German Payslip: How to Read Your Lohnabrechnung in Germany
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A German payslip shows how your Brutto salary becomes the Netto amount paid out to you. It lists taxes, social-security contributions, employee details, tax class, health-insurance fund, holiday entitlement, and an annual summary of payments. The layout may differ between employers, but the logic is almost always the same.
What is deducted from your salary in Germany?
There are usually two main groups of deductions on a payslip:
- taxes: Lohnsteuer, Kirchensteuer, and, for high incomes, Solidaritätszuschlag;
- social-security contributions: Krankenversicherung, Pflegeversicherung, Rentenversicherung, and Arbeitslosenversicherung.
The total share of deductions depends on your salary, tax class, federal state, church affiliation, Krankenkasse, family situation, and insurance status. “Around 40% of gross pay” can be useful as a rough estimate, but it is best to calculate the exact result using a current Brutto-Netto-Rechner.
Useful external calculator: brutto-netto-rechner.info.
Example of a gross-to-net salary calculation in Germany. Source: brutto-netto-rechner.info
Read also: What salary is considered good in Germany?
What is a payslip called in German?
An employer may use different names for the same document:
- Lohnabrechnung;
- Gehaltsabrechnung;
- Entgeltabrechnung;
- Verdienstabrechnung;
- Abrechnung der Brutto/Netto-Bezüge;
- Verdienstnachweis.
Towards the end of the month, employees usually receive the statement for the current period. The document lists earnings, deductions, employer contributions, and the amount transferred to the bank account.
Example 1 of a German payslip
Example 2 of a German payslip
1. Personal details and tax information
The top section of a payslip usually contains employee details and the parameters the payroll system uses to calculate taxes and contributions.
| Field or abbreviation | What it means |
|---|---|
| Arbeitnehmer-Nr., Personal-Nr. | internal employee number |
| Geburtsdatum | date of birth |
| StKl. / Steuerklasse | tax class |
| Ki.Frbtr., ZKF | number of Kinderfreibeträge, i.e. child tax allowances |
| Konfession, Rel. | religion used to calculate church tax: for example, RK, EV, or no religious affiliation |
| Freibetrag, Steuerfreibetrag | individual tax-free amount, if entered in ELStAM |
| St.-Tg. | tax days in the payroll period; usually 30 for a full month |
| SV-Nummer, RV-Nummer | social-security number / pension-insurance number |
| Krankenkasse | your health-insurance fund |
| KK % | the Krankenkasse rate, including Zusatzbeitrag |
| Eintritt, Eintrittsdatum | employment start date |
| SV-Tg. | social-insurance days in the period |
| BGRS, SV-Schlüssel, Beitr.gr. | codes and groups for calculating social contributions |
| Steuer-ID, IdNr. | tax identification number |
| Url. Anspr. | holiday days under the contract or company rules |
| Url. Tg. gen. | holiday days already approved or taken |
2. Earnings: what makes up your Brutto pay
Not every line appears every month. Some fields occur only for bonuses, holiday pay, a company car, an occupational pension, or one-off payments.
| Field or abbreviation | What it means |
|---|---|
| Brutto Bezüge | gross earnings |
| Bezeichnung | description of the payment type |
| Gehalt | basic monthly salary |
| Geldw. Vorteil, Sachbezug | a benefit in kind, such as a company car, which may be subject to taxes and contributions |
| VL AG | Vermögenswirksame Leistungen, the employer’s contribution to a savings plan |
| Betr. AV, BAV | betriebliche Altersvorsorge, an occupational pension scheme |
| Einmalbezug, Einmalzahlung | a one-off payment: bonus, Weihnachtsgeld, Urlaubsgeld, etc. |
| Urlaubsgeld | holiday pay or holiday allowance |
| Gehaltsumwandlung | part of salary allocated to benefits or a pension scheme |
| ST-frei | steuerfreie Bezüge, payments exempt from income tax |
| Gesamtbrutto, Steuer-Brutto | taxable gross amount |
| Nettoverdienst, Auszahlungsbetrag | amount paid into the bank account |
3. Taxes on the payslip
The employer deducts taxes from your salary and pays them to the Finanzamt.
