DoubleTaxationTaxes on salary: Germany
How much tax and social security is paid on a salary in Germany, what is left as take-home pay, and which special tax regimes exist.
Calculation for a gross salary of €60,000 per year
| Gross salary | €60,000 |
|---|---|
| Income tax | |
| Einkommensteuer (Lohnsteuer) | €9,399 |
| Employee contributions | |
| Rentenversicherung | €5,580 |
| Krankenversicherung | €5,250 |
| Pflegeversicherung | €1,440 |
| Arbeitslosenversicherung | €780 |
| Take-home pay | €37,551 |
| Employer contributions and payroll taxes | |
| Rentenversicherung | €5,580 |
| Krankenversicherung | €5,250 |
| Pflegeversicherung | €1,080 |
| Arbeitslosenversicherung | €780 |
| Employer's labour cost | €72,690 |
Only some of the country's direct taxes and levies are counted: income tax on wages and compulsory contributions. Not counted: property and real-estate taxes; taxes on dividends, interest and other investment income; inheritance and gift taxes; indirect taxes such as VAT, excise and customs duties.
Official OECD figures for the average wage (Taxing Wages 2026, 2025 data): tax burden on the employee 38.7 %, including employer contributions 49.3 %. OECD
Special tax regimes
These regimes are not included in the calculation above: each has its own conditions.
Pauschalierung der Lohnsteuer bei geringfügiger Beschäftigung (Minijob)
Who: Employees in minor employment (minijob under § 8(1) no. 1, § 8a SGB IV) for whom the employer pays pension contributions under the simplified rules.
Instead of ordinary wage tax the employer may pay a single flat tax of 2% of the wage (including solidarity surcharge and church tax) without retrieving the employee's electronic tax data.
Legal basis: § 40a Abs. 2 EStG
Übungsleiterfreibetrag und Ehrenamtspauschale
Who: People with part-time activities as trainers, instructors, carers, artists or volunteers for public-law or non-profit bodies in the EU/EEA/Switzerland.
Tax-free up to EUR 3,300 a year (instructors etc., § 3 no. 26) or up to EUR 960 a year (other non-profit activities, § 3 no. 26a); the two cannot be combined for the same income.
Legal basis: § 3 Nr. 26, 26a EStG
Gewinnermittlung nach Durchschnittssätzen (Land- und Forstwirtschaft)
Who: Small farms and forestry businesses with no bookkeeping obligation: up to 20 ha of farmland, up to 50 livestock units and the other limits of § 13a(1) EStG.
Profit is determined from the statutory average rates of § 13a(3)–(7) EStG rather than actual income and expenses, and taxed under the normal schedule.
Legal basis: § 13a EStG
Erlass oder Pauschalierung der Einkommensteuer bei beschränkt Steuerpflichtigen im besonderen öffentlichen Interesse
Who: Non-residents (limited taxpayers), in particular performers and athletes at internationally significant cultural and sporting events in Germany or members of foreign cultural groups whose performance is substantially publicly funded.
State tax authorities, with the consent of the Federal Ministry of Finance, may waive the tax in whole or in part or fix it as a lump sum; granted case by case, not automatically.
Legal basis: § 50 Abs. 4 EStG
Abgeltungsteuer auf Kapitalerträge
Who: German residents with private capital income: interest, dividends, gains on shares, bonds and fund units.
Capital income is taxed separately at 25% (plus solidarity surcharge and, for church members, church tax) instead of the progressive scale. German banks withhold it; foreign income is declared. The first EUR 1,000 a year (EUR 2,000 for couples) is tax-free. If the normal scale is cheaper, it applies on request.
Legal basis: § 32d Abs. 1, 6 EStG; § 20 Abs. 9 EStG
Aktivrente (Steuerbefreiung nach § 3 Nr. 21 EStG)
Who: Employees who have reached the standard retirement age and keep working under an employment contract with the employer paying pension contributions — whether or not they draw a pension.
Pay for work after reaching retirement age is exempt from income tax up to EUR 24,000 a year (EUR 2,000 a month); the limit falls by 1/12 for each month the conditions are not met.
Legal basis: § 3 Nr. 21 EStG
Tax residence
When Germany treats you as a tax resident
- You have a home in Germany — under § 8 AO this is a Wohnsitz (domicile), so under German law you are resident with unlimited tax liability, even if your centre of vital interests is in the United States.
- You stayed in Germany continuously for more than six months for a purpose other than a visit or holiday — under § 9 AO this is a habitual abode from the first day, and you are resident in Germany.
Assumptions
- Calculated with the OECD Taxing Wages methodology: income tax including local taxes plus employee social security; single person without children, tax year 2026, ECB rate of 2 January 2026.
- Income tax is the annual final assessment under the basic schedule of § 32a EStG for a single person; monthly wage tax (Lohnsteuer) is only an advance on it.
- Deductions: employee lump sum EUR 1,230, special-expenses lump sum EUR 36, employee pension contributions, health insurance (less 4% sick-pay share) and long-term care contributions; unemployment insurance only within the EUR 1,900 cap (§ 10(4) EStG).
- Church tax is excluded (as in OECD Taxing Wages); no children, so no child allowance.
- Statutory health insurance with the average additional rate of 2.9%, split equally; the 0.6% childless surcharge on long-term care insurance (age 23+) is paid by the employee only.
- Employer accident insurance (Berufsgenossenschaft), U1/U2 and insolvency levies are excluded — rates depend on the employer (as in the OECD).
- Local taxes — location: Germany (federal rates; no church tax; not Saxony)
- Tax period: 2026-01-01 – 2026-12-31
- Exchange rate: 1 EUR = 1 EUR (The euro is the national currency (no conversion needed), 2026-01-02)
Sources
- § 32a EStG — Tarif ab 2026
- § 9a EStG — Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag 1 230 €
- § 10c EStG — Sonderausgaben-Pauschbetrag 36 €
- § 10 Abs. 1 Nr. 2, 3, 3a, Abs. 3, 4 EStG — Vorsorgeaufwendungen
- § 3 Abs. 3 SolzG 1995 — Freigrenze 20 350 €
- § 4 SolzG 1995 — 5,5 %, höchstens 11,9 % des Unterschiedsbetrags
- § 241 SGB V — allgemeiner Beitragssatz 14,6 %
- BMG: durchschnittlicher Zusatzbeitragssatz 2026 — 2,9 % (BAnz AT 10.11.2025 B7)
- § 55 Abs. 3 SGB XI — Beitragszuschlag für Kinderlose 0,6 Prozentpunkte
- § 341 SGB III — Arbeitslosenversicherung 2,6 %
- DRV: Sozialversicherungs-Rechengrößen 2026 (BBG RV/ALV 101 400 €, KV/PV 69 750 €)
- Haufe: Beitragssätze zur Sozialversicherung 2026 (RV 18,6 %, PV 3,6 %)
- BMF Einkommensteuerrechner 2026 (Abgleich des Tarifs)
- OECD Taxing Wages 2026, Germany
Data checked: 2026-11-01. An indicative calculation for a typical case. Not tax advice.