Free German payslip template (Lohnabrechnung)
Create a German payslip (Entgeltabrechnung) in your browser and download it as a PDF. The Germany preset fills in the usual line labels – Lohnsteuer, Solidaritätszuschlag, Kirchensteuer and the employee shares of health, long-term care, pension and unemployment insurance – and you enter every amount yourself.
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PayslipKit does not calculate German wage tax or social contributions: take the figures from your payroll software or tax adviser. The checklist below follows § 108 GewO and the Entgeltbescheinigungsverordnung, and nothing you type leaves your device.
Lines pre-filled for Germany
Rename, remove or add lines as needed. Lines left at zero are hidden once you enter amounts.
Earnings
- Basic salary · Grundgehalt
- Overtime pay · Überstundenvergütung
- Night, Sunday and public-holiday premiums · Zuschläge (Nacht, Sonntag, Feiertag)
- Holiday bonus · Urlaubsgeld
- Christmas bonus · Weihnachtsgeld
- Capital-forming benefits (employer contribution) · Vermögenswirksame Leistungen (AG-Zuschuss)
- Benefit in kind · Sachbezug
Employee deductions
- Wage tax · Lohnsteuer
- Solidarity surcharge · Solidaritätszuschlag
- Church tax · Kirchensteuer
- Health insurance (employee share) · Krankenversicherung (AN-Anteil)
- Long-term care insurance (employee share) · Pflegeversicherung (AN-Anteil)
- Pension insurance (employee share) · Rentenversicherung (AN-Anteil)
- Unemployment insurance (employee share) · Arbeitslosenversicherung (AN-Anteil)
- Capital-forming savings transfer · Vermögenswirksame Sparleistung (VWL-Überweisung)
- Advance already paid · Vorschuss / Abschlag
Employer contributions (information)
- Health insurance (employer share) · Krankenversicherung (AG-Anteil)
- Long-term care insurance (employer share) · Pflegeversicherung (AG-Anteil)
- Pension insurance (employer share) · Rentenversicherung (AG-Anteil)
- Unemployment insurance (employer share) · Arbeitslosenversicherung (AG-Anteil)
- Employer levies U1/U2 and insolvency levy · Umlagen U1/U2 und Insolvenzgeldumlage
What must a payslip show in Germany?
Section 108 of the Trade Regulation Act (Gewerbeordnung) requires employers to give employees a pay statement in text form whenever wages are paid, showing at least the pay period and the composition of pay, including supplements, allowances, deductions, advances and part-payments; it may be omitted if nothing has changed since the last proper statement. The Entgeltbescheinigungsverordnung (EBV) sets the detailed contents of the standard pay certificate. The Federal Labour Court (9 AZR 48/24, 28 January 2025) held that providing payslips in a digital employee mailbox generally satisfies the text-form requirement.
Items the rules require (in short):
- Employer's name
- Employer's address
- Employee's name
- Employee's tax or social-security number
- Date of hire
- Pay period
- Each earning itemised (basic pay, allowances, bonuses)
- Gross pay
- Each deduction itemised with its amount
- Net pay
- Employee's address and date of birth
- Social insurance number (Versicherungsnummer)
- Tax class (with factor if any), child allowances, church-tax status, tax allowances and tax ID
- Contribution group code and the collecting health insurance fund (Einzugsstelle)
- Pay period with tax days and social-insurance days
- Taxable gross, social-insurance gross and total gross
- Net pay (Nettoentgelt) and the amount actually paid out (Auszahlungsbetrag)
Sources
- § 108 GewO – Abrechnung des Arbeitsentgelts (Bundesamt für Justiz, gesetze-im-internet.de)
- § 1 EBV – Inhalt der Entgeltbescheinigung (Bundesamt für Justiz, gesetze-im-internet.de)
- Entgeltbescheinigungsverordnung – Gesamttext (gesetze-im-internet.de)
Reviewed November 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice — rules change, so always check the official source.
FAQ
Is a payslip mandatory in Germany?
Yes. Under § 108 GewO the employer must provide a pay statement in text form when wages are paid. It may be skipped only if nothing has changed compared with the last proper statement.
What must a German payslip show?
At least the pay period and how pay is made up, including supplements, allowances, deductions, advances and part-payments. The Entgeltbescheinigungsverordnung adds items such as tax class, tax ID, social insurance number, contribution group code, taxable and social-insurance gross, net pay and the payout amount.
Can payslips be issued electronically?
Yes. Text form is sufficient, and the Federal Labour Court ruled on 28 January 2025 (9 AZR 48/24) that placing payslips in a digital employee mailbox generally fulfils the obligation.
Does PayslipKit calculate Lohnsteuer and social contributions?
No. The preset only adds the official line labels. You enter all amounts from your payroll system or tax adviser.