Rates last updated: 10 October 2026 · How we verify
🇩🇪 Ireland vs Germany Tax in 2026: Which One Actually Costs You More?
Germany has a reputation for high wages and high deductions. The second half is the part that matters when you compare net pay — and for most employees, it's larger than people expect.
Here's what the numbers show for a single employee with no children, using verified 2026 rates on both sides:
| Gross salary | Ireland — you keep | Germany — you keep |
|---|---|---|
| €30,000 | 87.7% | 70.7% |
| €60,000 | 74.9% | 62.6% |
| €100,000 | 64.5% | 58.0% |
Ireland keeps more of your salary at every level we tested. The gap is seventeen points at €30,000 and still six and a half at €100,000. Germany only catches up at around €195,000, far above most salaries.
The same surprise as France applies here: German income tax is lower than Irish income tax at €60,000. What makes Germany more expensive is social insurance — among the heaviest payroll contributions of any country we've compared.
This guide works through both sides — employees first, then companies — with every calculation shown.
Notes on the German figures. Both countries use the euro, so there's no conversion. German income tax is calculated with a statutory formula rather than bands, so we show the result of the formula rather than band-by-band lines. We assume statutory health insurance at the average supplementary rate for 2026, which varies by insurer; an employee with no children, aged 23 or over; and a location outside Saxony, which splits one contribution differently. Church tax, which applies only to registered members of certain churches, is excluded.
For employees: the same salary, both systems
- On €60,000 a single employee keeps €44,924.68 in Ireland and €37,551.00 in Germany: 25.1% effective against 37.4%, so €7,374 a year more in Ireland.
- German income tax is lower (€9,399 against €11,200).
- But German social insurance of €13,050 is more than three times Ireland's €3,875 of PRSI and USC.
A single employee, no children, on €60,000 gross.
Ireland, 2026
| Calculation | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Income tax at 20% | €44,000 × 20% | €8,800.00 |
| Income tax at 40% | €16,000 × 40% | €6,400.00 |
| Less tax credits | €2,000 personal + €2,000 employee | −€4,000.00 |
| Income tax | €11,200.00 | |
| USC | 0.5% / 2% / 3% across the bands | €1,332.82 |
| PRSI | 4.2% to September, 4.35% from October | €2,542.50 |
| Total deductions | €15,075.32 | |
| Net pay | €44,924.68 |
Germany, 2026
| Calculation | Amount | |
|---|---|---|
| Pension insurance | €60,000 × 9.3% | €5,580.00 |
| Unemployment insurance | €60,000 × 1.3% | €780.00 |
| Health insurance | €60,000 × 8.75% (7.3% + half the 2.9% average supplement) | €5,250.00 |
| Long-term care insurance | €60,000 × 2.4% (including 0.6% for employees without children) | €1,440.00 |
| Social insurance | €13,050.00 | |
| Less flat allowances | €1,230 employee allowance + €36 | −€1,266.00 |
| Less deductible contributions | pension, 96% of health, long-term care | −€12,060.00 |
| Taxable income | €46,674 | |
| Income tax | statutory formula for 2026 | €9,399.00 |
| Solidarity surcharge | not due below €20,350 of income tax | €0.00 |
| Total deductions | €22,449.00 | |
| Net pay | €37,551.00 |
Effective rate: 25.1% in Ireland, 37.4% in Germany. The Irish employee is €7,374 a year better off on the same salary.
Look at the lines separately. The German employee pays €9,399 in income tax against Ireland's €11,200. But social insurance takes €13,050 — more than three times Ireland's €3,875 of PRSI and USC combined.
Why the gap is so wide — and why it finally closes
- German employees pay roughly 21.75% of salary in pension, unemployment, health and long-term care insurance from the first euro, against PRSI at 4.35%.
- Health and care contributions stop at €69,750 of salary and pension contributions at €101,400.
- Irish PRSI and USC never stop, so Germany only catches up at around €195,000.
Germany's social insurance is among the heaviest we've seen. Below the health insurance ceiling, an employee pays roughly 21.75% of salary across pension, unemployment, health and long-term care insurance. That applies from the first euro of an ordinary salary, which is why the gap, measured as a share of salary, is widest at €30,000.
German income tax is comparatively gentle in the middle. The first €12,348 of taxable income is tax-free, and part of the social insurance comes off the taxable base, as the table shows. The formula rises smoothly from 14% to 42% rather than jumping, and the 42% rate only starts above €69,878 of taxable income.
The solidarity surcharge rarely applies. It's 5.5% of income tax, but only once your income tax exceeds €20,350 in the year — and it phases in gradually above that. At €60,000 it's zero; at €100,000 it's €346.53.
Then the ceilings kick in. Health and long-term care contributions stop at €69,750 of salary. Pension and unemployment contributions stop at €101,400. Above those levels, German payroll costs stop rising — while Irish PRSI and USC never stop, and USC reaches 8% above €70,044.
The result is that Ireland's advantage in euro terms peaks at around €70,000 — right where Germany's health ceiling and Ireland's 8% USC band meet — and then slowly shrinks. At €100,000 the marginal rate is still slightly higher in Germany — around 53% against Ireland's 52.2%, because the pension ceiling hasn't been reached yet — but once it has, Germany's marginal rate drops well below Ireland's. That's what eventually produces the crossover at around €195,000.
What the table doesn't show
- Part of the German contributions buys statutory health cover that many Irish employees pay for privately.
- Irish reliefs aren't automatic: they have to be claimed by you.
- Investment gains cost far less in Germany, 26.375% with a €1,000 allowance, against Ireland's 31% CGT with a €1,270 exemption.
