by Simon Bodych
Germany salary calculator methodology (2026)
Updated April 2026. Educational only; not a payslip, not ELStAM or BMF payroll software.
Arbeitnehmer / Angestellte
Regular payroll: Lohnsteuer, Solidaritätszuschlag, optional Kirchensteuer, RV/ALV/KV/PV, optional employer cost. Midijob (Gleitzone) applies automatically for monthly gross between €603.01 and €2,000 (simplified employee-share formulas).
Employee taxes (Lohnsteuer)
Lohnsteuer, Soli and the church-tax base follow the official BMF PAP 2026 via the lohnsteuerrechner package (amounts in cents). Tax classes I–VI and class IV with Faktorverfahren are supported. Church tax: 9% of the base in most Bundesländer, 8% in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg (from the selected state).
Social insurance (employee)
2026 ceilings: RV/ALV €8,450/month; KV/PV €5,812.50/month. Rates: RV 18.6% (9.3% + 9.3%), ALV 2.6% (1.3% + 1.3%), statutory health 14.6% + configurable Zusatzbeitrag (default BMG average 2.9%). Pflege: 3.6% base, +0.6 pp childless surcharge, reductions for children 2–5; Saxony uses a different employee/employer split (workplace-in-Saxony flag).
Private health (PKV)
This version focuses on statutory GKV. Full 2026 payroll PKV logic is planned separately; choosing PKV returns a “not supported in v1” message.
Minijob
Separate mode with €603 cap, employer flat KV/RV/Pauschsteuer per Minijob-Zentrale materials, plus a private-household variant. Commercial employer: typically 13% flat health, 15% flat pension and 2% flat wage tax on the employer side; optional 3.6% employee pension unless exempt. “Individual” tax mode uses the PAP for employee tax. Employer cost may include a bundled estimate for U1, U2, insolvency levy and accident insurance.
Net → gross
Binary search on the monthly gross→net mapping.
Out of scope
Multiple jobs, full PKV payroll detail, benefits-in-kind, cross-border cases, full annual ESt — intended for typical single-job GKV employees and standard Minijob scenarios.
