Germany income tax calculator 2026: Lohnsteuer and Soli
Enter a yearly gross salary, tax class and federal state to see the wage tax for 2026 worked out step by step, from gross pay to taxable income.
Results
Net pay
€37.561,00
You keep 62,60%.
- Income tax a year
- €9.389,00
- Marginal rate with contributions
- 48,42%
- -
- -
- Employer cost a year
- €72.690,00
Side by side
| Item | A year |
|---|---|
| Gross pay | €60.000,00 |
| Lohnsteuer (wage tax) | €9.389,00 |
| Solidaritätszuschlag (Soli) | €0,00 |
| Pension insurance | €5.580,00 |
| Unemployment insurance | €780,00 |
| Health insurance | €5.250,00 |
| Care insurance | €1.440,00 |
| Total deductions | €22.439,00 |
| Net pay | €37.561,00 |
| Item | A year |
|---|---|
| Employer pension insurance | €5.580,00 |
| Employer unemployment insurance | €780,00 |
| Employer health insurance | €5.250,00 |
| Employer care insurance | €1.080,00 |
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Pay for the year | €60.000,00 |
| Less the Pauschbeträge (work, Sonderausgaben, single parent) | €1.266,00 |
| Less the Vorsorgepauschale | €12.090,00 |
| Taxable income (zvE) | €46.644,00 |
| Wage tax for the year | €9.389,00 |
The Programmablaufplan run for the whole year.
What this does not include
- The tax shown is the wage tax on a full calendar year of pay from one employer, worked out with the plan for the whole year in one run; twelve monthly payslips can add up to a few cents less.
- It is the tax withheld, not the assessment of the Finanzamt: work expenses above the flat amount, the contributions actually paid, other income and the Kindergeld comparison only count on the tax return.
- Classes III and V each show one partner's wage tax under the couple's split of allowances, not the joint income tax of the couple for the year.
- Church tax applies the chosen state's rate to the church tax base; a cap on application and the minimum amounts some churches charge are not applied.
- One off payments such as a Christmas bonus, a pension from a former employer, the age relief and the factor method for class IV are outside this calculation.
- The employer cost covers the employer's pension, unemployment, health and care contributions; the insolvency levy (Insolvenzgeldumlage), the U1 and U2 levies and accident insurance are not added.
- Pay in the Minijob or Midijob range is flagged, but its reduced contributions are not worked out on this page.
- Care insurance uses the rate published for 2026 and adds the childless surcharge whenever no child is entered.
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For information only, not financial, tax or legal advice.
Last updated . Method checked . Rates checked 3 November 2026. Methodology
German income tax on a salary is collected as wage tax (Lohnsteuer): the employer withholds it with a program the Federal Ministry of Finance publishes, the Programmablaufplan. That program turns gross pay into taxable income by taking off flat amounts for work and for social insurance, then applies the income tax tariff of section 32a of the Income Tax Act. This calculator runs it for a whole year of 2026 pay and shows each step, the solidarity surcharge and church tax. For a single employee in class I on €60.000 a year, taxable income is €46.644 and the Lohnsteuer €9.389; class III, the half of a married couple that takes both basic allowances, pays €4.822 on the same salary. Figures are in euros in German number format and stay in this browser tab.
How to use the Germany Income Tax Calculator
- Type the gross salary for the whole of 2026 from one employer.
- Pick the tax class, the federal state and church membership. Tip: Class III doubles the tariff's basic allowance through splitting, and the state sets the church tax rate.
- Add children under 25 and the child allowances on your tax card if you have any.
- Read the income tax for the year beside the net pay, then open How we calculate for the steps from gross pay to Lohnsteuer. Tip: The steps table shows the Pauschbeträge, the Vorsorgepauschale and the taxable income the tariff is applied to.
Worked example
A single employee in Bayern, tax class I and a church member, earns €60.000 in 2026 from one employer. There are no children, the employee is over 23 and the health fund charges the average Zusatzbeitrag. Amounts are in euros.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Gross pay for the year | €60.000 |
| Tax class | I |
| Federal state | Bayern, church member |
Pauschbeträge = €1.230 for work + €36 for Sonderausgaben = €1.266 Vorsorgepauschale = pension part 9,3% x €60.000 = €5.580, plus health and care part (7,0% + 1,45% + 2,4%) x €60.000 = €6.510, in all €12.090 Taxable income (zvE) = €60.000 - €1.266 - €12.090 = €46.644 Lohnsteuer = (173,10 x 2,8845 + 2.397) x 2,8845 + 1.034,87 = €9.389, with 2,8845 = (46.644 - 17.799) / 10.000, cut to the euro Soli = €0,00, as €9.389 is under the exemption limit of €20.350 Kirchensteuer = 8% x €9.389 = €751,12 Net pay = €60.000 - €9.389 - €751,12 - €13.050 of social insurance = €36.809,88
- Lohnsteuer, Soli and church tax for the year
- €10.140,12
- Lohnsteuer
- €9.389,00
- Solidaritätszuschlag
- €0,00
- Kirchensteuer in Bayern
- €751,12
- Net pay for the year
- €36.809,88
- Marginal rate with contributions
- 50,55%
Wage tax from the BMF Programmablaufplan 2026 run for the whole year, tariff from section 32a of the Income Tax Act, checked on 3 November 2026. The BMF Lohnsteuerrechner gives the same €9.389,00 and €751,12.