Part of the German gap buys health insurance. German contributions of 8.75% plus 2.4% fund statutory health and long-term care cover. Ireland doesn't fund health care through a payroll contribution in the same way, and many people in Ireland pay for private health insurance separately. That doesn't close the gap, but it means some of it is paying for something an Irish employee may be buying anyway.
In Ireland, nobody claims your reliefs for you. Rent credit, medical expenses, remote working relief, flat rate expenses — every one has to be claimed, by you. You can claim them for up to four years back. Germans are often used to filing an annual return to claim work expenses above the €1,230 allowance; in Ireland, the equivalent reliefs also wait for you to act. See the top Irish tax deductions you could be missing.
Investment gains cost much less in Germany. Capital gains on shares are taxed at a flat 25% plus the solidarity surcharge — 26.375% in total — with a €1,000 annual allowance for investment income. Ireland charges 31% CGT — cut from 33% on 7 October 2026 — with a €1,270 annual exemption. For an investor, Germany is materially cheaper. See capital gains tax in Ireland.
For companies and the self-employed
- Ireland charges 12.5% on trading income, against a German combined burden of around 31% (15% corporate tax plus the 5.5% surcharge and municipal trade tax).
- Germany's corporate rate falls from 15% to 10% between 2028 and 2032, but trade tax keeps the total well above 12.5%.
- German self-employment income is taxed like employment income, with no flat-rate regime.
| Ireland | Germany | |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax | 12.5% on trading income | 15%, plus a 5.5% surcharge on it (15.825%) |
| Trade tax | none | set by each municipality |
| Typical combined rate | 12.5% | around 31% at a municipal multiplier of 438% |
| Non-trading income | 25% | same combined rate |
| Scheduled changes | none | corporate tax falling from 15% to 10% between 2028 and 2032 |
For companies, Ireland wins by a wide margin. German companies pay corporate tax of 15% plus the solidarity surcharge, and then municipal trade tax on top. The trade tax rate depends on where the business is: at a multiplier of 438%, for example, the combined burden is around 31%. Germany has legislated a gradual cut in corporate tax from 15% to 10% between 2028 and 2032, which will narrow the gap — but even then, trade tax keeps the combined rate well above 12.5%.
For investment companies, the comparison is closer. Ireland taxes non-trading income at 25%, which is below the German combined rate but no longer half of it.
The usual Irish caveats apply: the 12.5% is for trading income only, and an Irish company needs at least one EEA-resident director, which German residents satisfy.
For the self-employed, income from self-employment is taxed on profit through the same income tax formula as employment income. There's no low flat-rate shortcut of the kind Italy and France offer small freelancers.
If you're moving between the two
- The money is usually in your arrival or departure year.
- Coming to Ireland, check emergency tax and whether Split Year Treatment keeps foreign employment income out of the Irish computation.
- Leaving, claim the four open years before 2022 closes on 31 December 2026.
Coming to Ireland from Germany. Your arrival year is worth checking. If your first payslips were on emergency tax, or on a "week 1" basis that doesn't backdate your credits to 1 January, you'll have overpaid — and that only comes back once you file.
If you worked abroad earlier in the year, Split Year Treatment can keep that foreign employment income out of the Irish computation, provided you weren't Irish resident the year before and stay resident the following year. You have to claim it. The country-specific detail is in tax for German workers in Ireland.
Going the other way. Your departure year often produces a refund, and four years remain open behind you. 2022 closes permanently on 31 December 2026. See leaving Ireland and the refund you might be owed.
Ireland and Germany signed their current double taxation agreement in Dublin on 30 March 2011. The same income shouldn't be taxed twice — but relief is claimed and evidenced, not applied automatically. You can find the text on Revenue's page for the Ireland–Germany treaty.
Note too that as an Irish tax resident you're within Irish CGT on assets anywhere in the world — although if you're not Irish-domiciled — and moving here doesn't by itself make you Irish-domiciled — a gain on an asset abroad is generally taxed in Ireland only to the extent the proceeds are brought into Ireland.
After three consecutive years here you also become ordinarily resident, which keeps you within the charge for three years after you leave. The framework is in moving to Ireland: how cross-border taxes work, and the fundamentals are in the complete guide.
If your position spans both countries — employment in one, property or a company in the other — that's what our VIP Premium service is for. For a straightforward review of four open Irish years, the Tax Back service covers it. No refund, no fee.
If you're already living in Ireland, the more useful question isn't which country taxes less — it's whether you've claimed the four years that are still open. Start with 2022.
Related reading
Questions we get asked
Is Germany more expensive than Ireland?
For employees, yes, at every salary up to around €195,000. At €60,000 the difference is about €7,374 a year. Almost all of it comes from social insurance, not income tax.
Why is my German net so much lower on the same gross?
Because four social insurance contributions — pension, unemployment, health and long-term care — take around 21.75% of an ordinary salary. Irish PRSI is 4.35% since 1 October 2026 (4.2% before). At €60,000, German income tax is actually lower than Irish income tax.
Do I still pay the solidarity surcharge?
Only if your income tax for the year exceeds €20,350 as a single person, and then it phases in gradually. At €60,000 you pay none.
Does having children change the German figure?
Slightly, on the social insurance side: employees with children don't pay the 0.6% long-term care surcharge. Family status also affects German income tax through joint assessment and child allowances, which aren't modelled here.
Why does my Irish payslip have three deductions instead of two?
Income tax, USC and PRSI are calculated on three different bases. USC has no credits applied to it at all, and PRSI isn't reduced by pension contributions. See how to read your Irish payslip.
How does Germany compare to the other countries?
At €30,000 and €60,000, Germany is among the most expensive countries we've compared. The UK, Spain and France all overtake Ireland at higher incomes; Germany only does so at very high salaries. See Ireland vs UK tax, Ireland vs Italy tax, Ireland vs Spain tax, Ireland vs France tax and Ireland vs Portugal tax.