German Pension Net Calculator 2026
Health and long-term care contributions come off a German statutory pension first, and depending on its size and the year it started, income tax as well. This calculator shows step by step how your gross pension becomes your net pension: taxable share, pension allowance, lump sums and the 2026 tax tariff.
Net pension per month
EUR / month
Example calculation with default valuesView sources
At this pension your taxable income is above the basic allowance of 12,348 euro, so income tax is due. It is not withheld from the pension but assessed through your tax return, often with quarterly prepayments. The monthly amount above is the annual tax divided by twelve.
Next step:Calculate pension points and gross pension from your salaryCalculate the net cost and employer top-up of a company pension
Your details
The amount before health and care insurance, as in your pension notice or pension statement.
Sets the taxable share. Started before 2005: enter 2005, the same 50 percent applies.
If you never had children you pay a 0.6 percent care surcharge, unless born before 1940.
Average for 2026: 2.9 percent. You pay half of it.
8 percent in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, 9 percent of the income tax elsewhere.
Your tax assessment shows it as the tax-free part of the pension. At 0 the calculator estimates it: for a 2026 start from your current pension, for an earlier start from your pension traced back along the statutory pension adjustments.
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Side by side
Difference-213.60 EUR / month
From gross pension to net pension
- Health insurance (your share)
- 140 EUR / month
- Your health contribution rate
- 8.75 %
- Care insurance
- 57.60 EUR / month
- Your care contribution rate
- 3.60 %
- Income tax, solidarity surcharge and church tax (pro rata)
- 16 EUR / month
- Total deductions
- 213.60 EUR / month
- Net pension as a share of gross
- 86.65 %
- Gross pension per year
- 19,200 EUR / year
- Taxable share
- 84 %
- Pension allowance (tax-free part)
- 3,072 EUR / year
- Taxable part of the pension
- 16,128 EUR / year
- Health and care contributions deducted
- 2,371.20 EUR / year
- Taxable income
- 13,618 EUR / year
- Income tax per year
- 192 EUR / year
- Tax free up to a gross pension of
- 1,453.12 EUR / month
Good to know
The statutory pension is treated as your only income, with single assessment. A company pension, rental income, investment income or a spouse’s income under joint assessment changes the tax, sometimes considerably.
- The tax-free part of the pension is fixed in euros in the year after the pension starts and then stays the same. Every later increase is therefore fully taxable. If you have been retired for a while, it is best to enter the allowance from your tax assessment.
- Pensioners must file a tax return when their total income exceeds the basic allowance. The pension fund reports the pension directly to the tax office.
Non-binding estimate using the 2026 income tax tariff (§32a EStG), the taxable share under §22 EStG and the 2026 contribution rates for compulsorily insured pensioners. Not included: other income, joint assessment, voluntary or private health insurance, children under 25 in care insurance, higher actual expenses or special expenses, and church tax as a special expense. Not tax advice.
The link carries your inputs, not the result: whoever opens it calculates with the current figures.
How much of a German pension is left net?
Pensioners with statutory health insurance pay half the health contribution on their gross pension in 2026, i.e. 7.3 percent plus half the top-up rate, and the full care contribution of 3.6 percent (4.2 percent if childless); income tax is only due on the taxable part of the pension where taxable income exceeds the basic allowance of 12,348 euro.
The formula
Net pension = gross pension minus health insurance (7.3 percent plus half the top-up rate) minus care insurance (3.6 percent, 4.2 percent if childless) minus income tax, solidarity surcharge and church tax. Taxable income = annual pension times taxable share minus 102 euro expenses lump sum minus 36 euro special expenses lump sum minus health and care contributions.
Worked example
Example: a gross pension of 1,600 EUR a month that starts in 2026 is 19,200 EUR a year. 84 percent of it is taxable; after the lump sums and 2,371.20 EUR of health and care contributions, 13,618 EUR of taxable income and 192 EUR of income tax a year remain. After 140 EUR health and 57.60 EUR care insurance, 1,386.40 EUR net pension is left each month.
