3 free Germany tools, rates from the BMF wage tax plan and federal law

Germany Brutto Netto and income tax calculators for 2026

These calculators turn a German gross salary (Brutto) into net pay (Netto) for tax year 2026, the calendar year from 1 January to 31 December 2026. They run the wage tax plan of the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) for tax classes I to VI, so the Lohnsteuer, the solidarity surcharge (Soli) and the church tax base are the figures an employer withholds. Pension, unemployment, health and care insurance come off up to their ceilings, with the health fund's own Zusatzbeitrag, the care surcharge for employees without children and the Sachsen split. A separate calculator shows the contributions on Minijob and Midijob pay. Amounts are in euros (EUR) in German number format, so 1.234,56 means one thousand two hundred thirty four euros and fifty six cents, and the working stays inside this browser tab.

Tax year 2026. Rates checked 3 November 2026.

Key figures for 2026

FigureValue
Grundfreibetrag€12.348 Taxable income with no income tax, single (twice this for a couple)
Top tax rates42% and 45% From taxable income of €69.879 and €277.826, single
Soli exemption limit€20.350 Of income tax, single (€40.700 joint); Soli is 5,5% above it
Pension and unemployment ceiling€101.400 A year (€8.450 a month)
Health and care ceiling€69.750 A year (€5.812,50 a month)
Average Zusatzbeitrag2,9% On top of the general health rate of 14,6%; each fund sets its own
Care insurance3,6% Plus 0,6% for employees without children from age 23
Kindergeld€259 Per child a month
Minijob limit€603 A month
Minimum wage€13,90 An hour; €14,60 from 1 January 2027

Germany tools

What changed this year

The Grundfreibetrag, the taxable income on which no income tax is due, rose to €12.348 for a single person, from €12.096 in 2025. The 42% rate now starts at taxable income of €69.879, up from €68.481, while the 45% rate still starts at €277.826.

The Vorsorgepauschale, the allowance the wage tax plan takes off for social insurance, follows new rules from 2026. Its health part uses half the reduced health rate of 14% plus half of the health fund's own Zusatzbeitrag, unemployment insurance now counts inside a joint cap of €1.900, and the old minimum amount is gone. Premiums for private health insurance now reach the employer as electronic tax data.

The contribution ceilings went up. Pension and unemployment insurance are charged on pay up to €101.400 a year, up from €96.600, and health and care insurance on pay up to €69.750, up from €66.150.

The average Zusatzbeitrag of the health funds, set by the Federal Ministry of Health, is 2,9% for 2026, up from 2,5% in 2025. Each fund sets its own rate, and the calculators start from the average.

The Soli exemption limit rose to €20.350 of income tax for a single person and €40.700 for a couple; the single limit was €19.950 in 2025. The child allowances (Kinderfreibeträge) for a couple are €9.756 per child, up from €9.600.

The pack is checked again when the BMF publishes its wage tax plan for 2027, with the next review due by 1 December 2026.

German payroll words

Brutto
Gross pay: the salary agreed in the contract, before tax and social insurance.
Netto
Net pay: what reaches the bank account once the employer has withheld tax and the employee's share of social insurance.
Lohnsteuer
Wage tax: the income tax an employer withholds from each pay and passes to the Finanzamt, worked out with the BMF plan.
Solidaritätszuschlag (Soli)
Solidarity surcharge: 5,5% of the income tax, charged only once the tax for the year passes an exemption limit.
Kirchensteuer
Church tax: a share of the wage tax for members of a church that collects it, 8% in Bayern and Baden-Württemberg and 9% in the other states.
Steuerklasse
Tax class: I for single people, II for single parents, III and V for a married couple who split their allowances, IV for a couple who share them equally, VI for a second job.
Sozialversicherung
Social insurance: pension, unemployment, health and care insurance, each paid partly by the employee and partly by the employer.
Zusatzbeitrag
The extra health insurance rate each statutory health fund sets on top of the general rate, paid half by the employee and half by the employer.
Beitragsbemessungsgrenze
Contribution ceiling: the pay above which no more social insurance is charged, one ceiling for pension and unemployment and a lower one for health and care.
Vorsorgepauschale
A flat allowance for social insurance that the wage tax plan subtracts before it applies the tariff. It is worked out by rule, so it differs from the contributions actually paid.
Grundfreibetrag
The basic allowance: the part of taxable income on which the tariff charges no tax, doubled for a married couple taxed jointly.
Kinderfreibetrag
The child allowance. During the year it lowers only Soli and church tax; Kindergeld is paid instead, and the Finanzamt compares the two after the year.
Minijob and Midijob
A Minijob pays up to €603 a month with flat rate contributions. A Midijob pays from there up to €2.000 a month, with lower employee contributions.

Choosing a tool

Which Germany tool answers your question

The Brutto Netto and income tax calculators run the same 2026 rates file and the same wage tax plan, so one salary typed into either gives the same Lohnsteuer, Soli and contributions. They differ in the pay period they start from and in the figure they put first.

Brutto Netto calculator. It starts from a monthly gross salary, runs the plan for the month as a payroll office does and shows the net pay a month, with each insurance on its own line and the employer's share beside it.

Germany income tax calculator. It starts from the gross pay for a whole year, runs the plan once for the year and lays out the steps from gross pay to taxable income and Lohnsteuer, with the effect of tax class III and splitting.

Minijob and Midijob calculator. It takes one month of pay, tells whether it is a Minijob, a Midijob in the transition band or a regular job, and lists the employee and employer contributions of that band, with the flat rates and flat tax of a Minijob and the reduced bases of a Midijob.

Gross to net in Germany 2026. The guide follows a €50.000 salary through the four insurances and the income tax formula, with check values for the tariff.

The two salary pages show the tax withheld from pay during the year. The Finanzamt sets the final income tax after the year from the return, so a refund or a further payment can follow.

Frequently asked questions

Which tax year do the Germany calculators cover?

They cover tax year 2026, which in Germany is the calendar year from 1 January to 31 December 2026. The wage tax follows the BMF Programmablaufplan 2026, the plan every payroll program in Germany has to use, and the contribution rates and ceilings follow federal law and the 2026 ceilings regulation. The 2027 plan is added once the BMF publishes it.

Why can my payslip or tax assessment show a different amount?

A payslip can differ by a few cents because payroll runs the plan for each month, and by more when it holds a bonus, an allowance entered on the tax card or your own fund's Zusatzbeitrag. The tax assessment differs more often: it uses the contributions actually paid instead of the Vorsorgepauschale and adds work expenses, other income and the comparison of Kindergeld with the child allowance.

Which tax class do I have?

The Finanzamt sets it from your marriage and child details, and it shows on the payslip as Steuerklasse. Single employees are in class I, single parents with a child in the household in class II, and married couples in IV and IV or, by choice, III and V. Class VI applies to a second job alongside the first.

Is church tax included?

Only when you switch on church membership. It is then 8% of the church tax base in Bayern and Baden-Württemberg and 9% in the other 14 states, which is why the calculators ask for the federal state. The base is the wage tax worked out again with the child allowances, so a parent pays less church tax than the Lohnsteuer alone would suggest.

Where do the key figures on this Germany page come from?

The table on this page is built from the very rates file every Germany calculator runs on, so a figure here cannot differ from one there. Each figure was checked on 3 November 2026 against the BMF wage tax plan, the federal statutes on gesetze-im-internet.de and the notices listed under Sources, and the plan's results were compared with the BMF's own wage tax calculator.

Sources