Your contract says one number. Your account shows another.
A German offer is gross, the benefits are in German, and the tax class you never chose decides what lands each month. Knowing the real numbers is how you negotiate the next step, and how you stop leaving money in the payslip.
What the payslip hides
The job is good. The numbers around it are where most people lose out.
Gross is not what you get
Tax, pension, health, unemployment and care contributions come off before the money reaches you. Roughly 40% of a typical gross salary never does. Negotiate in net, not gross.
Often around 40% of gross, before paydayThe tax class you never chose
Married? The default combination is rarely the best one for a couple with two incomes, and it changes what arrives every month, not just at the tax return.
Often hundreds of euros a month, moved by one formBenefits you cannot read
Company pension with employer top-up, capital-forming payments, transport and bike schemes. If you cannot read what your employer offers, it does not count as a benefit.
Often around €1,600 a year of top-upsIllustrative figures for a typical international household in Germany, not a calculation for you.
What you can work out here
- What a German offer usually covers: pay, benefits, probation, notice
- The real net salary of an offer, with the free calculator
- Which benefits are usually worth negotiating, and how the company pension works
- The financial side of a job change, going freelance, or moving country, with our finance partner
Three steps. The first one is free and takes two minutes.
Look at the offer
Or the contract you already signed. Our guides explain what is standard in Germany, what is usually negotiable, and what is often missing.
Get the real numbers
The net salary calculator shows what lands each month after tax and contributions. Which tax class fits and what a benefit is worth after tax, our finance partner works out with you in a free call.
Negotiate, then keep what you earn
Benefits and pension top-ups claimed, refunds filed. Job search support joins this page when a recruiting partner does.
Coming soon
Job search support is on the way
Finding the job itself becomes part of this service once a recruiting partner for people from all over the world joins. Until then, this page is about the offer you hold and the job you have. The community list hears first when it changes.
Free tools for this, no sign-up
Prefer to explore on your own first?
Good to know.
Which tax class should I be in?
Single people are in class 1 and cannot change it. Married couples can choose between two combinations, and the right one depends on how the two incomes compare. It affects the monthly payslip, and our finance partner can run both options with your numbers.
I am a student. How many hours can I work?
Working students are generally limited to 20 hours a week during the semester, with more allowed in the breaks. Stay inside it and you keep the cheaper student social contributions; go over and the cost changes fast.
Can I negotiate benefits, not just salary?
Often, yes. Employer pension contributions, transport, training budgets and remote days are all on the table, and some are worth more to you after tax than the same amount in gross salary. Our finance partner can show you which.
Know your numbers before the next negotiation.
About two minutes of questions, then a personal report: what is sorted, what is quietly costing you money, and what to fix first.