Lohnsteuer — German wage tax — is the monthly prepayment of income tax for employees. The employer withholds it from your gross salary and forwards it to the tax office. Your tax class, federal state, church membership and child allowances all affect the amount. Our wage tax calculator determines your monthly and annual Lohnsteuer, solidarity surcharge, church tax and resulting net pay.

What is wage tax?

Wage tax is not a separate tax — it is a collection method for income tax for employees (§38 EStG). The employer applies the wage-tax procedure under §39b EStG: gross salary, tax class and standard allowances determine how much is withheld each month. At year-end the tax office assesses the actual income tax in the annual tax return; any difference is refunded or added.

The §32a EStG income-tax tariff (2026)

The German tariff has five progressive zones:

ZoneTaxable incomeMarginal rate
1 — Basic allowance€0 – €11,7840 %
2 — Entry zone€11,785 – €17,00514 % → 24 %
3 — Progressive zone€17,006 – €66,76024 % → 42 %
4 — Top rate€66,761 – €277,82542 %
5 — Wealth tax surchargeFrom €277,82645 %

The six tax classes at a glance

  • Class I — Single, divorced or permanently separated. Full basic allowance.
  • Class II — Single parents. Basic allowance plus single-parent relief €4,260 p. a. (+€240 per additional child after the first).
  • Class III — Married main earner. Splitting procedure: tax is calculated on half the income and then doubled. Effectively a doubled basic allowance (€23,568).
  • Class IV — Married, both partners earning similar amounts. Like class I, optionally with the factor procedure.
  • Class V — Married secondary earner (partner uses class III). No basic allowance, steep tariff.
  • Class VI — Second/side jobs. No allowances at all — wage tax from the first euro.

Worked example: €4,000 gross/month, class I, NRW, no church

ItemPer monthPer year
Gross salary€4,000€48,000
− Employee allowance—−€1,230
− Special-expense allowance—−€36
= Taxable income—€46,734
Wage tax (§32a)≈ €813≈ €9,754
Soli (exempt up to €18,130)€0€0
Church tax€0€0

Get your exact figures with the wage tax calculator.

The splitting advantage: class III vs. class I

For married couples with one main earner, class III saves substantial tax. The splitting procedure halves the income, applies the progressive tariff and doubles the result — the basic allowance is used twice and progression stays in the flatter zone.

Solidarity surcharge — who still pays Soli?

Since 2021 about 90 % of taxpayers no longer pay the Soli. 2026 thresholds:

  • Classes I, II, IV, V, VI: €18,130 wage tax per year
  • Class III: €36,260 wage tax per year

Between threshold and full burden a phase-in zone of 11.9 % applies. Only above the phase-in is the full 5.5 % Soli charged on wage tax.

Church tax — 8 % or 9 %?

  • Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg: 8 % of the wage tax
  • All other federal states: 9 % of the wage tax

Church tax is fully deductible as a special expense (§10 (1) no. 4 EStG).

What does the child allowance do for wage tax?

The child allowance is around €9,600 per child in 2026 (€4,800 per parent). On the monthly payslip it only reduces the base for Soli and church tax — wage tax itself is unchanged. The real benefit appears in the year-end tax assessment, where the tax office runs the so-called Günstigerprüfung (better-of comparison between Kindergeld and the allowance).

Tips to save wage tax

  • Optimise tax class: married couples with very different incomes often benefit from III/V or the IV/IV factor procedure.
  • Track work expenses: commuting, work tools, training — anything above €1,230 reduces tax in your annual return.
  • Pension contributions: Riester, Rürup and the basic-pension scheme give large deductions.
  • Leave the church: cancelling church membership saves 8 % or 9 % of wage tax per year.

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