| Tax | How to read the line |
|---|---|
| Lohnsteuer (LSt.) | wage tax; calculated on a progressive scale and depends on your Steuerklasse, income, and deductions |
| Kirchensteuer (KiSt.) | church tax, if you are registered with a religious community that levies it; usually 8% or 9% of Lohnsteuer depending on the federal state |
| Solidaritätszuschlag | solidarity surcharge; in 2026, most employees do not pay it because a Freigrenze applies to the amount of Lohnsteuer |
| Steuerrechtliche Abzüge | total tax deductions |
For Solidaritätszuschlag, it is not your gross salary itself that matters, but the calculated Lohnsteuer after taking into account the rules for children and your tax class. Therefore, the statement “Soli is paid above a salary of X euros” should be treated only as a rough approximation.
4. Social-security contributions in 2026
Social-security contributions in Germany are usually shared by employee and employer. On the payslip, you see your share and often a separate line for SV-AG-Anteil, i.e. the employer’s share.
| Contribution | Total rate in 2026 | What you need to know |
|---|---|---|
| KV-Beitrag / Krankenversicherung | 14.6% + Krankenkasse Zusatzbeitrag | the additional contribution depends on your Krankenkasse; the average Zusatzbeitrag for 2026 is 2.9% |
| PV-Beitrag / Pflegeversicherung | 3.6% | childless people over 23 pay an additional 0.6%; parents with several children may receive reductions |
| RV-Beitrag / Rentenversicherung | 18.6% | pension insurance; usually half is paid by the employee and half by the employer |
| AV-Beitrag / Arbeitslosenversicherung | 2.6% | unemployment insurance; usually shared equally |
In Saxony, the split of Pflegeversicherung between employee and employer differs from most federal states. In addition, contributions are charged only up to the Beitragsbemessungsgrenze: in 2026, it is €5,812.50 per month for Kranken- and Pflegeversicherung, and €8,450 per month for Renten- and Arbeitslosenversicherung.
Common abbreviations in this section:
- SV — Sozialversicherung, social insurance;
- Zusatzbeitrag — additional health-insurance contribution;
- SV-rechtliche Abzüge — total employee social-security deductions;
- SV-AG-Anteil — employer’s share of social-security contributions.
Read also: Refund of pension contributions in Germany.
5. Annual summary: YTD / TD
At the bottom of a payslip, there is often a section called Verdienstbescheinigung, Jahreswerte, YTD, or TD. It shows the amounts accumulated since the start of the year:
- gross income;
- taxable salary;
- Lohnsteuer withheld;
- Kirchensteuer and Solidaritätszuschlag, if applicable;
- employee social-security contributions;
- tax-exempt payments;
- holiday already taken or other balances, if the payroll system tracks them.
This section is useful for checking the Lohnsteuerbescheinigung at the end of the year and for understanding why net pay differs from a normal month in a month with a bonus.
What to check if the amount seems wrong
- Check your Steuerklasse, Kinderfreibeträge, Konfession, and Krankenkasse.
- Check whether there was a one-off payment, sick leave, holiday, business travel, or deductions for benefits.
- See which Zusatzbeitrag your Krankenkasse applies.
- Make sure the work days and Eintritt/Austritt date have been recorded correctly.
- If the error persists, ask HR or the payroll department to explain the specific lines.
Brief conclusion
A Lohnabrechnung looks crowded, but it can be read in sections: personal details, Brutto earnings, taxes, social-security contributions, Netto pay, and the annual summary. The most important lines for a quick check are Steuerklasse, Krankenkasse, Gesamtbrutto, Lohnsteuer, SV-rechtliche Abzüge, and Auszahlungsbetrag.
