Published on February 1, 2024, 7:19 p.m. / ©Montage pexels.com/5 minutes
For many Austrians, the first thing they received was a request to pay the ORF fee. But why do you have to pay for it for three months?
by Amélie Meier
2 minutes reading time (293 words)
Everyone now has to pay the ORF fee, regardless of whether they have a television or not, with a few exceptions. Now many have already received their first deposit slips, but some have to pay for three months straight away, even though they were previously only asked to pay by the GIS every two months. In Carinthia it is 59.70 euros, which must be paid by mid-February.
Why do you have to pay three times?
From April 1st, only two monthly installments will be charged again, namely for April and May. This corresponds to an amount of 30.60 euros. The billing cycle is crucial for this. For example, if this was previously in November/December, only 30.60 euros were charged for January/February. Depending on the federal state, the state tax is also added. However, if the cycle was in December/January, three installments for January, February and March were suddenly debited, explains today.at. In the future, the debit will only be made in two installments. This is what it says on the current invoice: “The ORF contribution is required once for JAN.24-MAR.24 (3 months). In the future, the contribution will be due again in the usual payment cycle.”
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The declaration is also above the payment slip
Who is exempt from the ORF fee
By the way, you only have to pay for your main residence. Additional residences are not subject to payment. Anyone who is exempt from the ORF fee also does not have to pay. “If you receive a pension, nursing allowance, minimum security, unemployment benefit, social assistance or study grant, you can be exempt from the ORF contribution,” it says. However, a certain net household income must not be exceeded, otherwise you still have to pay. Blind and deaf people also don’t have to pay anything. In addition, “Anyone who was already exempt from GIS remains exempt.”