German artists' social security levy 2026 and 2027

API The levy rate with its history since 2015 comes as REST API and CSV, with the official source for every year.

For 2026, the artists' social security levy (Künstlersozialabgabe) in Germany is 4.9% of the fees that companies pay to self-employed artists and writers (§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2026). The rate for 2027 is already set at 5%. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs sets the rate each year by ordinance (§ 26 KSVG).

Last checked against the sources on September 24, 2026. Next expected change: rate for 2027 is set, ordinance for 2028 in fall 2027.

REST /v1/hr/kuenstlersozialabgabeMCP hr_kuenstlersozialabgabeCLI qk kuenstlersozialabgabe

The artists' social security levy (Künstlersozialabgabe) is the percentage that companies pay to the artists' social insurance fund (Künstlersozialkasse) on fees paid to self-employed artists and writers, for example for graphic design, texts, photos or music in their own advertising. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs sets it each year by ordinance.

Valid on September 25, 2026

Rate of the artists' social security levy: 4.9%

Announced: Rate of the artists' social security levy from January 1, 2027 5%.

Source: Artists' Social Security Levy Ordinances (Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnungen, § 26 KSVG)
License: Values from official works (§ 5 UrhG). Use of the compilation under the Quellenkontor terms of use.
Updates: yearly, ordinance in the fall
Coverage: Germany, from 2015

A value doesn't match the official source? Report an error. We check against the primary source and document every correction in the changelog.

Related solutions: For payroll software and payroll providers

api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/kuenstlersozialabgabe?jahr=2027

Zur API-Doku →

curl "https://api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/kuenstlersozialabgabe?jahr=2027" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QK_KEY"

import { Quellenkontor } from "@quellenkontor/sdk";

const qk = new Quellenkontor(process.env.QK_KEY);
const daten = await qk.hr.kuenstlersozialabgabe({ jahr: 2027 });

import os
from quellenkontor import Quellenkontor

qk = Quellenkontor(api_key=os.environ["QK_KEY"])
daten = qk.hr.kuenstlersozialabgabe(jahr=2027)

$ qk kuenstlersozialabgabe --jahr 2027

{
  "name": "hr_kuenstlersozialabgabe",
  "arguments": {
    "jahr": 2027
  }
}

This is how an agent calls the tool. Server setup is described in the MCP docs.

Antwort200 OK · JSON

{
  "datensatz": "kuenstlersozialabgabe",
  "jahr": 2027,
  "vorlaeufig": false,
  "werte": {
    "abgabesatz": 5
  },
  "bestandteile": [
    {
      "id": "abgabesatz",
      "name": "Abgabesatz der Künstlersozialabgabe",
      "gruppe": "Künstlersozialabgabe",
      "einheit": "prozent",
      "wert": 5,
      "gueltig_ab": "2027-01-01",
      "gueltig_bis": null,
      "rechtsgrundlage": "§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2027 (Artikel 1 der Verordnung zur Künstlersozialabgabe 2027)",
      "quelle": {
        "titel": "Verordnung zur Künstlersozialabgabe 2027 vom 10. September 2026 (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 262)",
        "url": "https://www.recht.bund.de/bgbl/1/2026/262/VO.html"
      },
      "hinweis": "Bereits verkündet am 15.09.2026, gilt ab 01.01.2027 (Artikel 3 der Verordnung).",
      "naechster_wert": null
    }
  ],
  "hinweise": [
    "Der Satz gilt für alle Entgelte, die im Kalenderjahr an selbstständige Künstler und Publizisten gezahlt werden."
  ],
  "lizenz": "Werte aus amtlichen Werken (§ 5 UrhG). Nutzung der Zusammenstellung nach den Nutzungsbedingungen von Quellenkontor.",
  "stand": "2026-09-24",
  "zitat": "Künstlersozialabgabe 2027: 5 Prozent der Entgelte an selbstständige Künstler und Publizisten. Rechtsgrundlage: § 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2027 (Artikel 1 der Verordnung zur Künstlersozialabgabe 2027). Quelle: Verordnung zur Künstlersozialabgabe 2027 vom 10. September 2026 (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 262), https://www.recht.bund.de/bgbl/1/2026/262/VO.html. Daten: Quellenkontor (quellenkontor.dev).",
  "datenstand": "2026-09-24.10"
}

Response shortened. All parameters and response fields are in the Artists' social levy reference.

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Artists' social security levy 2026

As of September 25, 2026.

Legal citations stay in German, exactly as they appear in the official sources.

Component	Value	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	4.9%	January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2026	Source

Artists' social levy 2027

Already promulgated, not yet in force.

