Employer Cost 2026

About

Employer Cost 2026 is a German payroll cost planner and employer-side hiring-cost estimator for founders, HR teams, and small businesses. It estimates a role in Germany from gross salary plus employer-side social security contributions, levies, and selected statutory surcharges before you open the position. What the app calculates: - Estimated fully loaded employer cost per hire (gross pay plus employer contributions) - Pension, statutory health, long-term care, and unemployment insurance with 2024/2025/2026 contribution ceilings - Health fund (gesetzliche Krankenkasse) supplemental contribution including the employer share — the 2026 average and selected funds are pre-loaded - Long-term care insurance with the 2026 employer share outside Saxony - U1 and U2 sickness/maternity levies, the insolvency levy (Insolvenzgeldumlage), and accident-insurance (Berufsgenossenschaft) estimates by industry - Mini-job and midi-job calculations under the 2026 Übergangsbereich formulas - Bonus payments such as holiday or Christmas pay included in the projection - Small-business U1 option - 2024 / 2025 / 2026 comparison view for changes to ceilings, contribution rates, and East/West values - Multi-hire planning for teams and headcount budgets with a totals row Typical use cases: - A founder budgeting their very first hire and stress-testing whether the runway supports it - HR teams at small and mid-sized companies preparing the headcount plan for the next fiscal year - Independent recruiters and external payroll offices running quick first-call estimates with clients - A managing director who needs to translate a posted gross salary into the real fully-loaded cost - Pre-meetings with a tax advisor or payroll office before the formal payslip run - Offer-stage negotiations where the candidate's gross expectation has to be reconciled with the role's full budget Premium is a one-time purchase — no subscription, no recurring charge. Premium unlocks unlimited multi-hire planning, unlimited positions and headcount lines, and CSV and PDF export with methodology notes for team budgets. Data sources and accuracy: The app uses official 2026 baseline parameters (contribution ceilings, statutory contribution rates, the average statutory health-fund supplement, and the long-term care employer share) plus a curated set of selected fund supplements. Individual health funds and accident-insurance industry rates can differ and should be re-checked before binding decisions. Privacy: No account, no email, no cloud sync. All salaries, bonuses, and calculations stay on your device. Built for German payroll cost planning. Disclaimer: This app is an informational planning and estimation tool. It is not tax, legal, or payroll advice and does not replace a qualified Steuerberater, payroll office, or employment lawyer. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS), the Deutsche Rentenversicherung, any statutory health fund, or any Berufsgenossenschaft.