Germany net salary calculator (Nettogehalt, Brutto-Netto)
Germany net salary calculator (Your net salary in Germany is your gross minus income tax (§32a EStG), the solidarity surcharge and roughly 20% in social contributions up to their ceilings.
Worked example · Net / month
You keep 65.6% of gross pay 34.4% goes to tax and contributions
With Gross annual salary of 48,000 EUR, this model computes Net / month of 2,624.98 EUR. See the full working.
✓ Verified against 2 self-test cases Updated for 2026 · sources checked 2026-10-17
How Nettogehalt (net salary) in Germany is calculated
Germany taxes employment income progressively. First, social contributions come off the gross: pension (9.3%) and unemployment (1.3%) up to the 101,400 EUR ceiling, and health (7.3% plus half the average insurer add-on) and long-term care (1.8%, plus a 0.6-point surcharge if you are childless and over 23) up to the 69,750 EUR ceiling.
What remains, after the 1,230 EUR employee allowance and a 36 EUR lump sum, is your taxable income (zu versteuerndes Einkommen, zvE). Income tax is computed from the §32a EStG tariff: nothing up to the 12,348 EUR basic allowance, then a rising marginal rate up to 42% (45% for very high incomes).
A 5.5% solidarity surcharge applies only where the tax exceeds the relief floor, so most employees pay none. Church tax (8% or 9% of the income tax) is optional and off by default. The calculator exposes children and church membership because both change the result; the defaults model a single, childless employee.
Worked example
ShowHide the full working: 3 inputs, 11 computed steps
| Inputs | |
|---|---|
| Gross annual salary | 48,000 EUR |
| Children | 0 |
| Church tax rate | None |
| Computed by the engine | |
| Pension + unemployment | 5,088 EUR |
| Care Rate | 0.024 |
| Health + long-term care | 5,352 EUR |
| Social Total | 10,440 |
| Taxable income (zvE) ✓ pinned | 36,294 EUR |
| Income tax (§32a) ✓ pinned | 6,060.24 EUR |
| Solidarity surcharge ✓ pinned | 0 EUR |
| Church tax ✓ pinned | 0 EUR |
| Total Tax | 6,060.24 |
| Net / year | 31,499.76 EUR |
| Net / month | 2,624.98 EUR |
Every computed row comes from the engine, run on the inputs above. Rows marked ✓ pinned are also fixed by a published self-test, so a change to the model that moved them would fail its own tests.
Frequently asked questions
How much tax do you pay on 48,000 EUR in Germany?
On a 48,000 EUR gross salary the model applies pension and unemployment contributions on the full amount, health and care contributions up to their ceiling, then income tax on the remaining taxable income under the §32a EStG tariff. No solidarity surcharge is due at this level and church tax is optional.
What is the difference between gross and net salary in Germany?
Gross (brutto) is your contractual salary; net (netto) is what reaches your account after social contributions, income tax, any solidarity surcharge and optional church tax. Roughly a fifth of gross goes to social contributions before tax is even calculated.
Does the childless surcharge apply to me?
The long-term care insurance rate carries a 0.6-point surcharge for employees over 23 with no children. Set the children field above zero to remove it — the net figure updates immediately.
Sources
- BMF Brutto-Netto-Rechner (official calculator) · checked 2026-08-02
- §32a EStG — income tax tariff from 2026 · checked 2026-10-17
- §3 SolZG — solidarity surcharge Freigrenze (20,350 EUR) · checked 2026-10-17
- vdek — 2026 contribution rates and ceilings · checked 2026-10-17
- Bundesanzeiger — average health add-on 2026 (2.9%) · checked 2026-10-17
Estimate. Not tax advice. The verification badge means the model reproduces the stated formula through 2 self-test cases; the sources support that the formula matches the rules.
Check the arithmetic yourself: how this calculator is verified — the formula behind every derived value, the 2 test cases the engine reproduces, and what the badge does and does not claim. Also available as machine-readable JSON.
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