Start with monthly or annual gross salary, then subtract wage tax, solidarity surcharge where applicable, church tax if you are liable, and employee social security contributions for health, nursing care, pension and unemployment insurance. The result is the net salary paid to your bank account.

Most single employees use tax class I. Single parents may use class II. Married couples can use IV/IV, III/V or IV/IV with factor. A second German job usually falls into class VI. Tax class changes monthly payroll withholding, but the final annual tax is settled through the income-tax return.

Important 2026 values include the EUR 12,348 basic tax allowance, EUR 5,812.50 monthly health and nursing care contribution ceiling, EUR 8,450 monthly pension and unemployment contribution ceiling, a 2.9% average statutory health-insurance additional contribution and the EUR 603 minijob limit.

The solidarity surcharge still exists, but most employees do not pay it because it only applies above the annual wage-tax exemption threshold. High earners may see Soli after the mitigation zone; capital income and corporate contexts follow separate rules.

Church tax is calculated as a percentage of wage tax. Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg use 8%; the other German federal states use 9%. If you are not registered as a church-tax member, switch it off in the calculator.

Not always. Compare net salary, employer cost, health-insurance assumptions, pension contributions, bonus treatment, relocation allowance and local cost of living. For Blue Card and skilled-worker offers, also check legal salary thresholds separately from monthly take-home pay.

For a quick estimate, spread the bonus or 13th salary over the year and simulate a higher monthly gross amount. Real payroll for one-off payments can differ because German wage-tax withholding has special rules for irregular payments.

Yes. Use the country switch for Switzerland or Austria. Swiss results include source-tax and social-security context, while Austria includes its own payroll logic such as special-payment treatment. For detailed municipality-level Swiss tax, use the Swiss tax comparison as well.

Yes, but only when you enable the switch. The Swiss default first shows payroll net. Optionally, the calculator subtracts the 2026 BAG adult premium for the standard model with accident cover, using canton or premium region plus the selected deductible. This is Swiss KVG paid after payroll, not German statutory health insurance.