About this tool
In Germany, wage tax, the solidarity surcharge, church tax where applicable and the employee shares of pension, unemployment, health and care insurance are deducted from the gross salary. The gross to net calculator works out every item per month and per year – for all tax classes, with child allowances, church tax by federal state (8 % in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, 9 % elsewhere) and the contribution ceilings.
Wage tax follows the official flow chart of the Federal Ministry of Finance that payroll software uses too – including the Vorsorgepauschale and tax classes V and VI. Midi jobs in the transition zone, mini jobs and private health insurance with employer subsidy are covered as well. The calculation runs entirely in your browser; your salary is not sent anywhere.
All contribution rates, ceilings and tariff values are kept per year in a versioned file with sources and the date they were last checked. An automatic check compares the wage tax with the official calculator of the Federal Ministry of Finance every week and reports as soon as a new year’s values are published. If the current year’s values are still missing, the calculator tells you.
How it works
- Enter your gross salary and choose whether it is per month or per year.
- Choose the year, tax class, federal state and – if applicable – church tax, child allowances and your number of children.
- Set your health insurance: statutory with your fund’s additional contribution, or private with your monthly premium.
- Read the net salary, deductions and employer cost; the table shows every item per month and per year.
Frequently asked questions
Which tax class do I have?
Single people have tax class I, single parents II. Married couples choose III/V (the higher earner takes III) or IV/IV. Tax class VI applies to a second and any further job. Your tax class is shown on your payslip.
Why do child allowances not change the wage tax?
During the year you receive child benefit (Kindergeld) for your children, so child allowances only reduce the solidarity surcharge and church tax in payroll. Whether the allowance is worth more than the child benefit is checked by the tax office in your tax return.
Why do I pay more care insurance without children?
Childless employees aged 23 or older pay a surcharge of 0.6 percentage points. Parents pay the regular share, which drops by 0.25 points per child under 25 from the second child on (up to the fifth child). In Saxony employees pay a larger share because the Day of Repentance remained a public holiday there.
What is the additional health insurance contribution?
On top of the general rate of 14.6 %, each health insurance fund charges its own additional contribution, shared by employee and employer. The calculator uses the year’s average additional contribution; enter your fund’s rate for a more precise result.
What changes for a midi job or mini job?
In the transition zone (midi job) you pay social insurance only on a reduced base that rises to the full salary at the upper limit. For a mini job the calculator assumes flat-rate taxation by the employer; you only pay the pension insurance top-up unless you opt out.
How current are the values?
Below the table you see which year the values are from, when they were last checked and which sources they are based on. New values are added as soon as the Federal Ministry of Finance and the government publish them for the coming year – usually in November and December.