Minijob 2026: €603 per month and what that means for taxes

What is a "minijob" in 2026?

A “minijob” is a job that typically pays no more than €603 per month. On an annual basis, that amounts to €7,236. In 2025, the limit was €556 per month. The law refers to it as “marginally paid employment” (Section 8(1)(1) of Book IV of the Social Code).

The threshold is calculated as follows: ten hours per week at the statutory minimum wage (Section 8(1a) of Book IV of the Social Code). With a minimum wage of €13.90, that amounts to €603, which works out to just over 43 hours per month.

Individual months may exceed or fall below €603, as long as the annual total remains at €7,236. Significant fluctuations, however, no longer count as a mini-job. Predictable special payments, such as a Christmas bonus, are included in the calculation from the start.

If your employer passes the flat-rate income tax on to you, it is considered part of your wages and does not reduce the tax base. This increases your wages, and that amount counts toward the earnings limit (§ 40(3) EStG).

Who pays the tax on a mini-job?

Usually the employer, on a flat-rate basis. The employer can withhold income tax at a uniform rate of 2% of the employee’s wages. This 2% includes income tax, the solidarity surcharge, and church tax (Section 40a(2) of the Income Tax Act). Prerequisite: The employer must pay the flat-rate contributions to the pension insurance fund. The money is sent to the Minijob-Zentrale along with the social security contributions.

The flat rate is not mandatory. The employer may also calculate taxes based on the employee’s income tax withholding criteria—that is, according to tax class. The employer makes that decision, not the part-time worker.

Does a mini-job need to be included on the tax return?

Not if you’re subject to the flat-rate tax. Wages subject to the flat-rate tax are not included in the calculation of income tax (Section 40(3), third sentence, of the Income Tax Act (EStG); Section 40a(5) of the EStG). It does not appear on your tax return and does not increase your taxable income. Because it is excluded from taxation, it also does not trigger a tax liability due to having multiple employers. Whether you are required to file a tax return therefore also depends on your employer’s choice.

If taxed according to a tax bracket, yes. The income must then be reported on Schedule N. A reporting obligation arises in certain cases: Anyone who receives wages from multiple employers simultaneously must generally file a declaration (Section 46(2)(2) of the Income Tax Act (EStG)). This applies to the classic second job: The main job falls into tax class I through V, while the mini-job falls into tax class VI. Exceptions: see source.

If the employer has withheld income tax and there is no obligation to do so, a voluntary declaration is possible (assessment upon application, § 46(2)(8) EStG). The tax office will then credit the withheld tax (§ 36(2) EStG).

The Difference That Matters at Year-End

You'll hardly notice which approach your employer takes when you look at your pay stub. But when it comes to filing your tax return, the difference is significant.

If your employer pays the flat-rate tax, your mini-job earnings are completely excluded from your tax return. They are not counted as part of your income, they do not increase your tax liability, and you do not have to report them anywhere.

If, on the other hand, your employer calculates your taxes based on your tax information, your mini-job wages are included in full. They are added to everything else you earned during the tax year, and the tax office calculates your tax based on that total.

There is one exception: If your total annual income is below the threshold at which income tax becomes due, you won’t pay any income tax in either case. In that case, the passed-on flat-rate tax is a real deduction for you. This applies if you earned very little during the year—in this case, do the math before you agree.

A part-time job alongside a full-time job: What are the rules?

Social security and taxes are governed by two separate sets of rules here.

Social Security: In addition to a primary job subject to social security contributions, a mini-job with an earnings limit is permitted, regardless of how much the primary job pays. Any additional mini-job is counted toward the primary job and is then subject to social security contributions. This also applies if the combined earnings from the mini-jobs remain below €603 (Section 8(2) of Book IV of the Social Code [SGB IV], Minijob-Zentrale). A primary job is defined as employment above the earnings limit that lasts for more than three months or 70 working days in a calendar year.

If it turns out that you had one too many mini-jobs, the contributions will only be counted starting from the day you receive the decision. Nothing happens for the months prior to that. The situation is different if your employer failed to inquire—either intentionally or through gross negligence—in which case your employer is liable (Section 8(2) of Book IV of the Social Code).

Taxes: Without a flat-rate tax, a mini-job as a second job falls under tax class VI. With a flat-rate tax, the earnings from the mini-job are excluded, and the main job is not affected.

A Part-Time Job While Receiving a Pension: What Should You Keep in Mind?

Pensions and mini-jobs can be treated separately for tax purposes. For a mini-job, the same three options apply as above: a 2% flat-rate tax if the employer pays the flat-rate pension insurance contributions, a 20% flat-rate tax without these contributions, or taxation based on your tax bracket (Section 40a of the Income Tax Act). If you are already receiving a pension, the flat-rate tax remains an option. Your employer pays a flat-rate pension insurance contribution on your behalf—even if you are no longer subject to mandatory insurance yourself. This fulfills the requirements (§ 40a(2) EStG).

Whether the pension itself requires filing a tax return is a separate issue. This is discussed in the article on the tax filing requirements for retirees.

What happens if earnings exceed €603?

Occasionally earning more than €603 does not cause the mini-job to lose its status if it was unforeseeable. The law allows this for a maximum of two calendar months within the tax year, and the excess amount may not exceed the limit in each instance (Section 8(1b) of Book IV of the Social Code). This amounts to a maximum of €1,206 per month, or a maximum of €8,442 per year if there are two such months. An example from the Minijob-Zentrale: A temporary replacement for a sick employee earning €1,200 in a single month remains a minijob.

On the other hand, if your earnings regularly exceed €603, you are no longer considered to have a “minijob.” The transitional category—the “midijob”—ranges from €603.01 to €2,000 per month. Social security contributions apply in this category. If you have multiple jobs, your total earnings are added together. Two jobs paying €1,200 each per month together exceed the upper limit—in that case, the standard contributions apply (Section 20(2) of Book IV of the Social Code).

What is short-term employment?

In addition to the “minijob” with an earnings limit, there is also short-term employment. In this case, it is not the earnings that matter, but the duration: a maximum of three months or 70 working days in a calendar year, limited either by a contract signed in advance or by the nature of the work (Section 8(1)(2) of Book IV of the Social Code). On farms, the limit is 15 weeks or 90 working days. If the work is performed on a professional basis and exceeds the earnings limit, it is not considered short-term employment.

For tax purposes, short-term employment is subject to its own flat-rate rules (Section 40a(1) of the Income Tax Act).