TVöD Calculator – Calculate Public Sector Salary in Germany
Calculate your net salary in the public sector based on your gross salary, working hours, tax class, and social insurance details.
Salary Details
Tax Details
Social Insurance Details
Important note: This calculation is based on simplified, rounded approximations for wage tax and is intended only as a rough guide. Please enter the gross salary according to the current pay scale table for your pay grade and step. It does not replace a binding payslip or tax advice. Basis: 2026 social insurance rates.
The TVöD (Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst, or Collective Agreement for the Public Sector) governs working conditions and salaries for millions of employees working for the federal government and municipalities in Germany. With our TVöD Calculator, you can quickly work out how much of your gross salary you actually take home after deductions.
In short: you enter your gross salary according to the current pay scale, along with your tax class, and the calculator determines income tax, social security contributions, and your net salary, whether you fall under TVöD Bund, TVöD VKA, or a comparable agreement like the TV-L for the federal states. If you have other financial questions beyond your salary, you’ll find more suitable calculators on Profinanzrechner.
What Is the TVöD?
TVöD stands for “Tarifvertrag für den öffentlichen Dienst” and has governed the employment terms of staff working for the federal government and municipalities since 2005. It was negotiated between public employers, the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Association of Municipal Employers’ Associations (VKA), and the ver.di union. It replaced earlier collective agreements such as the BAT (Bundes-Angestelltentarifvertrag) and the MTArb.
Besides salary, the TVöD also governs working hours, notice periods, vacation entitlement, and a range of other employment conditions.
Special rules with their own designations apply to certain professional groups: TVöD-SuE for social work and educational services, TVöD-Pflege for staff in nursing and elderly care, and TVöD BT-E for staff in the waste management sector. Since January 1, 2023, a uniform 39-hour week has counted as 100% working time in both the former West and East German states; before that, regional differences existed.
TVöD Bund, TVöD VKA, and TV-L: What’s the Difference?
Not every public-sector collective agreement is identical. Different rules apply depending on the employer:
Although TVöD Bund, TVöD VKA, and TV-L share a similar basic structure, the specific pay tables and, in some cases, the allowance rules differ depending on which agreement applies. It’s therefore worth checking which collective agreement actually applies to your employment before calculating your salary with the TVöD Calculator.
Current Wage Agreement 2025/2026
The current TVöD collective agreement runs until March 31, 2027. The agreed pay increases take place in two steps: on April 1, 2025, table salaries rose by 3.0%, with a minimum increase of €110 per month, a floor amount that led to above-average gains particularly in lower pay groups. A further increase of 2.8%, applying to all pay groups, followed on May 1, 2026.
The current pay table for the municipal sector (VKA) is therefore valid from May 1, 2026, to March 31, 2027. Trainees, interns, and dual-study students also benefited from the wage increases, each receiving an additional €75 per increase step.
If you’re looking for a TVöD Calculator 2025 result, note that the 2025 figures have since been superseded by the May 2026 adjustment; for an up-to-date projection of your own pay with the TVöD Calculator 2026, it’s always best to use the most recently valid table.
How the TVöD Is Structured: Pay Groups
Your pay group (Entgeltgruppe) is the key factor determining your salary level, and is based primarily on your qualifications and area of work:
Pay Group | Typical Qualification |
|---|---|
E 15Ü, E 15, E 14, E 13 | Master’s degree or academic university degree |
E 9b, E 9c, E 10, E 11, E 12 | Bachelor’s degree or university of applied sciences degree |
E 5 bis E 9a | Completed vocational training (apprenticeship) |
E 1 bis E 4, E 2Ü | Semi-skilled and unskilled work |
Within this broad classification, there are finer distinctions: whether a completed apprenticeship is classified in pay group 5, 6, 7, 8, or 9a depends on the specific area of work. Moving up to a higher pay group, known as “Höhergruppierung,” is possible if your duties or level of education change, and generally requires an application.
Until 2014, moving to a higher pay group wasn’t always advantageous: being promoted to a higher pay group simultaneously reset your TVöD step, meaning employees could sometimes temporarily earn less despite the higher classification. This rule has since been adjusted — the step you’ve reached is generally retained when you move to a higher pay group.
Steps: How Work Experience Affects Your Salary
In addition to the pay group, the TVöD step also determines your actual salary. While the pay group is tied to your qualifications, the step reflects your work experience in that particular position. As your length of employment increases, you move up to higher steps — and with them, higher salary levels.
Most pay groups have six steps. Pay group E1 is an exception: it has only five steps, where starting employment already places you at step 2, and advancement to the next step happens every four years. The exact rules on step durations are set out in Section 16 of the TVöD.
TVöD-SuE: Special Rules for Social Work and Educational Services
A separate pay structure, known as TVöD-SuE, applies to social work and educational services. It covers, among others, childcare educators, social workers, and staff at daycare centers and youth welfare services. TVöD-SuE differs from the general TVöD through its own pay groups (S-table instead of E-table) and additional allowances, such as the SuE allowance, introduced in recognition of the particular demands of this profession.
Anyone looking to do a calculation with the TVöD SuE Calculator should therefore use the specific S-table for social work and educational services rather than the general E-table, since the designations and pay levels differ from the standard pay table.
Allowances in the Public Sector
In addition to base salary, many TVöD provisions include allowances that may apply under certain conditions:
Time-based supplements:
Additional supplements are often paid for shift work, Sunday work, and work on Saturdays and public holidays. Whether these are one-off or ongoing depends on the specific working hours involved.
Hardship allowances:
For particularly strenuous or hazardous work, such as exposure to radiation or heavy dust, many collective agreements provide additional allowances.
Allowances for temporary promotion to a higher pay group:
Anyone temporarily taking on duties from a higher pay group receives a corresponding allowance for that period.
From Gross to Net: What Deductions Apply?
Several items are deducted from your gross salary before your actual net salary lands in your account:
Additionally, many public employers pay into a supplementary occupational pension fund, such as the VBL (Versorgungsanstalt des Bundes und der Länder) or a municipal supplementary pension fund. This mostly concerns the employer’s contribution and generally doesn’t directly reduce your net salary, though it can vary slightly depending on individual supplementary insurance arrangements.
How Do I Use the TVöD Calculator?
To determine your net salary, enter your gross salary according to the pay table that applies to you into the TVöD gross-net calculator. Additionally, enter your tax class, any church tax liability, and information about children, if relevant for long-term care insurance. The calculator then automatically determines the individual deductions and your projected net salary, both monthly and projected annually.
Since social security contributions and tax rules can change each year, our calculator is always based on the most recently known, current rates.
Conclusion – TVöD Calculator
The TVöD ensures uniform, transparent salary structures in the public sector, whether at the federal, municipal, or social/educational services level. With our TVöD Calculator, you can see at a glance what actually remains as net pay from your gross salary after taxes and social security contributions.
Since pay tables and social security rates change regularly, it’s worth rechecking your salary calculation with the TVöD Calculator whenever there’s a pay increase or a change in your personal situation, such as a promotion to a higher pay group or a change in tax class. This way, you’ll stay on top of your financial situation in the public sector over the long term.
