The net salary (German: Nettolohn or Nettogehalt) is the amount that remains after deducting all taxes and social security contributions from the gross salary and is actually transferred to the employee's account.
How is net salary calculated?
The following deductions are made from the gross salary:
- Wage tax (Lohnsteuer): depends on tax class, tax year and annual gross income
- Solidarity surcharge (Solidaritätszuschlag): since 2021 only for higher incomes (annual gross above approx. 73,000 €)
- Church tax (Kirchensteuer): 8–9% of wage tax (only for church members)
- Pension insurance (Rentenversicherung): 9.3% of gross salary (employee share)
- Health insurance (Krankenversicherung): approx. 7.3% + half the supplementary contribution of chosen insurer
- Long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung): 1.7% (without children: 2.0%)
- Unemployment insurance (Arbeitslosenversicherung): 1.3%
Example: net salary for 3,000 € gross (tax class I, 2026)
For a monthly gross salary of 3,000 € in tax class I, the net salary amounts to approximately 2,020–2,060 € depending on health insurer and church tax.