Your German payslip and tax classes (Steuerklassen), explained

A German payslip (Gehaltsabrechnung) lists your gross salary, several deductions, and your take-home pay, and the exact amounts depend on your tax class (Steuerklasse). Once you know what each line means and which class you're in, the payslip stops being a mystery.

This guide walks through payslip anatomy, the six tax classes, and how married couples can choose between them. Rates and thresholds change every year, so for actual amounts use the German net-salary calculator; this guide explains the concepts behind the numbers it gives you. The calculator’s figures are 2026 estimates that are still being finalised, so treat them as a close approximation rather than a final payslip amount.

Payslip anatomy

Every German payslip breaks your pay down into the same set of lines, moving from gross salary down to what actually lands in your bank account:

Line	What it means
Brutto	Your gross salary, before any deductions
Lohnsteuer	Wage tax (income tax withheld directly from your pay)
Solidaritätszuschlag (Soli)	A solidarity surcharge, now only charged to high earners
Kirchensteuer	Church tax, only if you’re a registered member of a taxing church
Krankenversicherung (KV)	Health insurance contribution
Pflegeversicherung (PV)	Long-term care insurance contribution
Rentenversicherung (RV)	Pension insurance contribution
Arbeitslosenversicherung (AV)	Unemployment insurance contribution
Netto	Your take-home pay, after all deductions

For the actual rates and amounts that apply to you, use the German net-salary calculator; they change from year to year, so this guide sticks to what each line means rather than putting numbers on it.

The six tax classes (Steuerklassen)

Your tax class determines how much wage tax is withheld from your pay each month. It doesn’t change how much tax you owe for the year overall, only how it’s collected along the way.

Class	Who it’s for
I	Single, divorced, or widowed
II	Single parents, entitled to the single-parent relief amount
III	Married, the higher earner, when the spouse is in class V; results in the lowest monthly withholding
IV	Married, both spouses earning similar amounts
IV with factor (Faktorverfahren)	Married couples who want monthly withholding to more closely match their actual combined tax liability
V	Married, the lower earner, when the spouse is in class III; results in the highest monthly withholding
VI	A second or additional job

Choosing a combination (married couples)

Married couples in Germany can choose how to split their tax classes, and the three common options land somewhere on a spectrum:

• III/V: the higher earner takes class III (low monthly withholding) and the lower earner takes class V (high monthly withholding). This maximises combined take-home pay during the year if one spouse earns significantly more, but the annual tax return often results in a payment due, since the withholding doesn’t track final liability well.
• IV/IV: both spouses are taxed as if single, which works best when both earn similar salaries. Monthly withholding tracks actual liability more closely, so the year-end tax return is usually smaller.
• IV with factor: a calculated factor is applied to each spouse’s class IV withholding so that combined monthly withholding closely matches the couple’s actual combined tax liability. This avoids the large under- or overpayment that III/V can produce, while still reflecting each spouse’s real income split.

Use the calculator’s Compare as a couple option to see your combined monthly take-home under III/V, IV/IV, and IV with factor side by side.

Check your own numbers

Tax class only tells you the shape of your withholding, not the actual amount. To see what your gross salary turns into after tax and social contributions, use the German net-salary calculator.