German short-time work allowance 2026
Short-time work allowance is not 60 percent of the net loss on your payslip. The statute builds the same flat-rate net twice, once from the target pay and once from the actual pay, and then pays 60 or 67 percent of the gap. This calculator follows exactly that path and also shows what lands in your account once the remaining wage is added.
Short-time work allowance per month
EUR / month
Example calculation with default valuesView sources
The figure is computed on the gap between two flat-rate net amounts, not on your real net loss. Because wage tax is progressive, that gap differs from the difference between your two real net amounts.
Next step:Calculate unemployment benefit for this salaryTurn this gross figure into your net pay
Your details
The gross you would have earned without the shortfall, excluding overtime.
What people are told at work is "50 percent short-time work", not "actual pay of 1,500 euro". The percentage is enough: the calculator derives the reduced gross itself. This choice decides which of the two fields below is used.
Used with the first option only. The share of working time that falls away: 50 percent short-time work is 50. At 100 percent work stops entirely and the reduced gross is zero.
Used with the second option only. The gross you actually earn in the short-time month. More precise than the percentage when the shortfall is spread unevenly or only part of the month is affected.
Sets the wage tax inside both flat-rate net figures.
At least one child under section 32 EStG lifts the rate from 60 to 67 percent.
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Side by side
Difference-293.28 EUR / month
How the figure adds up
- Target pay, rounded to 20 euro
- 3,000 EUR / month
- Actual pay, rounded to 20 euro
- 1,500 EUR / month
- Share of work lost
- 50 %
- Flat-rate net from the target pay
- 2,106.92 EUR / month
- Flat-rate net from the actual pay
- 1,190.75 EUR / month
- Net pay difference
- 916.17 EUR / month
- Your benefit rate
- 60 %
- Real net from the actual pay
- 1,211.44 EUR / month
- Actual net plus the allowance
- 1,761.14 EUR / month
- Real net without short-time work
- 2,054.42 EUR / month
- Remaining net gap
- 293.28 EUR / month
- Share of your usual net pay
- 85.72 %
Good to know
Your reduced gross pay was not entered here, it was derived from your target pay and the shortfall. Both figures are then rounded to the nearest amount divisible by 20 euro, as section 106 (1) sentence 5 SGB III prescribes for the agency table. If you know the actual reduced gross from your payslip, enter it directly above: with an uneven shortfall that is the more precise route.
- Short-time work allowance is tax free but subject to the Progressionsvorbehalt, so it raises the tax rate on your other income for the year. Above 410 euro of wage replacement benefits a year you must file a tax return and a back payment is common.
- The 20 percent for social insurance is a flat deduction, not your real contributions, and the fiction leaves out church tax. That is why the net pay difference is not the same thing as your actual net loss.
Non-binding estimate on the 2026 thresholds. The employment agency uses the official short-time work table, so small deviations are normal. Eligibility, one-off payments, overtime and side income are not modelled. 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 short-time work allowance (Kurzarbeitergeld)?
German short-time work allowance is 60 percent of the net pay difference, or 67 percent with at least one child in the tax sense. The net pay difference is the gap between the flat-rate net of the target pay and the flat-rate net of the actual pay.
The formula
Target pay and actual pay count only up to 8,450 euro a month and are then rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 euro. Each is turned into a flat-rate net: minus a flat 20 percent for social insurance, minus wage tax, minus solidarity surcharge, without church tax. Short-time work allowance = the gap between those two figures times 60 or 67 percent.
Worked example
Example: 3,000 euro target pay and 1,500 euro actual pay, so 50 percent of work lost. The flat-rate net figures are 2,106.92 euro and 1,190.75 euro, leaving a net pay difference of 916.17 euro. At 60 percent that is 549.70 euro of allowance, and together with the actual wage about 1,761.14 euro net a month.
Key figures for 2026
| Benefit rate | 60 %, or 67 % with at least one child |
|---|---|
| Assessment base | the net pay difference, not your real net loss |
| Rounding | target and actual pay to full 20 euro, section 106 SGB III |
| Contribution ceiling 2026 | 8,450 euro a month, 101,400 euro a year |
| Church tax | not deducted inside the statutory fiction |
| Tax | tax free, but it raises the rate on your other income |
Figures verified:
Why 60 percent is not 60 percent of the loss
During short-time work the employer only pays for the hours actually worked, which is the actual pay. What you would have earned without the shortfall is the target pay. Section 106 SGB III counts both only up to the contribution ceiling of 8,450 euro a month and rounds them to the nearest multiple of 20 euro only after that.
From both figures the statute builds a flat-rate net under section 153 SGB III: a flat 20 percent for social insurance, wage tax for your tax class, solidarity surcharge, no church tax. The gap between those two numbers is the net pay difference. It is not the same as the gap between your two real net amounts, because wage tax is progressive and the flat rate only approximates your actual contributions.
On that difference you receive 60 percent, or 67 percent if you or your spouse has at least one child in the sense of section 32 EStG. A gap remains: what arrives is the real net of the actual pay plus the allowance, and that sits noticeably below your usual net. This calculator states that gap instead of hiding it.
Frequently asked questions
- Do I get 60 percent of my salary?
- No. You get 60 percent of the net pay difference, that is the gap between two flat-rate net figures. That is far less than 60 percent of your gross and also something different from 60 percent of your real net loss. The actual wage still comes on top, since it does not disappear.
- When do I get 67 instead of 60 percent?
- When you would qualify for the higher unemployment benefit rate, that is when you have at least one child in the sense of section 32 para. 1, 3 to 5 EStG. It is enough if your spouse or registered partner has such a child and you do not live permanently apart.
- Do I pay tax on the allowance?
- The allowance itself is tax free, but it is subject to the Progressionsvorbehalt and therefore raises the tax rate on your other income. From 410 euro of wage replacement benefits a year a tax return becomes mandatory, and a back payment is the rule rather than the exception.
- Why are target and actual pay rounded to 20 euro?
- Because section 106 para. 1 sentence 5 SGB III says so. The employment agency works from a table in steps of 20 euro, so both figures are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 first. This calculator takes the same step so the result matches the official table.
- Does the employer top the allowance up?
- Only if a collective agreement, a works agreement or your contract says so. There is no statutory right to a top-up. Top-ups of up to 80 percent of the gap between target and actual pay stay free of social insurance contributions, but they are taxable.
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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.