German pension taxation: table and tax-free amount 2026
Which part of a German statutory pension is taxed depends on one date only: the year the pension starts. The table covers every start year the law lists.
Worked through by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
How much of your pension is taxable
Taxable share
84.5 %
| Taxable a year | €18,252 |
| Fixed tax-free amount | €3,348 |
| Later pension increases | fully taxable |
The tax-free amount is fixed in euros in the year after the pension starts.
A German statutory pension is not taxed in full. The taxable share (Besteuerungsanteil) depends on the year the pension starts (section 22 Income Tax Act). Pensions that began in 2005 or earlier are taxed on 50 %, pensions starting in 2026 on 84 %, pensions starting in 2027 on 84.5 %. From then on the share rises by 0.5 percentage points per start year until pensions starting in 2058 are fully taxable. The remainder is the tax-free amount (Rentenfreibetrag). It is fixed in euros in the year after the pension starts and never changes again, so every later pension increase is taxed in full. Example with a pension of €1,500 a month starting in 2026: the tax-free amount is €2,880 a year. If the pension later rises to €1,650, the taxed part is no longer 84 % but 85.5 % of the annual pension. Whether any tax is actually due depends on the basic allowance of €12,348.
What the taxable share means
Since 2005 the German statutory pension has been taxed on a share that grows over several decades until it reaches the whole pension. To get there, section 22 no. 1 Income Tax Act sets a percentage for each start year. That percentage stays with the pension for life. A pension that began in 2015 keeps 70 %, even if it is still paid in 2040; one starting in 2035 is taxed on 88.5 % from day one.
Nobody withholds income tax from a German pension. The pension insurer pays it gross, deducting only health and long-term care contributions. Income tax is assessed through your tax return when the taxable part, together with other income, exceeds the basic allowance. If you are used to tax being taken at source by an employer, plan for a payment after the assessment instead. The amount from which tax appears is on tax-free pension limit.
Table: pensions starting 2005 to 2025
| Start year | Taxable share | Tax-free | Tax-free amount on €1,500 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 50.0 % | 50.0 % | €9,000 |
| 2006 | 52.0 % | 48.0 % | €8,640 |
| 2007 | 54.0 % | 46.0 % | €8,280 |
| 2008 | 56.0 % | 44.0 % | €7,920 |
| 2009 | 58.0 % | 42.0 % | €7,560 |
| 2010 | 60.0 % | 40.0 % | €7,200 |
| 2011 | 62.0 % | 38.0 % | €6,840 |
| 2012 | 64.0 % | 36.0 % | €6,480 |
| 2013 | 66.0 % | 34.0 % | €6,120 |
| 2014 | 68.0 % | 32.0 % | €5,760 |
| 2015 | 70.0 % | 30.0 % | €5,400 |
| 2016 | 72.0 % | 28.0 % | €5,040 |
| 2017 | 74.0 % | 26.0 % | €4,680 |
| 2018 | 76.0 % | 24.0 % | €4,320 |
| 2019 | 78.0 % | 22.0 % | €3,960 |
| 2020 | 80.0 % | 20.0 % | €3,600 |
| 2021 | 81.0 % | 19.0 % | €3,420 |
| 2022 | 82.0 % | 18.0 % | €3,240 |
| 2023 | 82.5 % | 17.5 % | €3,150 |
| 2024 | 83.0 % | 17.0 % | €3,060 |
| 2025 | 83.5 % | 16.5 % | €2,970 |
The first step is steep: 2 percentage points more per start year up to 2020, then 1 point for 2021 and 2022. Since 2023 the share grows by only 0.5 points. People who retired in 2023, 2024 or 2025 are already on the flatter curve: 82.5 %, 83.0 % and 83.5 %.
