Gross to net 2027

Every change for 2027 at a glance

Settled: in a law or ordinance. Announced: set by the ministry in charge. Awaits Bundesrat: passed by the cabinet, the Bundesrat (the upper house) still has to agree. Planned: a bill the Bundestag and Bundesrat have not voted on yet.

Tax rates apply to one person’s taxable income per year; for married couples filing jointly the thresholds double. The child allowances are for both parents together.

Tax: a higher allowance and a new top rate

The government plans to change income tax on 1 January 2027. The basic allowance would rise from 12.348 € to 12.564 € a year. You pay no income tax up to that amount of taxable income. The 42% marginal rate would start at 70.601 €, up from 69.879 €. These figures refer to annual taxable income, which differs from gross pay. The marginal rate shows how the next euro is taxed.

Very high incomes would pay more: 45% from 250.000 € instead of 277.826 €, and a new 47% rate from 280.000 €.

The standard allowance for work expenses would go up from 1.230 € to 1.430 €. Your employer already applies it when deducting income tax, so you would see it every month. If your actual work expenses are lower, you no longer need to list them.

For families, child benefit would rise from 259 € to 267 € a month and the child allowances from 9.756 € to 10.056 € a year.

Also planned: Sunday and holiday premiums would stay tax-free up to an hourly wage of 75 € instead of 50 €; for night work the limit stays at 50 €. The flat tax on Minijobs would rise from 2 % to 5 %, usually paid by the employer.

None of this is law yet. The bill is before the Bundestag (printed paper 21/8235), and its finance committee heard from experts on 4 November 2026. Then the Bundestag and the Bundesrat must both pass it. If it passes as planned, it applies from the January 2027 payslip.

Social contributions: what’s planned for 2027

Up to the contribution ceiling you pay social contributions on every euro, above it on none. When the ceiling rises, people who earn more than it pay more. For 2027 it would rise from 5.812,50 € to 6.375 € a month for health and care insurance, and from 8.450 € to 8.850 € for pension and unemployment insurance.

If the higher ceilings are approved, you’ll pay more in social contributions on a gross monthly salary above 5.812,50 €. Below that, the higher ceilings change nothing.

The threshold for private health insurance would rise from 77.400 € to 84.150 € a year. Only people who earn more can switch to a private insurer.

These values are in an ordinance the cabinet passed on 7 October 2026. The Bundesrat still has to agree.

People aged 23 and over without children would pay a care insurance surcharge of 0,9 % instead of 0,6 %. The finance ministry already assumes this in its provisional income tax rules for 2027, but it has not been passed.

Additional contribution: what your health insurer charges in 2027

On 30 October 2026 the Federal Ministry of Health set the average additional contribution for 2027 at 2,9 %, the same as in 2026. It is a benchmark: your health insurer sets its own rate, usually in December. You and your employer each pay half.

If your health insurer raises its additional contribution, you can usually switch before the twelve-month minimum term ends. Choose your new insurer by the end of the month the higher rate first applies. Your existing membership ends on the last day of the second month after you make that choice. If you opted for a tariff that includes sickness benefit, a longer minimum term may still apply.

Minimum wage and Minijobs

The minimum wage rises from 13,90 € to 14,60 € an hour on 1 January 2027, as set in a government ordinance since 2025. At 40 hours a week that is about 2.531 € gross a month, up from 2.409 €.

The Minijob limit is tied to the minimum wage by law, so it rises too: from 603 € to 633 € a month. The upper limit for Midijobs stays at 2.000 €. Between the two you pay lower social contributions than in a regular job.

What does this mean for your net pay?

We will work out what reaches you with the 2027 rules, not with estimates. The finance ministry usually publishes them in November; for 2026 they came on 12 November 2025. Then this section shows your 2027 net pay next to 2026 for gross pay from 2.000 € to 8.000 €.

Until then, the net pay table shows what is left in 2026 in every tax class. Go to the net pay table

Sources

• Fifth Minimum Wage Adjustment Ordinance, section 1 (German)
• Section 8 of the Social Code, Book IV: Minijob limit (German)
• Section 20 of the Social Code, Book IV: Midijobs (German)
• Bundestag printed paper 21/8235: the Income Tax Reform Act 2027 bill, 28 September 2026 (German)
• Bundestag finance committee: hearing on 4 November 2026 (German)
• Federal Ministry of Finance, press release of 2 September 2026 (German)
• Federal Ministry of Finance: provisional income tax rules for 2027, 8 October 2026 (German)
• Federal Ministry of Labour: social insurance values ordinance 2027, passed by the cabinet on 7 October 2026 (German)
• Federal Ministry of Health, press release of 30 October 2026 (German)
• Section 175 of the Social Code, Book V: leaving when the additional contribution rises (German)
• Section 53 of the Social Code, Book V: minimum terms for optional tariffs (German)

This is an overview, not tax or legal advice. As of 1 November 2026.