Why is the statutory net lower than my real net pay?

Because it is a legal fiction. The BEEG deducts a flat 21 percent for social contributions from the full gross, with no contribution ceiling, plus one twelfth of the employee allowance. On high salaries that is noticeably more than is actually deducted from your pay.

What are the minimum and maximum amounts?

Basic parental allowance runs from 300 to 1,800 euro a month. You get the 300 euro even if you did no paid work before the birth. The ceiling is reached at roughly 2,770 euro of statutory net.

When do I get more than 67 percent?

When your statutory net is below 1,000 euro. The rate rises by 0.1 percentage points for every full 2 euro of distance, so at 800 euro it is 77 percent. It stops at 100 percent, reached at a statutory net of 340 euro.

Is ElterngeldPlus worth it?

ElterngeldPlus is at most half of the total basic amount including the supplements, but runs for twice as many months. If you work part time while drawing it, it often works out better, because part-time earnings cut the monthly basic amount harder than they cut ElterngeldPlus. This calculator shows only the upper bound, not your planning case.

At what point do I get nothing at all?

With more than 175,000 euro of taxable income in the last completed tax year before the birth. Exactly 175,000 euro still qualifies, the statute turns on exceeding the figure. For a couple the sum of both incomes counts, for a single parent their own, and the threshold is the same in both cases. It applies to children born from 1 April 2025.

German Parental Allowance Calculator 2026

German parental allowance replaces part of the income you give up after a birth. It is not computed on your ordinary take-home pay, though, but on a separately defined statutory net figure using flat-rate tax and flat-rate social contributions. This calculator walks that chain step by step and gives you your basic parental allowance a month.

Legal status 2026Figures verified: 2026-09-12

Basic parental allowance a month

1,280.18EUR / month

Example calculation with default valuesView sources

You are drawing basic parental allowance with no income in that month. The replacement rate applies to your full statutory net before the birth.

Next step:Turn this gross figure into your net pay Calculate sick pay for this salary

Your details

Monthly gross before the birth

€

The average of the twelve calendar months before the month of birth, excluding bonuses and a 13th salary.

Tax class in the assessment period

What counts is the class on the last payslip of the assessment period. Class VI is disregarded under the BEEG.

Liable for church tax?

The BEEG applies a flat 8 percent nationwide, even in states that charge 9 percent.

Monthly gross after the birth

€

Zero if you do not work at all while drawing the allowance. Otherwise your part-time gross.

Sibling bonus?

Yes if, counting the newborn, two children under 3 or three children under 6 live in the household.

Further children from a multiple birth

Zero for one child, one for twins, two for triplets.

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Side by side

Statutory net before the birth1,969.50 EUR / month

Basic parental allowance a month1,280.18 EUR / month

Difference-689.32 EUR / month

Worth checking first: with more than 175,000 euro of taxable income in the last completed tax year before the birth the entitlement lapses entirely (§1 para. 8 BEEG). Exactly 175,000 euro still qualifies, the statute turns on exceeding the figure. It applies to a couple jointly and to a single parent alone, so it is the same in both cases. This calculator does not test that limit, it works out the amount as if the entitlement existed.

How the figure adds up

Employee allowance (one twelfth): 102.50 EUR / month
Flat-rate tax before the birth: 298 EUR / month
Flat social contributions, 21 percent: 630 EUR / month
Statutory net before the birth: 1,969.50 EUR / month
Replacement rate: 65 %
Basic parental allowance: 1,280.18 EUR / month
ElterngeldPlus, at most: 640.09 EUR / month

Good to know

Basic parental allowance runs to twelve monthly amounts shared between both parents. If one parent reduces their income in two months of the child’s life, two partner months are added, making 14.

ElterngeldPlus is at most half of the total basic amount you would get without income, so including the sibling bonus and the multiple-birth supplement, but it runs for twice as many months. The minimum amount, the minimum sibling bonus and the multiple-birth supplement are halved with it, to 150 euro, 37.50 euro and 150 euro per further child of a multiple birth.
This calculator does not compute the partnership bonus. It requires both parents to work part time in the same months and depends on hour thresholds this tool does not ask for.
The assessment period is the twelve calendar months before the month of birth. Months with maternity protection, maternity pay or parental allowance for an older child drop out, and the period moves further back accordingly.
One-off payments such as a bonus, holiday pay or a 13th salary do not count towards parental allowance. Take them out of your monthly average.
The flat rates of 9, 10 and 2 percent apply to employees covered by statutory social insurance, because §2f BEEG only deducts them where contributions were compulsory during the assessment period. With private health insurance, civil servant status or exemption from insurance the relevant flat rate falls away and your allowance comes out higher than shown here.
The payroll tax plan used here is the one for 2026. §2e para. 1 BEEG refers to the plan of 1 January of the year BEFORE the birth, so 2025 for a birth in 2026. The 2025 tariff taxes a touch harder. Against the official parental allowance calculator the gap stays under 0.5 percent, but it runs in both directions. With no income after the birth we land slightly above: at 3,000 euro gross, 1,280.18 instead of 1,274.65 euro a month. If you work part time while drawing the allowance and your income before the birth was above the cap of 2,770 euro, the sign flips: the cap is fixed, so a slightly overstated income after the birth shrinks the difference the allowance is paid on. At 5,000 euro before and 2,000 euro after, that is 899.33 instead of roughly 903.50 euro.
This calculator covers income from employment. For self-employment the profit of the last completed tax assessment period counts instead, which is not modelled here.
Only your parental allowance office decides. It checks entitlement, the assessment period and offsettable benefits such as maternity pay, which are not included here.

