De Payroll

---
name: de-payroll
description: "German payroll for employees for pay periods in 2026: wage tax (Lohnsteuer) by tax class I to VI through the finance ministry's 2026 program flow (PAP) with the EUR 12,348 basic allowance, the Vorsorgepauschale, solidarity surcharge and church tax; the four social insurance branches (pension 18.6%, unemployment 2.6%, health 14.6% plus the fund's additional rate, average 2.9%, care 3.6% with the childless surcharge) and the 2026 ceilings; Minijobs (EUR 603), the Midijob band to EUR 2,000, the Aktivrente; the wage tax return by the 10th, contributions by the third-last bank working day, DEÜV reports, payslips, minimum wage, tax-free surcharges, sick and maternity pay, and penalties. Trigger on: Lohnsteuer, Gehaltsabrechnung, Lohnabrechnung, Entgeltabrechnung, Brutto Netto, Nettolohn, Steuerklasse, Sozialversicherung, Arbeitnehmeranteil, Arbeitgeberanteil, Beitragsbemessungsgrenze, Solidaritätszuschlag, Kirchensteuer, Rentenversicherung, Krankenversicherung, Pflegeversicherung, Arbeitslos"
license: "AGPL-3.0-or-later (code) / OpenAccountants Guide License v1.0 (content)"
metadata:
  source: openaccountants
  openaccountants_url: "https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/de-payroll"
  jurisdiction: "DE"
  tax_year: "2026"
  last_updated: "2026-10-31"
---

# German payroll 2026: wage tax, social insurance, Minijobs and reporting

> **General reference only.** This skill is general tax reference material for AI-assisted work. It has not been reviewed for any specific employer's or employee's facts. Payroll software that implements the 2026 PAP, and a Steuerberater or payroll accountant (Lohnbuchhalter), should confirm results before a real payroll run.

**The year.** The 2026 PAP applies to pay for periods "die nach dem 31. Dezember 2025, aber vor dem 1. Januar 2027 enden" and to one-time payments received in that window ([PAP 2026, Anlage 1](https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/Steuern/Steuerarten/Lohnsteuer/Programmablaufplan/2025-11-12-PAP-2026-anlage-1.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2)). Social insurance values apply from 1 January 2026. Pay for 2025 periods still being corrected is covered at the end of "Deadlines and filing".

**Sibling skills.** The employee's own annual return: [de-employee-income-tax](de-employee-income-tax.md). Contributions of the self-employed: [de-social-contributions](de-social-contributions.md); their income tax: [de-einkommensteuer-freelancer](de-einkommensteuer-freelancer.md). German tax of non-residents beyond payroll: [de-non-resident-tax](de-non-resident-tax.md). A foreign company hiring its first German employee: [de-uk-employer-first-hire](de-uk-employer-first-hire.md). Frontier workers to Switzerland: [germany-to-switzerland-cross-border-tax](germany-to-switzerland-cross-border-tax.md).

## Who this applies to

- **Employers in Germany.** Wage tax is collected by deduction from pay where the employer is a "domestic employer": it has a residence, seat, management, permanent establishment or permanent representative in Germany, or it is a foreign agency hiring out workers to work in Germany ([§ 38(1) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__38.html)). The employee owes the tax; the employer must withhold it at every payment ([§ 38(3) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__38.html)) and is liable for it ([§ 42d(1) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__42d.html)).
- **Social insurance.** The employer pays the whole contribution (Gesamtsozialversicherungsbeitrag) to the collecting office and gets the employee's share back ordinarily by deducting it from pay, subject to the § 28g exceptions below ([§ 28e SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__28e.html), [§ 28g SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__28g.html)). The collecting office is the employee's health fund; for Minijobs it is the Minijob-Zentrale ([§ 28i SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__28i.html)).
- **Who is in.** Employees in normal jobs, Minijobs, short-term jobs and the transition band (Midijob), and employees past the standard retirement age.
- **Who is out, and refer.** The self-employed; managing directors and shareholder-directors of a GmbH or UG and family members until their insurance status has been decided; civil servants; the miners' pension scheme; employer pensions (Versorgungsbezüge) and the old-age relief; benefits in kind, company cars and flat-rate taxes under § 37b and § 40 EStG; students and working students; short-time pay, Krankengeld, Mutterschaftsgeld, parental leave and Elterngeld beyond the employer's own sick pay, maternity top-up and reporting duties; annual leave entitlements; part-month pay periods; exact church tax (state caps, mixed-faith couples); private-household Minijobs beyond the rates below (the household cheque procedure).

## Rates, bands and thresholds

All wage tax amounts are yearly. The PAP annualises the period's pay, computes the year's tax and divides it back.

**Wage tax and surcharges**

| Item | Rate or amount | Year | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Basic allowance (Grundfreibetrag): no tax up to | EUR 12,348 | 2026 | [§ 32a(1) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__32a.html) |
| First progressive zone: (914.51 y + 1,400) y | EUR 12,349 to 17,799 | 2026 | § 32a(1) EStG, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__32a.html |
| Second progressive zone: (173.10 z + 2,397) z + 1,034.87 | EUR 17,800 to 69,878 | 2026 | § 32a(1) EStG, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__32a.html |
| Third zone: 0.42 x less 11,135.63 | EUR 69,879 to 277,825 | 2026 | § 32a(1) EStG, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__32a.html |
| Top zone: 0.45 x less 19,470.38 | from EUR 277,826 | 2026 | § 32a(1) EStG, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__32a.html |
| Employee lump sum (ANP), classes I to V | EUR 1,230 | 2026 | [§ 9a EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__9a.html) |
| Special expenses lump sum (SAP), classes I to V | EUR 36 | 2026 | [§ 10c EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__10c.html) |
| Single parent relief (EFA), class II, first child; each further child adds EUR 240 (only through an ELStAM allowance) | EUR 4,260 | 2026 | [§ 24b(2) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__24b.html) |
| Child allowances per counter, classes I to III (surcharge and church tax base only) | EUR 9,756 | 2026 | [PAP 2026](https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/Steuern/Steuerarten/Lohnsteuer/Programmablaufplan/2025-11-12-PAP-2026-anlage-1.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2) |
| Child allowances per counter, class IV | EUR 4,878 | 2026 | PAP 2026, https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/Steuern/Steuerarten/Lohnsteuer/Programmablaufplan/2025-11-12-PAP-2026-anlage-1.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2 |
| Classes V and VI: minimum tax as share of the taxable amount | 14% | 2026 | [§ 39b(2) sentence 7 EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39b.html) |
| Classes V and VI: at most 42% above EUR 14,071; exactly 42% above EUR 34,939; 45% above EUR 222,260 | thresholds as stated | 2026 | § 39b(2) sentence 7 EStG; PAP 2026 (W1STKL5, W2STKL5, W3STKL5), https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39b.html |
| Vorsorgepauschale: the unemployment part counts only so far as it and the health and care parts together stay within | EUR 1,900 | 2026 | [§ 39b(2) sentence 5 no. 3(e) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39b.html); PAP 2026 (VSPHB) |
| Reduced health rate used in the Vorsorgepauschale (PAP: KVSATZAN = KVZ/2/100 + 0.07) | 14.0% | 2026 | [§ 243 SGB V](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_5/__243.html); PAP 2026 |
| Solidarity surcharge on the wage tax | 5.5% | 2026 | [§ 4 SolzG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/solzg_1995/__4.html) |
| Surcharge capped at this share of the excess over the exemption limit (phase-in) | 11.9% | 2026 | § 4 SolzG, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/solzg_1995/__4.html |
| Surcharge exemption limit, all classes except III | EUR 20,350 | 2026 | [§ 3(3) SolzG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/solzg_1995/__3.html) |
| Surcharge exemption limit, class III | EUR 40,700 | 2026 | § 3(3) SolzG, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/solzg_1995/__3.html |
| Church tax on the church tax base, by state | 8% or 9% | 2026 | [Finance ministry, Steuern von A bis Z](https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/Broschueren_Bestellservice/steuern-von-a-z.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=9) |
| Tax-free pay past the standard retirement age (Aktivrente), per year | EUR 24,000 | 2026 | [§ 3 no. 21 EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__3.html) |
| The same, per month in payroll | EUR 2,000 | 2026 | [Finance ministry Aktivrente FAQ](https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/FAQ/FAQ-zur-Aktivrente.html) |

