The changes to know about Austria's 'repair bonus' scheme
It can cost a lot of money to get broken electrical items, like a washing machine, smartphone or stove fixed. But Austria has a programme to subside the repairs. Here's what you need to know about the new rules for it.
What is the 'repair bonus'?
Austria's 'Reparaturbonus' scheme can be used to cover costs of repairs of all kinds of electrical devices.
Austrian residents can get up to €200 per device covering the cost of fixing broken items. It covers large household items like fridges, washing machines, tumble dryers, and coffee machines but also things like computers, mobile phones, e-bikes, electronic toys and garden tools.
Around 700,000 repair vouchers totalling €74 million have been submitted and paid out since the start of the scheme in April 2022.
However, the campaign was suspended this summer after suspected cases of fraud surfaced. A total of 70 companies are suspected of fradulent activity connected to the bonus, amounting so far to losses of €5.3 million.
Now the programme has relaunched with new rules.
What's changed?
Previously, residents needed to pay up to 50 percent of the costs upfront to a repair firm, with the business using the voucher to apply for the remainder of the money from the government.
From this week onwards, it works differently. The process still involves creating a repair voucher at reparaturbonus.at and downloading it or printing it out. The voucher can then be taken to a participating repair business.
Photo: Steve Buissinne/Pixabay
However, now customers will have to pay the entire amount of the repair up front and the bonus subsidy will be paid to them - not the businesses.
The bonus will come to residents directly from the funding processing agency KPC.
What is also new is a so-called 'receipt tracker'. This allows people to check the current status of their receipt on the repair bonus website.
Each voucher covers 50 percent of the repair costs up to a maximum of €200, as before. One voucher can be requested for each electrical device. As soon as this is redeemed, the next one can be used for another electrical device.
The campaign runs until 2026 or until the remaining funding runs out.
READ ALSO: Seven tips to save money in Austria
How do I know which companies are in the scheme?
All participating companies are marked as a 'Reparaturbonus' business and listed on the website, which also has a search function to allow users to find a registered business in their district.
Note that fewer companies are taking part in the relaunched programme than before - 2,000 instead of 3,500 firms across Austria are participating so far.
What else should I know about the scheme?
The repair bonus is only for broken electronic devices or equipment - not for maintenance.
Authorities also warn that reimbursing the money to residents could take time.
Eva Rosenberger from the Climate Protection Ministry said: "Ideally, the money will arrive after four to six weeks. But it can also take two months, or in exceptional cases longer."
The programme is part of Austria's 'eco-social' tax reform.The Ministry of Climate Protection has allocated €130 million in total to cover the costs.
Smartphones are the device most commonly being repaired in the scheme.
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What is the 'repair bonus'?
Austria's 'Reparaturbonus' scheme can be used to cover costs of repairs of all kinds of electrical devices.
Austrian residents can get up to €200 per device covering the cost of fixing broken items. It covers large household items like fridges, washing machines, tumble dryers, and coffee machines but also things like computers, mobile phones, e-bikes, electronic toys and garden tools.
Around 700,000 repair vouchers totalling €74 million have been submitted and paid out since the start of the scheme in April 2022.
However, the campaign was suspended this summer after suspected cases of fraud surfaced. A total of 70 companies are suspected of fradulent activity connected to the bonus, amounting so far to losses of €5.3 million.
Now the programme has relaunched with new rules.
What's changed?
Previously, residents needed to pay up to 50 percent of the costs upfront to a repair firm, with the business using the voucher to apply for the remainder of the money from the government.
From this week onwards, it works differently. The process still involves creating a repair voucher at reparaturbonus.at and downloading it or printing it out. The voucher can then be taken to a participating repair business.
However, now customers will have to pay the entire amount of the repair up front and the bonus subsidy will be paid to them - not the businesses.
The bonus will come to residents directly from the funding processing agency KPC.
What is also new is a so-called 'receipt tracker'. This allows people to check the current status of their receipt on the repair bonus website.
Each voucher covers 50 percent of the repair costs up to a maximum of €200, as before. One voucher can be requested for each electrical device. As soon as this is redeemed, the next one can be used for another electrical device.
The campaign runs until 2026 or until the remaining funding runs out.
READ ALSO: Seven tips to save money in Austria
How do I know which companies are in the scheme?
All participating companies are marked as a 'Reparaturbonus' business and listed on the website, which also has a search function to allow users to find a registered business in their district.
Note that fewer companies are taking part in the relaunched programme than before - 2,000 instead of 3,500 firms across Austria are participating so far.
What else should I know about the scheme?
The repair bonus is only for broken electronic devices or equipment - not for maintenance.
Authorities also warn that reimbursing the money to residents could take time.
Eva Rosenberger from the Climate Protection Ministry said: "Ideally, the money will arrive after four to six weeks. But it can also take two months, or in exceptional cases longer."
The programme is part of Austria's 'eco-social' tax reform.The Ministry of Climate Protection has allocated €130 million in total to cover the costs.
Smartphones are the device most commonly being repaired in the scheme.
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