German unemployment benefit 2026
German unemployment benefit is not a share of the net pay you are used to. The statute builds its own flat-rate net: a flat 20 percent for social insurance, plus wage tax and solidarity surcharge for your tax class, but no church tax. This calculator follows exactly that path and shows the daily amount, the monthly amount and how long the entitlement lasts.
Unemployment benefit per month
EUR / month
Example calculation with default valuesView sources
With at least twelve months of compulsory insurance in the last 30 months the qualifying period is met. The monthly amount is the daily amount times 30, which is why it sits slightly below the benefit rate times your monthly net.
Next step:Calculate short-time work benefit for this salaryCalculate sick pay for this salary
Your details
The average of the last twelve months, without one-off payments.
What counts is the class at the start of the year the claim arises.
At least one child under section 32 EStG lifts the rate from 60 to 67 percent.
Decides WHETHER you have a claim: from twelve months the qualifying period is met (§142, §143 SGB III).
Decides HOW LONG you are paid (§147 SGB III). It contains the field above, so it cannot be smaller. Result links shared before this field existed do not carry it: there we set it equal to the field above rather than invent months. Enter your real five years if they are longer.
From 50, 55 and 58 the maximum duration rises.
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Side by side
Difference-860.12 EUR / month
How the figure adds up
- Assessment pay per month
- 3,000 EUR / month
- Assessment pay per calendar day
- 98.63 EUR / day
- Flat social-insurance deduction 20 %
- 600 EUR / month
- Wage tax
- 293.08 EUR / month
- Flat-rate net per month
- 2,106.92 EUR / month
- Benefit base per calendar day
- 69.27 EUR / day
- Your benefit rate
- 60 %
- Unemployment benefit per calendar day
- 41.56 EUR / day
- Duration of the entitlement
- 12 months
- Share of your gross salary
- 41.56 %
- Total over the whole entitlement
- 14,961.60 EUR in total
Good to know
Two periods, two questions: the qualifying period needs twelve insured months within the last 30 months (§142, §143 SGB III), while the duration of the claim follows the insured months within the last five years and your age (§147 SGB III). Only from age 50 does anything above 24 months lengthen the payment at all, and from 58 a full 48 months reaches the maximum of 24 months.
Non-binding estimate on the 2026 thresholds. The wage tax comes from the official 2026 payroll algorithm without church tax and without personal allowances; the employment agency uses a slightly different Vorsorgepauschale. Only the agency notice is binding.
The link carries your inputs, not the result: whoever opens it calculates with the current figures.
How much is unemployment benefit (ALG I) in Germany?
German unemployment benefit is 60 percent of the statutory flat-rate net, or 67 percent with at least one child in the tax sense. It is computed per calendar day from the contributory gross pay of the last twelve months, and a full month is paid as 30 days.
The formula
Daily assessment pay = contributory gross of the last twelve months divided by 365, capped at 8,450 euro a month. Benefit base = assessment pay minus a flat 20 percent for social insurance, minus wage tax, minus solidarity surcharge. Daily benefit = benefit base times 60 or 67 percent. The monthly amount is the daily amount times 30.
Worked example
Example: a gross salary of 3,000 euro produces a flat-rate net of 2,106.92 euro a month. At a benefit rate of 60 percent that is 41.56 euro of unemployment benefit per calendar day, so 1,246.80 euro a month, and the entitlement runs for 12 months.
Key figures for 2026
| Benefit rate | 60 %, or 67 % with at least one child |
|---|---|
| Flat social-insurance deduction | 20 % of the assessment pay |
| Church tax | not deducted inside the statutory fiction |
| Contribution ceiling 2026 | 8,450 euro a month, 101,400 euro a year |
| Time arithmetic | a year counts 365 days, a payout month 30 days |
| Duration | 6 to 24 months, by insured time and age |
Figures verified:
How the benefit is really computed
The base is the assessment pay: the contributory gross of the last twelve settled months, divided by 365 calendar days. Pay is contributory only up to the ceiling of the unemployment insurance, which in 2026 is 8,450 euro a month. Anyone earning more gets nothing credited for the excess.
From that base, section 153 SGB III deducts three items: a flat 20 percent for social insurance, the wage tax for your tax class and the solidarity surcharge. What remains is the benefit base. Church tax is not on that list and is therefore not deducted even for church members, which lifts the base very slightly.
The benefit rate is applied to that base: 67 percent if you or your spouse has at least one child in the sense of section 32 EStG, otherwise 60 percent. Payment is per calendar day and a full month counts as 30 days. The duration follows section 147 SGB III: twelve insured months give six months of benefit, 24 give twelve, and from age 50, 55 and 58 the maximum rises to 15, 18 and 24 months.
Frequently asked questions
- Why do I not simply get 60 percent of my net pay?
- Because the statute builds its own flat-rate net. It deducts a flat 20 percent for social insurance instead of your actual contributions and leaves out church tax. That benefit base usually sits a little above your real net, while the monthly amount sits a little below it again because of the 30-day rule.
- When do I get 67 instead of 60 percent?
- When you have at least one child in the sense of section 32 para. 1, 3 to 5 EStG, that is a child for which child benefit or a child allowance is due in principle. It is enough if your spouse or registered partner has such a child and you do not live permanently apart.
- How long do I receive the benefit?
- Under section 147 SGB III it depends on insured time and age: twelve insured months give six months, 16 give eight, 20 give ten and 24 give twelve months. From the completed 50th year of age, 30 insured months give 15 months, from 55 with 36 months you reach 18, and from 58 with 48 months you reach 24.
- Does my high salary count in full?
- Only up to the contribution ceiling of the unemployment insurance, which in 2026 is 8,450 euro a month or 101,400 euro a year. Pay above it is contribution free and does not raise the benefit. The calculator caps automatically and says so.
- Is German unemployment benefit tax free?
- It is tax free but subject to the Progressionsvorbehalt. The amount itself is not taxed, yet it raises the tax rate applied to your other income of that year. Anyone who also drew a salary in the same year usually has to file a return and should expect a back payment.
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As of (tax year 2026) · last verified:
Sources:
Scope of review: formulas and reference values were checked against the sources listed above, by the Nomado24 editorial team. What is verified is the calculation logic, not your personal situation. Not tax or legal advice.