Non-binding estimate for basic parental allowance on income from employment, per §§2 to 2f BEEG and the official payroll tax plan for 2026. The partnership bonus, self-employment and offsettable benefits under §3 BEEG are not computed. Only the decision of your parental allowance office is binding.

The link carries your inputs, not the result: whoever opens it calculates with the current figures.

How much Elterngeld (parental allowance) do I get?

Basic parental allowance in 2026 is between 65 and 100 percent of your statutory net income before the birth, at least 300 and at most 1,800 euro a month, with the sibling bonus and the multiple-birth supplement added on top.

The formula

Statutory net = monthly gross minus the 102.50 euro employee allowance minus income tax, solidarity surcharge and, where applicable, 8 percent church tax, minus a flat 21 percent for social contributions. Basic parental allowance = that net times the replacement rate, bounded at 300 and 1,800 euro.

Worked example

Example: a monthly gross of 3,000 euro gives a statutory net of 1,969.50 euro. At a replacement rate of 65 percent that works out at 1,280.18 euro of basic parental allowance a month, and ElterngeldPlus would be 640.09 euro at most.

Key figures for 2026

Replacement rate	67 percent between 1,000 and 1,200 euro of statutory net
Below 1,000 euro	plus 0.1 percentage points per 2 euro of distance, up to 100 percent
Above 1,200 euro	minus 0.1 percentage points per 2 euro, reaching 65 percent at 1,240 euro
Range	at least 300 euro, at most 1,800 euro a month
Flat social contributions	9 percent health and care, 10 percent pension, 2 percent unemployment
Income ceiling	more than 175,000 euro of taxable income and the entitlement lapses

Figures verified: 2026-09-12

How parental allowance is computed

The commonest misunderstanding about German parental allowance is that it is computed from your ordinary take-home pay. It is not. In §§2c, 2e and 2f the BEEG defines its own statutory net: one twelfth of the employee allowance comes off the monthly gross, so 102.50 euro, then flat-rate tax, then flat-rate social contributions.

Those contributions are pure percentages: 9 percent for health and long-term care insurance, 10 percent for the pension, 2 percent for unemployment insurance, 21 percent together. §2f para. 3 BEEG states expressly that no other contribution-assessment rules apply. There is therefore no contribution ceiling here, and that is exactly why the statutory net comes out far below the real net on high salaries.

The replacement rate then applies to that statutory net. Between 1,000 and 1,200 euro it is a flat 67 percent. Below that the rate rises by 0.1 percentage points per 2 euro of distance, up to 100 percent. Above it the rate falls by 0.1 percentage points per 2 euro until it reaches the lower mark of 65 percent at 1,240 euro and stays there.

Two bounds close the calculation: at least 300 euro, at most 1,800 euro a month. You reach the ceiling at roughly 2,770 euro of statutory net, and beyond that more salary changes nothing. The sibling bonus and the multiple-birth supplement are added only afterwards and may push the total past 1,800 euro.

If you keep working while drawing the allowance, it no longer replaces your whole income but only the difference between the statutory net before and after the birth. Income before the birth counts at 2,770 euro at most, even if you earned considerably more.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the statutory net lower than my real net pay?: Because it is a legal fiction. The BEEG deducts a flat 21 percent for social contributions from the full gross, with no contribution ceiling, plus one twelfth of the employee allowance. On high salaries that is noticeably more than is actually deducted from your pay.
What are the minimum and maximum amounts?: Basic parental allowance runs from 300 to 1,800 euro a month. You get the 300 euro even if you did no paid work before the birth. The ceiling is reached at roughly 2,770 euro of statutory net.
When do I get more than 67 percent?: When your statutory net is below 1,000 euro. The rate rises by 0.1 percentage points for every full 2 euro of distance, so at 800 euro it is 77 percent. It stops at 100 percent, reached at a statutory net of 340 euro.
What does the sibling bonus add?: Ten percent of your allowance, but at least 75 euro a month. It requires that, counting the newborn, two children under 3 or three children under 6 live in the household. For children with a disability the age limit is 14.
How long does basic parental allowance run?: Both parents together are entitled to twelve monthly amounts. If one parent reduces their income in two months of the child’s life, two partner months are added, making 14 in total. One parent alone gets at most twelve.
Is ElterngeldPlus worth it?: ElterngeldPlus is at most half of the total basic amount including the supplements, but runs for twice as many months. If you work part time while drawing it, it often works out better, because part-time earnings cut the monthly basic amount harder than they cut ElterngeldPlus. This calculator shows only the upper bound, not your planning case.
At what point do I get nothing at all?: With more than 175,000 euro of taxable income in the last completed tax year before the birth. Exactly 175,000 euro still qualifies, the statute turns on exceeding the figure. For a couple the sum of both incomes counts, for a single parent their own, and the threshold is the same in both cases. It applies to children born from 1 April 2025.

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As of (tax year 2026) · last verified: 2026-09-12

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.