Key figures for 2026
| Health insurance | 7.3 percent plus half the top-up rate (2026 average 2.9 percent); the pension fund pays the other half |
|---|---|
| Care insurance | 3.6 percent, 4.2 percent if childless, paid by the pensioner alone |
| Taxable share | pension starting 2025: 83.5 percent, 2026: 84 percent, 2027: 84.5 percent |
| Pension allowance | fixed in euros from the year after the pension starts |
| Basic allowance 2026 | 12,348 euro of taxable income a year |
| Lump sums | 102 euro expenses, 36 euro special expenses |
Figures verified:
How the pension calculator works
First, social contributions. Compulsorily insured pensioners pay the general health contribution rate of 14.6 percent plus their fund’s top-up rate on the pension, but only half of it, because the pension fund pays the other half (§249a SGB V). With the 2026 average top-up rate of 2.9 percent that is 8.75 percent of the gross pension.
Long-term care insurance, by contrast, is paid by the pensioner alone (§59(1) SGB XI): 3.6 percent of the pension, 4.2 percent for the childless. The discount for several children only applies while a child is under 25, so it no longer matters for most pensioners. The pension fund withholds both contributions directly.
Then tax. Since 2005 pensions have been taxed on a deferred basis, but not in full: the taxable share depends on the year the pension started (§22 EStG). Anyone who retired in 2005 or earlier pays tax on 50 percent, anyone starting in 2026 on 84 percent. Since the Growth Opportunities Act the share rises by only half a percentage point per new cohort, reaching 100 percent in 2058.
The tax-free rest is fixed as a euro amount in the year after the pension starts, the pension allowance. It does not grow. Every later pension increase is therefore fully taxable, which is why each year pensioners become taxable purely because adjustments raised their pension.
From the taxable part come a 102 euro expenses lump sum, a 36 euro special expenses lump sum and your own health and care contributions, which pensioners can deduct in full. What remains is taxable income. Below the basic allowance of 12,348 euro no tax is due. Above it the normal 2026 tariff applies, the same one employees pay.
Unlike wages, the tax is not deducted monthly. It is assessed through the tax return, and the tax office usually asks for prepayments. The calculator therefore spreads the annual tax evenly over twelve months, so you see what you actually keep on average.
Frequently asked questions
- What percentage comes off a German pension?
- With the average top-up rate, compulsorily insured pensioners pay 12.35 percent for health and care insurance in 2026, the childless 12.95 percent. Income tax is only added if taxable income exceeds 12,348 euro.
- Up to what pension do I pay no tax?
- That depends on the year the pension started. A single person retiring in 2026 with children, the average top-up rate and no other income stays tax free up to a gross pension of about 1,450 euro a month. The calculator shows the limit for your cohort.
- What is the taxable share of a pension starting in 2026?
- For a pension starting in 2026, 84 percent is taxable. For 2025 it was 83.5 percent, for 2027 it is 84.5 percent. The share rises by half a percentage point per year and reaches a full 100 percent in 2058.
- Are pension increases taxed?
- Yes, in full. The tax-free part of the pension is fixed as a euro amount in the year after the pension starts. Everything later added by pension adjustments is fully taxable.
- Is tax deducted directly from the pension?
- No. The pension fund only withholds health and care contributions. The tax office assesses income tax through the tax return, often with prepayments. The pension is reported to the tax office automatically.
- Do pensioners pay the full care contribution?
- Yes. Unlike health insurance, the pension fund pays nothing towards care insurance. Pensioners pay the full 3.6 percent in 2026, the childless 4.2 percent. Anyone born before 1940 pays no childless surcharge.
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As of (tax year 2026) · last verified:
Sources:
- § 22 EStG (Besteuerungsanteil nach Jahr des Rentenbeginns, Rentenfreibetrag)
- § 32a EStG (Einkommensteuertarif 2026)
- § 9a EStG (Werbungskosten-Pauschbetrag 102 Euro)
- § 10 und § 10c EStG (Vorsorgeaufwendungen, Sonderausgaben-Pauschbetrag)
- § 247 SGB V (Beitragssatz aus der Rente)
- § 249a SGB V (Beitragstragung je zur Hälfte)
- § 55 und § 59 SGB XI (Pflegebeitrag, Kinderlosenzuschlag, Tragung durch den Rentner)
- §§ 3, 4 SolZG 1995 (Freigrenze, Zuschlagsatz)
- BMG: Beitragssatz Pflegeversicherung 3,6 Prozent
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.