Every employee in Germany has a tax class (Steuerklasse), a number from I to VI that tells the payroll how much wage tax (Lohnsteuer) to withhold each month. For single people it is simple. For married couples it is a real choice, and one that newcomers often get wrong in both directions: worrying that the “wrong” class costs them money, or not noticing that it will mean a bill after the year ends.
This guide explains each class for 2026, shows what each one does to the same salary, and works through the choice a married couple faces. The figures are worked out live by the Germany net salary calculator and the Germany income tax calculator.
What a tax class does
Wage tax is an advance payment of your income tax (Einkommensteuer). Your employer works it out each month with the official payroll program, using the tax data the tax authorities hold for you: your tax class, any child allowances, and whether you pay church tax. These are your electronic wage tax deduction details (ELStAM), and your employer fetches them using your tax identification number.Federal Ministry of Justice
The tax class decides which allowances are built into that monthly calculation. It does not decide your tax for the year. That is set in the annual assessment, if you or the tax office start one, and the wage tax withheld is credited against it. So a tax class changes when you pay, and how much you have in hand each month, rather than how much tax you finally owe.
The six tax classes
The classes are set out in § 38b of the Income Tax Act (EStG):Federal Ministry of Justice
- Class I: single, divorced or permanently separated employees, widowed employees after the year following the death, and married employees who don’t meet the conditions for III or IV, for example because their spouse lives abroad (there are exceptions for EU and EEA citizens). Employees who are only taxed in Germany on their German income, without living here, are also in class I.
- Class II: single parents who can claim the single-parent relief (Entlastungsbetrag für Alleinerziehende). It adds an allowance of €4,260 a year to class I.Federal Ministry of Justice
- Class III: a married employee whose spouse is in class V or has no wages, if both spouses apply. It is also used for the year after a spouse’s death.
- Class IV: married employees who both earn. This is the default: when you marry, both partners are put in class IV automatically.
- Class V: the partner of someone in class III.
- Class VI: a second or further job alongside your main one, with no allowances at all, because those are already used in your main job.
Classes V and VI use a separate formula that taxes at least 14% of the taxable amount, even on modest pay.Federal Ministry of Justice
Net pay on €60,000 in each class
The same €60,000 salary gives very different monthly pay in each class. These figures are for 2026, in Berlin, with no children and no church tax. Class II needs a child, so it is shown with one.
| Tax class | Wage tax a year | Net a month | Net a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| I | €9,388.92 | €3,130.09 | €37,561 |
| II (one child) | €8,091.00 | €3,268.25 | €39,219 |
| III | €4,821.96 | €3,510.67 | €42,128 |
| IV | €9,388.92 | €3,130.09 | €37,561 |
| V | €15,363.96 | €2,632.17 | €31,586 |
| VI | €15,894.96 | €2,587.92 | €31,055 |
Social insurance is the same in every class, so the whole difference is wage tax. Class IV matches class I. Class III withholds the least, because it applies the tax rate for a married couple to one salary. Class V withholds the most of the classes for married people, and class VI more still, because it has no allowances at all.
| Line | Year | Month |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | €60,000.00 | €5,000.00 |
| Wage tax (Lohnsteuer) | €4,821.96 | €401.83 |
| Pension insurance | €5,580.00 | €465.00 |
| Unemployment insurance | €780.00 | €65.00 |
| Health insurance | €5,250.00 | €437.50 |
| Long-term care insurance | €1,440.00 | €120.00 |
| Net pay | €42,128.04 | €3,510.67 |
Married couples: III/V or IV/IV
A married couple who both live in Germany can stay in IV/IV or apply for III/V, with the higher earner in III. Take a couple where one partner earns €80,000 and the other €30,000, both in Berlin, with no children and no church tax:
| Partner earning €80,000 | Partner earning €30,000 | |
|---|---|---|
| IV/IV, net a month | €4,004.08 | €1,768.92 |
| III/V, net a month | €4,520.58 | €1,490.59 |
| IV/IV, wage tax a year | €15,693.96 | €2,247.96 |
| III/V, wage tax a year | €9,495.96 | €5,587.92 |
With III/V the higher earner gains a lot and the lower earner loses less, so the couple has more in hand each month. That is why III/V is popular when incomes are far apart. When both partners earn about the same, it doesn’t help. On €50,000 each, class III leaves €3,026.26 a month and class V €2,259.59, which together is less than the €2,694.76 each that IV/IV gives. The extra tax would only come back as a refund after the year.
There is also a third option, class IV with a factor (Faktorverfahren), which spreads the couple’s expected tax between both payslips in proportion to their pay. Our calculator does not model the factor.
