Number format: this calculator uses German notation throughout — a comma is the decimal separator and a dot groups thousands. “1.234,56” means one thousand two hundred thirty-four euros and fifty-six cents. The figures come from German tax law, so they are shown the way German authorities write them.
Experience step (Erfahrungsstufe)
Within a pay grade the basic pay rises with length of service, in eight steps.
In plain language
For German civil servants and soldiers the basic salary depends not only on the pay grade but also on length of service. Within a grade there are eight steps, and you move up at fixed intervals — first after two years, then every three, finally every four. Between the first and the last step of the same grade there can easily be several hundred euros a month.
In detail
§ 27 BBesG governs progression through the experience steps of federal pay: it follows periods of service experience, starting at step 1 on first appointment, after two years in step 1, after three years each in steps 2 to 4 and after four years each in steps 5 to 7 (§ 27 (3) sentence 1 BBesG). For enlisted ranks and the basic service it is three years each in steps 5 to 7 (sentence 2). Consistently outstanding performance allows earlier progression; markedly below-average performance can hold it back. The concrete amounts are in Annex IV BBesG; since the federalism reform the states have their own pay acts with different tables. This calculator carries the federal pay scale only — state civil servants will not find a matching table here, and an approximated one would be worse than none.
Worked example
Pay grade A 9 in federal service: step 1 is 3.354,26 € of basic salary a month, step 8 is 4.283,30 €. Between the start of a career and the final step of the same grade there are therefore 929,04 € — a rise of 27,7 %, with no promotion at all.
In brief
Progression follows fixed periods; step 1 is the entry level and step 8 the maximum of the grade.
Legal basis: § 27 BBesG, Annex IV BBesG · as at 2026