Lohnabrechnung - Understand your German Payslip [2024] - Navigate Germany

If you are working in Germany, you would be receiving a salary slip which you must read carefully.

German Payslip

A piece of paper that gives the details of your salary, wages, and deductions. This is compulsory for your employer to give you the payslip every month.

Deductions Made Out of Your Salary

There are several deductions from your salary such as taxes, social security contributions, social charges, etc. These deductions consists of 40% of your gross income. Before you find a job, use german salary calculator to determine the final salary and make an informed decision. Common deductions are;

• Income Tax
• Church Tax
• Solidarity Tax
• Long-Term Care Insurance
• Pension Insurance
• Unemployment Insurance 
• Health Insurance

How to Read Your German Payslip?

Every organization have different payroll system to generate salary slip with different formats but a few things are same on each slip such as details of your earnings, salary, bonuses, social security contributions, and deductions like taxes. You will find a lot of abbreviations on you salary slip.

Header

Personal information is given at the top of the German pay slip that include employee’s name, address, personal number, date of birth, and religion. It is also mentioned if the employee has to pay church tax. 

• Arbeitnehmer Nr. or a Personal-Nr: Employee number
• Geburtsdatum: Date of birth.
• StKl. or Steuerklasse: Tax class
• Ki.Frbtr. (Kinderfreibeträge) or ZKF (Zahl der Kinderfreibeträge): Tax exemptions per child.
  • For 1 child, you will get tax exemption for the 1 child. 
• Konfession or Rel. (Religion) represents religion. RK for Roman Catholic; EV stands for Protestant; and — presents no religion)
• Freibetrag, Steuerfr, or Bezug (Steuerfreibezug): Tax-free allowance
• St. Tg. (Steuertage): Tax days.
  • If you are working full month then 30 days
• SV-Nummer (Sozialversicherungs nummer) or RV-Nummer (Rentenversicherungs nummer): Social security number
• Krankenkasse: Health insurance Fund (Private or Public Health Insurance)
• KK: Health insurance contribution rate
• Eintritt or Eintrittsdatum: Date of hiring by your employer.
• SV-Tg. Sozialverischerungstage: Social security days
  • If you are working full month then 30 days
• BGRS or SV Schlüssel / Beitr.gr. KV / RV / AV / PV: Social security codes to indicate your contribution level.
  • The number one is the full contribution.
• Steuer – ID or Lohnsteueridentifikations nummer (Id Nr.): Tax ID number
• Url. Anspr. (Urlaubsanspruch): Vacation days as per your contract with the company.
  • By law, it is 20 days, but up to 30 days are common.
• Url. Tg. gen. (Urlaubstage genehmigt): Approved vacation day’s year to date YTD.

Total Earnings (Gross and Net)

This part of your slip includes details of the salary and income.

• Brutto Bezüge or Basisbezüge: Gross earnings
• Bezeichnung: Description against your salary items.
• Bruttogehalt or Gehalt: Monthly base salary
• Geldw. Vorteil or Sachbezug: Non-cash benefits, subject to the total tax and social contributions
• VL AG (Vermögenswirksame Leistungen Arbeitgeberanteil): Voluntary employer contribution to your savings plan
• Betr. AV or BAV (Betriebliche Altersvorsorge): Employer contribution to your savings plan
• Einmalbezug or Einmalzahlung:  One-time bonus
  • For example, Christmas, holidays, or achievements.
• Urlaubsgeld: Holiday pay
• Gehaltsumwandlung: Tax deduction or any other social benefits.
• ST-frei (Steuerfreie Bezüge): Tax-free benefits
• Gesamtbrutto or Steuer-Brutto: Total gross salary (taxable amount)
• Nettoverdienst or Auszahlungsbetrag or Netto: Net salary

Taxes Details

Tax deductions depends on the tax class, marital status, or type of job you have and it is automatically deducted from you salary by your employer who pays this to the German tax authorities. These taxes include;

• Steuerrechtliche Abzüge or Gesetzliche Abzüge: Sum of all tax deductions.
• Lohnsteuer. lfd. (LSt.):  Progressive income tax (14% – 42%)
• Krankenversicherung .lfd: Contribution toward German health insurance. (14.6%)
• Rentenversicherung .lfd: Contribution to pension insurance (18.6%)
• Arbeitlosenverischerung .lfd: Contribution to unemployment insurance (18.6%)
• Pflegeversicherung .lfd: Contribution to the long-term care plan (3.05 – 3.30%)
• laufend (lfd): Current month deduction
• Kirchensteuer (KiSt.): Church tax (8% – 9%)
• Solidaritätszuschlag: Solidarity surcharge (max 5,5%).
  • From 2021, contribute if you earn more than 73.000 Euros gross per year.
• Zusatzbeitrag: Additional contribution
  • For example Hansefit

Contributions to Social Security

Social security contributions are both by employer and employee on an equal basis.

• SV (Sozialversicherung): Social security insurance.
• KV – Beitrag (Krankenversicherung): Contribution to statutory health insurance (14.6% state contribution + 0.69-2.5% contribution for your health insurance fund)
• PV – Beitrag (Pflegeversicherung): Contribution to long-term care insurance (3.05 to 3.30%)
• AV – Beitrag (Arbeitlosenverischerung): Contribution to unemployment insurance (2.4%)
• RV – Beitrag (Rentenversicherung): Contribution to pension insurance (18.6%)
• SV – rechtliche Abzüge: Sum of all social security Deductions, usually 50%
• SV – AG – Anteil (Sozialversicherung Arbeitgeber Anteil): Sum of all social security contributions paid by the employer, usually 50%
• ZV-pflichtiges Entgelt: Remuneration subject to supplementary pension.

Jahreswert or YTD or TD Income

This part of slip includes the sum of total earnings and deductions of the year to date or to date which indicates the final salary or the net pay.

Bank Account Details

Last part of the salary slip is the bank details where your employer will deposit your salary.

Tip To Consider

Remember to keep your slip in your file and do not throw it as it is the proof of the total number of years you have worked in company. Your slip will share information regarding contributions you have paid during your timespan in an organization which you will need at the time of retirement or at the time of filing your tax return. Get your salary slip and keep it in your record every month and if you misplace any of the slip, ask your employer immediately as he will keep record of only 6 months.

Conclusion

So, you better have idea about the payslip and abbreviations mentioned in it. Raed it and maintain your file carefully. Your salary slip shares everything about your income and deductions.