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.
For the self-employed
Less of the profit survives than most people expect — mainly because health and long-term care insurance are borne alone and run on their own assessment base. This calculator shows four things: what is left of the profit, the hourly rate a target net figure demands, how VAT and the small-business rule play out, and what the tax office wants in advance each quarter. Every figure carries its source; whatever is not covered is stated openly.
What is left
3.124,08 €
per month — 37.489,00 € per year. Of 60.000,00 € profit, 37,5 % goes on tax and contributions.
| Income tax | 9.491,00 € | § 32a EStG |
|---|---|---|
| Solidarity surcharge | 0,00 € | SolZG |
| Health and long-term care insurance | 13.020,00 € | from 60.000,00 € assessment base |
| Total deductions | 22.511,00 € | per year |
- Freelance activity (§ 18 EStG) attracts no trade tax: under § 2 (1) GewStG trade tax applies only to a standing commercial business.
- Pension and insurance contributions enter the tax at their actual amounts. The ceiling calculation under § 10 (3) and (4) EStG is not modelled — the deduction can in fact be lower.
- With entitlement to sick pay the general contribution rate applies. Without it the rate would be lower (§ 243 SGB V) — but then there is no entitlement to sick pay either.
- The calculation uses the profit alone. § 240 SGB V captures overall economic capacity — anyone with additional income, from letting property for example, pays more than is shown here.
- With no pension contribution, no pension entitlement builds up. For most self-employed people the statutory pension scheme is voluntary — retirement provision is then missing from this calculation entirely.
- VAT is not included: it is a pass-through item and does not affect the profit.
Terms used on this page
Each term has its own page with a plain-language explanation, the technical detail and a worked example.
- Billable hours — Only the time you actually invoice — not the time you work.
- Income tax prepayment (Vorauszahlung) — Quarterly payments towards the not-yet-assessed tax for the current year.
- Minimum assessment base (Mindestbemessungsgrundlage) — The minimum amount on which voluntarily insured members pay contributions — even where the profit is lower.
- Profit (cash-basis accounts) — Receipts minus business expenses — the figure on which tax and contributions are calculated.
- Small-business rule (Kleinunternehmerregelung) — Stay within both turnover limits and you may invoice without VAT, but you lose the input VAT deduction.
- Trade tax multiplier (Gewerbesteuer-Hebesatz) — The percentage by which your municipality multiplies the tax base amount.
- VAT rate (Umsatzsteuersatz) — 19 % as a rule and 7 % for certain supplies — which ones the statute decides, not the calculator.
How the figures are calculated
Health insurance is the item that surprises people
The full-time self-employed pay health and long-term care insurance alone — there is no employer share. And the contributions are calculated on a minimum assessment base even where the profit is lower: § 240 (4) sentence 1 SGB V applies at least one ninetieth of the monthly reference figure per calendar day. For 2026 that is 15.820 € a year. Make a profit of 10.000 € and you still pay contributions on 15.820 €.
Freelance or commercial decides the trade tax
Under § 2 (1) GewStG trade tax applies only to a standing commercial business. Freelance activity under § 18 EStG — doctors, lawyers, engineers, journalists, programmers in certain constellations — is outside it. Commercial income enjoys an allowance of 24.500 €, and § 35 EStG credits four times the base amount against income tax, capped at the trade tax actually paid.
The income tax is not reinvented
The profit goes into the same assessment that employees use — merely as income without wage tax withheld. So the same verified tax scale applies, and that is why the figures agree with the income tax calculator on this site.
Example: 60.000 € profit, freelance, voluntarily in the statutory health scheme
| Profit for the year | 60.000,00 € |
|---|---|
| Health and long-term care insurance | 12.660,00 € |
| Net per month | 3.124,08 € |
| Total burden | 37,5 % |
Here the social security contributions are larger than the income tax — precisely what people underestimate when moving into self-employment. And with no pension contribution no pension entitlement builds up; retirement provision is then missing from this calculation entirely.
What this calculator does not cover
Pretending to be complete is the costliest mistake a financial calculator can make. These points are deliberately absent — either because they need details this page does not ask for, or because they cannot be substantiated in general terms:
- The ceiling calculation for pension and insurance contributions under § 10 (3) and (4) EStG — the contributions enter the tax at their actual amount, while the deduction may be smaller.
- The maximum reduction amount in § 35 (1) sentence 2 EStG. With mixed income the trade tax credit can be smaller than stated here.
- Other types of income in the contribution base. § 240 SGB V captures overall economic capacity — anyone with rental income alongside pays more.
- Losses. The loss relief under § 10d EStG works across several years and needs those years' figures; a negative profit is therefore reported rather than calculated.
Related calculators
- Income tax for the year — the same assessment for employees
- Gross to net — the comparison: what an employee would net on the same amount
- Compound interest calculator — for the retirement provision the self-employed must organise themselves