Gross to net salary in Germany 2026: what you take home

From €4,000 gross a month, about €2,605.50 is left in 2026 in tax class I, if you have no children and pay no church tax. The rest goes to the tax office and social insurance. For your own figures, use the net salary calculator: it uses the official formula of the Federal Ministry of Finance and also shows what your employer pays on top.

Quick answer

• Net is gross minus taxes minus social contributions. The taxes are wage tax, solidarity surcharge and church tax. The contributions are health, long-term care, pension and unemployment insurance.
• The tax class changes only the tax. Social contributions stay the same.
• As a rule of thumb, 60 to 70 % of a mid-range salary is left. The share falls as the salary rises.
• Your employer pays about 24 % on top of your gross. At €4,000, your job costs the company about €4,950 a month.

The deductions at €4,000 gross

Example for 2026: tax class I, no children, 36 years old, no church tax, statutory health insurance with the average additional contribution of 2.9 %.

Wage tax and tax classes

Your employer withholds wage tax every month and reports it to the tax office with the Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung. The amount depends on your salary and tax class. The tax class does not change your annual tax: your tax return evens out any wage tax paid in excess or short.

Class II is shown with one child allowance; with a child, long-term care insurance also falls because the childless surcharge drops. Class VI applies to a second job and has the highest deduction.

Social insurance 2026: rates and ceilings

Employees and employers usually split the contributions half and half.

Above the ceiling, contributions stop rising. That is why net pay grows faster at high salaries than at mid-range ones. From the second child under 25, parents pay 0.25 percentage points less care insurance per child, up to the fifth child. In Saxony, employees carry a larger share of care insurance.

Net salary table 2026

Tax class I, no children, no church tax, additional rate 2.9 %.

Church tax and solidarity surcharge

Church tax is 8 % of the wage tax in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and 9 % in all other states. At €4,000 in class I in North Rhine-Westphalia that is €47.20 a month, and your net falls to €2,558.30.

Since 2021, only employees with high wage tax pay the solidarity surcharge. In class I it does not apply yet at €6,000; at €8,000 it is €13.62 a month. More in the article on the solidarity surcharge.

Minijob and Midijob

Up to €603 a month, a job is a Minijob in 2026. You pay no wage tax if the employer pays the flat-rate tax, and only 3.6 % pension contribution unless you opt out. From €500, €482 is left.

Between €603.01 and €2,000 is the transition zone, the Midijob. You pay reduced social contributions that rise to the full rate at €2,000. From €1,500 gross, about €1,210.58 is left in class I. What employers need to know about Minijobs is in the article on Minijobs in a GmbH.

What the employer pays on top

On top of the gross come the employer's social contributions, the U1 and U2 levies and the insolvency levy. At €4,000 gross that is €953.60 a month, so the job costs the company €4,953.60. Calculated with U1 2.1 % and U2 0.44 %; each health fund sets its own rates.

If you run a GmbH or UG, Norman runs payroll for you: the managing director and employees on a fixed monthly salary, payslips, the Lohnsteuer-Anmeldung via ELSTER and payroll postings straight in the ledger. Payroll is a paid feature. A comparison of payroll programs is in the article on payroll software for a GmbH.

FAQ

How much net is left from €3,000 gross? In class I without children or church tax, about €2,054.42 in 2026. Church tax, children or another tax class change the amount; the net salary calculator works it out for you.

Which tax class gives the highest net? Class III. It pays off for married couples when one partner earns much more; the other partner then has class V. Over the year, the tax return evens out the difference.

Why do I pay more care insurance than my colleagues? From age 23, people without children pay a 0.6 percentage point surcharge. Parents pay less from the second child under 25.

What is the difference between gross and employer cost? Gross is your contractual salary. Employer cost adds the employer's social contributions and levies, about €950 a month at €4,000 gross.

Is the calculator binding? No. It uses the official formula and the 2026 rates, but it does not replace payroll or tax advice.