Contribution ceiling 2027: who pays more and how much
Up to €5,812.50 of monthly pay counts for health insurance in 2026, provisionally €6,375 in 2027; higher earners pay up to €647 more a year.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
What the new ceiling costs you in 2027
Extra in 2027, your share
€647
| Your monthly share 2026 | €613 |
| Your monthly share 2027 | €667 |
| Contributory health / care 2027 | €6,375 / €6,075 |
Average additional rate, one child; 2027 provisional.
The contribution ceiling (Beitragsbemessungsgrenze) of German statutory health insurance is €69,750 a year in 2026, €5,812.50 a month; whatever you earn above it is contribution-free. For 2027 the federal cabinet decided on 7 October 2026 to set it at €76,500 a year, €6,375 a month, up 9.7 %; the Bundesrat still has to approve the ordinance. The jump is larger than usual because the contribution stabilisation act raises the 2027 ceiling by a one-off €3,600 a year on top of wage growth (section 223(4) of Book V of the Social Code). Long-term care insurance does not follow that extra step under the current section 55(2) of Book XI and stays at €6,075 a month, unless the draft Care Reorganisation Act changes it. If you earn at or above the new ceiling, you pay €647 a year more at the average additional rate with one child; your employer adds almost the same again.
Where the new figures come from
The ceiling is updated every year by an ordinance of the Federal Labour Ministry, following gross wage growth in the year before last. For 2027 the cabinet adopted the reference values ordinance on 7 October 2026; the Bundesrat has yet to approve it, so this site treats the values as provisional. What is new is the construction: since the contribution stabilisation act, section 223(4) of Book V says the 2027 ceiling equals the annual earnings threshold in section 6(7) plus €3,600. Until 2026 the two figures were identical.
| Threshold | 2026 a month | 2027 a month | 2027 a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health insurance (section 223 SGB V) | €5,812.50 | €6,375 | €76,500 |
| Care insurance (section 55(2) SGB XI) | €5,812.50 | €6,075 | €72,900 |
| Compulsory insurance threshold (section 6(6) SGB V) | €6,450 | €7,012.50 | €84,150 |
Care insurance lags behind in 2027
The second row stands out. Long-term care insurance has no ceiling of its own; under section 55(2) of Book XI it borrows the annual earnings threshold of section 6(7) of Book V. Only health insurance gets the extra step from the stabilisation act. In 2027 that means: between €6,075 and €6,375 of monthly pay your health contribution still rises but your care contribution does not. The draft Care Reorganisation Act, adopted by the cabinet on 30 September 2026, would bring the two into line. It has not been enacted, so this site follows current law; should it take effect in time, we change one value in the parameter file and every page recalculates.
What it means in euros
Below €5,812.50 a month the ceiling changes nothing for you. Above it, in 2027 you pay the full rate on every euro up to the new ceiling. The table shows your share of health and care insurance at the average additional rate of 2.9 % with one child:
| Gross pay a month | 2026 | 2027 | Extra a year |
|---|---|---|---|
| €5,000.00 | €528 | €528 | €0 |
| €5,812.50 | €613 | €613 | €0 |
| €6,075.00 | €613 | €641 | €332 |
| €6,375.00 | €613 | €667 | €647 |
| €8,000.00 | €613 | €667 | €647 |
Your employer pays its share on the same band, so every job above the ceiling costs more for the employer too. If your fund’s additional rate is higher, the rise is a little bigger; the calculator on the home page uses your own fund.
Who notices and who does not
Most employees earn less than €5,812.50 a month and never meet the ceiling. If you are just above it, in 2027 you pay contributions for the first time on the slice of pay between the old and new ceilings. Far above it, you pay the full extra €647 a year. Pensioners are rarely affected, as pensions seldom reach the ceiling; large company pensions are the exception, because they count together with the state pension up to the ceiling (company pensions).
Self-employed voluntary members pay both halves themselves. With sick pay and the average rate, their maximum rises from €1,226 to €1,334 a month. They should look at the contribution as a voluntary member, which is set from the last tax assessment.
Christmas bonus, one-off payments and uneven months
The ceiling is not applied rigidly month by month. One-off payments such as a Christmas bonus, holiday pay or a performance bonus are measured against the pro-rata annual ceiling: if your regular pay has not used up the full annual ceiling by December, the bonus is charged until it is reached (section 23a(3) of Book IV). Someone whose basic salary sits just below the monthly ceiling therefore often pays almost the full rate on a bonus, while someone far above pays nothing extra. Our calculator works with regular monthly pay without one-off payments; for a bonus month your payslip shows the exact split.
The ceiling and moving to private insurance
Do not confuse the contribution ceiling with the compulsory insurance threshold. It also takes the extra step in 2027, to €84,150 a year. If you are just above the old threshold and thinking of private health insurance, you may fall below the new one in 2027 and become compulsorily insured again. Employees who were already privately insured before 2027 have their own lower threshold, so that they are not pushed back into the statutory system.