Tax comparison
🇩🇪Germany vs 🇦🇹Austria
At €80,000 gross, the net annual salary is €47,191 in Germany and €48,375 in Austria, a gap of €1,184 per year. Once each side is put at its own price level, the order reverses: about €49,000 of purchasing power in Germany against €48,000 in Austria. EXPATRIATION.IO comparison, 2026 tax scales: adjust the gross salary and the household below.
Enter in EUR. Converted to local currency automatically.
Expat Package Report
This corridor, with your own two salaries
This page compares the tax schedules. The report compares your amounts: net at origin and at destination, aligned in euros, the gap quantified, the equivalent gross and the package questions to clarify before signing. PDF delivered by email, corridor pre-filled.
Get the report · 49 EURComparing taxes: Germany and Austria
Germany (country) and Austria (country) have distinct approaches to taxing employment income. On a gross salary of €80,000, the effective total deduction rate is 41.0% in Germany compared to 39.5% in Austria. That translates to a difference of roughly €1,185 per year in favor of Austria.
In Germany, income tax amounts to €17,549 and social contributions add €15,260. In Austria, income tax is €17,169 and social contributions are €14,456.
The net annual take-home is €47,191 in Germany and €48,375 in Austria. These figures assume a single filer with no children or special deductions. Actual results vary based on household composition, deductions, and specific tax credits available in each jurisdiction.
Equivalent gross and tipping point
At €80,000 gross in Germany, about €77,600 gross is needed in Austria to reach the same net salary.
That figure answers the same net. For the gross that gives back the same purchasing power, restated at each side's price level, the two answers sit side by side.
Over the €30,000 to €250,000 gross range the ranking reverses at around €164,500: below that level Austria leaves the higher net salary, above it Germany does.
These figures use the default profile. The Expat Package Report runs the same calculation on your own two salaries and household, and quantifies the gap in euros.
Detailed comparison at €80,000 gross
| Germany | Austria | |
|---|---|---|
| Gross annual salary | €80,000 | €80,000 |
| Income tax (national or federal) | €17,549 | €17,169 |
| Social contributions | €15,260 | €14,456 |
| Total deductions | €32,809 | €31,625 |
| Net annual salary | €47,191 | €48,375 |
| Net monthly salary | €3,933 | €4,031 |
| Effective deduction rate | 41.0% | 39.5% |
Pay compared
On pay itself, the 2022 European Structure of Earnings Survey gives, on one definition for both sides, full-time gross annual earnings averaging €55,648 in Germany and €54,296 in Austria. The medians, less sensitive to very high salaries, are €46,721 and €45,466. Scope: enterprises with 10 or more employees, public administration excluded. The survey is quadrennial and 2022 is its latest edition.
Breakdown of social contributions
Germany
| Health insurance (GKV) | €5,656 |
|---|---|
| Pension (Rentenversicherung) | €7,440 |
| Unemployment (Arbeitslosenversicherung) | €1,040 |
| Care insurance (Pflegeversicherung) | €1,125 |
| Total contributions | €15,260 |
Austria
| Pension (Pensionsversicherung) | €8,200 |
|---|---|
| Health (Krankenversicherung) | €3,096 |
| Unemployment (Arbeitslosenversicherung) | €2,360 |
| Chamber of Labour (AK-Umlage) | €400 |
| Housing subsidy (Wohnbauförderung) | €400 |
| Total contributions | €14,456 |
Examples at several salary levels
| Gross (EUR) | Rate Germany | Net Germany | Rate Austria | Net Austria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| €45,000 | 37.1% | €28,291 | 30.7% | €31,170 |
| €80,000 | 41.0% | €47,191 | 39.5% | €48,375 |
| €120,000 | 44.2% | €66,965 | 42.3% | €69,262 |
| €250,000 | 44.3% | €139,139 | 46.3% | €134,262 |
These figures assume a single filer with no children; the tool above lets you adjust the salary and the household configuration (married, 1 to 3 children).
Cost of living
Consolidated cost-of-living index (Paris = 100): Berlin 96, Austria 100. This index is derived from official household price levels (Eurostat, World Bank, and the BEA regional price parities), published on a New York base and restated here against Paris. On a gross salary of €80,000, the net amounts adjusted to this index correspond to a purchasing power on the order of €49,000 for Berlin and €48,000 for Austria, at Paris price levels.
To go further: the cost-of-living comparison and the city budget calculator.
Sources: Germany: bmf.de, tax year 2026 · Austria: bmf.gv.at, tax year 2026
This tool provides estimates based on public datasets. It is not the opinion of a tax lawyer. Consult a tax lawyer, a chartered accountant or a licensed financial professional before making relocation or employment decisions.