**Social insurance**

| Item | Rate or amount | Year | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Pension insurance, full rate (employer and employee 9.3% each) | 18.6% | 2026 | [RVBeitrSBek 2026](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/rvbeitrsbek_2026/BJNR1230A0025.html); [§ 168(1) no. 1 SGB VI](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_6/__168.html) |
| Unemployment insurance, full rate (1.3% each) | 2.6% | 2026 | [§ 341(2) SGB III](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_3/__341.html); [§ 346(1) SGB III](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_3/__346.html) |
| Health insurance, general rate (half each) | 14.6% | 2026 | [§ 241 SGB V](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_5/__241.html); [§ 249(1) SGB V](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_5/__249.html) |
| Health: the fund's own additional rate, half each | fund's rate | 2026 | § 249(1) SGB V, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_5/__249.html |
| Average additional rate (planning value; binding for the groups of § 242(3) SGB V) | 2.9% | 2026 | [Federal Health Ministry, Beiträge](https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/beitraege) |
| Care insurance, full rate | 3.6% | 2026 | [§ 1 PBAV 2025](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/pbav_2025/__1.html) |
| Care, employer share outside Saxony (employee the same with one child) | 1.8% | 2026 | [§ 58(1) SGB XI](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_11/__58.html); PAP 2026 |
| Care, Saxony: employee bears 1 point more (employee 2.3%, employer 1.3%, with one child) | 1 point | 2026 | [§ 58(3) SGB XI](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_11/__58.html); PAP 2026 |
| Childless surcharge, employee only, from the month after turning 23 | 0.6 points | 2026 | [§ 55(3) SGB XI](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_11/__55.html) |
| Reduction per child from the second to the fifth, while under 25, employee only | 0.25 points | 2026 | § 55(3) SGB XI, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_11/__55.html |
| Pension and unemployment ceiling (BBG RV/AV) | EUR 101,400 a year; EUR 8,450 a month | 2026 | [SVBezGrV 2026 § 4](https://www.recht.bund.de/bgbl/1/2025/278/regelungstext.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=3); [§ 341(4) SGB III](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_3/__341.html) |
| Health and care ceiling (BBG KV/PV) | EUR 69,750 a year; EUR 5,812.50 a month | 2026 | SVBezGrV 2026 § 2(2) (special JAEG of § 6(7) SGB V); [§ 55(2) SGB XI](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_11/__55.html); [BMG actual 2026 contribution-ceiling guidance](https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/beitraege/seite) expressly states these amounts; the special-JAEG reference alone is not treated as the whole 2026 contribution-ceiling proof |
| Compulsory health insurance threshold (JAEG) | EUR 77,400 a year; EUR 6,450 a month | 2026 | SVBezGrV 2026 § 2(1), https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/svbezgrv_2026/__2.html |
| Special JAEG, only for people privately insured on 31 December 2002 | EUR 69,750 a year | 2026 | SVBezGrV 2026 § 2(2), https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/svbezgrv_2026/__2.html |
| Insolvency levy, employer only | 0.15% | 2026 | [§ 360 SGB III](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_3/__360.html) |
| U1 (sick pay) and U2 (maternity) levies, employer only | each fund's rate | 2026 | [§ 1 AAG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aufag/__1.html), [§ 7 AAG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aufag/__7.html) |

**Employee care share by children**, derived from the rows above:

| Children | Outside Saxony: employee | Outside Saxony: employer | Saxony: employee | Saxony: employer |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| None, employee 23 or older | 2.4% | 1.8% | 2.9% | 1.3% |
| One child (any age); or childless and under 23 | 1.8% | 1.8% | 2.3% | 1.3% |
| Two under 25 | 1.55% | 1.8% | 2.05% | 1.3% |
| Three under 25 | 1.3% | 1.8% | 1.8% | 1.3% |
| Four under 25 | 1.05% | 1.8% | 1.55% | 1.3% |
| Five or more under 25 | 0.8% | 1.8% | 1.3% | 1.3% |

Do not read the care rate from § 55(1) SGB XI: the statute still prints "3,4 Prozent"; the current 3.6% was set by regulation (PBAV 2025).

**Minijobs, short-term jobs and the transition band**

| Item | Rate or amount | Year | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Minimum wage per hour | EUR 13.90 (EUR 14.60 from 1 January 2027) | 2026 | [MiLoV5 § 1](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/milov5/__1.html) |
| Minijob limit per month: minimum wage x 130 / 3 (EUR 602.33), rounded up to whole euros | EUR 603 | 2026 | [§ 8(1a) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__8.html); [Minijob-Zentrale](https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/DE/die-minijobs/minijob-mit-verdienstgrenze) |
| Commercial Minijob: employer's flat health contribution (if statutorily insured) | 13% | 2026 | [§ 249b SGB V](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_5/__249b.html) |
| Commercial Minijob: employer's flat pension contribution | 15% | 2026 | [§ 172(3) SGB VI](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_6/__172.html) |
| Minijobber's ordinary own pension share where the assessment base is not raised by the EUR 175 minimum; otherwise use the qualified remainder worksheet below (18.6% less 15%), unless released | 3.6% | 2026 | Derived; [Minijob-Zentrale](https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/DE/die-minijobs/minijob-mit-verdienstgrenze) states 3.6% |
| Private-household Minijob: employer's flat health and pension contributions, each | 5% | 2026 | § 249b SGB V; § 172(3a) SGB VI, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_5/__249b.html |
| Uniform flat tax where flat or Minijob pension contributions are paid (covers wage tax, surcharge, church tax) | 2% | 2026 | [§ 40a(2) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__40a.html) |
| Flat tax on a Minijob without those contributions | 20% | 2026 | § 40a(2a) EStG, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__40a.html |
| Flat tax for short-term staff (occasional, at most 18 consecutive working days, average pay per working day not above EUR 150, or needed at once at an unforeseeable time) | 25% | 2026 | § 40a(1) EStG, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__40a.html |
| No 25% (or farm 5%) flat tax if average pay per hour exceeds | EUR 19 | 2026 | § 40a(4) no. 1 EStG; § 40a(4) no. 2 also bars those routes where the same employer pays ordinary § 39b/§ 39c wages for another job, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__40a.html |
| Short-term job, contribution-free: limited to (not if pursued as an occupation and paid above EUR 603) | 3 months or 70 working days a calendar year; on a farm 15 weeks or 90 working days | 2026 | [§ 8(1) no. 2 SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__8.html) |
| Transition band (Midijob), regular monthly pay, all jobs together | EUR 603.01 to EUR 2,000 | 2026 | [§ 20(2) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__20.html); [Minijob-Zentrale, Midijob](https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/DE/die-minijobs/midijob) |
| Factor F = 28% divided by the total contribution rate (18.6 + 3.6 + 2.6 + 14.6 + 2.9 = 42.3), as published by the labour ministry (notice of 25 November 2025, Federal Gazette 18 December 2025) | 0.6619 | 2026 | § 20(2a) SGB IV; [Berlin Senate finance circular on 2026 social insurance values](https://www.berlin.de/politik-und-verwaltung/rundschreiben/download.php/4330060) |
| Apprentices: employer bears the whole contribution if monthly pay is not above | EUR 325 | 2026 | § 20(3) SGB IV, https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__20.html |

## The taxable base

**Wage tax, in the PAP's order** ([§ 39b(2) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39b.html)):

1. **Annualise.** Monthly pay x 12; weekly x 360/7; daily x 360.
2. **Take out tax-free pay first**, such as the Aktivrente and tax-free surcharges (below).
3. **Deduct** the ELStAM allowance (or add the added amount), the class amounts (ANP and SAP in classes I to V, EFA in class II) and the Vorsorgepauschale. The result is the taxable amount (ZVE).
4. **Tariff.** Classes I, II and IV: § 32a(1) on the ZVE rounded down to whole euros. Class III: tax on half, doubled (§ 32a(5)). Classes V and VI: twice the difference between the tariff on 1.25 times and 0.75 times the ZVE, at least 14%, with the 42% and 45% caps in the table. Never apply the plain tariff to V or VI. Class IV with a factor ([§ 39f EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39f.html)): the class IV tax times the factor.
5. **Back to the period.** 1/12, 7/360 or 1/360 of the year's tax; parts of a cent are dropped.
6. **Surcharge and church tax base.** Run the same calculation again with the child allowances deducted (two allowances per counter in classes I to III, per [§ 3(2a) SolzG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/solzg_1995/__3.html) and [§ 51a(2a) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__51a.html)). That tax (JBMG) is the base for the surcharge and church tax. The wage tax itself does not fall because of children.

