Determine your fair severance pay range, negotiation position and tax strategy — free, anonymous, in 5 minutes.
Standard severance in Germany is calculated under § 1a KSchG at 0.5 gross monthly salaries per year of service. This free calculator determines your severance range, negotiating position, and tax impact under § 34 EStG.
Important: Do not sign anything before you know your position.
From calculation to tax strategy
Enter salary, tenure and situation. We calculate minimum to maximum under § 1a KSchG with leverage adjustment.
We analyse social selection, special protection, works council consultation and determine your strength (WEAK / MEDIUM / STRONG) with a concrete counter-demand.
Comparison with and without Fünftelregelung (§ 34 EStG). Year-timing analysis. Net payout and effective tax rate.
Agreeing to a settlement (Aufhebungsvertrag) may result in a 12-week benefit suspension on unemployment benefit and a reduction of the entitlement period by one quarter. Our calculator shows you how to negotiate a bridging payment or whether it may be more favourable to wait for a formal dismissal.
Comprehensive analysis of all relevant factors
Calculation under § 1a KSchG with leverage adjustment for your individual negotiation situation — minimum to maximum.
Social selection errors, special dismissal protection, missing works council consultation: we show your leverage and the optimal counter-demand.
Comparison with and without Fünftelregelung (§ 34 EStG) incl. year-timing analysis. Potentially saving several thousand euros.
For settlement agreements: automatic warning about the 12-week benefit suspension (§ 159 SGB III) with concrete countermeasures.
Step-by-step guidance: what to consider, negotiation tips, and what to review before signing.
Full analysis with your severance data, calculation basis and legal information.
This information was compiled based on current German legislation.
The standard formula under § 1a KSchG is: 0.5 × monthly salary × years of service. This is only the starting point, however. In practice, severance pay is adjusted depending on company size, negotiating strength and legal weaknesses of the employer — the result often ranges from 0.5 to 1.5 times this base amount.
The Fünftelregelung (§ 34 EStG) allows severance pay to be taxed more favourably. In simplified terms: tax is calculated as if the severance were spread over 5 years — this significantly reduces the effective tax burden due to lower bracket progression. On a severance of €30,000, you could potentially save several thousand euros in tax.
If you sign a settlement agreement (Aufhebungsvertrag), the Federal Employment Agency typically imposes a 12-week benefit suspension (§ 159 SGB III). You will receive no unemployment benefit during this period. The entitlement period is also reduced by one quarter. Always negotiate a bridging payment or wait for a formal dismissal.
For operational dismissals, the employer must select among comparable employees based on social selection criteria (§ 1 para. 3 KSchG): those who joined most recently, are youngest or have fewer maintenance obligations are dismissed first. Errors in this process may make the dismissal challengeable — and are your strongest argument for a higher severance payment.
Always when your leverage position is STRONG, when you have special dismissal protection, or when the employer is pressuring you to sign immediately. Legal costs are typically offset by a higher severance payment. Free initial consultations are available through the German Bar Association (anwaltauskunft.de) or your union.
The full calculation including severance range, negotiation score, tax optimisation and strategy playbook is free.
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