Germany vs Austria: take-home pay compared
A shared language, a common border and welfare systems both built on social insurance make Germany and Austria one of the tightest match-ups on the site. Yet Austria's unusual payroll setup means the monthly figures on their own leave part of the story untold.
Net salary side by side
Figures are calculated using this site's own tax engine for each country - click through to the full calculator to adjust for your exact situation.
| Gross salary | 🇩🇪 Germany net/mo | 🇦🇹 Austria net/mo |
|---|---|---|
| 40,000 | €2,201/mo (34.0%) | €2,298/mo (31.1%) |
| 60,000 | €3,082/mo (38.4%) | €3,131/mo (37.4%) |
| 80,000 | €4,045/mo (39.3%) | €4,013/mo (39.8%) |
| 110,000 | €5,478/mo (40.2%) | €5,313/mo (42.0%) |
"Gross salary" is shown in each country's own currency at matching nominal amounts, not currency-converted - useful for comparing two job offers quoted in local currency. Effective rate shown in brackets.
Near twins on paper, until Austria's 13th and 14th salary arrive
The monthly figures are barely a rounding error apart and cross over right around €80,000. What the table hides is Austria's defining quirk: employees there are paid across 14 instalments a year rather than 12, the usual 12 months plus Urlaubsgeld (the 13th, around June) and Weihnachtsgeld (the 14th, around November). Both of those are taxed at a flat 6% (the Jahressechstel) instead of the marginal rate baked into the smoothed monthly numbers shown. The figures already fold in that favourable treatment on an annual basis, and the exact 14-instalment maths lands within roughly 2% of them. What a table cannot capture is the rhythm: an Austrian June or November payslip arrives at close to double a normal month.
Where the two really part ways
German social contributions (pension, health, unemployment, long-term care) come to close to 20% combined but stop at fixed ceilings, €90,600 for pension and unemployment and €66,150 for health and care. Austria's Sozialversicherung, about 18.12%, works the same way but under a single €72,840 ceiling. Past those points both systems tip toward income tax alone, which is exactly why the effective rates in the table move together rather than apart higher up.
Frequently asked questions
It is very tight. Austria leads below about €70,000 (€3,131 against €3,082 a month at €60,000), while Germany noses ahead across €80,000 to €110,000 because its pension ceiling sits above Austria's single €72,840 cap. At most salaries the gap runs under €100 a month in either direction.
Austrian staff get 14 salary payments a year rather than 12, the two extras being Urlaubsgeld and Weihnachtsgeld, each taxed at a flat 6% instead of the normal marginal rate. That gentle 6% treatment is already built into the annual figures here; its visible effect is that June and November land as near-double months.
Close in spirit. Both fund pension, health and unemployment insurance at roughly 18% to 20% of gross, and both stop at income ceilings above which only income tax applies. Germany uses several separate ceilings, while Austria applies a single combined one at €72,840.
No, these are nominal take-home figures. Vienna and Berlin sit fairly close on living costs, while Munich is clearly pricier than either.