**Tax classes** ([§ 38b EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__38b.html)): I for the statutory unlimited-tax-liability single/otherwise ineligible married, widowed or divorced categories, or limited tax liability; II for the unlimited-tax-liability I category with single parent relief; III for married spouses who both meet the statutory unlimited-tax-liability category, are not permanently separated and jointly elect III/V; or the year after death where both spouses met that category and were not permanently separated at death; IV for married spouses meeting that same unlimited category and not permanently separated, absent the III/V election; V for the qualifying IV-category spouse jointly electing III/V; VI for second and further concurrent jobs. For III/IV, the actual § 38b(1) sentence 3 category is § 1(1), § 1(2) or § 1a eligibility, not residence alone; no § 1a entitlement is assumed. Missing wage tax data through the employee's fault: class VI; a technical failure or missing identification number without employee fault: expected actual wage-tax data for at most three calendar months ([§ 39c(1) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39c.html)). If identification number/date of birth is still missing after those three months, apply the statutory class VI rule retrospectively. When actual ELStAM arrive in the temporary-data cases, review and correct the prior months as necessary and settle under- or over-withholding at the next payroll (§ 39c(1) sentences 3–5). Extra child amounts for single parents with more than one child, and other allowances, reach payroll only as an allowance in the ELStAM ([§ 39a EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39a.html)).

**Vorsorgepauschale** (the employee's insurance, inside the tax; [§ 39b(2) sentence 5 no. 3 EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39b.html), PAP 2026):

- Pension: pay up to EUR 101,400 x 9.3% for employees compulsorily insured in the statutory pension scheme or exempt under § 6(1) no. 1 SGB VI for a professional pension scheme ([§ 39b(2) sentence 5 no. 3(a) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39b.html)). Apply the PAP marker KRV: 0 for compulsory cover in the statutory or a professional pension scheme, or voluntary cover after exemption from compulsory insurance; 1 otherwise.
- Health and care: pay up to EUR 69,750 x (half the fund's additional rate + 7.0% + the employee care rate). The PAP uses the full additional rate of the employee's own fund: "Der durchschnittliche Zusatzbeitragssatz ist unmaßgeblich", except for the § 242(3) SGB V groups. The statutory health and care parts apply in classes I to VI ([§ 39b(2) sentence 5 no. 3(b), (c) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39b.html)); the ministry's class VI test figures include them. Privately insured (PKV = 1): the private premiums from the ELStAM less the tax-free employer subsidy, classes I to V only; in class VI a privately insured employee gets no health or care part.
- Unemployment (new in 2026, ALV = 0 if insured, not in class VI): the PAP compares pension + health + care with pension + the lower of EUR 1,900 and (unemployment + health + care), and takes the higher. Once health and care alone pass EUR 1,900, unemployment adds nothing.
- The total is rounded up to whole euros (PAP 2026, MVSPKVPV and MVSPHB). There is no minimum Vorsorgepauschale in 2026. Severance under § 24 no. 1 EStG is left out of the insurance parts.

**Other PAP inputs that change the result:** ALV (0 insured / 1 not), KRV (0 for the qualifying pension-cover branches just described, 1 otherwise), PKV (0 statutory, 1 private), KVZ (the fund's full additional rate), PVZ (1 = childless surcharge), PVA (number of reductions, 0 to 4), PVS (1 = place of employment in Saxony).

**The tariff and the class V and VI method as the 2026 PAP writes them** (UPTAB26, UP5-6 and MST5-6; [PAP 2026, Anlage 1](https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/Steuern/Steuerarten/Lohnsteuer/Programmablaufplan/2025-11-12-PAP-2026-anlage-1.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2); W1STKL5 = 14071, W2STKL5 = 34939, W3STKL5 = 222260):

~~~
X = taxable amount, rounded down to whole euros (class III: half of it)
X up to 12348:            ST = 0
X up to 17799:            Y = (X - 12348) / 10000;  ST = (914.51 * Y + 1400) * Y
X up to 69878:            Z = (X - 17799) / 10000;  ST = (173.10 * Z + 2397) * Z + 1034.87
X up to 277825:           ST = 0.42 * X - 11135.63
above:                    ST = 0.45 * X - 19470.38
ST is rounded down to whole euros; class III: ST times 2

UP5-6(Z):  ST = 2 * (tariff(floor(Z * 1.25)) - tariff(floor(Z * 0.75)))
           ST = the higher of ST and floor(Z * 0.14)
MST5-6(X): if X > W2STKL5:
               ST = UP5-6(W2STKL5)
               if X > W3STKL5: ST = ST + floor((W3STKL5 - W2STKL5) * 0.42) + floor((X - W3STKL5) * 0.45)
               else:           ST = ST + floor((X - W2STKL5) * 0.42)
           else:
               ST = UP5-6(X)
               if X > W1STKL5: ST = the lower of ST and UP5-6(W1STKL5) + floor((X - W1STKL5) * 0.42)
~~~

**Solidarity surcharge and church tax.** No surcharge while the yearly base does not exceed the exemption limit; above it, the lower of 5.5% of the base and 11.9% of the excess ([§ 4 SolzG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/solzg_1995/__4.html)). The period limit is the matching fraction of the yearly limit ([§ 3(4) SolzG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/solzg_1995/__3.html)). Church tax applies only to members of a church that levies it, at the state's rate on the base.

**One-time payments** (bonuses, holiday and Christmas pay, back pay, severance) use the annual method of [§ 39b(3) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39b.html): tax on the expected annual pay with the payment, less tax without it. If certificates from earlier employers this year are missing, the employer scales up current pay, marks the payroll account "S", and the employee must then file a return ([§ 46(2) no. 5a EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__46.html)). Surcharge on a one-time payment: only if the year's tax with child allowances exceeds the limit ([§ 3(4a) SolzG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/solzg_1995/__3.html)), and then the full 5.5% with no phase-in (§ 4 sentence 4 SolzG). The one-fifth relief of [§ 34 EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__34.html) for severance is not given in payroll; the 2026 PAP covers only "§ 39b Absatz 3 Satz 1 bis 8 EStG". The employee claims it in the return.

**Aktivrente, new in 2026** ([§ 3 no. 21 EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__3.html), [finance ministry FAQ](https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/FAQ/FAQ-zur-Aktivrente.html)): pay from an employment under § 19(1) no. 1 EStG for work from the month after the standard retirement age (§ 35 sentence 2 or § 235 SGB VI) is tax-free up to EUR 2,000 a month, where the employer owes pension contributions under § 168(1) no. 1 or no. 1d or § 168(3), § 172(1) or § 172a SGB VI. The yearly EUR 24,000 falls by one twelfth for each month the conditions are not met. A pension need not be drawn. Not for Minijobs, self-employment or civil service. Pay already tax-free under another rule does not use it (§ 3 no. 21 sentence 2). Pay for periods before the qualifying month is never covered, whenever it is paid; severance as a rule is not covered. Class VI only with the employee's confirmation that no other job uses it, kept with the payroll account. Unused room does not move to another month; a one-time payment is exempt only within the month's room. When a job ends or the employer changes mid-month the amount is apportioned by days on a 30-day month; a new job started mid-month gets the full amount if the employee confirms in writing that none was used that month. Contributions are unchanged.

