Free Payslip Generator (Germany)

Section 108(1) of the Gewerbeordnung (GewO) requires the employer to give the employee a pay statement in text form (Textform) whenever the wages are paid. Paper, e-mail or a download from an employee portal all qualify.

It must show at least the pay period and how the pay is made up. That means the type and amount of supplements, allowances and other pay, the type and amount of deductions, and any advance payments or loans (Abschläge and Vorschüsse).

The duty falls away if nothing has changed since the last proper statement (section 108(2) GewO). An employee can also ask for an Entgeltbescheinigung limited to those items for other purposes, and the ministry may set the form of the certificate used for social-security and court purposes (section 108(3) GewO).

For 2026 the pension rate is 18.6% of gross pay, split 9.3% each between employee and employer. Unemployment insurance is 2.6%, split 1.3% each. Both are charged only on pay up to 8,450 EUR a month (101,400 EUR a year). Source: Deutsche Rentenversicherung Knappschaft-Bahn-See, 2 January 2026.

Health insurance has a general rate of 14.6% (section 241 SGB V) plus a Zusatzbeitrag that each Krankenkasse sets for itself (section 242 SGB V). Employer and employee bear the sum in equal halves (section 249 SGB V). The ceiling for health and care insurance is 5,812.50 EUR a month (69,750 EUR a year).

Care insurance (Pflegeversicherung) is a statutory rate under section 55 SGB XI, and employees without children who are 23 or older pay an additional 0.6 points. Contributions fall due on the third-last bank working day of the month in which the work was done (section 23(1) SGB IV).