What the taxable share governs
The taxable share determines what percentage of your German statutory pension is subject to income tax. It depends solely on the year your pension started and then applies for the entire duration of the pension. It is laid down in § 22 of the Income Tax Act. It applies to old-age, reduced-earning-capacity and survivors' pensions from the statutory pension insurance, to agricultural pension funds, professional pension schemes and basic pensions (Rürup).
The table by pension start year
- 2005 and earlier: 50%
- 2006 to 2020: 2 points more each year — 2006: 52%, 2010: 60%, 2015: 70%, 2020: 80%
- 2021: 81%
- 2022: 82%
- 2023: 82.5%
- 2024: 83%
- 2025: 83.5%
- 2026: 84%
- 2027: 84.5%
- 2028: 85%
- 2030: 86%
- 2035: 88.5%
- 2040: 91%
- 2045: 93.5%
- 2050: 96%
- 2058: 100%
From 2023 the share rises by 0.5 points every year, so you can simply count on for the years in between.
The change made by the Growth Opportunities Act
Originally, the taxable share was to rise by one point a year from 2021 and reach 100% in 2040. The Growth Opportunities Act, promulgated in March 2024, halved the increase to 0.5 points retroactively from the 2023 start year. Anyone who retired in 2023 therefore pays tax on 82.5% instead of 83%, and full taxation only arrives for the 2058 cohort. The aim is to avoid double taxation: contributions during working life have only been fully tax-free since 2023.
The percentage becomes a fixed allowance
The tax-free share does not apply as a percentage forever; it is fixed in euros in the year after the pension starts. If your pension starts in 2026 and amounts to €21,600 in 2027, 16% of it, i.e. €3,456, stays tax-free for life. Later pension increases are fully taxable. That is why after a few years the actually taxable part is higher than the share in the table. More on this in the main article on pension taxation 2026.
Follow-on pensions: widow's pension and old-age pension after disability
If a pension follows an earlier pension from the same insurance, the duration of the previous pension is deducted from the start year of the new one. This applies, for example, to an old-age pension after a reduced-earning-capacity pension or to a widow's pension following the late partner's old-age pension. As a result an earlier year applies and usually a lower taxable share, but never below 50%. How high the survivor's pension itself will be is shown by the widow's pension calculator.
Not to be confused: the income portion
Private pension insurance policies that were not subsidised as a basic pension are not taxed with the taxable share but only with the income portion (Ertragsanteil). It depends on your age when the pension starts and is much lower: 18% for a start at 65 or 66, 17% for a start at 67.
What the start year means in euros
With a €1,800 gross pension, compulsory KVdR insurance and no other income, income tax for a pension starting in 2026 is around €42 per month; for a pension starting in 2040 with the same amount, around €68. The pension stays tax-free up to about €1,450 gross for a 2026 start, but only up to about €1,320 for a 2040 start. The full overview with your own figures is in the table of the net pension calculator.
Note: as of 24 September 2026, not tax advice.