**Tax-free night, Sunday and holiday surcharges** ([§ 3b EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__3b.html)), paid on top of basic pay for work actually done: night (20:00 to 06:00) 25%, rising to 40% for 00:00 to 04:00 if the shift began before midnight; Sunday 50%; public holidays and 31 December from 14:00 125%; 24 December from 14:00, 25 and 26 December and 1 May 150%; hourly basic pay counted at most EUR 50. Public holidays are those at the place of work (§ 3b(2) EStG). For an otherwise qualifying tax-free surcharge, the part based on hourly basic pay up to EUR 25 is free of contributions; the part based on excess hourly basic pay remains contributory ([§ 1(1) no. 1 SvEV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/svev/__1.html)). So a surcharge can be tax-free and still carry contributions. Sunday and holiday work also includes 00:00–04:00 on the following day if the night work began before midnight (§ 3b(3) no. 2 EStG). With EUR 30 hourly basic pay and an otherwise qualifying 25% night premium, EUR 7.50 is tax-free within the EUR 50 tax ceiling; EUR 6.25 is contribution-free and EUR 1.25 remains contributory. Actual work, additional payment and applicable statutory percentage gates still apply.

**Contribution base.**

- Each branch: pay for the period, capped at that branch's monthly ceiling, times the shares; round each amount to the cent.
- Several insured jobs together above a ceiling: first reduce each job's pay to its applicable branch ceiling, then allocate the common ordinary ceiling in proportion to those capped inputs ([§ 22(2) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__22.html)). With ordinary pension pay EUR 10,000 and EUR 2,000 and ceiling EUR 8,450, use inputs EUR 8,450 and EUR 2,000; allocated bases are 8,450 × 8,450 / 10,450 and 8,450 × 2,000 / 10,450 before the required final money rounding. Do not round intermediate calculations (§ 1(2) BVV). The separate miners/general-pension allocation is outside this ordinary worksheet.
- One-time payments carry contributions only up to the unused pro-rata yearly ceiling. One paid from 1 January to 31 March that passes that ceiling goes to the last period of the previous year, if the same employer employed the person then ([§ 23a SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__23a.html)).
- Care children: proof of parenthood and children under 25 must be given; proof through the automated procedure, or other proof within six months of the birth, counts from the month of birth; the reduction ends with the month the child turns 25. No surcharge for people born before 1940, those in military or civilian service, or recipients of basic income support ([§ 55(3), (3a) SGB XI](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_11/__55.html)). Saxony is tested by place of employment ([§ 58(3) SGB XI](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_11/__58.html)).
- Pay above the JAEG: compulsory health insurance ends at the end of the year in which the threshold is passed, and only if pay also exceeds the next year's threshold ([§ 6(4) SGB V](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_5/__6.html)). A voluntary member then pays the fund directly and the employer pays a subsidy of what it would bear under compulsory insurance ([§ 257(1) SGB V](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_5/__257.html)).
- **Past the standard retirement age.** Pension and unemployment have different exemption tests. Under [§ 5(4) SGB VI](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_6/__5.html), an ordinarily insured employee drawing a full old-age pension is pension-insurance-free after the end of the month of reaching standard retirement age, unless they waive that exemption; reaching the age alone does not generally end an existing pension-insurance duty. Under [§ 28(1) no. 1 SGB III](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_3/__28.html), unemployment insurance ends at the end of the month of reaching the applicable retirement age. The employer still pays the statutory half contribution for an employee exempt on these grounds ([§ 172(1) SGB VI](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_6/__172.html), [§ 346(3) SGB III](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_3/__346.html)).
- Under § 28g SGB IV the ordinary claim is recovered by deduction from pay. A missed deduction can ordinarily be recovered at the next three payments, and later if the employer was not at fault. The deduction-only and three-payment restrictions do not apply where the employee intentionally or grossly negligently breaches § 28o(1), bears the entire total social contribution, or receives only benefits in kind. ([§ 28g SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__28g.html)).
- U1 applies to employers with, as a rule, not more than 30 employees (apprentices not counted) and has a statutory 80% reimbursement of eligible continued sick pay, subject to the actual fund statute/tariff under § 9(2) no. 1 AAG, which can restrict that reimbursement and set different rates no lower than 40%; U2 applies to all employers. U1, U2 and the insolvency levy are charged on pension-contribution pay ([§ 1 AAG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aufag/__1.html), [§ 7(2) AAG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aufag/__7.html), [§ 358(2) SGB III](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_3/__358.html)). The insolvency levy is not charged to private households or to the public bodies listed in [§ 358(1) SGB III](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_3/__358.html). Accident insurance is billed by the Berufsgenossenschaft after the year (total pay, hazard class and the insurer's own factor). For U1, exclude one-time pay under § 23a SGB IV and pay for employment lasting no longer than four weeks where the nature of the job prevents sickness-pay entitlement under § 3(3) EntgFG. Do not transfer that U1 exclusion to U2 or the insolvency levy. During short-time allowance, AAG levies use actual earned pay up to the pension ceiling (§ 7(2) AAG). For U1 reimbursement, apply the documented eligible-pay and employer-contribution scope of the actual scheme; do not assume the same base for both. On stipulated eligible continued pay EUR 1,000, an applicable 80% wage-reimbursement tariff gives EUR 800 and an applicable 60% tariff gives EUR 600 ([§ 9(2) no. 1 AAG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aufag/__9.html)).
- 2027 already enacted: the health ceiling will be the special JAEG plus EUR 3,600 ([§ 223(4) SGB V](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_5/__223.html)).

**Minijob rules.** The limit is on regular monthly pay; an unforeseeable overrun in not more than two calendar months within the twelve months ending with the pay period, each by up to the limit itself, does not end the Minijob ([§ 8(1b) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__8.html)). Several Minijobs are added together; one Minijob beside a main insured job stays separate, every further one is added to the main job ([§ 8(2) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__8.html)). A Minijobber is in pension insurance unless they apply in writing or electronically to be released ([§ 6(1b) SGB VI](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_6/__6.html)); the employer's 15% stays. The flat tax is an option: the employer may tax by the ELStAM instead. The 2% flat tax is collected by the Minijob-Zentrale (Deutsche Rentenversicherung Knappschaft-Bahn-See, [§ 40a(6) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__40a.html)); 20% and 25% go on the wage tax return. For short-term jobs the social insurance test (§ 8(1) no. 2 SGB IV) and the 25% flat tax test (§ 40a(1) EStG) are different tests; pass each on its own terms. Exactly EUR 603 is a Minijob ("nicht übersteigt"); EUR 603.01 is in the transition band. If aggregation shows that the minor-employment conditions fail, insurance begins on the day the competent insurance decision is notified under § 8(2) SGB IV, unless the employer intentionally or grossly negligently failed to investigate the facts needed to assess insurance status. This is the specific aggregation rule, not a universal bar on retroactive insurance.

**Minimum pension base for a small insured Minijob.** For an isolated full-month pension-insured commercial Minijob, with no other insured employment, exemption or part-month/aggregation interaction, § 163(8) SGB VI uses at least EUR 175. Apply the full 18.6% to max(actual monthly pay, EUR 175), then subtract the employer's rounded 15% share of actual pay to obtain the employee remainder (§ 168(1) no. 1b SGB VI; § 2(1) BVV). At actual pay EUR 100, total pension is EUR 32.55, employer EUR 15.00 and employee EUR 17.55, rather than EUR 3.60. Other-job, exemption and part-month cases require their actual assessment facts; do not apply a universal separate EUR 175 floor to every job.

