Germany salary calculator — Brutto to Netto.
German payslips take a real bite out of gross — social security, income tax, and a couple of surcharges. This works out what's actually left, using 2026 rates for a single person in tax class I. Enter a gross figure, or start from the net you want and work back.
Your inputs
Annual figures. Tax class I (single). Monthly take-home is in the breakdown.
Yearly breakdown
- Gross salary
- €50,000
- Social security (~20%)
- − €10,575
- Income tax (Lohnsteuer)
- − €6,846
- Net pay (65% of gross)
- €32,579
- That's per month
- €2,715
- Employer social security
- + €10,575
- Total cost to employer
- €60,575
Where the money goes
Social security first
Before income tax, roughly 20% of gross goes to four mandatory schemes: pension (9.3%), health (~8.8%), long-term care (1.8%), and unemployment (1.3%). Each is capped — pension and unemployment stop counting above €101,400 a year, health and care above €69,750 — so very high earners pay a smaller percentage overall.
Income tax that ramps
Germany has no fixed brackets. Below €12,348 you pay nothing; above it the marginal rate slides continuously from 14% up to 42%, reaching that ceiling around €69,878. Because contributions are largely deductible, the tax is charged on a taxable income lower than your gross — which this tool accounts for.
Soli and church tax
The solidarity surcharge was mostly abolished for employees — it only bites once your income tax tops about €20,350, so most people see €0. Church tax is opt-in by membership: 9% of your income tax in most states, 8% in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg. Leave a church and it stops.
What it costs the employer
Employers roughly match your social-security contributions, so a hire costs the company about 20% more than the gross on the contract. A €50,000 salary is closer to €60,000 once the employer's share is added — the figure that matters when you're budgeting a role rather than reading a payslip.
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