How is part-time salary calculated?
From full-time salary to proportional part-time gross pay
The part-time salary calculator works out your net pay for part-time work by reducing your full-time gross salary proportionally to the ratio of part-time to full-time weekly hours. Net pay is then calculated from this reduced gross pay using the same tax and social security rules as for full-time work – tax class, church tax and social security contributions stay unchanged.
An important effect: because the German tax system is progressive (basic tax-free allowance, rising tax rates), your net pay usually falls less than proportionally when you cut your working hours. If you reduce your hours by, say, 50%, you typically lose less than 50% of your net pay – so your effective net hourly rate rises slightly. This is exactly the effect also shown by the part-time calculator of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS).
What the calculator takes into account
- Proportional gross pay: Full-time salary × ratio of weekly hours
- Tax class & allowances: Stay identical to full-time work
- Social security contributions: Health, pension, unemployment and long-term care insurance decrease proportionally with gross pay