What an employeereally costs

1235.90 EUR a month. On top of the gross salary the employer pays state social insurance contributions of 23.59%, which on 1000 EUR is 235.90 EUR. The employee's own deductions, their 10.50% social contributions and income tax, come out of that same 1000 EUR and do not increase what the employer pays.

The employer's own payment is a single one: state social insurance contributions of 23.59% of gross salary, with a contribution ceiling of 105,300 EUR a year. Beyond that the employer withholds the employee's 10.50% contributions and their income tax from the salary and forwards them, but that money is part of the employee's pay rather than an extra cost. There is also the business risk state duty, 0.36 EUR per employee per month in 2026.

No. Social contribution rates, the contribution ceiling and income tax rates do not change in 2027, so an employee on the same gross salary will cost exactly what they cost in 2026. The only change is the tax-free allowance rising from 550 to 570 EUR, and that goes entirely to the employee as 5.10 EUR more take-home pay per month rather than reducing the employer's cost.

This is the one employer question with no precise answer yet, because the 2027 minimum wage has not been decided. At today's 780 EUR minimum wage an employee costs 964 EUR a month. If the minimum rises to 820 EUR the cost becomes 1013.44 EUR, which is 49.44 EUR more per month and 593.23 EUR more per year. If it rises to 835 EUR, the cost is 1031.98 EUR, which is 67.97 EUR more per month and 815.69 EUR more per year. The decision comes with the 2027 budget.

Enter your total monthly budget for one employee and the calculator shows the gross salary that fits inside it and what the employee will take home. The calculation is exact rather than approximate: gross salary is the budget divided by 1.2359, for as long as the salary stays under the social contribution ceiling.

On a 1500 EUR gross salary in 2027 the employer spends 1853.85 EUR and the employee takes home 1145.51 EUR, so roughly 62 cents in every euro. The rest is social contributions and income tax. At lower salaries the employee's share is larger, because the tax-free allowance covers more of the pay.

Often yes, but it is not a free choice. If the working relationship has a permanent character, meaning set hours, the employer's instructions, a workplace and the employer's equipment, the State Revenue Service can reclassify it as employment and assess the taxes owed plus penalties and late-payment interest. Working with a self-employed contractor is lawful when it genuinely is an independent service rather than employment under another name.