Table: pensions starting 2026 to 2058
| Start year | Taxable share | Tax-free | Tax-free amount on €1,500 a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 84.0 % | 16.0 % | €2,880 |
| 2027 | 84.5 % | 15.5 % | €2,790 |
| 2028 | 85.0 % | 15.0 % | €2,700 |
| 2029 | 85.5 % | 14.5 % | €2,610 |
| 2030 | 86.0 % | 14.0 % | €2,520 |
| 2031 | 86.5 % | 13.5 % | €2,430 |
| 2032 | 87.0 % | 13.0 % | €2,340 |
| 2033 | 87.5 % | 12.5 % | €2,250 |
| 2034 | 88.0 % | 12.0 % | €2,160 |
| 2035 | 88.5 % | 11.5 % | €2,070 |
| 2036 | 89.0 % | 11.0 % | €1,980 |
| 2037 | 89.5 % | 10.5 % | €1,890 |
| 2038 | 90.0 % | 10.0 % | €1,800 |
| 2039 | 90.5 % | 9.5 % | €1,710 |
| 2040 | 91.0 % | 9.0 % | €1,620 |
| 2041 | 91.5 % | 8.5 % | €1,530 |
| 2042 | 92.0 % | 8.0 % | €1,440 |
| 2043 | 92.5 % | 7.5 % | €1,350 |
| 2044 | 93.0 % | 7.0 % | €1,260 |
| 2045 | 93.5 % | 6.5 % | €1,170 |
| 2046 | 94.0 % | 6.0 % | €1,080 |
| 2047 | 94.5 % | 5.5 % | €990 |
| 2048 | 95.0 % | 5.0 % | €900 |
| 2049 | 95.5 % | 4.5 % | €810 |
| 2050 | 96.0 % | 4.0 % | €720 |
| 2051 | 96.5 % | 3.5 % | €630 |
| 2052 | 97.0 % | 3.0 % | €540 |
| 2053 | 97.5 % | 2.5 % | €450 |
| 2054 | 98.0 % | 2.0 % | €360 |
| 2055 | 98.5 % | 1.5 % | €270 |
| 2056 | 99.0 % | 1.0 % | €180 |
| 2057 | 99.5 % | 0.5 % | €90 |
| 2058 | 100.0 % | 0.0 % | €0 |
The last column is a guide for an unchanged pension of €1,500. Your own amount is your annual pension in the year after the start multiplied by the tax-free percentage. The mini calculator above works it out from your start year and gross pension.
The tax-free amount: fixed once, never adjusted
The law speaks of the tax-free part of the pension. It is not recalculated each year from the percentage; it is fixed in euros in the year after the pension starts. From then on the pension rises with each adjustment on 1 July, but the tax-free amount does not. The part actually taxed therefore climbs above the table value year after year.
| Monthly pension | Annual pension | Fixed tax-free amount | Taxable | Actual share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €1,500 | €18,000 | €2,880 | €15,120 | 84.0 % |
| €1,650 | €19,800 | €2,880 | €16,920 | 85.5 % |
| €1,800 | €21,600 | €2,880 | €18,720 | 86.7 % |
This is why two neighbours with the same pension can pay different amounts of tax. Someone drawing a pension since 2015 that now pays €1,500 had the tax-free amount set on the lower pension of that time, so the actual share is above the 70 % in the table. For a precise estimate, enter the amount shown in your tax assessment in the pension tax calculator.
From the taxable part to the tax bill
The share is only the first step. From the taxable part the tax office deducts the flat expense allowance of €102 (section 9a), the flat special-expense allowance of €36, or €72 for a married couple (section 10c), and the health and care contributions you paid (section 10). The 2026 schedule with its basic allowance of €12,348 applies to what is left (section 32a).
Three start years, the same €1,500 pension, single, no other income: starting in 2015, €12,600 is taxable and the tax is €0. Starting in 2026 it is €15,120 and €59 a year; starting in 2035, €15,930 and €184. The solidarity surcharge plays no part at these amounts, because it only applies above €20,350 of income tax (section 3 Solidarity Surcharge Act). Church members pay 8 % of the income tax in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg and 9 % in the other states.
Several countries, several pensions
Many expats end up with pension rights in more than one country. Under Regulation (EC) No 883/2004 insurance periods in EU and EEA countries and Switzerland are added together to check the qualifying periods, but each country then pays its own pension for its own periods. The table on this page applies only to the German statutory pension and its start year. Do not apply it to a pension from another member state: that pension has its own rules, which this page does not cover.
When one pension follows another
Not every pension simply takes the share of its own start year. For a pension that follows an earlier one, such as an old-age pension after a disability pension or a widow’s pension after the deceased partner’s pension, section 22 sentence 8 has a special rule. In those cases take the percentage from the tax office’s assessment rather than from the table. Work after the standard retirement age is a separate matter: wages can be tax-free up to €24,000 a year, explained under working alongside the pension.