Elterngeld calculator
Tell us what you earned before the birth and we will work out your Elterngeld step by step, naming the statute behind each rule. The first step matters most, because the Elterngeld-Netto is not the net figure on your payslip.
Elterngeld is computed from your average gross pay over the twelve months before the month of birth, excluding one-off payments.
Basiselterngeld
€1,463 per month
- ElterngeldPlus
- €732
- Elterngeld-Netto
- €2,251
- Step 2 — your replacement rate
- 65.0%
Last year’s income is below the limit of €175,000.
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How this result was reached
Step 1 — your Elterngeld-Netto
One twelfth of the employee allowance, flat-rate tax and flat-rate social contributions come off the gross. What is left is the basis for everything else.
| Monthly gross | €3,500.00 |
| Employee allowance (one twelfth) | −€102.50 |
| Tax (flat-rate) | −€411.58 |
| Social contributions (flat-rate) (21%) | −€735.00 |
| Elterngeld-Netto | €2,250.92 |
Source: §§ 2c, 2e, 2f BEEG
Step 2 — your replacement rate
Above 1,200 euros of Elterngeld-Netto the rate falls — by 0.1 percentage points for every 2 euros of excess, down to a minimum of 65 %. The 65 % floor is reached at 1,240 euros.
65.0%
Source: § 2 Abs. 1, 2 BEEG
Step 3 — your Elterngeld
| Elterngeld under § 2 | €1,463.10 |
| Elterngeld per month | €1,463.10 |
Source: § 2 Abs. 1, 4 BEEG; § 2a BEEG; § 4a Abs. 2 BEEG
Common questions
Is the Elterngeld-Netto the net figure on my payslip?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding. The Elterngeld-Netto is a statutory construct under § 2c BEEG. One-off payments are excluded, social contributions are deducted at flat rates of 9, 10 and 2 per cent with no contribution ceiling at all, and the tax is computed on a flat-rate basis. Depending on your salary it lands a few hundred euros above or below your real net pay.
At what income does the replacement rate start to fall?
At 1,200 euros of Elterngeld-Netto. For every 2 euros above that the rate drops by 0.1 percentage points, reaching its 65 % floor at 1,240 euros. Many calculators wrongly start the taper at 1,240 and overstate everything in between.
Do I get Elterngeld if I was not working before?
Yes. The minimum of 300 euros a month is paid under § 2 Abs. 4 BEEG even where there was no income from employment before the birth.
How much difference does the sibling bonus make?
It raises the Elterngeld by 10 %, but by at least 75 euros a month. Because 10 % only overtakes the 75 euros once the Elterngeld passes 750 euros, the flat minimum is the operative figure for a great many families. You qualify with two children under three or three children under six in the household.
Can Elterngeld exceed 1,800 euros?
Yes. The 1,800 euro ceiling caps the amount under § 2 BEEG. The sibling bonus and the multiple-birth supplement are added afterwards. Parents of twins on a high income therefore reach 2,100 euros a month.
What happens above 175,000 euros of income?
The entitlement disappears completely. § 1 Abs. 8 BEEG is a hard cliff: one euro over and there is no Elterngeld at all, not even the minimum. What counts is the taxable income of the last completed assessment period before the birth, combined for couples.
Assumptions and limits
- Income from employment is modelled. Profit income under § 2d BEEG is out of scope for this version.
- The assessment period is treated as a full twelve months with no excluded months under § 2b BEEG.
- The flat-rate tax follows the structure of the official calculation plan under § 39b Abs. 6 EStG, but is not a byte-exact reimplementation of it.
- The partnership bonus under § 4b BEEG is not yet modelled.
- All amounts in euro and monthly unless stated otherwise.