Component	Value	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	5%	from January 1, 2027	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2027 (Artikel 1 der Verordnung zur Künstlersozialabgabe 2027)	Source

Artists' social levy since 2015

Every change to a component with its validity, newest first.

Component	Value	Valid	Legal basis	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	5%	from January 1, 2027	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2027 (Artikel 1 der Verordnung zur Künstlersozialabgabe 2027)	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	4.9%	January 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2026	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	5%	January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2025	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	5%	January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2024	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	5%	January 1, 2023 to December 31, 2023	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2023	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	4.2%	January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2022	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2022	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	4.2%	January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2021	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2021	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	4.2%	January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2020	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	4.2%	January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2019	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	4.2%	January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2018	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	4.8%	January 1, 2017 to December 31, 2017	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2017	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	5.2%	January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2016	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2016	Source
Rate of the artists' social security levy	5.2%	January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2015	§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2015	Source

Rules from statutes and administrative guidance

The Künstlersozialkasse charges the levy as a percentage of the assessment base (§ 23 KSVG).
The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs sets the rate each year for the following calendar year by ordinance, if possible by September 30 (§ 26 Abs. 5 KSVG).
The assessment base is all fees that a company pays in the calendar year to self-employed artists and writers for artistic or journalistic works or services, even if they are not insured themselves (§ 25 KSVG).
Not included are separately stated VAT, payments to collecting societies, tax-free expense allowances and income under § 3 Nr. 26 EStG, and since 2025 also under § 3 Nr. 26a EStG (§ 25 KSVG).
Payments to legal entities, such as a GmbH or UG, are not subject to the levy (§ 25 KSVG).
Companies that commission artists or writers only for their own advertising and public relations, or under the general clause, only pay once these fees exceed a limit in the calendar year (§ 24 Abs. 2 KSVG).
The limit was €450 from 2015 to 2024 and €700 in 2025 (§ 54 KSVG), and has been €1,000 since 2026 (§ 24 Abs. 2 Satz 2 KSVG).
The fees of a year must be reported to the Künstlersozialkasse by March 31 of the following year. Monthly advance payments are due on the levy for the current year (§ 27 KSVG).

The API returns these statements in the regeln field, so software and agents can display them.

As JSON and CSV

Every request returns JSON. The history since 2015 is also available as a CSV file with format=csv, and with trennzeichen=semikolon it fits Excel with German regional settings. More in Responses and CSV.

Terminal

curl "https://api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/kuenstlersozialabgabe/verlauf?format=csv&trennzeichen=semikolon" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QK_KEY" -o kuenstlersozialabgabe.csv

Parameters

Parameters	Type	Meaning
`jahr`year	year	Calendar year. Defaults to the current year.
`datum`date	date	Alternative to jahr: effective date in the format YYYY-MM-DD, the year is taken from it.
`bestandteil`text	text	Return and cite only this component, for example for a single question (optional). Allowed values are the component ids.

All response fields with types, allowed values, defaults and error cases are in the Artists' social levy reference.

Questions about this dataset

What is the artists' social security levy in 2026?

4.9% of the fees paid to self-employed artists and writers.

What is the artists' social security levy in 2027?

5%. The ordinance for 2027 has been promulgated (§ 1 Künstlersozialabgabe-Verordnung 2027).

How much levy is due on an invoice of €10,000?

€490 at 4.9%, calculated on the net fee without separately stated VAT (§ 25 KSVG).

Who has to pay the artists' social security levy?

Companies that regularly commission self-employed artists or writers, for example for advertising and public relations, and businesses that market artistic work, such as publishers or agencies (§ 24 KSVG). The levy is due on the fees paid. Payments to legal entities such as a GmbH are not included.

Is there a minimum threshold?

Yes, for companies that only commission artists for their own advertising and public relations: they only pay once the fees in a calendar year exceed a limit. The limit was €450 until 2024 and €700 in 2025, and has been €1,000 since 2026 (§ 24 Abs. 2 Satz 2 and § 54 KSVG).

By when do I have to report the artists' social security levy?

You report the fees of a year to the Künstlersozialkasse by March 31 of the following year. Monthly advance payments are due on the levy for the current year (§ 27 KSVG).

How often is the dataset updated?

Yearly, ordinance in the fall. We check the data against the official sources every week, and every change is logged in the changelog. On the Pro plan, a webhook notifies your server.

German artists' social security levy 2026 and 2027

Artists' social security levy 2026

Artists' social levy 2027

Artists' social levy since 2015

Rules from statutes and administrative guidance

As JSON and CSV

Parameters

Questions about this dataset

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