Compulsory insurance threshold 2026 and 2027
In 2026 the threshold is €77,400 a year; in 2027, under the cabinet decision, €84,150: a jump of €6,750, the largest ever.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Are you above the compulsory insurance threshold?
Exempt from 2027?
no
| Threshold 2026 (€77,400) | above |
| Threshold 2027 (€84,150) | not above |
| Gap to the 2027 threshold | €4,150 |
Compulsory cover ends only if pay also exceeds the next year’s threshold (section 6(4) SGB V). 2027 threshold provisional.
The compulsory insurance threshold (Versicherungspflichtgrenze, in the statute the annual earnings threshold) decides whether employees are compulsorily covered by German statutory health insurance. Anyone who regularly earns more becomes exempt and can choose between voluntary statutory membership and private insurance (section 6(1) no. 1 of Book V of the Social Code, SGB V). In 2026 the threshold is €77,400 a year, or €6,450 a month. For 2027 the cabinet set €84,150 on 7 October 2026, which includes, on top of the usual wage-linked update, a one-off extra rise of 3,600 euros under the 2026 contribution stabilisation act. Compulsory cover only ends at the close of the year in which the threshold is exceeded, and only if pay also exceeds the next year’s threshold (section 6(4)). Someone earning €81,000 in 2026 is above the old threshold but below the new one, so stays compulsorily insured in 2027. The threshold is not the same as the contribution ceiling.
Three thresholds that are easily confused
The compulsory insurance threshold decides who is compulsorily insured. The contribution ceiling decides up to what income contributions are charged: €69,750 a year in 2026 and provisionally €76,500 in 2027. They are not the same, and that matters: anyone between the two already pays the maximum contribution but is still compulsorily insured. The third threshold only concerns people already privately insured: under section 6(7) and 6(8) SGB V they have their own lower values, set by the Labour Ministry in the same 2027 reference-value ordinance. These grandfathering thresholds are why the extra jump in 2027 does not force people who are already private back into statutory cover.
Who becomes exempt, and when
| Annual pay | above 2026 threshold | above 2027 threshold | exempt from 1 Jan 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| €75,000 | no | no | no |
| €81,000 | yes | no | no |
| €86,000 | yes | yes | yes |
| €101,000 | yes | yes | yes |
The middle row is the case created this year by the €6,750 jump: many people just above the threshold in 2026, who were preparing to go private, stay compulsorily insured in 2027. Starting a new job is treated differently: if regular annual pay is above the threshold from the first day, you are exempt from the start, with no wait until the end of the year.
A pay rise during the year
The check is not only made in January. If your pay rises during the year, the employer re-estimates the next twelve months from the month of the rise. If that is above the threshold, compulsory cover still only ends at the close of the calendar year, and only if the new year’s threshold is exceeded too (section 6(4), sentences 1 and 2 SGB V). A rise in autumn 2026 to €81,000 a year is therefore not enough for 2027; one to €86,000 is. Back-dated rises count for the year the entitlement arose, not the year they are paid (section 6(4), sentence 3 SGB V). If pay drops back below the threshold, for example through part-time work, compulsory cover resumes at once; in certain cases, such as part-time work during parental leave (section 8(1), sentence 1, no. 2 SGB V) or hours cut to half or less (no. 3), you can apply for an exemption.
Who the threshold does not apply to
The threshold only concerns employees. Civil servants, judges and soldiers entitled to Beihilfe are exempt whatever they earn. The self-employed are not compulsorily insured at all and can choose private insurance at any time, as long as no other compulsory cover applies. Students, pensioners and the unemployed follow their own rules. For everyone else the threshold remains the only door into private health insurance.
Staying in statutory insurance voluntarily
If you become exempt and do nothing, you stay with your fund as a voluntary member. For employees the contribution barely changes: it is still worked out on at most €5,812.50 a month, and the employer pays half as a subsidy. At the average additional rate that is €613 for you and €613 for the employer a month in 2026, and provisionally €667 for you in 2027. Differences between funds are largest in this position, because the additional rate applies to the full ceiling; the contribution calculator shows them for every fund in your state.
The route to private insurance
To switch, you end statutory membership with the usual notice, to the end of the month after next, once you are exempt, and prove private cover. Your employer then pays a subsidy towards the private premium, at most what it would pay under statutory cover and at most half the premium (section 257(2) SGB V). Think about family: statutory insurance covers children and a spouse without income free of charge, while private insurance needs a separate contract for each person. And think about age: returning is generally closed from 55.
What this site cannot do is compare private insurers’ tariffs; we arrange no contracts. If you stay, the list of all additional rates shows the cheapest fund for your region.