Germany · 2026
What will you actually take home?
Enter a gross salary and a tax class and see your net pay after wage tax, surcharge, church tax and social contributions. Wage tax follows the BMF's official Programmablaufplan.
Your net pay 2026
Enter your gross salary. Everything updates as you type, and the link in the address bar keeps your answers.
As on your tax ID record (ELStAM); they only affect the solidarity surcharge and church tax, not wage tax. From the second child under 25 the care contribution falls by 0.25 points per child, up to 1 point.
The 2026 average is 2.9%; your fund may differ. You pay half.
Estimated net pay
€2,333.25
month, after tax and social contributions
- Wage tax
- Contributions
- Net
| Item | month | year |
|---|---|---|
| Gross | €3,500.00 | €42,000.00 |
| Wage tax | −€405.50 | −€4,866.00 |
| Solidarity surcharge | −€0.00 | −€0.00 |
| Pension insurance | −€325.50 | −€3,906.00 |
| Unemployment insurance | −€45.50 | −€546.00 |
| Health insurance | −€306.25 | −€3,675.00 |
| Care insurance | −€84.00 | −€1,008.00 |
| Net | €2,333.25 | €27,999.00 |
| Tax (wage tax, surcharge, church) as a share of gross | 11.6% | |
| Tax and contributions as a share of gross | 33.3% | |
| Taken from the next €100 of gross | 45% | |
Worked after the BMF's 2026 Programmablaufplan (wage tax, surcharge, church-tax base); sources read 2026-10-03. No bonuses, allowances or pensions. An estimate, not payroll or tax advice; your payslip is what counts.
- Nothing you enter leaves your browser
- All six tax classes
- Checked against the BMF calculator to the cent
Worked example
€3,500 gross in tax class I
Without church tax, childless over 23, statutory insurance with a 2.9% additional rate, €2,333.25 is left a month (€27,999.00 a year).
| Item | Amount a month |
|---|---|
| Gross | €3,500.00 |
| Wage tax | −€405.50 |
| Pension insurance (9.3%) | −€325.50 |
| Unemployment insurance (1.3%) | −€45.50 |
| Health insurance (7.3% + half the additional rate) | −€306.25 |
| Care insurance (1.8% + 0.6%) | −€84.00 |
| Net | €2,333.25 |
Contributions total €761.25, tax €405.50.
Tax classes
Who each class is for
- Tax class ISingle, divorced and permanently separated employees
- Tax class IISingle parents, with the €4,260 single-parent relief
- Tax class IIIMarried employees with the higher income when the partner is in class V (income splitting)
- Tax class IVMarried employees with similar incomes
- Tax class VMarried employees whose partner is in class III
- Tax class VISecond and further jobs
Salary pages
Net pay at popular salaries
4 gross salaries in each of the six tax classes, each with deductions, class comparison and church tax. Class I shown.
Sources
Every figure is traced to an official source
Read 2026-10-03. The rules are the BMF's XML pseudocode (Lohnsteuer2026.xml), which this calculator translates method by method.
- BMF: Programmabläufe zur Lohnsteuer für/ab 2026
Der Programmablaufplan 2026 (BMF-Schreiben vom 12. November 2025): Tarif nach § 32a EStG, Klassen I bis VI, Vorsorgepauschale, Solidaritätszuschlag und Kirchensteuer-Bemessungsgrundlage. Die Zahlen wurden aus dem XML-Pseudocode des BMF gelesen, den die Quellenprüfung nicht lesen kann.
- BMF: XML-Pseudocodes der Programmabläufe
Lohnsteuer2026.xml (Stand 2025-10-23): Grundfreibetrag 12.348 €, Tarifzonen bis 17.800 / 69.879 / 277.826 €, Pauschbeträge, Beitragssätze und Bemessungsgrenzen der Vorsorgepauschale, Grenzwerte der Steuerklasse V und VI
- BMF: Lohn- und Einkommensteuerrechner 2026 (öffentlicher Rechner)
Der öffentliche Lohnsteuerrechner des BMF, mit dem die Ergebnisse dieser Seite für alle sechs Steuerklassen auf den Cent verglichen wurden
- Bundesregierung: Beitragsbemessungsgrenzen 2026
Beitragsbemessungsgrenze Rentenversicherung 101.400 € (8.450 € im Monat), Kranken- und Pflegeversicherung 69.750 € (5.812,50 €), Versicherungspflichtgrenze 77.400 € (6.450 €)
- BMG: Beiträge der gesetzlichen Krankenversicherung (GKV)
Allgemeiner Beitragssatz 14,6 %, durchschnittlicher Zusatzbeitragssatz 2026 von 2,9 %, Rentenversicherung 18,6 %, Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze 77.400 €
- BMG: Finanzierung der sozialen Pflegeversicherung
Beitragssatz 3,6 % (Arbeitnehmeranteil 1,8 %), Zuschlag für Kinderlose 0,6 %, Abschlag 0,25 Prozentpunkte je Kind vom zweiten bis fünften, Sachsen mit 2,3 %
What it assumes, and leaves out
- A regular monthly salary all year, without bonuses or other one-off pay, allowances, pensions or age relief.
- The Vorsorgepauschale inside wage tax uses the plan's own rates (health insurance 7.0%, not 7.3%); the deductions from pay use the real contributions.
- Church tax is 8% (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria) or 9% of the church-tax base, truncated to the cent as the BMF calculator does; capping and minimum church tax are not modelled.
- Contributions are the statutory rates and the 2026 ceilings; fund-specific details, the Gleitzone and contributions of students or pensioners are not covered.
- Private health insurance: only the note on the insurance threshold, no premium and no recommendation.
Questions
German gross and net pay, answered
How is net pay worked out in Germany?
Wage tax, the solidarity surcharge and, if you pay it, church tax come off gross, plus the employee shares of pension (9.3%), unemployment (1.3%), health (7.3% plus half the additional rate) and care insurance (1.8%, with surcharges and discounts). Wage tax follows the BMF's Programmablaufplan and depends on the tax class.
What do the tax classes mean?
Tax class I: Single, divorced and permanently separated employees; Tax class II: Single parents, with the €4,260 single-parent relief; Tax class III: Married employees with the higher income when the partner is in class V (income splitting); Tax class IV: Married employees with similar incomes; Tax class V: Married employees whose partner is in class III; Tax class VI: Second and further jobs.
Why do contributions stop growing at a certain salary?
There are contribution ceilings: pension and unemployment insurance count at most €101,400 a year, health and care insurance at most €69,750. Above that the deduction stops growing.
When may I move to private health insurance?
When annual gross exceeds the insurance threshold of €77,400 (€6,450 a month). The private premium depends on age, plan and health; this calculator does not work it out and gives no recommendation.
How accurate is this calculator?
Wage tax matches the BMF's public wage-tax calculator to the cent for all six tax classes (checked on 52 grid cases and 19 variants). Social contributions are the statutory rates times the ceilings; there was no independent calculator to compare them with. Bonuses, allowances, pensions and private insurance are not covered.