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.
Statutory health insurance, pension, unemployment and long-term-care insurance are shared between employee and employer (table above). Employees earning above the compulsory-insurance limit (€77,400 a year in 2026) may choose private health insurance.
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.