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.
Marginal and average burden (Grenz- und Durchschnittsbelastung)
The average burden is the share deducted from your whole pay; the marginal burden, the share of each additional euro.
In plain language
Two figures answer two different questions. The average burden says: what percentage of my whole pay goes on tax and social contributions? The marginal burden says: how much of a pay rise do I keep? The second is almost always markedly higher than the first — which is why only a little over half of 100 € more gross often arrives. For decisions about overtime, part-time work or a pay negotiation, the marginal burden is the one that counts.
In detail
The income tax scale is progressive: each additional euro is charged at the rate of the scale zone it falls into, not at the average rate. On top come the employee's social security shares, as long as the contribution ceilings have not been reached. The calculator does not measure the marginal burden on the next cent — there it is noisy because of the rounding in the official wage tax program — but on 100 € more per month. Jumps in the curve have nameable causes: the end of the transition zone at 2.000 €, the two contribution ceilings and the onset of the solidarity surcharge.
Worked example
4.000 € gross a month, tax class I, no children: 2.605,50 € remains net — the average burden is 34,86 %. Of 100 € more gross, 53,67 € arrives net: the marginal burden is 46,33 %, a good eleven percentage points above the average.
In brief
Average = deductions ÷ gross. Marginal = 1 − net increase ÷ gross increase, measured on 100 € more monthly.
Legal basis: derived from § 32a EStG and the social security contribution rates · as at 2026