Kindly note that each payslip is different, and while there are a lot of common deductions such as those listed below, it will also depend on your individual circumstances and employment contract. 

Krankheitsbedinger Arbeitsausfall Prämie (bonus for increased productivity as a result of less absence due to illness)

KA-Prämie (on the payslip) is a bonus negotiated by Anneberg transport with the german drivers intended to reduce the number of questionable sick days. The agreed bonus is a monthly payment in quantum of:

• 25 EUR for no sick day / medical leave during the month
• 10 EUR for one sick day / medical leave
• no bonus will be paid if more than one sick day / medical leave has been claimed

At the end of the year (December), alongside with the other entitlements, the employees will also receive an extra bonus (in addition of the monthly bonus) for the same purpose as follows:

• 900 EUR for no sick day / medical leave claimed during the previous calendaristic year
• 600 EUR for a number of sick day / medical leave between one and four
• no bonus if more than four sick day / medical leave have accrued over the last year

Spesen

From Italian spese, plural of spesa (“expense, expenditure”). The word was borrowed into the German merchant′s jargon of the 17th century and is referring to charges, costs or expenses incurred in the performance of one′s job that are covered by the employer. Equivalent of english concept of daily allowance (or per diem): a specific amount of money an organization gives an individual, often an employee, per day to cover living expenses when traveling for work.

On the payslip you will notice three different categories:

• Spesen (versteuert) - which is considered taxable income
• Spesen (pauschal versteuert) - which is subject to a flat rate tax of 25%. In the particular case of Anneberg Transport this flat rate tax is covered by the employer and thus rendered tax free for the employee.
• Spesen (steuerfrei) - which is not subject to taxation (tax free).

Steuerbrutto (Tax gross)

Monthly gross income against which the income and church tax, and solidarity surcharge are calculated

Krankenversicherung/Pflegeversicherung-Brutto (health & care gross)

KV/PV-Brutto (on the playslip) - monthly brut income to which the health and long term care contribution is calculated against

Rentenversicherung/Arbeitslosenversicherung-Brutto (pension & unemployment gross)

RV/AV-Brutto (on the payslip) - monthly brut income to which the pension and unemployment contribution is calculated against

Lohnsteuer (income tax payable on your salary)

Germany has a progressive income tax system which taxes at a higher rate once you hit certain thresholds. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this one will be the biggest deduction from your payslip.

Not to be confused with Einkommensteuer, or income tax. If you also have income from other sources e.g. if you have some sort of self-employed gig on the side, or if you have income from interest, rental properties, dividends on stocks etc, this is also counts towards your taxable personal income. Therefore, the terms Lohnsteuer and Einkommensteuer are not synonyms for the same thing.

Rentenversicherung (pension contribution)

RV-Beitrag (on the payslip) - This is levied in order to cover an old age pension when an employee retires, as well as providing a basic income for anyone who is no longer deemed fit to work through incapacity.

However, it is very important to note that this is not your own individual pension plan. Rather, this is money which is being paid by the current working population in order to sustain today’s retirees. Thus, the system is highly dependent upon the working population proportionally being able to support pensioners at any given point in time.

Rentenversicherung is levied at a whopping 19.6% of gross salary, of which half is paid by the employer and half by the employee. So, 9.8% of your hard-earned is being paid into an insurance system which many believe is not long-term sustainable. Due to Germany’s top-heavy demographic pyramid and comparatively low birth rate, the working population in relation to old age pensioners is decreasing year by year.

Krankenversicherung (health insurance)

KV-Beitrag (on the payslip) - At 14.6% of your gross salary in total, this is the next biggest hitter after income tax and pension insurance. For those of you who are publicly insured, there is a 50 / 50 split between employer and employee when it comes to contributions. This will be evidenced in your payslip usually by the words AN-Anteil (employee contribution) and AG Anteil (employer contribution).

If you are privately insured, you will see something like AG-Zuschuss as a line on your payslip. This represents the 50% contribution by your employer towards your private healthcare costs. Because you are responsible for contributions for private healthcare, this is not deductible from your gross pay and as such, the employer contribution is added to your gross salary, thus enabling you to pay this in one monthly direct debit to your health insurance company. Usually this is found at the bottom of your payslip, after all of your taxes and social insurances have been deducted.

Note that if you are privately insured, your monthly premiums will be calculated according to your individual tariff as opposed to a flat % rate as is the case for the public insurance system.

Pflegeversicherung (long-term care insurance)

PV-Beitrag (on the payslip) - Similar to health insurance, insofar as you can opt out of public insurance if you earn above the same threshold as for health insurance.

Long-term care insurance for those publicly insured is at 2.55% of gross income for families with children and at 2.8% for those who are childless. As with health insurance, these contributions are split 50 / 50 between employer and employee.

Kirchensteuer (voluntary church tax)

Church tax is levied by the Finanzamt on behalf of the church institutions in Germany. The rate you pay is dependent upon the Bundesland in which you live: Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg levy 8% on the total amount of income tax paid, whereas in all other Länder it comes in at 9%.

The good thing is this tax is entirely voluntary and is dependent upon your religious affiliation. In other words, if you don’t have one, you are exempt. All Anneberg employees are voluntarily filling such an exemption request.

Solidaritätszuschlag (solidarity surcharge)

Commonly referred to as “Soli”, this is taxable at 5.5% of total income tax paid and appears as a separate line on your German payslip. There are some exclusions for extremely low earners, but it is highly unlikely this will affect you due to the threshold being so low.

This tax was brought in after German reunification to fund the massive infrastructure projects necessary to bring East Germany up to the standards of the West. Originally it was set to only be levied until 2019. However, despite pressure from the FDP and liberal economic pressure groups such as the German Taxpayers' Alliance, it appears that the German government will renege on this pledge and either levy this tax on an ongoing basis, or gradually phase it out over the coming years.

“Soli” is paid in full by the employee. Interesting to note that this is also levied on capital gains, as well as on corporation tax.

Arbeitslosenversicherung (unemployment insurance)

AV-Beitrag (on the payslip) - unemployment insurance is provided in order to guarantee an existential well being in the case of losing one’s job. Contributions were increased to 3% of gross salary from the 2011 tax year. Contributions are split 50 / 50 between employer and employee.

This gives the employee the right to claim unemployment benefit at 60% of one’s previous net salary for 1 year, known as Arbeitslosengeld I, in the case of being made redundant from their job. This figure increases to 67% if you or your co-habiting partner have one or more children. Eligibility to claim this money begins after paying into the system for 12 months, with you having the right to the full 1 year of unemployment benefits after paying contributions for at least 24 months.

If the claimant is still unemployed after 1 year, this benefit shifts across to the less favourable Arbeitslosengeld II, or more colloquially known as Hartz IV, named after the politician who headed up the labour reform commission during Gerhard Schröder's government which resulted in these reforms being introduced. Contrasting starkly to Arbeitslosengeld I, Hartz IV really is a bare minimum amount paid in order to provide a basic existence.

Simulation of a payslip and the calculations behind it

You can use the below document to understand the logic and the charges from a normal payslip. This simulation will not reflect 100% your payslip and it is not intended to justify any increase / decrease on the amounts on your payslip.

For further explanations regarding the wage calculation methodology, you can refer to the article: Detail explanation of the wage calculation methodology for the german contracts of Anneberg Transport posted (foreign) drivers. If there are any uncertainties regarding your payslip, feel free to open a ticket on support.anneberg.net.