate write-off. Computers and accessories follow their own rules on professional use, private share, and, where applicable, depreciation. The BMF guide "ABC of Income-Related Expenses" explains this distinction in detail.

Travel costs for the job interview

For public transport, the ticket actually purchased is the obvious proof. Those who use a private car can, for business-related trips, use the official mileage allowance under the conditions of the current regulations. According to oesterreich.gv.at on the mileage allowance the rate for cars in 2026 remains €0.50 per kilometer.

The mileage allowance already covers numerous vehicle costs, including fuel, depreciation, maintenance, insurance, parking fees and tolls. These items therefore must not be added again individually. A simple list with date, start and destination, kilometers driven, company and purpose of the interview is better than a lump-sum total reconstructed at year-end.

A job interview is not a business trip in the labor-law sense, because no employer is yet sending an existing employee on a trip. For tax classification, however, the journey to obtain a job can still be professionally motivated. The difference from travel under an existing employment relationship is explained in the jobspot.at articleBusiness trip, costs and mileage allowance.

Overnight accommodation and meals

If a multi-day or very long journey is necessary for a specific interview, overnight costs may be considered. Private additional nights, a vacation taken afterward, or the costs of a companion must be excluded. Per diem allowances for meals are not an automatic bonus for every job interview. Stricter conditions apply regarding distance, travel duration and the professionally motivated nature of the trip. For single-day appointments, per diems may be excluded even after a long journey.

Anyone unsure in such cases should not rely on flat maximum amounts, but should fully document the trip and seek expert advice before filing their tax return.

What normally does not count as job-application expenses

The desire to present oneself professionally at an interview does not automatically make private living expenses work-related. Typical exclusions or risky items are:

Suit, skirt suit, or regular shoes: Civilian clothing is generally for private use and, according to the BMF, is not tax-deductible even when it is expected at work.
Hairdresser, make-up and personal care: These expenses are generally related to private lifestyle.
Restaurant visit before or after the interview: The bill does not become a work-related expense solely because of the appointment.
Unsubstantiated flat-rate allowances: Ten applications do not automatically justify a made-up amount per application.
Reimbursed costs: Company payments, AMS benefits and other tax-free reimbursements reduce the out-of-pocket expense.
Private travel portions: Anyone who combines the interview with a weekend vacation must separate business and private expenses.

This is how a reliable list of applications and expenses is created

The best receipt collection begins during the job search, not only at the employee tax assessment. A simple spreadsheet is enough. Useful columns are:

Date of application and company
Job title
Date and location of the interview
Type of expense and invoice amount
Kilometres driven or ticket number
Reimbursement by company, AMS, or another agency
Remaining out-of-pocket amount
Filename of the receipt and the invitation

Save the email invitation, ticket, invoice, and proof of payment together. For car trips the route should be plausible. For an unsuccessful application, the rejection is also helpful but not necessarily the only proof. What matters is the overall picture of a serious, outwardly visible job search.

Receipts are generally not attached to the electronic declaration immediately. However, the BMF requires them to be kept for seven years so they can be presented on request. If you only collect screenshots, make sure the date, amount, provider, and service remain legible.

Enter application expenses in FinanzOnline

The employee tax assessment can be submitted via FinanzOnline or using form L 1. The current FinanzOnline demo area for work-related expenses unterscheidet unter anderem beruflich veranlasste Reisekosten in Kennzahl 721 und sonstige Werbungskosten in Kennzahl 724. Welche konkrete Ausgabe in welches Feld gehört, hängt von ihrer Art ab.

In practice, this order is recommended:

Group all costs for the calendar year by type.
Subtract reimbursements and subsidies.
Sum travel expenses and other application costs separately.
Only enter the annual amounts you paid yourself.
Keep a detailed breakdown ready in case of a possible inquiry.

A no-application employee tax assessment does not automatically take individually incurred application costs into account. Anyone who wishes to claim such expenses must submit a declaration themselves or check an already issued automatic assessment within the prescribed deadline and, if necessary, respond.

Why 500 euros in expenses does not mean a 500-euro tax credit

Work-related expenses reduce the taxable base. How large the actual relief is depends, among other things, on income and the marginal tax rate. In addition, there is the already-considered flat allowance for work-related expenses of 132 euros.

A simplified example: An employee has a total of 400 euros in work-related expenses that are applied against the allowance. Compared with the 132 euros already accounted for, an additional 268 euros take effect. At an assumed marginal tax rate of 30 percent, the additional tax relief would be roughly 80 euros. The actual tax assessment may differ because of other income, deductions and work-related expenses.

The benefit of a clear itemization therefore does not lie in an apparent full reimbursement, but in correctly accounting for all eligible costs.

Three practical examples

Case 1: Train travel with an explicit exclusion of costs

A job applicant is invited to Salzburg. The invitation states that travel expenses will not be covered. He buys a train ticket for 86 euros, attends the interview and saves the invitation, ticket and payment receipt. Since he pays the amount himself, he can include it as a work-related trip in his tax return.

Case 2: Car trip with partial reimbursement

A female applicant drives a total of 280 kilometers to an interview. At €0.50 per kilometer, that amounts to €140. The company reimburses €100. For her own tax return, at most €40 remain; parking or toll costs already covered by the mileage allowance are not additionally claimed.

Case 3: Small document costs without further advertising costs

120 euros are incurred for photos, printouts, and postage. There are no other deductible advertising costs. Since the annual flat rate of 132 euros has already been taken into account, this alone is unlikely to result in any additional tax effect. The receipts can still be kept in case further costs are added in the same year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do costs also count in the event of a rejection?

Yes, a successful hiring is not mandatory. However, the serious intention to apply and the connection of the expenditure must be credible and, if possible, documented.

Can I deduct application costs despite having an existing job?

In principle, costs for a serious search for a new employment relationship can also be professionally motivated. The application does not have to be made from unemployment.

Do I have to send every invoice to the tax office?

No. Receipts are generally not attached to the employee tax assessment without being asked, but must be kept for seven years and presented upon request.

What applies to an online job interview?

Directly attributable, self‑funded costs can be reviewed. For internet, smartphone, or computer that are used privately anyway, only a verifiable work‑related proportion is possible. A single video conference does not automatically justify deducting the full annual costs.

Should I ask the company or the tax office first?

With a personal invitation, you should first clarify whether the company will cover the costs. Jobseekers should also check for possible AMS assistance before the appointment. Only the remaining personal expense should then be included in the tax return.

Conclusion: First clarify reimbursement, then document the personal contribution

Application expenses can be tax‑relevant in Austria if they are concrete, professionally related, self‑paid and verifiable. Especially important are travel costs, necessary travel expenses and directly attributable documents. Ordinary clothing, personal grooming and private portions of trips are generally excluded.

The practical order is simple: before a long journey, clarify the company's reimbursement of costs; if unemployed, check the AMS interview allowance in good time; and then record only the actual personal share. Create a spreadsheet for applications and receipts today — it takes only a few minutes and will save tedious reconstruction at the next employee tax assessment.

Deducting job application costs: What counts for travel, documents, and supporting evidence

Why job search expenses can be income-related expenses (Werbungskosten)

Three ways for application costs: reimbursement, subsidy, or tax