Sunday, holiday and night premiums: what is tax-free?

German rules, for people working in Germany. At €15 base pay, 10 night hours with a 25% premium give €37.50 in this model. The tax cap is €50 base pay; for exemption from health, care, pension and unemployment insurance contributions it is €25.

Premiums paid in addition to base pay

Determine base pay

Hourly base pay (€)

Regular monthly base pay (€)

Regular weekly hours

Night hours 20:00–24:00 and 04:00–06:00

Premium paid for these night hours (%)

Night hours 00:00–04:00, not included above

Premium paid for these hours (%)

Work for the 00:00–04:00 hours began before midnight (otherwise at most 25% exempt)

Exactly one daytime category for these hours

Hours in this daytime category

Daytime premium paid (%)

I use only actual, separately documented work hours and premiums paid on top of base pay; no lump-sum holiday or sick-pay amounts.

Example using the displayed inputs

Model calculation for Germany, subject to the assumptions below.

Base pay (display rounded only): €15.00
Total premiums paid: €37.50
Tax-exempt part in this model: €37.50
Taxable premium amount: €0.00
Exempt from health, care, pension and unemployment insurance contributions in this model: €37.50
Premium subject to health, care, pension and unemployment insurance contributions: €0.00

Tax and contribution exemptions apply only under the stated assumptions.
German § 3b EStG does not create a general entitlement to premiums.

How each premium is calculated

Hours × base pay × paid percentage gives the payment. The tax-exempt ceiling is hours × base pay capped at €50 × the statutory maximum percentage, limited to the actual payment. Exemption from health, care, pension and unemployment insurance contributions uses the same calculation with base pay capped at €25 (German § 1 SvEV). If base pay is above €25 and the paid percentage is below the statutory maximum, no contribution-exempt amount is shown. Each line is rounded separately before totals are added.

At €60 base pay, eight Sunday hours and a paid premium of only 25%, the payment is €120 and the tax-exempt amount in this model is €120. For tax, the amount paid is compared with the ceiling based on €50 base pay and the 50% Sunday rate; the lower paid percentage does not replace the statutory maximum. The calculator does not show a contribution exemption in this case, because its calculation for base pay above €25 and a lower premium rate is not uniformly documented.

Monthly base pay is divided by weekly hours × 4.35 without intermediate rounding. Thus €3,000 and 39 weekly hours produce €70.73 for eight Sunday hours at 50%, even though the displayed hourly base pay is €17.68.

Must my employer pay these premiums?

German § 3b EStG concerns tax exemption, not a general entitlement. Employment agreements, collective agreements or other rules may create an entitlement.

Can Sunday and holiday premiums be added?

Not as two daytime exemptions for the same hours. A night premium may apply additionally. Calculate separate Sundays and holidays separately; this page permits one daytime category per calculation.

When does the 40% night limit apply?

For 00:00–04:00 hours only when work began before midnight. Starting exactly at midnight does not qualify; the model then caps this category at 25%. A daytime exemption may also continue until 04:00 on the following day when the work began before midnight. Check the dates and hours; this page does not determine local public holidays.

Does every 1 May night shift produce the same result?

No. At €20 base pay without breaks, 30 April 22:00 to 1 May 07:00 produces €262 in this model; 1 May 22:00 to 2 May 07:00 produces €232. Exact dates, eligible hours and records matter.

What is not assessed

Holiday pay, sick pay, lump sums and subsequent reconciliation, working-time law and full payroll are outside scope. For statutory accident insurance, tax-exempt premiums still count as earnings (German § 1(2) SvEV); this is not modelled. A premium subject to contributions may count towards regular mini-job earnings: €600 plus €20 is €620. This does not determine employment status.

Sources and review date

Sources reviewed: 20 October 2026; incomplete full-text checks are marked.

§ 3b EStG: tax-exempt premiums (J13) · 2026-01-01 · 2026-10-20
§ 1 SvEV: contribution exemption of premiums (J14) · 2026-01-01 · 2026-10-20
Payroll tax manual (LStH) 2026 on § 3b EStG: factor 4.35 (J15) · 2026-01-01 · 2026-10-20 · Official index read; full-text check pending

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General information, not tax or legal advice and not a payroll calculation. We calculate carefully using the stated German rules, but we cannot rule out errors. Your case may differ. Ask your payroll office, a tax adviser or your health insurer. Your entries stay in your browser; we do not store or send them.

Drafted with AI assistance.