The annual assessment evens it out
Whichever classes you used, a married couple is normally assessed jointly at the end of the year. The tax office works out the couple’s income tax with the splitting method (Ehegattensplitting): it taxes half of the couple’s combined taxable income and doubles the result. The wage tax both partners had withheld is then credited. If III/V withheld too little, the couple pays the rest; if too much, they get a refund. Couples who used III/V, or the factor, must file a tax return for that reason.Federal Ministry of Justice
Splitting is where the real saving lies, and it depends on how far apart the incomes are, not on the tax class. Take taxable incomes, after deductions, of €70,000 and €30,000. Taxed separately, they would pay €18,264 and €4,217. Assessed jointly on €100,000, they pay:
| Line | Year |
|---|---|
| Taxable income | €100,000.00 |
| Income tax (splitting tariff) | €21,096.00 |
| Total tax | €21,096.00 |
| Left after tax | €78,904.00 |
If both partners had €50,000 of taxable income, splitting would change nothing: each would pay €10,548 on their own, which is exactly half of the joint figure.Federal Ministry of Justice The German income tax rates guide explains the tariff behind these numbers.
When the class matters beyond tax
Because the final tax is the same, the class choice is mostly about cash flow. The exception is benefits that replace pay. Unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld) is worked out from a notional net pay that uses your tax class, and so is parental allowance (Elterngeld).Federal Ministry of JusticeFederal Ministry of Justice A partner in class V can therefore receive noticeably less than in class IV. Both benefits have their own rules about which class counts, so check them before switching with a benefit in mind.
Changing your tax class
Married couples can apply to the tax office (Finanzamt) to change their classes during the year, online through ELSTER, the tax authorities’ portal, or on paper. The change takes effect from the start of the month after you apply, and to count for the current year the application must be in by 30 November.Federal Ministry of Justice Single parents move to class II by claiming the single-parent relief. You don’t need to tell your employer: the new class reaches the payroll through your electronic tax data.
If you have just moved to Germany
When you register your address in Germany, the Federal Central Tax Office (Bundeszentralamt für Steuern) issues your tax identification number (Steuer-ID), usually by post. Give it to your employer, with your date of birth, so the payroll can fetch your tax class. If you don’t provide it and the delay is your fault, your employer must withhold wage tax in class VI, the most expensive class.
If the number simply hasn’t arrived yet, or the system is down, your employer can use the class you are expected to have for up to three months, and then correct the earlier payslips once the real data arrives.Federal Ministry of Justice If you are married and your spouse joins you later, you can apply for III/V or stay in IV/IV once you both live here; until then you will usually be in class I.
Work out your own net pay
Try your salary in different classes below. For a couple, run it once for each partner and add the two monthly figures together.
€3,130.09
- Net pay per year
- €37,561
- Wage tax (Lohnsteuer), per year
- €9,388.92
- Solidarity surcharge (Solidaritätszuschlag), per year
- €0.00
- Church tax (Kirchensteuer), per year
- €0.00
- Pension insurance (Rentenversicherung), per year
- €5,580.00
- Unemployment insurance (Arbeitslosenversicherung), per year
- €780.00
- Health insurance (Krankenversicherung), per year
- €5,250.00
- Long-term care insurance (Pflegeversicherung), per year
- €1,440.00
- Total deductions
- €22,438.92
- Share of gross deducted
- 37.4%
- Deducted from your next euro
- 49%
- Care insurance includes the 0.6% childless surcharge (no children, aged 23 or over).
- Monthly figures follow the BMF payroll program for a regular monthly salary; the year is 12 months. One-off payments, company benefits and tax-card allowances are not included. Your final income tax is set in your tax return.
Net pay: €3,130.09 per month
Show the breakdown
| Line | Year | Month |
|---|---|---|
| Gross pay | €60,000.00 | €5,000.00 |
| Wage tax (Lohnsteuer) | €9,388.92 | €782.41 |
| Pension insurance | €5,580.00 | €465.00 |
| Unemployment insurance | €780.00 | €65.00 |
| Health insurance | €5,250.00 | €437.50 |
| Long-term care insurance | €1,440.00 | €120.00 |
| Net pay | €37,561.08 | €3,130.09 |
- Net pay€37,56163%
- Wage tax, Soli and church tax€9,38916%
- Pension insurance€5,5809%
- Health and care insurance€6,69011%
- Unemployment insurance€7801%
For net pay at a range of salaries in class I, see €60,000 after tax in Germany. For every line on a payslip, from wage tax to the childless surcharge on care insurance, read the Germany net salary guide.
These figures are estimates for regular monthly pay with public health insurance, calculated from the Federal Ministry of Finance’s 2026 payroll program and the § 32a tariff. They are not tax advice.