The Broker-Test.at community survey for 2025 isn’t just another popularity contest, it’s becoming a referendum on which platforms can survive Austria’s unforgiving tax regime without treating customers as beta testers. With results still rolling in, one pattern is already clear: investors are fed up with brokers who treat proper KESt handling as an afterthought.
The survey, which runs until December 9th, offers a €100 Amazon voucher as bait, but the real prize for participants is venting about platforms that have turned their tax declarations into a recurring nightmare. While the full rankings remain under wraps, early signals point to a dramatic shift in what Austrian investors value most: it’s no longer just about zero fees or slick apps, but about not receiving cryptic letters from the Finanzamt months later.
The Saveback Tax Debacle: When “Steuereinfach” Becomes “Steuerchaos”
If you’ve been using Trade Republic’s Saveback feature in 2025, you’ve now experienced three different tax calculation methods in under twelve months. The latest version, rolled out in early December, finally deducts the 25% KESt directly from the Saveback amount rather than making mysterious separate withdrawals. This means your 1% cashback effectively becomes 0.75% after tax, transparent, perhaps, but hardly the original promise.
The controversy exploded when investors noticed their Verrechnungskonto being debited for taxes on money they’d already mentally spent. Version 2 of Trade Republic’s logic calculated tax on the net Saveback amount, then added that tax back to the debit, creating a circular accounting headache that confused even seasoned investors. Many only realized the issue when their account balances didn’t match their own spreadsheets, a cardinal sin in Austrian financial culture.
Trade Republic’s communication strategy throughout this saga has been, to put it diplomatically, minimalist. No explanatory emails, no in-app tutorials, just a quiet backend change that left users discovering the new reality through trial and error. This approach might fly in Berlin, but in Vienna, where investors still fax documents to their tax advisors, it’s treated as a breach of trust.
Austrian brokers like Flatex and DADAT, by contrast, have built their entire value proposition around handling KESt automatically and correctly from day one. Flatex’s tagline of “automatische KESt-Abfuhr, steuereinfach” isn’t just marketing, it’s a survival guarantee. With over 300,000 Austrian customers, they’ve had to get it right or face immediate regulatory scrutiny from the Finanzmarktaufsicht (FMA).
The “Steuereinfach” Premium: Why Austrians Will Pay for Peace of Mind
The German approach of “move fast and fix taxes later” simply doesn’t work in Austria, where the Finanzamt expects perfection and remembers every mistake. Austrian investors have learned this the hard way, which explains why platforms offering proper KESt handling can charge slightly higher fees and still win loyalty.
Broker-Test.at’s community feedback consistently highlights a willingness to pay for platforms that eliminate tax anxiety. One recurring sentiment: “I’d rather pay €2 per trade than spend €200 on a Steuerberater to clean up my broker’s mess.” This isn’t theoretical, many expats report their German brokers’ annual tax statements triggering additional Finanzamt queries, turning what should be a simple submission into a months-long correspondence marathon.
The Austrian financial psyche values predictability over flashy features. While Trade Republic offers a sleek interface and Saveback gimmicks, Flatex provides something more valuable: a clean, pre-filled tax certificate that your Steuerberater can file without a second glance. In a country where even young professionals hire tax advisors, this isn’t a minor convenience, it’s a non-negotiable feature.
Traditional Banks vs. Neobrokers: The Trust Gap Widens
The 2025 sentiment data reveals a bifurcation in the market. Older investors and those with larger portfolios stick with established players like Flatex, DADAT, and traditional bank brokers. Younger, smaller-scale investors are drawn to neobrokers but increasingly experience what one community member called “buyer’s remorse with tax consequences.”
DADAT’s recent move to cut depot fees by 33% and improve trading conditions shows traditional brokers are fighting back on price while maintaining their tax-handling advantage. They’ve watched German neobrokers stumble and realized their competitive moat isn’t technology, it’s regulatory competence.
Meanwhile, Trade Republic’s repeated tax recalculations highlight a deeper issue: building a “steuereinfach” platform for Austria requires more than just flipping a switch. It demands local expertise, regulatory relationships, and a willingness to prioritize boring backend processes over marketing features. The German neobroker playbook, optimized for a simpler tax system, breaks down when faced with Austria’s KESt complexities.
What the Survey Tells Us About 2025 Priorities
The Broker-Test.at survey structure itself reveals what matters to Austrian investors. It asks participants to name both their “Top Broker” and “Flop Broker” for 2025, forcing a binary choice that reflects the market’s polarization. The optional email requirement for the prize suggests they’re getting genuine, thought-out responses rather than spam votes.
Early indicators point to three criteria dominating the rankings:
1. Tax handling accuracy (no surprises from Finanzamt)
2. Transparent communication (when things change, explain why)
3. Account stability (no random fee changes or service downgrades)
The “Börsenunwort 2025” being “Zollhammer” (customs hammer) reflects broader anxiety about regulatory crackdowns and unexpected financial penalties, sentiments that directly translate to broker preferences. Investors want platforms that shield them from such shocks, not create them.
The Verdict: Regional Specialization Beats Global Scale
For Austrian investors in 2025, the broker landscape is clarifying: choose a platform built for Austria’s specific regulatory environment, or accept the risk of becoming a tax guinea pig. The neobroker dream of seamless, pan-European investing clashes with the reality that each country’s tax system is a unique beast.
Trade Republic’s struggles serve as a cautionary tale. Their ambition to serve the entire DACH region from a single German-engineered system underestimated Austrian particularities. Meanwhile, Flatex’s deep local integration, despite being owned by a German group, shows that respecting regional tax culture pays dividends in customer loyalty.
If you’re selecting a broker in Austria as 2025 draws to a close, treat the decision like choosing a Steuerberater. Look for proven KESt competence, local customer support that understands Finanzamt procedures, and a track record of transparent communication. The €2 you save per trade with a neobroker could cost you €200 in tax advisor fees later.
Ready to cast your vote? The Broker-Test.at survey remains open until December 9th, with the winner announced at noon. Your contribution helps map the evolving landscape of Austrian retail investing, just don’t be surprised if “works properly with KESt” becomes the top-ranked feature.
Disclosure: The Trade Republic image used in this article is sourced from the Broker-Test.at media library. For the latest updates on Austrian broker comparisons and tax handling, consult the Broker-Test.at Vergleich portal.
