German pension: gross to net calculator 2026
Enter your gross pension and the year it started: the calculator deducts health and long-term care contributions and estimates income tax under the 2026 schedule.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Net pension a month
€1,386
from €1,600 gross
| Gross pension | €1,600 |
|---|---|
| Health insurance | −€140.00 |
| Care insurance | −€57.60 |
| Tax (monthly share) | −€16.00 |
| Net | €1,386.40 |
| Taxable share | 84.0 % |
Step-by-step calculation
- Health insurance: (14.6% + 2.90%) ÷ 2 = 8.75 % of the pension; the pension insurer pays the other half (section 249a SGB V).
- Long-term care insurance: 3.6 %, paid by you alone (section 59 SGB XI).
- Taxable: 84.0 % of the annual pension €19,200 (pension start 2026, section 22 EStG) = €16,128.
- Minus €102 expenses allowance, €36 special expenses and €2,371 health and care contributions: taxable income €13,619; basic allowance €12,348.
- Income tax €192, solidarity surcharge €0.00, church tax €0.00 a year. No tax is withheld from the pension: it is due with your tax return.
Estimate under SGB VI and the Income Tax Act as of October 2026, not advice. Only your pension decision letter is binding. How we calculate
Two deductions come off a German statutory pension straight away and one later. Straight away the pension insurer withholds health insurance: half of the general 14.6 % rate and half of your health fund’s extra rate (Zusatzbeitrag), on average 7.3 % plus 1.45 % in 2026; the pension insurer pays the other half. Long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung) also comes off at once, and pensioners pay it alone: 3.6 %, or 4.2 % without children. Nobody withholds income tax; it is due through your tax return once the taxable part of the pension plus other income exceeds the €12,348 basic allowance. For pensions starting in 2026 exactly 84 % is taxable. Examples from the calculator, single with children: €1,200 gross leaves €1,052, €1,800 leaves €1,536, €2,400 leaves €1,962 a month.
What the calculator deducts
Pensioners’ health insurance (Krankenversicherung der Rentner, KVdR) is compulsory for anyone who spent at least nine tenths of the second half of their working life in statutory health insurance (section 5(1) no. 11 SGB V). The contribution on the pension follows the general rate of 14.6 % (section 241 SGB V) plus your fund’s extra rate (section 247), split equally between you and the pension insurer (section 249a). Pensioners pay long-term care insurance alone (section 59 SGB XI), with 0.6 points more if they have no children (section 55).
| Gross pension | Health and care | Tax, monthly average | Net |
|---|---|---|---|
| €1,200 | €148.20 | €0.00 | €1,052 |
| €1,800 | €222.30 | €41.67 | €1,536 |
| €2,400 | €296.40 | €141.17 | €1,962 |
How the tax is estimated
The taxable part is the share for the year your pension starts (section 22 Income Tax Act): 84.0 % for 2026, half a point more for each later year. From that the calculator deducts €102 expenses, €36 special expenses and the health and care contributions you paid (section 10), then applies the 2026 schedule (section 32a). For a married couple living on a single €2,400 pension, joint assessment halves the burden: €0.00 instead of €141.17 a month. Enter company pensions, rent or wages as other income, after their own allowances.
What the calculator leaves out
Privately insured pensioners pay their own premium and get a subsidy from the pension insurer; under “More options” the calculator can drop the deduction, but it does not add the subsidy. The care contribution reduction for parents with several children under 25 is also left out, as it rarely applies to pensioners. If you receive a pension from your home country as well, German tax may take it into account for the rate even where it is exempt; that is beyond this tool.