**Transition band.** Normal wage tax by the ELStAM. Contributions are worked out on reduced bases by two formulas in [§ 20(2a) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__20.html), with AE the monthly pay, G = EUR 603 and F = 0.6619. Base for the total contribution: BE = F x G + (2,000 / (2,000 - G) - G / (2,000 - G) x F) x (AE - G). Base for the employee's share: BE = 2,000 / (2,000 - G) x (AE - G). For the ordinarily shared branches outside Saxony, compute the total contribution by applying half the contribution rate to the first base, rounding to cents and doubling; compute the employee's ordinary half-rate contribution on the second base, rounding to cents. The employer bears the difference. Calculate the employee-only childless care surcharge on the first base; calculate care reductions on the second base, each rounded separately ([§ 1(2) and § 2(2) BVV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/beitrvv/__2.html)). At AE EUR 1,000 the 0.6-point childless surcharge is EUR 5.12, not EUR 3.41. Saxony has a separate allocation under § 58(5) SGB XI; this ordinary half-rate worksheet does not supply that Saxony allocation. At AE EUR 1,000 the bases are EUR 854.06 and EUR 568.36. Not for apprentices. Exactly EUR 2,000 is still in the band ("nicht übersteigen").

**Minimum wage.** EUR 13.90 per hour worked, paid at the agreed date and at the latest on the last bank working day (Frankfurt am Main) of the month after the work ([§ 2(1) MiLoG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/milog/__2.html)). Hours on a written working-time account may not exceed 50% of contractual hours a month and must be balanced within twelve months (§ 2(2) MiLoG). Not covered ([§ 22 MiLoG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/milog/__22.html)): under-18s without completed vocational training, apprentices, volunteers, compulsory internships and orientation internships of up to three months and training- or study-accompanying internships of up to three months only if no such prior internship with the same trainer/employer existed, and the formerly long-term unemployed in their first six months. Sector minimum wages set under the Arbeitnehmer-Entsendegesetz or the Arbeitnehmerüberlassungsgesetz take precedence where they are not below the statutory minimum wage ([§ 1(3) MiLoG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/milog/__1.html)).

**Sick pay and the maternity top-up.** Continued pay for up to six weeks per incapacity due to sickness without employee fault, once the job has lasted four weeks without a break; the same illness again gives a new six weeks only after six months free of it, or twelve months after the first incapacity from it began ([§ 3 EntgFG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/entgfg/__3.html)), at the pay for regular working time ([§ 4 EntgFG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/entgfg/__4.html)). During the protection periods and the day of birth the employer pays the difference between EUR 13 and the average net pay per calendar day from the last three settled calendar months before the protection period ([§ 20(1) MuSchG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/muschg_2018/__20.html)); U2 refunds it ([§ 1(2) AAG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aufag/__1.html)). Under § 4(1a) EntgFG, additional overtime pay is excluded, as are expense reimbursements contingent on actual expenses that do not arise during incapacity. For performance-related remuneration, use the average earnings achievable during the employee's applicable regular working time. For the ordinary multiple-employer case, add the relevant employers' average daily net wages, subtract EUR 13 once, then allocate that top-up in proportion to each employer's average daily net wage. At independently established daily net EUR 60 and EUR 40, combined EUR 100 less EUR 13 gives EUR 87; employer shares are EUR 52.20 and EUR 34.80, not two separate EUR 13 deductions. The ordinary worksheet assumes ongoing employment and established § 20 net inputs. New employment begun during protection is covered from its start under § 20(1); the specific authorised-dismissal/insolvency cases shift payment to the statutory paying agency under § 20(3). For treaty non-residents whose residence state has the taxing right, § 20(4) uses only social-insurance deductions unless that state does not tax the top-up, in which case all statutory deductions count. This is not a full § 21 proof of each real net-pay input.

## Deadlines and filing

**Before the first payday**

- **Employer number** (Betriebsnummer): before the first registration, apply electronically to the Federal Employment Agency (its Betriebsnummern-Service) for one number per place of employment; separate numbers for different activities or municipalities ([§ 18i SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__18i.html)).
- **Immediate report** in listed sectors, "spätestens bei dessen Aufnahme", to the pension insurers' data office: construction, hospitality, passenger transport, haulage and logistics including platform delivery, fairground work, building cleaning, trade-fair construction, the meat industry (not the butchers' trade), prostitution, security, hairdressing and cosmetics ([§ 28a(4) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__28a.html)). It does not replace the registration.
- **Wage tax data.** Take the tax ID and date of birth, retrieve the ELStAM and call up changes monthly ([§ 39e(5) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39e.html)).
- **Payroll account** (Lohnkonto) per employee and year at the place of business, recording pay (tax-free pay included) and tax withheld at every payment, kept to the end of the sixth calendar year after the last entry ([§ 41(1) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__41.html)).
- **Social insurance pay records** per employee and year, kept in Germany and in German until the end of the calendar year after the last audit; an employer without a seat in Germany appoints an authorised person there ([§ 28f(1), (1b) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__28f.html)).

**Filing and payment**

| Duty | Deadline | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Wage tax return (Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung), electronic, and payment to the Betriebsstättenfinanzamt | 10th day after each filing period | [§ 41a(1) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__41a.html) |
| Filing period: monthly | previous year's wage tax above EUR 5,000 | [§ 41a(2) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__41a.html) |
| Filing period: quarterly (10 April, 10 July, 10 October, 10 January) | above EUR 1,080 and not above EUR 5,000 | § 41a(2) EStG |
| Filing period: yearly (10 January) | not above EUR 1,080 | § 41a(2) EStG |
| New business last year: convert last year's wage tax to a full year; new this year: first full month x 12 | as stated | § 41a(2) EStG |
| Deadline on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday | next working day | [§ 108(3) AO](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/ao_1977/__108.html) |
| Contributions (estimated amount) | third-last bank working day of the month worked; remainder the third-last bank working day of the next month | [§ 23(1) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__23.html) |
| Contribution statement (Beitragsnachweis) | two working days before the due date | [§ 28f(3) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__28f.html) |
| DEÜV registration | first payroll run after the start, at the latest six weeks after it | [§ 6 DEÜV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/de_v/__6.html) |
| DEÜV de-registration | next payroll run after the end, at the latest six weeks after it | [§ 8 DEÜV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/de_v/__8.html) |
| Interruption report (pay stops for at least a calendar month, for example sick pay from the fund) | within two weeks after the end of the first calendar month of the interruption | [§ 9 DEÜV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/de_v/__9.html) |
| Change of health fund, contribution group or person group key: de-registration and new registration | first payroll run after the change, at the latest six weeks after it | [§ 12(1), (4) DEÜV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/de_v/__12.html) |
| Annual report for 2026 | first payroll run of 2027, at the latest 15 February 2027 | [§ 10 DEÜV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/de_v/__10.html) |
| Employee copy of social-report content | At least annually by 30 April, in text form with the current or at latest next payslip, separately or attached. Solely accident-insurance-data-change reports are excepted. On termination issue the certificate immediately after the last report, rather than waiting for annual 30 April | [§ 28a(5) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__28a.html) |
| Special annual report to accident insurance for employees insured in 2026 | Ordinarily 16 February 2027; on insolvency, definitive business closure or end of all employment, next payroll and at latest six weeks. The statutory agricultural-BG exception applies only where the work value is not used for contribution calculation | [§ 28a(2a) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__28a.html) |
| Electronic wage tax certificate for 2026 | Nominal last day of February 2027 is Sunday 28 February; ordinary deadline Monday 1 March 2027, derived from § 41b(1) EStG → § 93c(1) AO and the § 108(3) AO next-working-day rule | [§ 41b(1) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__41b.html); [§ 93c(1) AO](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/ao_1977/__93c.html) |
| Annual wage tax adjustment only for employees continuously employed by this same employer throughout the expired calendar year; for those eligible employees compulsory if the employer has at least 10 employees on 31 December, unless barred | at the earliest with the last 2026 pay run, at the latest with the last run ending in February 2027 | [§ 42b(1), (3) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__42b.html) |

The annual adjustment is barred (§ 42b(1) sentence 3) where the employee applies against it; was in class V or VI, or in II, III or IV for only part of the year; had an allowance or added amount, or the factor method; drew short-time pay, qualification pay, a maternity top-up, Infection Protection Act compensation, tax-free Aktivrente pay (§ 3 no. 21) or certain tax-free top-ups; has at least one capital letter U; had Vorsorgepauschale parts only for part of the year, a change of the additional rate, or different care reductions; or had foreign employment income without German wage tax.

