Hausbrand and Abfindung
Distilling Schnapps in Austria: Abfindung and Hausbrand
In Austria, distilling is only permitted for those registered with the customs office as entitled to the Abfindung allowance, or for those operating a licensed bonded distillery. Private moonshining is prohibited. Only the farmers' Hausbrand—home distilling for personal use—remains tax-free: up to 27 liters of alcohol, or up to 50 liters in Tyrol and Vorarlberg.
Is It Legal to Distill Schnapps in Austria?
In Austria, too, distilling is not a hobby anyone can simply take up at will. Spirits are produced either in a licensed bonded distillery under customs supervision, or through the Abfindung procedure, which is mainly used by farmers. As in Germany, those entitled to the Abfindung must register their distilling runs with the customs office, and the tax is based on a flat-rate calculated quantity. Anyone distilling without registration is moonshining illegally, which is prohibited.
The key difference from Germany lies in personal consumption. Austria recognizes a tax-free Hausbrand—a quantity of alcohol a farmer may distill for household use without paying alcohol tax. This Hausbrand allowance is not a free pass for private individuals with their own still. It applies specifically to farmers entitled to the Abfindung and their households.
Hausbrand: How Much Is Tax-Free?
The quantities are set out by the Upper Austria Chamber of Agriculture in its overview from August 2026. A farmer and their spouse together receive 15 liters of alcohol tax-free. For each additional family member and each household employee, 3 more liters are added. The maximum amount is 27 liters. Higher limits apply in Tyrol and Vorarlberg: 6 liters per person, up to a maximum of 50 liters.
This always refers to liters of alcohol, meaning pure alcohol calculated at 100% ABV. Reduced to 40% ABV, 27 liters of alcohol works out to 67.5 liters of finished spirit, while 50 liters of alcohol corresponds to 125 liters. You'll often come across the figure of 51 liters cited as the upper limit, but this isn't supported by the Chamber's overview—the correct maximum is up to 50 liters of alcohol.
Why Tyrol and Vorarlberg receive higher allowances is often explained with a story: farmers there reportedly also needed the alcohol to care for their livestock in the past. This is folklore, however, not a documented justification from the legislature.
Alcohol tax in Austria: rates for 2026 and from 2027
Beyond home distilling, those entitled to the allowance (Abfindung) may distill at reduced rates. Per calendar year, the rate for the first 100 liters of alcohol is €6.48 per liter, and €10.80 per liter for a further 100 liters. Farmers holding a so-called 300-liter distilling right may produce another 100 liters at the higher rate. The standard rate for everyone else is €12 per liter of alcohol.
From 2027, the rates will rise. According to figures from the Chamber of Agriculture as of August 2026, the standard rate will then be €15.60 per liter of alcohol, with reduced rates of €8.42 and €14.04. This puts Austria's standard rate above Germany's, where €13.03 applies. For small farms that market their fruit through the distillery, the gap between the reduced rate and the standard rate is the decisive factor.
Special rights with history: the Krautinger
Some distilling rights in Austria predate any tax law. There's often talk of an old distilling right dating back to the era of Maria Theresa, though its exact scope is hard to verify. One well-documented case comes from the Wildschönau valley in Tyrol. There, under Maria Theresa, who reigned from 1740 to 1780, 51 farms were originally permitted to produce a spirit from stubble turnips, known as Krautinger.
The privilege applies only within this valley and was reaffirmed in 1942. The Krautinger is thus an example of how closely distilling rights and place can be linked. It's not a fruit brandy but a spirit distilled from a turnip, and to this day it's only produced in the Wildschönau valley.
Comparing with Germany shows how differently two neighbors pursue the same goal. Both countries want farm fruit put to use while safeguarding tax revenue. Germany gives allowance distillers and raw-material owners a reduced rate but no tax-free personal allowance. Austria grants farmers a small tax-free home-distilling allowance and tiers the rates above that. Neither country permits private individuals without a farm to distill their own spirits.
Anyone in Austria with fruit but no distilling allowance can have it processed by a nearby distiller, just as in Germany. The customs office or the Chamber of Agriculture of the respective federal state can explain exactly how this is billed.