Germany social security contribution ceilings 2026

API All contribution ceilings as REST API and CSV, with a valid-from date for retroactive payroll and year-end changes.

In 2026, the contribution ceiling (Beitragsbemessungsgrenze) in Germany is €5,812.50 a month for health and long-term care insurance and €8,450 a month for pension and unemployment insurance (Sozialversicherungsrechengrößen-Verordnung 2026). That is €69,750 and €101,400 a year. The compulsory insurance threshold, also called the annual earnings threshold (Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze), is €77,400 a year. We add the values for 2027 as soon as the ordinance is promulgated.

Last checked against the sources on September 23, 2026. Next expected change: ordinance for 2027 in fall 2026; from 2027 the compulsory insurance threshold plus €3,600 and separate ceilings for health and long-term care insurance (GKV-Beitragssatzstabilisierungsgesetz).

REST /v1/hr/rechengroessenMCP hr_rechengroessenCLI qk rechengroessen

The reference values (Rechengrößen) from the yearly Social Security Reference Values Ordinance: contribution ceilings (Beitragsbemessungsgrenzen) for health, long-term care, pension and unemployment insurance, the compulsory insurance threshold (Versicherungspflichtgrenze) and the reference value (Bezugsgröße). Separate for West and East until 2024, the same nationwide since 2025.

Values 2026

Health and care ceiling per month: €5,812.50
Pension and unemployment ceiling per month: €8,450
Compulsory insurance threshold per year: €77,400

Source: Social Security Reference Values Ordinances (Sozialversicherungsrechengrößen-Verordnungen)
License: Values from official works (§ 5 UrhG). Use of the compilation under the Quellenkontor terms of use.
Updates: yearly on January 1
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.

api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/rechengroessen?jahr=2026

Zur API-Doku →

curl "https://api.quellenkontor.dev/v1/hr/rechengroessen?jahr=2026" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QK_KEY"

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

const qk = new Quellenkontor(process.env.QK_KEY);
const daten = await qk.hr.rechengroessen({ jahr: 2026 });

import os
from quellenkontor import Quellenkontor

qk = Quellenkontor(api_key=os.environ["QK_KEY"])
daten = qk.hr.rechengroessen(jahr=2026)

$ qk rechengroessen --jahr 2026

{
  "name": "hr_rechengroessen",
  "arguments": {
    "jahr": 2026
  }
}

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

Antwort200 OK · JSON

{
  "datensatz": "rechengroessen",
  "jahr": 2026,
  "gueltig_ab": "2026-01-01",
  "gueltig_bis": "2026-12-31",
  "bbg_rv_west_monat": 8450,
  "bbg_rv_west_jahr": 101400,
  "bbg_rv_ost_monat": 8450,
  "bbg_rv_ost_jahr": 101400,
  "bbg_knappschaft_west_monat": 10400,
  "bbg_knappschaft_west_jahr": 124800,
  "bbg_knappschaft_ost_monat": 10400,
  "bbg_knappschaft_ost_jahr": 124800,
  "bbg_kv_monat": 5812.5,
  "bbg_kv_jahr": 69750,
  "jaeg_allgemein_jahr": 77400,
  "jaeg_besonders_jahr": 69750,
  "bezugsgroesse_west_monat": 3955,
  "bezugsgroesse_west_jahr": 47460,
  "bezugsgroesse_ost_monat": 3955,
  "bezugsgroesse_ost_jahr": 47460,
  "bbg_pv_monat": 5812.5,
  "bbg_pv_jahr": 69750,
  "rechtskreise_einheitlich": true,
  "rechtsgrundlage": "Sozialversicherungsrechengrößen-Verordnung 2026 vom 24.11.2025 (BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 278)",
  "quelle": {
    "titel": "Sozialversicherungsrechengrößen-Verordnung 2026 vom 24. November 2025 (BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 278)",
    "url": "https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/svbezgrv_2026/BJNR1160A0025.html"
  },
  "lizenz": "Werte aus amtlichen Werken (§ 5 UrhG). Nutzung der Zusammenstellung nach den Nutzungsbedingungen von Quellenkontor.",
  "stand": "2026-09-23",
  "zitat": "Rechengrößen der Sozialversicherung 2026: Beitragsbemessungsgrenze der Kranken- und Pflegeversicherung 5.812,50 Euro im Monat, der Renten- und Arbeitslosenversicherung 8.450 Euro im Monat, Versicherungspflichtgrenze 77.400 Euro im Jahr. Rechtsgrundlage: Sozialversicherungsrechengrößen-Verordnung 2026 vom 24.11.2025. Quelle: Sozialversicherungsrechengrößen-Verordnung 2026 vom 24. November 2025 (BGBl. 2025 I Nr. 278), https://www.gesetze-im-internet.de/svbezgrv_2026/BJNR1160A0025.html. Daten: Quellenkontor (quellenkontor.dev).",
  "datenstand": "2026-09-24.15"
}

