Austria's repair bonus is now the Geräte-Retter-Prämie: 50 per cent back, capped at €130, electrical appliances only. How to claim it before it ends in 2026.
Illustration: AI-generated
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. On 26 May 2025 the old repair bonus was stopped because the money had run out. Since 12 January 2026 there has been a successor, under a new name and on leaner terms. It, too, has an end date: the scheme closes at the end of 2026, and no money has been budgeted for 2027. If you are getting something repaired now, know the rules and do not sit on the voucher.
From Reparaturbonus to Geräte-Retter-Prämie
The familiar name "Reparaturbonus" is officially history. The successor is called the Geräte-Retter-Prämie (roughly, the "appliance rescue premium"). It is funded by the environment ministry (BMLUK) and administered by Kommunalkredit Public Consulting (KPC). Since 12 January 2026, private individuals can create a voucher on the only official platform, geräte-retter-prämie.at (BMLUK press release of 11 January 2026). The idea is unchanged: repairing should pay off compared with buying new, and electronic waste should be avoided. According to an APA report from December 2025, around €30 million a year was budgeted for the premium, originally for 2026 to 2028 (vienna.at, 10 December 2025).
The new name came with a slimmer scheme, both in the amount on offer and in the range of eligible appliances. If you still have the old figures in mind, overwrite them.
| Reparaturbonus (until May 2025) | Geräte-Retter-Prämie (since 12 January 2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Subsidy | 50 per cent of repair costs | 50 per cent of repair costs |
| Maximum per appliance | €200 | €130 |
| Phones, bicycles, e-bikes | eligible | no longer eligible |
| End | stopped on 26 May 2025, funds used up | ends with the close of 2026 |
Sources: Federal Chancellery, repair bonus suspended since 26 May 2025; oesterreich.gv.at, Geräte-Retter-Prämie (as of 12 January 2026); vienna.at, 10 December 2025; WKO Styria, updated 8 September 2026.
How much is the subsidy
The scheme covers 50 per cent of the eligible gross costs, up to €130 per voucher for a repair, service or maintenance. Instead of the previous maximum of €200, the state now picks up half the bill only up to that amount; anything beyond it, you pay yourself.
The official examples on oesterreich.gv.at: €160 of eligible costs earns €80; at €300 the maximum of €130 is paid. A cost estimate is supported with up to €30. If the repair of the same appliance follows the estimate, the combined cap is still €130: €30 for the estimate and up to €100 for the repair, and the same business must do both.
So far the subsidy has averaged €95 per voucher, according to WKO Styria, based on the national figures.
The idea has stayed the same, the generosity has not: a €130 cap instead of €200 and a narrower range of appliances turn the broad bonus into a subsidy for electrical goods.
Which appliances are covered, and which no longer are
The Geräte-Retter-Prämie applies to electrical and electronic appliances typically used in private households, meaning devices with a mains cable, rechargeable battery, battery or solar module. According to oesterreich.gv.at the focus is household appliances, tools, health devices, computers and consumer electronics. Its examples: coffee machine, kettle, washing machine, ceiling light, TV, hi-fi system, laptop, blood pressure monitor and drill. The binding list is the one on the official platform.
More important is what has dropped out: repairs of bicycles including e-bikes, of mobile phones, and of luxury, wellness or entertainment devices are no longer subsidised (vienna.at, 10 December 2025). For smartphone display repairs that is a noticeable cut, and one more reason to look at repairability and the EU's right to repair when buying. Also excluded: borrowed or rented appliances, repairs an insurer has to pay for, and repairs under warranty or statutory guarantee.
Which appliances were actually rescued most often is shown by the ministry's interim figures from May:
- Coffee machines16,850
- Washing machines15,828
- Dishwashers15,048
- Laptops7,535
- Ovens4,537
Source: BMLUK press release of 24 May 2026. By then around 97,600 vouchers had been redeemed nationwide.
How to apply for the repair bonus
The process runs almost entirely online on the official platform. Any legally competent private individual resident in Austria can apply, and the appliance must belong to them.
- Create the voucher: On geräte-retter-prämie.at, enter your details and your bank account. The voucher arrives by email.
- Present the voucher: Take it, digitally or printed, to a registered partner business, which checks it via QR code or voucher number.
- Pay the bill, receive the premium: You first pay the full bill. The partner business submits the documents, and once they have been checked the KPC transfers the premium to the account you entered. In other words, you pay the subsidy amount up front.
The deadline matters: a voucher must be redeemed within three weeks of being issued, and the expiry date is printed on it. An expired voucher can be replaced at any time. There is no limit on the number of vouchers, but each appliance gets one, and you can create the next after redeeming it (all according to oesterreich.gv.at). So create it only when a repair is actually due.
Which businesses take part
The voucher can only be redeemed at registered partner businesses. Firms could sign up from 10 December 2025; in May 2026 there were 2,374 according to the ministry, and around 2,400 in September according to WKO Styria. All partners are listed on the official platform and can be found by postcode. A quick check before you book is worth it: without partner status, there is no subsidy.
In Vienna, the Reparaturnetzwerk Wien also lists vetted repair businesses. If you want to tackle small faults yourself, repair cafés across Austria offer volunteer help, and the principle of using things for longer holds beyond appliances too, for instance with second-hand fashion.
How much longer will the premium last?
The Geräte-Retter-Prämie has an end date. In May the ministry still said that whether it would continue was "currently part of the ongoing budget negotiations". The decision came in mid-June: under the 2027/28 double budget the subsidy is gone from 2027, and environment minister Norbert Totschnig justified the cut with the need for budget consolidation (Salzburg24, 15 June 2026). Dropping the new edition cuts €38 million from the circular-economy budget, according to the Tiroler Tageszeitung (TT, 19 June 2026).
For 2026 the premium still applies. According to a WKO Styria notice updated on 8 September, 122,300 vouchers had been redeemed nationwide and €11.6 million paid out. At that point, less than half of the roughly €30 million budgeted for the year had been paid out. The ministry has not published whether the pot will last until the end of the year; the predecessor ran out of money early, in May 2025.
What does that mean in practice? If you want an eligible appliance repaired, do it in 2026 and redeem the voucher promptly. Conversely, the end of the premium is no reason to give up on repairs: for durable large appliances, repairing often pays off without a subsidy, because a new appliance costs more and uses more resources. How much purchase and running costs can add up is shown by our cost check on cooling appliances.
Conclusion
The repair bonus in its old form no longer exists in 2026. What remains is the Geräte-Retter-Prämie: a 50 per cent subsidy, capped at €130 per voucher, limited to household electrical and electronic appliances, without phones, bicycles and e-bikes. Getting the money: create the voucher online, redeem it within three weeks at a partner business, pay the full bill, and the premium reaches your account once the KPC has checked the claim. The scheme ends with 2026 and no continuation is budgeted. Repairing remains worthwhile; with the premium it is simply cheaper.