**Payslip.** At every payment the employee gets a statement in text form showing at least the pay period and how pay is made up; none is needed if nothing changed ([§ 108(1), (2) GewO](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/gewo/__108.html)). The required contents are listed in [§ 1 EBV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/entgbv/__1.html) and [§ 2 EBV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/entgbv/__2.html): employer name and address; employee name, address, date of birth and pension insurance number; start date (and end date on the last one); pay period with tax days and social insurance days; tax class and factor, child allowances, church tax data, any allowance or added amount, tax ID; contribution group key and collecting office; care code (0 childless, 1 to 5 children counted, a code for proven parenthood); transition band or multiple jobs where so; every item of pay and deduction by name and amount, regular or one-off, and whether it counts for taxable pay, social insurance gross and total gross; taxable pay, social insurance gross, total gross and flat-taxed pay by legal basis; wage tax, church tax and surcharge, and the employee's contributions, split regular and one-off; net pay; employer subsidies to voluntary or private insurance; other deductions such as advances or garnishments; and the amount paid out. The employee may black out the church tax data (§ 2(2) EBV).

**Minimum wage records.** For Minijobs, short-term jobs and the § 2a SchwarzArbG sectors, record start, end and length of daily working time by the seventh day after the work and keep the records at least two years ([§ 17(1) MiLoG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/milog/__17.html)).

**2025 pay still being corrected.** Use the amended 2025 PAP of 22 January 2025, for periods "die nach dem 31. Dezember 2024, aber vor dem 1. Januar 2026 enden" ([amended PAP 2025](https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/Steuern/Steuerarten/Lohnsteuer/Programmablaufplan/2025-01-22-geaenderte-PAP-2025-anlage-1.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2)): basic allowance EUR 12,096, surcharge limit EUR 19,950 (not class III), pension ceiling EUR 96,600, health ceiling EUR 66,150; minimum wage EUR 12.82 ([MiLoV4](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/milov4/__1.html)) and Minijob limit EUR 556 (12.82 x 130 / 3 = EUR 555.53, rounded up, [§ 8(1a) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__8.html)). Never use 2026 values for 2025 corrections. The 2025 DEÜV annual report was due by Monday 16 February 2026: nominal 15 February was a Sunday, and [§ 26(3) SGB X](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_10/__26.html) moves a social insurance deadline to the next working day (AO § 108 is not its authority); an authority notice expressly fixing the day under that provision, or an authority-set appointment under § 26(5), overrides this. The 2025 wage tax certificates were due by the last day of February 2026, which moved to Monday 2 March 2026 because 28 February 2026 was a Saturday. A late or corrected certificate is still sent electronically. Employees with wages from two employers at once in 2025 must file a 2025 return ([§ 46(2) no. 2 EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__46.html)).

## Penalties and interest

- **Late payment of wage tax:** 1% of the amount due, rounded down to a multiple of EUR 50, for each month started. Not charged for a delay of up to three days, except for payment by cheque or in cash under § 224(2) no. 1 AO ([§ 240(1), (3) AO](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/ao_1977/__240.html)).
- **Late filing of the wage tax return:** a late-filing surcharge is at the tax office's discretion ([§ 152(1) AO](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/ao_1977/__152.html)); the compulsory surcharge of § 152(2) and the fixed amounts of § 152(5) do not apply to monthly, quarterly or yearly wage tax returns (§ 152(3) no. 4 and § 152(8) AO).
- **Late contributions:** 1% of the arrears, rounded down to a multiple of EUR 50, for each month started; not charged separately on arrears under EUR 150 ([§ 24(1) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__24.html)).
- **Late contribution statement:** the collecting office may estimate the pay the contributions are based on ([§ 28f(3) SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__28f.html)).
- **Missed employee deduction:** recovery after the next three payments requires the employer-nonfault exception or another actual § 28g exception stated above; the employer still owes the whole contribution ([§ 28g SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__28g.html)).
- **Liability:** the employer is liable for wage tax it should have withheld and paid over, and for tax it wrongly refunded in the annual adjustment ([§ 42d(1) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__42d.html)).

## Cross-border points

- **Who must withhold.** A foreign company with no German establishment is not a domestic employer, but a German company receiving a seconded employee is the domestic employer when it bears the pay economically, or would have to at arm's length, even if it does not pay it out ([§ 38(1) sentence 2 EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__38.html)). A foreign agency hiring workers out in Germany must withhold too (§ 38(1) no. 2).
- **Employees with limited tax liability.** They go into class I ([§ 38b(1) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__38b.html)). Non-residence alone does not settle the tax category or establish § 1a eligibility. For this limited-liability route the Betriebsstättenfinanzamt, not a residence office, issues their tax ID and wage tax data ([§ 39(2), (3) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39.html)).
- **Short assignments.** For short activities in Germany of employees with limited tax liability who belong to a foreign establishment of the same employer, the employer may apply a 30% flat tax, if the work in Germany does not exceed 18 consecutive working days ([§ 40a(7) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__40a.html)).
- **Social insurance postings.** An employee sent abroad within a German employment, limited in advance, stays in German insurance (Ausstrahlung, [§ 4 SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__4.html)); one sent to Germany within a foreign employment, limited in advance, is not insured here (Einstrahlung, [§ 5 SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__5.html)). EU rules and social security agreements take priority ([§ 6 SGB IV](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__6.html)): get the A1 or treaty certificate before applying either rule.
- **Treaty relief** from wage tax needs an exemption certificate from the Betriebsstättenfinanzamt; this skill does not cover the treaty tests; the ministry provides a separate treaty routine (DBA-PAP, [PAP 2026](https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/Steuern/Steuerarten/Lohnsteuer/Programmablaufplan/2025-11-12-PAP-2026-anlage-1.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2) section 3.3). See [de-non-resident-tax](de-non-resident-tax.md) and, for Swiss frontier workers, [germany-to-switzerland-cross-border-tax](germany-to-switzerland-cross-border-tax.md).
- **Foreign employment income without German wage tax** bars the employer's annual adjustment ([§ 42b(1) sentence 3 no. 6 EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__42b.html)).

## Worked examples

Every number comes from the tables above. Both examples recompute the 2026 PAP from the law and reproduce the finance ministry's own test table (class I EUR 9,389 at EUR 60,000; class III at EUR 100,000 gives EUR 15,012 with the same method).

### Example 1: class I, EUR 5,000 a month, childless, outside Saxony

An employee aged 30, no church, no children, place of employment in Hesse, statutory health fund with a 2.9% additional rate, EUR 5,000 a month, no one-time payments. Annual pay is EUR 60,000. The Vorsorgepauschale is pension EUR 5,580 (60,000 x 9.3%) plus health and care EUR 6,510 (60,000 x (1.45% + 7.0% + 2.4%)). Health and care alone pass EUR 1,900, so unemployment adds nothing: EUR 12,090. The taxable amount is 60,000 less 1,230 less 36 less 12,090 = EUR 46,644, in the second progressive zone. The tariff gives EUR 9,389 a year, the ministry's test-table figure, so EUR 782.41 a month. No surcharge: EUR 9,389 is under EUR 20,350. Employee contributions are pension EUR 465.00, unemployment EUR 65.00, health EUR 437.50 (half of 17.5%) and care EUR 120.00 (2.4%). Net pay is EUR 3,130.09. The employer adds its own EUR 465.00, 65.00, 437.50 and EUR 90.00 care, plus the 0.15% insolvency levy and U1 and U2.

```oa-check
name: DE 2026 class I, EUR 5,000 a month, childless, fund rate 2.9%
inputs:
  monthly_pay: 5000
  fund_rate: 2.9
steps:
  - annual: monthly_pay * 12
  - vsp_pension: min(annual, 101400) * 0.093
  - vsp_health_care: min(annual, 69750) * (fund_rate / 2 / 100 + 0.07 + 0.024)
  - vsp_unemp_cap: min(1900, min(annual, 101400) * 0.013 + vsp_health_care)
  - vsp: ceil(max(vsp_pension + vsp_health_care, vsp_pension + vsp_unemp_cap))
  - zve: floor(annual - 1230 - 36 - vsp)
  - z: (zve - 17799) / 10000
  - annual_tax: floor((173.10 * z + 2397) * z + 1034.87)
  - monthly_tax: floor(annual_tax / 12 * 100) / 100
  - soli: min(annual_tax * 0.055, max(0, annual_tax - 20350) * 0.119)
  - ee_pension: round(monthly_pay * 0.093, 2)
  - ee_unemp: round(monthly_pay * 0.013, 2)
  - ee_health: round(monthly_pay * (14.6 + fund_rate) / 2 / 100, 2)
  - ee_care: round(monthly_pay * 0.024, 2)
  - ee_total: ee_pension + ee_unemp + ee_health + ee_care
  - net: monthly_pay - monthly_tax - ee_total
expected:
  vsp: 12090
  zve: 46644
  annual_tax: 9389
  monthly_tax: 782.41
  soli: 0
  ee_total: 1087.50
  net: 3130.09
```

