Part-time & 4-day week calculator
Working less costs less net pay than the gross cut suggests, and more pension than most expect. Compare part-time, a 4-day week or a sabbatical.
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- Your numbers stay in your browser
- Same rules as the Zenarios app
- Reviewed
Working 32 instead of 40 hours costs you €438.75 net a month – 55% of the gross cut.
Taxes and contributions fall with the pay, so your net drops by €438.75 while gross drops by €800.00. Over 10 years you earn 1.85 fewer pension points: about €78.58 less pension a month in today's money.
- Less net a month
- €438.75
- Net per hour
- €15.63
- Pension lost a month
- €78.58
- Wealth not built
- €67,727
gross: €800.00 less
full-time: €15.03
1.85 points at €42.52
net difference at 5% for 10 years
- Less net pay€438.75
- Less tax€187.25
- Less social insurance€174.00
What if… less net a month
See the figures
| Full-time | Less work | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hours a week | 40 | 32 | -8 |
| Gross a month | €4,000.00 | €3,200.00 | -€800.00 |
| Taxes | €524.50 | €337.25 | -€187.25 |
| Social insurance | €870.00 | €696.00 | -€174.00 |
| Net a month | €2,605.50 | €2,166.75 | -€438.75 |
| Net per hour | €15.03 | €15.63 | €0.59 |
| Pension points a year | 0.924 | 0.739 | -0.185 |
Next step
How it calculates
The calculator compares two salaries for the same job: full-time and working less.
- Gross: part-time pay falls in proportion to the hours; a 4-day week pays 80 %. A sabbatical spreads the unpaid months over the year, as most German sabbatical schemes do: two months off means ten twelfths of the salary every month.
- Net: for both salaries it works out wage tax, solidarity surcharge and church tax with the official 2026 BMF programme, plus every social contribution, exactly like the German salary calculator. If the reduced pay falls into the Midijob zone up to 2,000 €, contributions drop further.
- Net per hour: net pay divided by the hours in a month (weekly hours × 52 ÷ 12).
- Pension: a year’s pay equal to average earnings (51,944 € provisionally in 2026) earns one pension point. The points lost, times the years, times today’s pension value of 42.52 €, give the monthly pension you give up, in today’s money.
- Wealth: what the net difference would have grown to, invested every month at the return you assume.
Example: 32 hours instead of 40
On €4,000.00 gross full-time in tax class I, without church tax and children, net pay is €2,605.50. At 32 hours, gross falls to €3,200.00 and net to €2,166.75. Gross drops by €800.00, net by just €438.75: 55% of the cut. Lower wage tax and contributions absorb the rest.
Per hour you even earn more: €15.63 instead of €15.03 net. That’s the progressive tax schedule at work: the last euros of a full-time salary are taxed hardest.
The catch is the pension. Over 10 years of part-time you earn 1.85 fewer pension points, roughly €78.58 less statutory pension every month for life. And had you invested the €438.75 each month at 5%, you would have about €67,727 after 10 years.
A half-time job (20 hours) costs €1,128.66 net a month in the same case, while net pay per hour rises to €17.04.
Part-time, 4-day week or sabbatical?
Financially, what matters is how much salary goes. A 4-day week on 80 % pay costs exactly what 32 hours of part-time cost; the same hours squeezed into four days cost nothing. Two months off a year as a sabbatical is about 83 % pay.
The legal footing differs. After six months in the job you have a right to part-time if your employer has more than 15 employees, and to temporary part-time of one to five years with a return to full-time if it has more than 45. A 4-day week or a sabbatical has to be agreed.
Part-time after parental leave is the most common case. Check the parental leave calculator first: working part-time while drawing Elterngeld Plus can stretch the benefit over more months.
Part-time in tax class V
Many parents return part-time after parental leave in tax class V, with their partner in III. On the payslip, part-time then looks especially expensive: half-time on €2,000.00 gross leaves only €1,274.00 net in class V, against €1,485.92 in class IV. That is only how wage tax is spread over the year, though. What a married couple really owes is settled in the joint tax return, on both incomes together. For the decision, use class IV or look at the couple’s combined net.
One detail for the pension: if part-time pay lands between 603 € and 2,000 €, you pay lower contributions while your pension points still count the full pay. A Midijob is better for your pension than its net pay suggests.
What it can’t see
It compares one month today. Raises and promotions, which often come later for part-timers, aren’t in it. For married couples, joint assessment (Ehegattensplitting) softens part of the cut through the tax return; the calculator only shows your own payslip. And it can’t tell whether the leaner years fit your other goals: a home, children, stopping work earlier. That’s what Zenarios brings together, with tax, pension and savings in one projection.
Common questions
How much net pay do I lose working 32 instead of 40 hours?
On 4,000 € gross in tax class I, without church tax and children, gross pay falls by 800 € but net pay by only 438.75 € a month: 55 % of the gross cut. Lower taxes and contributions make up the rest.
How much pension does part-time cost in Germany?
Pension points follow gross pay. Earning 4,000 € full-time and working 32 instead of 40 hours for ten years earns 1.85 fewer points, about 78.58 € less statutory pension a month at the 42.52 € pension value in force from July 2026.
Is a 4-day week the same as part-time?
Financially, usually yes: a 4-day week at 32 hours and 80 % pay costs exactly what 32 hours of part-time cost. If the same 40 hours are packed into four days, pay doesn't change.
Do I have a right to work part-time in Germany?
Yes, once you have been employed for more than six months and your employer usually has more than 15 employees (§ 8 TzBfG). You request it in text form at least three months ahead. Temporary part-time of one to five years with a right to return (Brückenteilzeit) applies with more than 45 employees (§ 9a TzBfG).
Why does my net pay per hour go up?
Germany's income tax is progressive: the last euros of a full-time salary are taxed the most. Cut them and the average tax on the rest falls. In the 32-hour example, net pay per hour rises from 15.03 € to 15.63 €.