A German offer is gross, the benefits are in German, and the tax class you never chose decides what lands each month. Knowing the real numbers is how you negotiate the next step, and how you stop leaving money in the payslip.
The job is good. The numbers around it are where internationals lose out.
Tax, pension, health, unemployment and care contributions come off before the money reaches you. Roughly 40% of a typical gross salary never does. Negotiate in net, not gross.
About 40% of gross, gone before paydayMarried? The default combination is rarely the best one for a couple with two incomes, and it changes what arrives every month, not just at the tax return.
Hundreds of euros a month, moved by one formCompany pension with employer top-up, capital-forming payments, transport and bike schemes. If you cannot read what your employer offers, it does not count as a benefit.
€1,600 / year of top-ups, unclaimedFigures are illustrative, for a typical international household.
Or the contract you already signed. We read it with you in English: what is standard, what is negotiable, what is missing.
What lands each month after tax and contributions, which tax class fits, and what each benefit is worth after tax. In writing.
Benefits and pension top-ups claimed, refunds filed, and a check-in when the next offer comes.
Coming
We are in conversation with a recruiting partner for internationals, so that finding the job becomes part of this service too. Until it is live, this page is about the offer you hold and the job you have. The community list hears first when it changes.
Free tools for this, no sign-up
Single people are in class 1 and cannot change it. Married couples can choose between two combinations, and the right one depends on how the two incomes compare. It affects the monthly payslip, and we run both options with your numbers.
Working students are generally limited to 20 hours a week during the semester, with more allowed in the breaks. Stay inside it and you keep the cheaper student social contributions; go over and the cost changes fast.
Often, yes. Employer pension contributions, transport, training budgets and remote days are all on the table, and some are worth more to you after tax than the same amount in gross salary. We show you which.
About two minutes of questions, then a personal report: what is sorted, what is quietly costing you money, and what to fix first.