For all households that have already paid for GIS, it will be cheaper from January 1, 2024
Vienna (OTS) – The switch from the previous broadcasting fees to the cheaper ORF contribution, which must be paid for all addresses of primary residence from January 1, 2024, is in full swing. The GIS provides comprehensive information about the corresponding changes: There is no need for action for anyone who already has a participant number with the GIS. Your data including payment agreement will be automatically transferred to the new system. Existing exemptions also remain in effect. However, if you have not yet paid a broadcasting fee, you must actively register with your main residence address – the easiest way is at orf.teil.at. One adult person must be registered for each main residence. If this does not happen, a notice of the annual fee will be sent to a person at that address. You then have the option of switching to SEPA direct debit (collection order) and also partial payment. Customers will continue to receive letters from GIS until the end of the year, and from OBS (ORF-Beitrags Service GmbH) from January 2024.
With the ORF law, every primary residence address will participate in solidarity in financing the ORF from January 1, 2024, regardless of how many and which devices are operated and how many people live there. According to the basic idea “The ORF belongs to everyone”, one adult person per main residence address pays a fixed ORF contribution, which corresponds to 15.30 euros per month, plus any state tax. This is therefore cheaper than the amount that participants with televisions and radios have previously paid. New from January 2024: There is no ORF contribution to be paid for secondary residences.
Need for action for citizens who have not yet registered at a primary residence
While the broadcasting fee was previously tied to the ownership of a receiver, the ORF contribution is now based on the primary residence. This means that there are people who will be required to pay from January 1, 2024, but do not yet have a GIS participant number. These citizens must register a person for their primary residence. You can do this directly on orf.teil.at. “As part of registration, you can also switch to convenient payment with SEPA direct debit, as the majority of our customers do. This makes it possible to divide the total contribution over the entire year; either twice a year for six months each or six times a year for two months each. “In addition, once you are registered, you can apply for an exemption if you meet the relevant requirements,” says Alexander Hirschbeck, Managing Director of GIS.
If no one actively registers at a primary residence address, a payment slip for the 2024 annual fee will be sent. Even after receiving the payment slip, you can still switch to SEPA direct debit (with the option of partial payment) or apply for an exemption. People who already have a contribution account with GIS will automatically be added to the OBS as a person paying contributions along with their previous payment method. There is therefore no need for action for them.
Exemptions are still possible – existing exemptions remain in effect
As before, certain people can still submit an application so that they can be exempt from the ORF contribution and the state tax. The online exemption calculator, available at orf.teil.at, provides an overview of whether the requirements for an exemption or subsidy are met. “Anyone who is already exempt from broadcasting fees does not have to take any action. The exemption is applied automatically,” emphasizes Hirschbeck.
GIS becomes OBS
As a result of the ORF Act, the GIS Fees Info Service GmbH is transferred to the ORF-Beitrags Service GmbH (abbreviated: OBS – ORF Contributions Service). “This means that the well-established yellow GIS logo will also disappear and be replaced by the new red-white-red OBS logo. We are already representing this transformation by displaying the GIS logo in gray tones next to the OBS logo on various channels, thus creating a slow transition,” says Hirschbeck.
Questions & Contact:
presse@gis.at