COFACE’s member organisation, Katholischer Familienverband Österreichs (KFÖ), warns about the possible abolition of the family bonus in Austria. The organisation is raising awareness of how this could affect families’ financial stability.
The Family bonus plus was introduced in Austria in 2019 as a measure allowing parents with children to pay less income tax than childless individuals, and therefore have more money available for everyday expenses. The Family bonus plus ensures that families receive financial relief and can be claimed once a year as part of the employee tax assessment.
As the organisation highlighted, abolishing it would place a heavy burden on working parents, especially for low-income families and in times of rising inflation.
Peter Mender, President of Katholischer Familienverband Österreichs (KFÖ), pointed out that families have already had to accept significant losses:
While pensions, salaries and social benefits are regularly adjusted for inflation, families will have to forgo an indexation of family allowances and childcare benefits in 2026 and 2027 for austerity reasons.
In this context, the organisation stresses that the family bonus is not just a subsidy, but a fair consideration of children within the tax system. KFÖ calls for maintaining the family bonus as part of a fair and balanced approach to family policy.
Read more about the statement of Katholischer Familienverband Österreichs (KFÖ).
