The gross salary is not what an employee costs the company. On top of it come social tax and the employer share of unemployment insurance: they are added to the gross, not withheld from it. In an ordinary case the total cost is the gross salary multiplied by 1.338.
| Gross | Social tax | Insurance | Total cost | Tax share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €700 | €292 | €6 | €998 | 29.9% |
| €900 | €297 | €7 | €1,204 | 25.3% |
| €1,000 | €330 | €8 | €1,338 | 25.3% |
| €1,200 | €396 | €10 | €1,606 | 25.3% |
| €1,500 | €495 | €12 | €2,007 | 25.3% |
| €2,000 | €660 | €16 | €2,676 | 25.3% |
| €2,500 | €825 | €20 | €3,345 | 25.3% |
| €3,000 | €990 | €24 | €4,014 | 25.3% |
| €4,000 | €1,320 | €32 | €5,352 | 25.3% |
Labour taxes are everything that goes from a salary to the state. The employer pays part of it on top of the salary, and part is withheld from the employee. The table shows both sides together, because to the employer it is all the same money.
| Payment | Paid by | Rate | €1,500 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Social tax | employer | 33% | €495.00 |
| Unemployment insurance, employer share | employer | 0.8% | €12.00 |
| Income tax | employee | 22% after the tax-free minimum | €170.72 |
| Unemployment insurance, employee share | employee | 1.6% | €24.00 |
| Funded pension (second pillar) | employee | 2% / 4% / 6% | optional |
| Total | €701.72 |
On a gross salary of €1,500 the employee costs the employer €2,007 and takes home €1,305. The gap, €702 or 35% of the total cost, is what labour taxes are.
The funded pension is not a tax: that money stays with the employee, just on another account. The table is calculated without it. Income tax is reduced by the tax-free minimum — €700 a month for everyone from 2026: what changed and how much more you keep.
The tax wedge, the social tax floor and board member fees are worked through in a separate article: labour taxes and employer cost 2026.
On a small salary the cost does not fall proportionally: social tax is charged on at least the monthly rate, however little the employee actually earns. A half-time position therefore costs more than half of a full-time one.
| Year | Monthly rate | Minimum tax per month |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | €725 | €239 |
| 2025 | €820 | €271 |
| 2026 | €886 | €292 |
The obligation does not apply if the employee draws a state pension, is a student, raises a child under 3 or three children under 19, has partial or no capacity for work, was registered unemployed for at least six months before starting, or also works elsewhere where the monthly rate is already met. Untick the box in the calculator for those cases.
| Budget per employee | Gross | Employee takes home |
|---|---|---|
| €1,000 | €702 | €691 |
| €1,338 | €1,000 | €922 |
| €1,500 | €1,121 | €1,014 |
| €2,000 | €1,495 | €1,301 |
| €2,500 | €1,868 | €1,588 |
| €3,000 | €2,242 | €1,875 |
| €4,000 | €2,990 | €2,449 |
| €5,000 | €3,737 | €3,022 |
Choose "from the employer budget" in the calculator and enter what you have set aside for the person — the gross salary is worked out so that the budget is not exceeded.
€1,338 a month: €1,000 gross, 33% social tax which is €330, and 0.8% unemployment insurance, another €8. Over a year that is €16,056.
Multiply the gross by 1.338 — that covers 33% social tax and 0.8% insurance. The shortcut fails on small salaries, where the minimum social tax obligation applies: €292 a month.
No, those are the employee's taxes: the employer withholds them from the gross and forwards them, but they are already inside the gross. Only social tax and the employer's own 0.8% are added on top.
No. The second pillar contribution comes out of the employee's gross pay and does not change the company cost. The state's 4% comes from social tax already paid, not on top of it.
A gross salary of €1,495, of which €1,301 reaches the employee. The calculator works this out in "from the employer budget" mode.
Cheaper, but not by half. A salary of €700 costs €998, because social tax is charged on the monthly rate of €886 rather than on the actual pay. If the employee falls under an exception, the obligation does not apply.
Reserves for holiday and sick pay, fringe benefits and the taxes on them, training and equipment costs, VAT and occupational health spending. They are real budget items but do not follow from the salary directly.