“From €15.33 per hour gross” – that is what our job ads say. But for many applicants the most important question is: how much is left net? Here you will find a concrete example calculation for 2026.
In short: a warehouse worker earning €15.33 gross per hour and working 40 hours per week gets about €2,655 gross per month. In tax class I without children, about €1,860 net is left in 2026. A forklift driver earning €16.08 per hour gets about €1,930 net for the same number of hours.
As of October 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice. All amounts are rounded example values; your actual net pay depends on your personal situation.
Step 1: from hourly wage to monthly gross
Your monthly gross depends on how many hours you work in the month. For our example, we assume 40 hours per week:
- Weekly pay: €15.33 × 40 hours = €613.20
- Weeks per month: a year has 52 weeks, 52 ÷ 12 = about 4.33 weeks per month
- Monthly gross: €613.20 × 4.33 = €2,655.16
Why 4.33 and not 4? Because on average a month has a little more than four weeks. With the unrounded factor (4.333…), you get €2,657.20. Below, we calculate with €2,655.16.
Important: this is an example calculation, not a promise about your hours. How many hours you actually work is stated in your employment contract. If you work less in a month, your gross pay goes down too.
Step 2: the deductions at a glance
The employer deducts income tax and social insurance contributions from your gross pay and transfers them directly to the tax office and the social insurance. You do not have to pay anything extra yourself.
Social insurance 2026 (employee’s share)
| Insurance | Total rate | Your share | Amount at €2,655.16 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health insurance (KV) | 14.6% + avg. 2.9% additional contribution | 8.75% | about €232.33 |
| Long-term care insurance (PV), childless, aged 23+ | 3.6% + 0.6% surcharge | 2.4% | about €63.72 |
| Pension insurance (RV) | 18.6% | 9.3% | about €246.93 |
| Unemployment insurance (AV) | 2.6% | 1.3% | about €34.52 |
| Total social insurance | 21.75% | about €577.50 |
The employer pays the rest of the contributions on top. The additional contribution to health insurance depends on the health insurance fund; 2.9% is the official average for 2026. If you have children, you do not pay the childless surcharge for long-term care insurance (in Saxony, the shares for PV are slightly different).
Income tax
Income tax (Lohnsteuer) depends on your income and your tax class. In 2026 the basic tax-free allowance is €12,348 per year – up to this amount, no income tax is due. For our example (tax class I, no children, no church tax), the official income tax calculator of the Federal Ministry of Finance gives about €219 income tax per month.
Solidarity surcharge and church tax
- Soli: does not apply at this pay level. In 2026 it is only due if your income tax for the year is more than €20,350 (tax class I).
- Church tax: only if you are a member of a church that collects tax. Then 8 or 9% of your income tax is added, depending on the federal state – in the example, about €18 to €20 per month.
Step 3: the result – gross and net compared
| Warehouse worker (m/f/d) | Forklift driver (m/f/d) | |
|---|---|---|
| Hourly wage gross | from €15.33 | from €16.08 |
| Monthly gross (40 hrs/week, × 4.33) | about €2,655 | about €2,785 |
| Social insurance | about €578 | about €606 |
| Income tax (tax class I) | about €219 | about €247 |
| Net (tax class I, no children) | about €1,860 | about €1,930 |
Calculation for forklift driver: €16.08 × 40 = €643.20 per week, × 4.33 = €2,785.06 per month.
We checked these values with the external interface of the Federal Ministry of Finance’s income tax calculator (bmf-steuerrechner.de, program flowchart 2026) and the 2026 contribution rates. It is best to check your own case yourself with a gross-net calculator.
What changes with tax class III, IV or V?
Social insurance stays the same – only the income tax changes. For the warehouse worker example (€2,655 gross), the result is roughly:
- Tax class IV – same as tax class I: about €219 income tax, about €1,860 net.
- Tax class III – no income tax in this example: about €2,080 net.
- Tax class V – about €518 income tax: about €1,560 net.
III and V only exist as a combination for married couples (or registered partners). How much tax a couple pays in total is only finally decided with the tax return – the tax class only divides up the monthly deductions. More in the article Gross and net in Germany.
Supplements: what can be added
Depending on the assignment and contract, supplements can be added to the basic wage, in temporary work for example collectively agreed industry supplements (Branchenzuschläge). Whether these apply in your case, and how much, is stated in your employment contract. There is no promise of this – so plan with the basic wage at first.
Why your net pay may look different
- Missing tax ID: without your tax ID, the employer may calculate income tax under tax class VI – then your net pay is much lower. Give your tax ID to your employer straight after your address registration.
- Different number of hours: fewer hours mean less gross pay.
- Health insurance fund: a higher or lower additional contribution changes your net pay by a few euros.
- Deductions after net pay: advances or agreed deductions appear on the payslip after the net pay – in the “payout amount” (Auszahlungsbetrag).
Tip: do a tax return
In tax class I, a tax return is usually voluntary, but it is often worth it. You get money back, for example, if:
- you started in the middle of the year – then the income tax was often calculated too high,
- tax class VI applied at first,
- you have work-related expenses above the employee lump sum of €1,230 – for example for your way to work: since 2026, the commuting allowance of 38 cents per kilometre applies from the first kilometre, plus work clothes or moving costs.
You can submit a voluntary tax return up to four years later.
Apply now
With us you earn from €15.33 per hour gross as a warehouse worker (m/f/d) and from €16.08 per hour gross as a forklift driver (m/f/d) – with an employment contract and social insurance. There are many jobs at the moment in Diemelstadt, for example. Fill in the short application form – we will get back to you and answer your questions in German, English or Russian.