### Example 2: class III, EUR 9,000 a month, two children, church member, above the ceilings

A married employee in class III (spouse in class V), two children aged 8 and 12 (two child counters), church member in a state with the 8% rate, place of employment outside Saxony, fund additional rate 2.5%, EUR 9,000 a month (EUR 108,000 a year). Pay is above the EUR 6,450 JAEG; assume the employee stays in the statutory fund as a voluntary member, so the employer's subsidy matches the compulsory employer share (§ 257(1) SGB V) and the net shares are the same.

Edge points: pension and unemployment are capped at EUR 8,450 a month, health and care at EUR 5,812.50; the second child gives one 0.25-point care reduction (employee 1.55%). Vorsorgepauschale: pension 101,400 x 9.3% = EUR 9,430.20; health and care 69,750 x (1.25% + 7.0% + 1.55%) = EUR 6,835.50; total EUR 16,265.70, rounded up to EUR 16,266. Taxable amount 108,000 less 1,266 less 16,266 = EUR 90,468. Splitting: tariff on EUR 45,234 is EUR 8,913, doubled EUR 17,826 a year, EUR 1,485.50 a month. The child counters cut only the surcharge and church base: (90,468 less 2 x 9,756) / 2 = EUR 35,478, tariff EUR 5,813, doubled EUR 11,626. No surcharge (below EUR 40,700). Church tax EUR 930.08 a year. Employee contributions: EUR 785.85 + 109.85 + 496.97 + 90.09 = EUR 1,482.76 a month. The employer's care share is EUR 104.63 (1.8% of EUR 5,812.50).

```oa-check
name: DE 2026 class III, EUR 9,000 a month, two children, church 8%, capped
inputs:
  monthly_pay: 9000
  fund_rate: 2.5
  child_counters: 2
  church_rate: 8
steps:
  - annual: monthly_pay * 12
  - care_ee_rate: 0.018 - (child_counters - 1) * 0.0025
  - vsp_pension: min(annual, 101400) * 0.093
  - vsp_health_care: min(annual, 69750) * (fund_rate / 2 / 100 + 0.07 + care_ee_rate)
  - vsp_unemp_cap: min(1900, min(annual, 101400) * 0.013 + vsp_health_care)
  - vsp: ceil(max(vsp_pension + vsp_health_care, vsp_pension + vsp_unemp_cap))
  - zve: floor(annual - 1230 - 36 - vsp)
  - x: floor(zve / 2)
  - z: (x - 17799) / 10000
  - annual_tax: floor((173.10 * z + 2397) * z + 1034.87) * 2
  - monthly_tax: floor(annual_tax / 12 * 100) / 100
  - x_child: floor((zve - child_counters * 9756) / 2)
  - z_child: (x_child - 17799) / 10000
  - jbmg: floor((173.10 * z_child + 2397) * z_child + 1034.87) * 2
  - soli: min(jbmg * 0.055, max(0, jbmg - 40700) * 0.119)
  - church_tax_year: jbmg * church_rate / 100
  - ee_pension: round(min(monthly_pay, 8450) * 0.093, 2)
  - ee_unemp: round(min(monthly_pay, 8450) * 0.013, 2)
  - ee_health: round(min(monthly_pay, 5812.50) * (14.6 + fund_rate) / 2 / 100, 2)
  - ee_care: round(min(monthly_pay, 5812.50) * care_ee_rate, 2)
  - ee_total: ee_pension + ee_unemp + ee_health + ee_care
  - er_care: round(min(monthly_pay, 5812.50) * 0.018, 2)
expected:
  vsp: 16266
  zve: 90468
  annual_tax: 17826
  monthly_tax: 1485.50
  jbmg: 11626
  soli: 0
  church_tax_year: 930.08
  ee_total: 1482.76
  er_care: 104.63
```

Other cases, in short. A commercial Minijob at EUR 603: employer health 13% EUR 78.39, pension 15% EUR 90.45, flat tax 2% EUR 12.06; the Minijobber's 3.6% is EUR 21.71. Aktivrente from May 2026 at EUR 2,500 a month: EUR 2,000 tax-free and EUR 500 taxed in each of May to December, yearly room EUR 16,000 (EUR 24,000 less four twelfths); contributions are due in full. The ministry's FAQ variant: pay EUR 1,500 and a December bonus of EUR 800, so EUR 500 of the bonus is tax-free (EUR 2,000 less EUR 1,500) and EUR 300 is taxed ([Aktivrente FAQ](https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/FAQ/FAQ-zur-Aktivrente.html)). Late payment: EUR 1,275 of wage tax paid one month late costs 1% of EUR 1,250 = EUR 12.50; EUR 3,480 of contributions costs 1% of EUR 3,450 = EUR 34.50 per month started. Wage tax paid over for 2025 of EUR 4,200 (more than EUR 1,080, not more than EUR 5,000) makes 2026 quarterly ([§ 41a(2) EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__41a.html)). A quarterly filer's third-quarter deadline fell on Saturday 10 October 2026 and moved to Monday 12 October 2026. A second job in class VI at EUR 20,000 a year bears EUR 2,766 of wage tax against EUR 380 in class I, and EUR 2,234 in class V (ministry test table, built with ALV, KRV and PKV = 0, KVZ 2.90 and the childless surcharge except in class II); wages from two employers at once oblige the employee to file a return ([§ 46(2) no. 2 EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__46.html)). Payroll software implementing the 2026 PAP must reproduce that table; quick self-checks: wage tax is the same with and without child counters while the surcharge and church base never rise with them; class V tax is never below 14% of the taxable amount and is above class I in every row; pay above a ceiling changes no contribution in that branch, so pay above both ceilings changes none; a surcharge base just above the limit gives 11.9% of the excess, below 5.5% of the base, and nothing at or below the limit.

**The ministry's test table** ([PAP 2026, "Prüftabelle"](https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/Steuern/Steuerarten/Lohnsteuer/Programmablaufplan/2025-11-12-PAP-2026-anlage-1.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2); yearly wage tax, built with ALV, KRV and PKV = 0, KVZ = 2.90 and the childless surcharge, class II without it):

| Annual gross pay | Class I (= IV) | Class II | Class III | Class V | Class VI |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| EUR 20,000 | EUR 380 | EUR 0 | EUR 0 | EUR 2,234 | EUR 2,766 |
| EUR 60,000 | EUR 9,389 | EUR 8,091 | EUR 4,822 | EUR 15,364 | EUR 15,895 |
| EUR 100,000 | EUR 23,248 | EUR 21,634 | EUR 15,012 | EUR 30,157 | EUR 30,689 |

## Ask the client first

- **ELStAM:** tax class, child counters, church, any allowance or factor; first or further job? Unknown data by the employee's fault means class VI.
- **Health insurance:** which statutory fund and its own additional rate, or private (premiums), or a voluntary member?
- **Children and age:** children under 25 with proof given; is the employee 23 or older; standard retirement age reached?
- **Place of employment:** the state (church tax rate; Saxony care split).
- **Status of each job:** regular monthly pay, other jobs or Minijobs, short-term limits, sector with the immediate-report duty.
- **Last year's wage tax paid over** (sets the filing period) and any one-time payments in this run.
- **Hours and surcharges:** hours worked, hourly pay, and any night, Sunday or public holiday work (minimum wage check; § 3b surcharges).
- **Absence:** sick days (since when; the same illness before?) or a maternity protection period (sick pay, maternity top-up, U1 and U2 refunds).

