Anyone who had a broken washing machine or a sulking vacuum cleaner repaired in recent years will remember the Reparaturbonus, Austria's repair bonus: a state subsidy that covered half the bill. The programme was popular — and that popularity proved its undoing. The old repair bonus expired in 2025, the money ran out, and for a while the scheme's future hung in the balance. Since 12 January 2026 there has been a successor, but under a new name and on markedly leaner terms. Anyone getting something repaired today should know the differences — and the honest answer to the question of how much longer the subsidy will exist at all.
From Reparaturbonus to Geräte-Retter-Prämie
The familiar name "Reparaturbonus" is officially history. Since January 2026, the successor scheme has been called the Geräte-Retter-Prämie — the "appliance rescuer premium" — and, like its predecessor, it is run by the Ministry for Climate and Environment and administered by Kommunalkredit Public Consulting (KPC), the state's funding agency. The underlying idea is unchanged: repairing should pay off compared with buying new, and electronic waste should be avoided. According to the budget plan, the state has earmarked around €30 million for 2026, originally designed to cover the period 2026 to 2028.
The name change is more than cosmetic. It came with a noticeable slimming-down of the subsidy — both in the amount on offer and in the range of eligible appliances. If you still have the old headline figures in mind from previous years, overwrite them.
How much is the subsidy — and what has changed
The scheme still covers 50 per cent of repair costs. The crucial difference lies in the cap: instead of the previous maximum of €200 per appliance, it is now no more than €130. The state only picks up half your bill up to that amount; anything beyond it, you pay yourself.
A worked example: if repairing a washing machine costs €220, you get 50 per cent back, or €110 — that is below the cap, so you use the subsidy in full. If the bill comes to €320, 50 per cent would be €160, but only the maximum of €130 is paid out. A cost estimate alone, with no subsequent repair, is also subsidised at 50 per cent, though here capped at a maximum of €30.
The underlying idea has stayed the same — the generosity has not. A €130 cap instead of €200 and a narrower range of appliances turn the broad-brush bonus into a more targeted subsidy for electrical goods.
Which appliances are covered now — and which no longer are
Here lies the second big change. The Geräte-Retter-Prämie focuses on household electrical and electronic appliances. According to the official list of eligible devices, that specifically includes washing machines, fridges and freezers, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, coffee machines, blenders, lamps, sewing machines, power tools such as cordless drills, as well as computers, laptops, monitors and hi-fi and TV equipment. The repair of certain medical aids such as blood pressure monitors is also covered.
More important than the list is what has dropped out. Unlike the old repair bonus, in 2026 smartphones, mobile phones and tablets are no longer eligible — a cut many households will feel, not least because display repairs are expensive. Also scrapped: e-bikes and bicycles, along with purely wellness, luxury and entertainment devices such as massage chairs, foot spas and karaoke machines. Anyone hoping to get a broken phone fixed can no longer count on the premium — one more reason to think about repairability and the EU's right to repair at the point of purchase, which promises longer manufacturer availability of spare parts.
How to redeem the voucher, step by step
The process is deliberately simple and runs almost entirely online via the official Geräte-Retter-Prämie platform. Applications are open to private individuals resident in Austria.
- Create the voucher: On the official Geräte-Retter-Prämie website, enter your personal details and your bank details (IBAN). The voucher is then sent to you by email. It takes only a few minutes.
- Present the voucher: You can take the voucher to a participating partner business either digitally on your smartphone or as a printout. The business checks its validity via the online platform.
- Get the repair done and save: The subsidy amount is deducted directly from your bill — so you pay only your share. The business claims the rest back from the KPC via a reimbursement request. You do not have to pay anything up front or wait for a refund.
The deadline matters: according to the programme information, a voucher is valid for only around three weeks from the date it is issued. So create it only when a repair is actually imminent, not to have one in reserve. There is one voucher per appliance.
Which businesses take part
The voucher can only be redeemed at registered partner businesses. Repair firms were able to sign up as partners even before the official launch — since 10 December 2025, according to the programme. All participating businesses are published on the official website, where a radius search by postcode will find them. Before booking an appointment, it is worth a quick check that your chosen firm really is registered — without partner status, there is no subsidy.
A second port of call, especially in Vienna and Lower Austria, is the Reparaturnetzwerk, a repair network that lists vetted repair businesses and provides information about the subsidy. If you are looking for a durable approach to consumption more broadly, our overview of the repair bonus and repair-friendly everyday habits offers further practical pointers — and the principle of using things longer instead of buying new holds beyond electrical appliances too, for instance with secondhand fashion in Austria.
The uncomfortable truth: how much longer will the premium last?
However practical the programme sounds, this is the point where honesty is called for. The Geräte-Retter-Prämie has an expiry date. Around €30 million is still available for 2026. But the subsidy will not continue beyond the current year: environment minister Norbert Totschnig confirmed in early June 2026 that the premium will end with the close of 2026 and that no new funds have been budgeted for it as part of the government's fiscal consolidation. What initially seemed an open question in the budget negotiations has now been settled.
The transition from the old repair bonus to the new premium already showed how quickly conditions can change: the cap fell from €200 to €130, and entire categories of devices, such as smartphones, were dropped. With the end of 2026 now announced, state support for repairs in this form is coming to a close, at least for now. On top of that, the possibility that the annual funding pot could be exhausted before the year is out — as happened with the predecessor scheme — cannot be ruled out.
What does that mean in practice? If you are planning a repair anyway and have an eligible appliance, tackle it sooner rather than later and redeem the voucher promptly, instead of waiting for better terms — those are unlikely in the current climate, and the subsidy is expected to run only until the end of 2026. At the same time, the bonus is no reason to put a repair off artificially: for durable large appliances, repairing often pays off even without a subsidy, because a new appliance costs significantly more and consumes far more resources. Just how much purchase and running costs can add up is illustrated by our cost check on cooling appliances, from fans to split units.
Conclusion
The repair bonus in its old, generous form no longer exists in 2026. What remains is the Geräte-Retter-Prämie: a 50 per cent subsidy, capped at €130, limited to household electrical and electronic appliances, with smartphones and e-bikes excluded. Getting the money is straightforward — create the voucher online, redeem it at a partner business, pay your share. But anyone who wants to benefit should not put it off: according to the official announcement, the scheme expires at the end of 2026, and no continuation is currently budgeted. Repairing remains worthwhile — with the premium, it is simply cheaper.