Payslip explainer

Your first German payslip (Lohnabrechnung) can be a shock — a big Brutto at the top, a much smaller Netto at the bottom, and a stack of abbreviations in between. Here's what each part means, with every fact linked to its official source. We explain and translate; we don't give tax advice or tell you which tax class to pick.

Brutto → Netto, in one line

Bruttogross pay

− wage taxLSt · KiSt · SolZ

− social insuranceKV · PV · RV · AV

Nettowhat you receive

A German payslip starts from your gross pay (Brutto), subtracts wage tax and social-insurance contributions, and leaves your net pay (Netto) — the amount actually transferred to you. Wage tax (Lohnsteuer) is deducted by your employer and passed to the tax office. Source ↗

The six tax classes

How much wage tax is withheld depends on your tax class (Steuerklasse) — mainly a function of your marital and family situation. There are six classes, I to VI, each applying to a defined group of employees. Source ↗

Which class you're in mostly follows your marital and family situation. Below is who each applies to — not which one to choose; that's a decision for a tax advisor.

I: Single, divorced, or widowed employees
II: Single parents (eligible for the single-parent relief amount)
III: Married sole or main earner — spouse is in class V
IV: Married couples where both earn a similar amount
V: The lower-earning spouse of a class-III partner
VI: A second (or further) job — and the fallback when your Steuer-ID isn't on file yet

Why is my first payslip so small? (class VI)

If your employer cannot retrieve your electronic tax details — most often because your tax identification number (Steuer-ID) is not yet on file — the law requires wage tax to be withheld under class VI, the highest withholding. This is a common reason a first payslip looks unexpectedly small; it usually corrects once your Steuer-ID is registered. Source ↗

Social insurance — the KV · PV · RV · AV lines

Social-insurance contributions fund five branches: pension (Rentenversicherung, 18.6%), health (Krankenversicherung, 14.6% plus a fund-specific supplement), nursing care (Pflegeversicherung, ~2.6–4.2%), and unemployment (Arbeitslosenversicherung, 2.6%) — each split roughly half-and-half between you and your employer. Accident insurance (Unfallversicherung) is paid by the employer alone. Source ↗

What the KV line actually buys you, and why you pick your own fund →

Church tax (Kirchensteuer)

Church tax (Kirchensteuer) is only deducted if you are registered as a member of a religious community that levies it — which is why the registration form asks your religious affiliation. It is 8% of your income tax in Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, and 9% in the other federal states. Source ↗

Solidarity surcharge (SolZ)

The solidarity surcharge (Solidaritätszuschlag) is 5.5% of your assessed tax. Since a 2021 reform raised the exemption threshold, most employees now fall below it and pay nothing — so a 0 on this line is normal. Source ↗

Night, Sunday and holiday supplements (SFN)

Supplements paid on top of base pay for hours actually worked at night, on Sundays or on public holidays (SFN-Zuschläge) are income-tax-free up to legal caps: 25% of base pay for night work (20:00–06:00; 40% between 0:00 and 4:00 if the shift began before midnight), 50% for Sundays, 125% for public holidays and for New Year's Eve from 14:00, and 150% for December 24 from 14:00, December 25–26 and May 1. For this calculation the base hourly wage counts only up to 50 euros. Source ↗

Your right to this document

Every time wages are paid you are entitled to a payslip in text form, showing at least the accounting period and how the pay is composed — including the type and amount of supplements, allowances, other pay, deductions, instalments and advances. If nothing has changed since the last proper slip, the employer may skip that month's — a 'missing' slip after an identical month is normal. Source ↗

Every abbreviation, translated

The short codes you'll see down the left of a payslip — what each stands for, not what your numbers should be.

Brutto / Gesamtbrutto: Gross pay (before any deductions)
Netto / Auszahlungsbetrag: Net pay — the amount actually transferred to you
LSt / Steuer: Lohnsteuer — wage (income) tax
KiSt: Kirchensteuer — church tax (members only)
SolZ: Solidaritätszuschlag — solidarity surcharge
KV: Krankenversicherung — health insurance
PV: Pflegeversicherung — nursing-care insurance
RV: Rentenversicherung — pension insurance
AV: Arbeitslosenversicherung — unemployment insurance
SV: Sozialversicherung — the four social-insurance branches together
StKl: Steuerklasse — your tax class (I–VI)
IdNr / Steuer-ID: Your tax identification number
SV-Nummer: Your social-insurance number
Steuer-Brutto / SV-Brutto: The separate gross bases for tax and for social insurance — two columns because some pay items count differently for each
AG-Anteil / AN-Anteil: Employer share / employee share of a contribution — the slip shows yours; the employer pays roughly the same again
Zusatzbeitrag: Your Krankenkasse's own supplement on top of the base health-insurance rate — why the KV line differs between funds
Lohnart: The numeric pay-type code starting each earnings row — every payroll system has its own set
SFN-Zuschlag: Supplement for night, Sunday or holiday work — income-tax-free within the legal caps (see above)
VWL / vermögenswirksame Leistungen: A savings-scheme top-up some employers pay into an investment contract you choose
bAV / betriebliche Altersvorsorge: Company pension scheme — its contributions usually appear as their own line
Entgeltumwandlung: Part of your gross pay redirected into a company pension instead of being paid out
Geldwerter Vorteil / Sachbezug: A non-cash benefit (company car, vouchers) valued in euros and taxed like pay
Einmalbezug / Sonderzahlung: A one-off payment (bonus, back pay) shown as its own line and taxed under one-off rules
Urlaubsgeld / Weihnachtsgeld: Extra holiday or Christmas pay — only if your contract or collective agreement grants it
PGRS / Personengruppe: Person-group key for social-insurance reporting (e.g. 101 for standard employees)
BGRS / Beitragsgruppe: Four-digit key showing which insurance branches you contribute to (KV·RV·AV·PV)
KK / Krankenkasse: The health fund your contributions go to — named on the slip because you chose it
Konfession (rk / ev / --): Religion marker from your registration — rk/ev trigger church tax, '--' means none
ZKF / Kinderfreibetrag: Child-allowance counter from your electronic tax details
Freibetrag: A registered allowance that reduces the pay subject to wage tax
Aufrollung: A retroactive correction of an earlier month, shown inside the current slip
Abschlag / Vorschuss: An advance on your pay, listed so it can be offset against the final amount
Minijob / Übergangsbereich: Marginal-employment categories with their own contribution rules — their slips deviate from the standard lines
Steuertage / SV-Tage: Day counters (usually 30 per month) the tax and insurance calculations run on

When this page isn't enough

Choosing or changing your tax class, filing a tax return, or questioning a deduction all have real financial consequences — that's tax advice, which we don't give. A Steuerberater (tax advisor), a Lohnsteuerhilfeverein, or your Finanzamt can help.

New here and working backwards? The steps before your first payslip:

Anmeldung starter pack Rundfunkbeitrag helper

An automated assistant that organizes your information and applies publicly documented rules. Sources for each rule are cited.

This is not legal, tax, immigration, or financial advice, and not an official recognition, filing, or application. For decisions with legal or financial consequences, consult a qualified professional.

Rules last verified: 2026-07-14.