Germany taxes income on a progressive tariff. The employer withholds income tax (Lohnsteuer), the solidarity surcharge (5.5% of the tax, only above a threshold: €20,350 of tax for a single person in 2026) and, where applicable, church tax (8% or 9% of the tax) and pays social contributions together with you. Tax class (Steuerklasse) and allowances change what is withheld each month.
Sort:
Zone (taxable income) ⇅
Income tax formula 2026 (single person) ⇅
Zone 1 · up to €12,348
0
Zone 2 · €12,349 – €17,799
(914.51 × y + 1,400) × y, with y = (taxable income − 12,348) ÷ 10,000
Zone 3 · €17,800 – €69,878
(173.10 × z + 2,397) × z + 1,034.87, with z = (taxable income − 17,799) ÷ 10,000
Zone 4 · €69,879 – €277,825
0.42 × x − 11,135.63 (x = taxable income)
Zone 5 · from €277,826
0.45 × x − 19,470.38
Social contributions
Sort:
Contribution (2026) ⇅
Total rate ⇅
Employer ⇅
Employee ⇅
Earnings ceiling ⇅
Pension insurance (Rentenversicherung)
18.6%
9.3%
9.3%
€101,400 / year (€8,450 / month)
Unemployment insurance (Arbeitslosenversicherung)
2.6%
1.3%
1.3%
€101,400 / year
Health insurance (Krankenversicherung), general
14.6%
7.3%
7.3%
€69,750 / year (€5,812.50 / month)
Health insurance, average additional rate (Zusatzbeitrag)
2.9%
1.45%
1.45%
same; each fund sets its own rate
Long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung)
3.6%
1.8%
1.8% (+0.6% if childless, from age 23)
€69,750 / year
Saxony has a different long-term-care split for employees. The additional health rate is set by each fund; 2.9% is the official average for 2026 (Bundesanzeiger 10.11.2025), actual funds charge between about 2.2% and 4.4%. Childless surcharge 0.6% applies from age 23.
What is left after tax? (estimate)
Type the gross monthly salary you were offered. We apply the 2026 income-tax tariff and employee social contributions.
Method: tax class I (single, no children), no other income, standard work-related expenses €1,230 and special-expenses €36, employee pension/health/care contributions deducted as provisions, income tax by § 32a EStG 2026, solidarity surcharge with the 2026 threshold. It is an estimate: the real payroll uses the official Federal Ministry of Finance payroll tax program, tax class, children, allowances, 13th salary and company benefits, so the payslip will differ. Not advice.
NATIONALOfficial prices Source: Federal and state sources · Data: 2026
Public transport: the Deutschlandticket is a nationwide monthly pass for local and regional transport, price set by federal and state governments (check the current price at deutschlandticket.de).
Kindergarten (Kita): fees are set by state and municipality and range from free to several hundred euros a month; check the city website.
Rent and living costs by city: not shown yet. We do not publish an estimate without a dated official source; this is planned.
What is left after tax? (estimate)
Type the gross monthly salary you were offered. We apply the 2026 income-tax tariff and employee social contributions.
Method: tax class I (single, no children), no other income, standard work-related expenses €1,230 and special-expenses €36, employee pension/health/care contributions deducted as provisions, income tax by § 32a EStG 2026, solidarity surcharge with the 2026 threshold. It is an estimate: the real payroll uses the official Federal Ministry of Finance payroll tax program, tax class, children, allowances, 13th salary and company benefits, so the payslip will differ. Not advice.
Live jobs: Bundesagentur für Arbeit – Jobsuche (public job-search interface of the Federal Employment Agency; ads published in the last 28 days; counts by facet)
Wages by single occupation, city and state (the official source we use covers 9 broad occupation groups, 2022). The Federal Employment Agency's pay atlas has no public data interface that we could use.
Rents and living costs by city; kindergarten fees (they differ by state and municipality).
Employee headcount by company for all employers: there is no free national register; we show live hiring and, where Wikidata has a dated figure, a reported group-wide headcount.
Union membership numbers and sector-by-sector collective-agreement pay tables.