Response shortened. All parameters and response fields are in the Contribution ceilings reference.

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Contribution ceilings since 2015

Until 2024, pension and unemployment insurance had separate values for western and eastern Germany; since 2025 they have been uniform.

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

Year	Health and long-term care insurance per month	Health and long-term care insurance per year	Pension and unemployment insurance, west, per month	Pension and unemployment insurance, west, per year	Pension and unemployment insurance, east, per month	Source
2026	€5,812.50	€69,750	€8,450	€101,400	€8,450	Source
2025	€5,512.50	€66,150	€8,050	€96,600	€8,050	Source
2024	€5,175	€62,100	€7,550	€90,600	€7,450	Source
2023	€4,987.50	€59,850	€7,300	€87,600	€7,100	Source
2022	€4,837.50	€58,050	€7,050	€84,600	€6,750	Source
2021	€4,837.50	€58,050	€7,100	€85,200	€6,700	Source
2020	€4,687.50	€56,250	€6,900	€82,800	€6,450	Source
2019	€4,537.50	€54,450	€6,700	€80,400	€6,150	Source
2018	€4,425	€53,100	€6,500	€78,000	€5,800	Source
2017	€4,350	€52,200	€6,350	€76,200	€5,700	Source
2016	€4,237.50	€50,850	€6,200	€74,400	€5,400	Source
2015	€4,125	€49,500	€6,050	€72,600	€5,200	Source

Compulsory insurance threshold and reference value since 2015

The special threshold applies to employees who had private health insurance on December 31, 2002 because they exceeded the threshold at that time.

Year	Compulsory insurance threshold (JAEG) per year	Special threshold per year	Reference value west per month	Reference value east per month
2026	€77,400	€69,750	€3,955	€3,955
2025	€73,800	€66,150	€3,745	€3,745
2024	€69,300	€62,100	€3,535	€3,465
2023	€66,600	€59,850	€3,395	€3,290
2022	€64,350	€58,050	€3,290	€3,150
2021	€64,350	€58,050	€3,290	€3,115
2020	€62,550	€56,250	€3,185	€3,010
2019	€60,750	€54,450	€3,115	€2,870
2018	€59,400	€53,100	€3,045	€2,695
2017	€57,600	€52,200	€2,975	€2,660
2016	€56,250	€50,850	€2,905	€2,520
2015	€54,900	€49,500	€2,835	€2,415

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/rechengroessen/verlauf?format=csv&trennzeichen=semikolon" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $QK_KEY" -o rechengroessen.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.

All response fields with types, allowed values, defaults and error cases are in the Contribution ceilings reference.

Questions about this dataset

What is the contribution ceiling in Germany in 2026?

€5,812.50 a month for health and long-term care insurance, and €8,450 a month for pension and unemployment insurance, the same nationwide.

What is the compulsory insurance threshold in 2026?

The general annual earnings threshold (Jahresarbeitsentgeltgrenze) is €77,400 a year. The special threshold for employees who had private health insurance on December 31, 2002 is €69,750.

What is the reference value (Bezugsgröße) in 2026?

€3,955 a month, €47,460 a year, the same nationwide.

Why are there West and East values?

Until 2024, pension and unemployment insurance and the reference value had separate values. Since January 1, 2025, they are the same nationwide. The API returns both fields, with equal values from 2025.

When are the values for next year available?

The federal government usually adopts the ordinance in the fall. Once it is promulgated, the weekly check adds the new year.

How often is the dataset updated?

Yearly on January 1. 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.

Germany social security contribution ceilings 2026

Contribution ceilings since 2015

Compulsory insurance threshold and reference value since 2015

As JSON and CSV

Parameters

Questions about this dataset

More on Contribution ceilings

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