German Salary
Work out what actually reaches your account each month, and what your job costs your employer.
Before any tax or contributions. The number in your contract.
Your results will appear here
Fill in the form and hit Calculate.
Gross to net calculator 2026: how your net pay comes about
The gross-to-net calculator shows what is left of your salary in your account after wage tax and social contributions. Wage tax follows the Federal Ministry of Finance's official formula for 2026, and health insurance is worked out with your own health fund's rate. You get a net figure you can hold next to your payslip, and you see line by line where every euro goes.
What happens between gross and net
Two things come off your gross salary: tax and social insurance. The taxes are wage tax, the solidarity surcharge and, if you belong to a religious community that levies it, church tax. Social insurance is made up of pension, unemployment, health and long-term care insurance.
Your employer usually pays the other half of the contributions. The result therefore also shows the employer's cost: your gross plus the employer's half of all contributions. You can enter the salary per month or per year and also work backwards: enter the net pay you need and the calculator names the gross that leads to it.
Tax classes 1 to 6
The tax class decides how much wage tax is withheld each month, not how much tax you owe in the end. Class I is for single people, class II for single parents with a child in the household. For married couples III, IV and V come into play: III for the higher income with V for the partner, or both in IV. Class VI applies to a second or further job.
Couples can lay the combinations III and V, IV and IV, and IV with a factor side by side in the calculator. At the end of the year you are assessed together, so the tax on your actual income is the same. The classes only shift how much stays in your hand each month and which of you carries it.
Wage tax, solidarity surcharge and church tax
Wage tax is calculated with the official programme flow chart, which applies the tariff in § 32a EStG step by step. If your taxable income stays below the basic allowance, no wage tax is due. The solidarity surcharge comes from the same chart and falls away entirely at lower incomes.
Church tax is 8 percent in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and 9 percent in all other states. Child allowances from your ELStAM reduce it and the solidarity surcharge, but not the wage tax itself.
Health insurance and the additional contribution
In statutory health insurance you pay a percentage of your pay up to the contribution ceiling. On top comes the additional contribution, which each fund sets itself and of which you carry half. Choose your health fund in the calculator or enter your own rate. The calculator also shows how far apart the funds are and what a switch would be worth per month.
If you have private cover, enter your monthly premium. The employer pays half, but no more than he would have to pay for you in statutory insurance. The health funds' rates are checked for changes every day.
Long-term care, pension and unemployment insurance
In long-term care insurance your rate depends on your family. Employees over 23 without children pay the childless surcharge alone. Once you have had a child you never pay it again, and from the second child under 25 the rate falls with each child. Saxony splits long-term care insurance unevenly between employees and employers.
Pension and unemployment insurance each charge a percentage of your pay, and your employer pays half. Above the contribution ceiling nothing more is charged, and the calculator marks such lines as capped. If you are in a professional pension scheme (Versorgungswerk) instead of the statutory one, you can set that.
More than one figure
If your salary falls in the transition range, your contributions are charged on a reduced amount, and the calculator takes that into account. At a level that corresponds to a mini job the employer pays flat-rate contributions, so a note appears saying the result is only a rough guide.
You can also play through a pay rise, fewer or more weekly hours, a side job in tax class VI and your expected pension. The same salary can be held against the rent in every city of the property section.
Frequently asked questions about the gross-to-net calculator
How much net pay is left from gross?
It depends on tax class, health fund, church tax, children and state. The calculator gives you the share of your gross that reaches you and shows every deduction separately.
Which tax class is best for married couples?
That depends on how far apart the salaries are. The calculator lays III and V, IV and IV, and IV with a factor side by side. The tax for the whole year is the same in all of them, and the choice only changes the monthly net pay.
Why does my payslip differ?
Allowances in your ELStAM, a company car, a thirteenth monthly salary and salary sacrifice change the result. The calculator does not ask about them, and your employer's payslip is what counts.
How does my health fund affect my net pay?
Each fund sets its additional contribution itself, and you pay half. At the contribution ceiling the difference between the dearest and the cheapest fund comes to a noticeable amount per month.
What is the childless surcharge?
A surcharge in long-term care insurance for employees over 23 without children, which you carry alone. With the first child it falls away for good.
What is the contribution ceiling?
The limit up to which your pay is subject to contributions in one branch of insurance. What lies above it is not charged. In the result that line is marked as capped.
How much gross do I need for a certain net pay?
Switch the calculator above to gross from net and enter the net pay you want. It looks for the gross that takes you exactly there.
How much of a pay rise is left?
Less than the figure sounds, because the extra is taxed at your highest rate and charged contributions in full. In the calculator you put your current salary next to the one you ask for, line by line.