How it is calculated
Taxable income = gross pay - Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag - Sonderausgaben-Pauschbetrag - Vorsorgepauschale
Income tax = the section 32a tariff on taxable income, cut to the euro (class III: twice the tariff on half)
Soli = 5,5% of the income tax above the exemption limit, at most 11,9% of the excess
Church tax = the state rate x the income tax recomputed with the child allowances
The German tariff is a formula rather than a list of brackets. Up to the Grundfreibetrag of €12.348 the tax is nil. In the next two zones the marginal rate rises without steps, from 14% to 42%, along two curves written into section 32a of the Income Tax Act. From €69.879 each further euro is taxed at 42%, and from €277.826 at 45%. The tax is always cut down to a whole euro.
Gross pay is not the income the tariff sees. The wage tax plan first subtracts the Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag of €1.230 for work costs and a small flat amount for Sonderausgaben, then the Vorsorgepauschale. That allowance stands for social insurance: the employee's pension contribution in full, and health and care at half the reduced health rate plus half the Zusatzbeitrag and the care rate. In the example it removes €12.090, which is why €60.000 of pay is taxed as €46.644.
The tax classes change how the plan applies the tariff, not the tariff itself. Class II adds the relief for single parents, class III taxes half the taxable income and doubles the result so a couple's two basic allowances both work on one salary, and class V and class VI use the wage tables that make up for that. Class IV treats each partner as single.
The solidarity surcharge only reaches high earners now. It is charged once the tax for the year passes €20.350, and above that limit it grows gradually until it reaches the full rate. Church tax is 8% or 9% of the church tax base by state.
In the worked example, €60.000 in Bayern with church membership leads to €9.389 of Lohnsteuer and €751,12 of church tax. One more euro of pay costs about 50,55 cents in tax and social insurance at that income.
Frequently asked questions
How much income tax is paid on €60.000 a year in Germany?
In tax class I the plan takes €1.266 of Pauschbeträge and a Vorsorgepauschale of €12.090 off €60.000, leaving taxable income of €46.644. The tariff charges €9.389 on that. Soli is nil, as the tax is under the exemption limit, and a church member in Bayern adds €751,12 of church tax, so the total is €10.140,12 and the net pay after social insurance €36.809,88.
How does splitting in tax class III lower the tax?
Class III applies the tariff to half the taxable income and doubles the result, the splitting of section 32a(5) of the Income Tax Act. On €60.000 that cuts the Lohnsteuer from €9.389 in class I to €4.822, and on €80.000 from €15.694 to €9.496. The partner in class V pays more in return, €15.364 on €60.000, because the basic allowance went to class III.
What are the German income tax rates for 2026?
No tax is due on taxable income up to €12.348. From there the rate climbs smoothly from 14% through two progressive zones, reaching 42% at €69.879. From €277.826 the top rate of 45% applies. A married couple taxed jointly pays twice the tax on half their combined taxable income.
When does the solidarity surcharge start?
Soli is 5,5% of the income tax, but it is charged only when the tax for the year is above €20.350 for a single person, or €40.700 in class III. Just above that limit it is capped at 11,9% of the excess. In class I on €100.000 a year the Lohnsteuer is €23.248 and Soli €344,86, still below the full rate.
Is this the tax I will owe after my tax return?
Not always. This page shows what the employer withholds, which uses fixed allowances in place of your actual costs. The Finanzamt then sets the income tax from the return, with the contributions actually paid, work expenses above the flat amount, other income and the comparison of Kindergeld with the child allowance, so a refund or a further payment can follow.
Guides for this tool
Sources
- Einkommensteuergesetz, section 32a: the income tax tariff from 2026 and the splitting rule checked 3 November 2026
- BMF, Programmablaufplan 2026 as XML pseudocode: Vorsorgepauschale, tax classes and the yearly run checked 3 November 2026
- BMF, Lohnsteuerrechner 2026, used to check the yearly results checked 3 November 2026
- Einkommensteuergesetz, section 9a: the Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag checked 3 November 2026
- Solidaritätszuschlaggesetz, section 3: the exemption limit checked 3 November 2026
- Solidaritätszuschlaggesetz, section 4: the rate and the cap above the limit checked 3 November 2026
- Einkommensteuergesetz, section 51a: the church tax base with the child allowances checked 3 November 2026