Defaults when an answer is missing, for an estimate only: unknown class, estimate in class I, but real payroll uses class VI while the employee is at fault for missing data ([§ 39c EStG](https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39c.html)); unknown church, none; unknown children, childless surcharge if 23 or older; unknown Saxony flag, outside Saxony; unknown insurance markers, insured in all branches; unknown additional rate, the average rate (never for a real payslip).

## Sources

| Source | URL | Read on |
| --- | --- | --- |
| EStG §§ 3, 3b, 9a, 10c, 24b, 32a, 38, 38b, 39, 39a, 39b, 39c, 39e, 39f, 40a, 41, 41a, 41b, 42b, 42d, 46, 51a | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/ | 2026-10-24 |
| Solidaritätszuschlaggesetz §§ 3, 4 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/solzg_1995/ | 2026-10-24 |
| Abgabenordnung §§ 93c, 108, 152, 240 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/ao_1977/ | 2026-10-24 |
| SGB IV §§ 4, 5, 6, 8, 18i, 20, 22, 23, 23a, 24, 28a, 28e, 28f, 28g, 28i | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/ | 2026-10-24 |
| SGB X § 26 (social insurance deadlines on a weekend) | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_10/__26.html | 2026-10-31 |
| DEÜV §§ 6, 8, 9, 10, 12 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/de_v/ | 2026-10-24 |
| SGB V §§ 6, 223, 241, 243, 249, 249b, 257 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_5/ | 2026-10-24 |
| SGB VI §§ 6, 168, 172 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_6/ | 2026-10-24 |
| SGB XI §§ 55, 58 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_11/ | 2026-10-24 |
| SGB III §§ 341, 346, 358, 360 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_3/ | 2026-10-24 |
| Aufwendungsausgleichsgesetz §§ 1, 7 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aufag/ | 2026-10-24 |
| Pension rate notice 2026 (RVBeitrSBek 2026) | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/rvbeitrsbek_2026/BJNR1230A0025.html | 2026-10-24 |
| Care rate regulation (PBAV 2025) § 1 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/pbav_2025/__1.html | 2026-10-24 |
| Social insurance values regulation 2026 (SVBezGrV 2026), BGBl. 2025 I No. 278 | https://www.recht.bund.de/bgbl/1/2025/278/regelungstext.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=3 | 2026-10-24 |
| Finance ministry, Programmablaufplan 2026, Anlage 1 (final, 12 November 2025), incl. test table | https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/Steuern/Steuerarten/Lohnsteuer/Programmablaufplan/2025-11-12-PAP-2026-anlage-1.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2 | 2026-10-24 |
| Finance ministry, Programmablaufplan 2026 overview page | https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/Steuern/Steuerarten/Lohnsteuer/Programmablaufplan/2025-11-12-PAP-2026.html | 2026-10-31 |
| Finance ministry, Aktivrente FAQ | https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/FAQ/FAQ-zur-Aktivrente.html | 2026-10-24 |
| Finance ministry, Steuern von A bis Z (church tax 8% or 9%) | https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/Broschueren_Bestellservice/steuern-von-a-z.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=9 | 2026-10-24 |
| Federal Health Ministry, contributions page (average additional rate 2.9%, ceilings) | https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/beitraege | 2026-10-24 |
| Selected operative recovery, U1, surcharge, internship, aggregation, sickness and report exceptions; actual BMG 2026 rate and ceiling (administrative guidance), read 29 October 2026 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__28g.html ; https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/aufag/__7.html ; https://www.bundesgesundheitsministerium.de/beitraege/seite | 2026-10-29 |
| Minimum wage regulation MiLoV5 § 1 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/milov5/__1.html | 2026-10-24 |
| Minijob-Zentrale, Minijob with earnings limit (EUR 603, 3.6%) | https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/DE/die-minijobs/minijob-mit-verdienstgrenze | 2026-10-24 |
| Minijob-Zentrale, Midijob (EUR 603.01 to EUR 2,000) | https://www.minijob-zentrale.de/DE/die-minijobs/midijob | 2026-10-24 |
| § 20 SGB IV formula images (BGBl. 2022 I) | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/normengrafiken/bgbl1_2022/j1988_0010.jpg and j1988_0020.jpg | 2026-10-24 |
| Berlin Senate finance circular on 2026 social insurance values (factor F 0.6619; average additional rate 2.9% in the Federal Gazette of 10 November 2025) | https://www.berlin.de/politik-und-verwaltung/rundschreiben/download.php/4330060 | 2026-10-24 |
| MiLoG §§ 1, 2, 17, 22; GewO § 108; EBV §§ 1, 2; SvEV § 1; EntgFG §§ 3, 4; MuSchG § 20 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/ | 2026-10-24 |
| Amended PAP 2025 (22 January 2025), for 2025 corrections | https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/Steuern/Steuerarten/Lohnsteuer/Programmablaufplan/2025-01-22-geaenderte-PAP-2025-anlage-1.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2 | 2026-10-24 |
| Minimum wage regulation MiLoV4 § 1 (2025) | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/milov4/__1.html | 2026-10-24 |
| Retirement-age pension and unemployment distinction: SGB VI § 5(4), § 172(1); SGB III § 28(1) no. 1, § 346(3) | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_6/__5.html ; https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_3/__28.html ; https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_6/__172.html ; https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_3/__346.html | 2026-10-29 |
| Pension Vorsorgepauschale and professional schemes: EStG § 39b(2) sentence 5 no. 3(a); PAP 2026 KRV definition | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__39b.html ; https://www.bundesfinanzministerium.de/Content/DE/Downloads/Steuern/Steuerarten/Lohnsteuer/Programmablaufplan/2025-11-12-PAP-2026-anlage-1.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=2 | 2026-10-29 |
| Social contribution rounding and transition allocation: BVV §§ 1 and 2; SGB XI § 58(5) | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/beitrvv/__1.html ; https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/beitrvv/__2.html ; https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_11/__58.html | 2026-10-29 |
| EStG § 32a | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__32a.html | 2026-10-31 |
| EStG § 40a | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/estg/__40a.html | 2026-10-31 |
| SGB XI § 55 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_11/__55.html | 2026-10-31 |
| SGB IV § 20 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_4/__20.html | 2026-10-31 |
| SGB V § 249 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_5/__249.html | 2026-10-31 |
| SGB V § 249b | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/sgb_5/__249b.html | 2026-10-31 |
| SolzG § 3 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/solzg_1995/__3.html | 2026-10-31 |
| SolzG § 4 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/solzg_1995/__4.html | 2026-10-31 |
| svbezgrv_2026 § 2 | https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/svbezgrv_2026/__2.html | 2026-10-31 |

Not yet confirmed: the Federal Gazette text of the labour ministry's 2026 factor F notice itself (0.6619 is taken from an official state circular that cites it, and equals 28 / 42.3); which states levy 8% and which 9% church tax (secondary sources name Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg at 8%), and state church tax caps; U1 and U2 rates (set by each fund) and accident insurance; the 2027 health ceiling amount.

## Today's figures and who stands behind this skill

This file is an AI skill (tax rules your AI follows) from OpenAccountants, copied on 2026-10-31. Rates, thresholds and deadlines change. For the current version of this skill, its official sources and the named accountant (if any) who stands behind it, call `get_skill` with slug `de-payroll` on the OpenAccountants connector (https://www.openaccountants.com/connect), or read https://www.openaccountants.com/skills/de-payroll. If neither is available, confirm every figure against the official source pages cited above before relying on it.