German salary calculator
Estimate net pay in Germany: social insurance (health, long-term care, pension, unemployment), wage tax, the solidarity surcharge and – depending on church membership – church tax are deducted from gross pay. The result is an estimate based on the nationwide rates in force for 2026.
- Net, social insurance and taxes – broken down
- No registration and no hidden costs
- In German and English
Quick calculation
Enter the monthly gross salary and choose tax class, federal state, children and church tax – the calculator instantly shows the take-home net, the itemised social insurance, wage tax, solidarity surcharge and church tax, plus the total employer cost. The result is an estimate for an order of magnitude, not an official decision.
Gross salary before social insurance, wage tax and the solidarity surcharge
The federal state sets the church-tax rate (8% in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, 9% elsewhere) and, in Saxony, the long-term-care split.
The nationwide rates in force for 2026 – an estimate for the order of magnitude, not for decisions.
Net (take-home)
Net (take-home): 2.333,25 €- Net (take-home)2.333,2567%
- Social insurance (employee)761,2522%
- Taxes (wage tax, Soli, church tax)405,5012%
- Gross salary
- 3.500,00 €
- Wage tax (Lohnsteuer)
- 405,50 €
- Solidarity surcharge
- 0,00 €
- Church tax
- 0,00 €
- Total employer cost
- 4.240,25 €
Childless surcharge to long-term care insurance applied (0,6 %, employee-only, from age 23).
Notes on the calculation (2)
The calculator uses the average additional health-insurance contribution (2,9 %). Your health fund's actual rate may differ.
No solidarity surcharge: the wage tax is below the exemption threshold – the vast majority of employees no longer pay any Soli.
If you are employed in Germany, the employer deducts social insurance, wage tax, the solidarity surcharge and – if you are liable for it – church tax straight from the gross salary, before the money ever reaches your account. Your payslip shows only the net figure at the end.
That is why the gross figure in the employment contract says little about what actually remains. This gross-to-net calculator makes the arithmetic visible: it breaks the path from gross to net down line by line, and it also shows what the same salary costs the employer in total.
The calculation gives you an order of magnitude, not an official or tax decision: it uses the rates in force for 2026 and shows how a German payslip is built up.
- 21,75 %
- Social insurance – your share
- 45 %
- Top marginal tax rate
- 4.329 €
- Average gross salary (month)
How it works
Three steps to a first, honest number – no registration.
- 1
Enter your details
Gross salary, tax class, federal state, children and church tax are enough for a first order of magnitude.
- 2
See the breakdown
Social insurance (health, care, pension, unemployment), wage tax, solidarity surcharge and church tax – line by line instead of a single number.
- 3
Net and total cost
Take-home net and the total employer cost, side by side, instantly and clearly.
How the monthly deduction works
Social-insurance contributions come off the gross first; wage tax, the solidarity surcharge and – where applicable – church tax then apply to the taxable income. Social insurance is not a single contribution but a stack of several branches – the same across the whole country:
- KV – health insurance – covers doctor visits, hospital and medicines; the general contribution plus a fund-specific additional rate, mostly split evenly.
- PV – long-term care insurance – funds care in old age; the contribution depends on the number of children, and in Saxony you carry a slightly higher share.
- RV – pension insurance – the single largest line; it funds the later statutory pension and is split evenly.
- AV – unemployment insurance – secures unemployment benefit; likewise split between employer and employee.
Together your social-insurance share comes to around 21,75 % of the gross – but only up to each contribution ceiling. Earn more and the part above it becomes contribution-free, so the percentage deduction falls as the salary rises.
Wage tax is then charged on the taxable income under the progressive tariff of § 32a EStG: up to the basic allowance of around 12.348 € a year the income stays tax-free, and above it the rate rises smoothly to the top rate of 45 %. Not every euro is taxed the same – only the part inside each zone carries that zone's rate.
On top of the wage tax come the solidarity surcharge – nowadays zero for the vast majority of employees thanks to its high exemption threshold – and, only for church members, church tax. The calculator computes both separately and shows them on their own lines.
What the gross salary really costs the employer
The gross salary is not the end of the sum – it is the base the employer pays on top of once more. On top of your gross, the employer carries its own, mostly equal share of health, long-term care, pension and unemployment insurance.
These employer contributions add up to around 21,15 % of the gross. For a gross at the average of 4.329 €, that means a total cost of around 5.244 € a month – noticeably more than lands in your account. The calculator shows this employer cost as its own line, not as part of your net.
On top of that come the levy-financed contributions (U1/U2) and statutory accident insurance, which the calculator does not model. For you as the employee nothing changes; for the employer they are real staffing costs.
Explore the tools
Topic pages with the rates in force for 2026 – each covers one topic.
Tax classes
How the six wage-tax classes (I–VI) shape the monthly wage-tax deduction.
Wage tax
The progressive income-tax tariff (§ 32a EStG) – from the basic allowance to the top rate of 45 %.
Social insurance
Health, care, pension and unemployment – the contributions at a glance, capped at the contribution ceiling.
Minimum wage
Germany has a nationwide statutory minimum wage per hour.
Christmas bonus
Taxed as an “other payment” at your marginal rate – not tax-favoured as in Austria.
Minijob & Midijob
Marginal employment and the transition band – with their own contribution rules.
Why the Christmas bonus changes the comparison
Many employees in Germany receive a Christmas bonus – voluntary or collectively agreed. Unlike the tax-favoured 13th/14th salary in Austria, here it is an “other payment” and is taxed at your individual marginal rate. A comparison that ignores it misstates the annual net.
The calculator on this page shows a regular month first. The Christmas bonus has its own explainer page, because it is taxed differently from the regular monthly salary.
And the real comparison only holds when you set net against net – not gross against gross, and certainly not a German gross against a net from abroad. That first, honest number is exactly what the calculator gives you.
Frequently asked questions
Ready?
Work out your net in a few seconds
Enter the gross salary and see the take-home net, the itemised social insurance and the taxes – no registration.