Of €4,000 gross, around €2,600 arrives in tax class I. Where the other €1,400 go, what you can influence and why the employer pays another €800 on top.
In short
- Deductions 2026: pension insurance 18.6 percent, health insurance 14.6 plus surcharge, care 3.6, unemployment 2.6, each split in half with the employer.
- Wage tax follows the tariff with a basic allowance of €12,348; the solidarity surcharge only hits top earners now.
- Adjustable: tax class, allowances on your wage tax record, church tax, salary conversion.
- The employer pays roughly 20 percent in social contributions on top; the total package is bigger than gross.
The four social contributions
Social insurance comes off gross first, always split in half with the employer. Pension insurance: 18.6 percent, your share 9.3. Health insurance: 14.6 percent plus an additional contribution, 2.9 percent on average in 2026, your share around 8.75. Long-term care insurance: 3.6 percent, your share 1.8; childless people from 23 pay 0.6 points more, parents with several children less. Unemployment insurance: 2.6 percent, your share 1.3. Together around 21 percent, up to the contribution ceiling, which in 2026 sits at roughly €8,450 a month for pensions and €5,812 for health insurance.
Wage tax
Wage tax is an advance payment on income tax. It follows the tariff: up to the basic allowance of €12,348 a year no tax is due, then the rate rises linearly from 14 percent to 42 percent from roughly €69,000 of taxable income, and 45 percent applies from around €278,000. The solidarity surcharge of 5.5 percent on the tax only kicks in above roughly €20,000 of annual wage tax, that is at gross salaries well above €80,000. Church tax is eight percent in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, nine elsewhere.
An example
€4,000 gross, tax class I, no children, no church, 2.9 percent additional contribution: social contributions around €850, wage tax around €560, net around €2,590. In tax class III with two children it would be around €2,980. With church tax around €50 less. The calculator below does this for your salary.
What you can influence
The tax class for married couples shifts tax between partners; the annual total stays the same, liquidity does not. Allowances for high work expenses, commuting or maintenance can be registered with the tax office, so monthly wage tax falls immediately instead of only with the refund. Salary conversion into a company pension saves tax and social contributions on up to €302 a month, often with an employer subsidy. A company bike, a travel pass or a benefit in kind up to €50 are tax-free and therefore worth more than the same amount gross.
What the employer pays on top
On top of your €4,000 the employer adds around €820 in social contributions and levies. The total package costs around €4,820. That figure is the employer’s yardstick in salary negotiations, not your net.
Try it yourself
Gross to Net Calculator 2026Tax class, children, church tax, health insurer surcharge: what is left of your German gross salary, monthly and per year.Income Tax CalculatorEnter taxable income, read off tax, marginal rate and average rate, with joint assessment.Frequently asked questions
Why does the health insurer surcharge vary so much?
Each insurer sets it itself, in 2026 between roughly 1.8 and 4 percent. Switching to a cheap insurer is possible with two months’ notice and brings up to €40 net a month at €4,000 gross.
What is the difference between wage tax and income tax?
Wage tax is deducted monthly by the employer and is an advance payment. Income tax is finally assessed after the tax return; the difference is refunded or demanded.
Is tax class III and V worthwhile?
For the liquidity of the higher earner yes; the couple pays the same tax overall. From 2030 the combination is abolished and replaced by the factor method.
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