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Net salary calculator for Germany

Estimate your take-home pay in Germany for 2026. Amounts are in EUR.

Your salary

Salary period

Your situation

Class I is for single employees. Class III is for the higher earner in a married couple who chose it.

Number of children under 25. It lowers the long-term care contribution and the solidarity surcharge base.

9 % in most states, 8 % in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria.

Saxony has a different split of the care insurance contribution.

Total rate in percent, shared with your employer. The 2026 average is 2.9 %.

Your estimate

Estimate

Net salary per month

€2,871

€34,453 per year after tax and contributions

Gross salary
€4,500
Total deductions
€1,629
Average deduction
36.2%
Deduction on the next pay rise
47.6%

Where each 100 of gross pay goes

Breakdown from gross to net
ItemPer monthPer year
Gross salary€4,500€54,000
Income tax (Lohnsteuer)-€650-€7,802
Pension insurance (9.3 %)-€418-€5,022
Health insurance-€394-€4,725
Long-term care insurance-€108-€1,296
Unemployment insurance (1.3 %)-€58-€702
Total deductions-€1,629-€19,547
Net salary€2,871€34,453

Good to know

  • Taxable income (zu versteuerndes Einkommen)€41,853 per year
  • Pension and insurance allowance (Vorsorgepauschale)€10,881 per year

Estimate. This is an estimate for Germany, not a payslip. It uses the 2026 rules and a standard situation, so your actual pay can differ.

Rules for 2026, last checked 17 October 2026.

Germany: Key figures for 2026

German employees pay income tax (Lohnsteuer), a solidarity surcharge for higher earners, optional church tax, and four social insurance contributions that are split with the employer. The income tax follows the 2026 official program flow plan of the Federal Ministry of Finance, applied to the yearly salary.

Key figures for 2026
Item2026 rule
Basic allowance (Grundfreibetrag)12,348 EUR
Employee lump sum (Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag)1,230 EUR
Special expenses lump sum36 EUR
Top rates42 % from 69,879 EUR, 45 % from 277,826 EUR of taxable income
Solidarity surcharge5.5 % of income tax above 20,350 EUR (class I), phased in up to 11.9 % of the excess
Pension insurance9.3 % employee share, up to 101,400 EUR
Unemployment insurance1.3 % employee share, up to 101,400 EUR
Health insurance7.3 % plus half of the fund's additional contribution (average 2.9 %), up to 69,750 EUR
Long-term care insurance1.8 % base share, plus 0.6 % without children, minus 0.25 % per child from the second

Taxable income

Your yearly salary is reduced by the employee lump sum, the special expenses lump sum and the Vorsorgepauschale, an allowance for the pension, health and care contributions that is calculated from the contribution rates. The result is rounded down to whole euros and run through the section 32a tariff: zero up to the basic allowance, two progressive zones, then flat rates of 42 % and 45 %. In tax class III the tariff is applied to half of the taxable income and the result is doubled.

Contributions

Pension, unemployment, health and care insurance are charged as a percentage of salary up to a contribution ceiling. Above the ceiling nothing more is charged, so the effective contribution rate falls for high earners. Your employer pays an equal share, which is not part of your net pay.

What the estimate does not cover

  • Only statutory health insurance is modelled, not private insurance.
  • Bonuses taxed as other remuneration, mini and midi jobs, and company pensions are not modelled.
  • Child benefit (Kindergeld) and the child allowance in the annual return are not modelled. Children change the care insurance rate and the solidarity surcharge only.
  • The yearly income tax return can raise or lower the final tax compared with payroll withholding.

Sources

Method and tested values

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