Besoldung Explained
Civil servants (Beamte), judges and professors in Germany aren't paid under a collective agreement like TVöD or TV-L, but under Besoldung, a statutory pay system that the federal government and each of the 16 states set out in their own Besoldungsgesetze (Besoldung acts).
The civil servant base pay calculator above turns your employer, Besoldungsordnung, Besoldungsgruppe and stage into a monthly and annual base salary before tax.
This guide explains what distinguishes Besoldungsordnungen A, B, W, R and C, how Besoldungsgruppe and stage interact, what Anwärterbezüge are, and why this calculator doesn't compute a net figure for civil servants.
Besoldungsordnungen A, B, W, R and C
Besoldungsordnung A covers the lower, middle and upper civil service in Besoldungsgruppen A1 to A16, staggered by stage according to years of service. It covers the large majority of civil servants, for example in general administration, the police, or schools.
Besoldungsordnung B covers top posts such as department heads in ministries or agency directors (B1 to B11). Unlike A, there are no stages here: each Besoldungsgruppe pays a single fixed amount regardless of years of service.
Besoldungsordnung W covers professors at universities (W1 to W3) and Besoldungsordnung R covers judges and prosecutors. Besoldungsordnung C is a historical, phasing-out pay scale for professors that predates the 2002 W reform: it now exists only for pre-existing cases, and several states, for example the Saarland, have already replaced it entirely with W.
Professorships (W) and Judicial Pay (R) in Detail
W Besoldung differs structurally from A and B: W1 covers junior professorships, W2 and W3 regular professorships. At federal level, W1 is a fixed amount. W2 and W3 each have three stages (§32a of the Federal Civil Service Remuneration Act, Annex IV). In most states the basic amount is fixed; a few, Bavaria among them, give W2 and W3 their own experience stages (this calculator follows the structure of the employer you select). On top of that, individually negotiated Leistungsbezüge (performance-based supplements) can be added, for example for outstanding research or teaching, or during appointment negotiations; whether and how much of these counts toward pension is governed by §33 BBesG or the relevant state law, differently in each case and often depending on how long and how much is paid. This calculator doesn't reflect Leistungsbezüge.
R Besoldung for judges and prosecutors instead follows a stage system by years of service for the lower posts (R1, R2), similar to A, while higher judicial posts (from R3 upward) pay a single fixed amount with no stages, similar to B. In many states, the amount for the upper R posts matches the identically numbered B post exactly; in a few, such as Hamburg, it sits independently above it.
Besoldungsordnung C: a Phasing-Out Scale
Before W Besoldung was introduced in 2002, professors were paid under Besoldungsordnung C (C1 to C4), with a stage system by years of service similar to A. Since the reform, no new professorships are paid under C; it now applies only to professors already in post at that time who didn't opt into W Besoldung.
As the number of remaining C cases keeps shrinking, individual states have since abolished C Besoldung entirely, for example the Saarland as part of a 2015 reform. This calculator still reflects C for states where the table continues to be officially maintained.
Besoldungsgruppen, Stages and Besoldungsdienstalter
The Besoldungsgruppe follows from the post someone holds, as set out in the relevant state's or the federal Besoldungsgesetz, and is usually tied to a specific position. Unlike tariff employees, it doesn't depend on an individual classification negotiation.
Within Besoldungsordnung A, base salary rises automatically through the experience stages, generally based on time served since first appointment to civil-servant status. The exact rules for crediting earlier service or professional experience differ between the federal government and the states and can include exceptions; the relevant employer determines the actual stage from those rules.
Each state sets its own Besoldung table, so the same Besoldungsgruppe, say A9, is paid differently depending on the state. This calculator reflects each state's, and the federal government's, own currently valid table.
Anwärterbezüge During Training
Anyone in the Vorbereitungsdienst (preparatory service) toward civil-servant status, for example during a Referendariat or training for the middle or upper civil service, doesn't receive regular Besoldung but Anwärterbezüge - a considerably lower, mostly flat base amount per career track, plus a supplement where needed.
At the federal level, Anwärterbezüge is set by career track (lower, middle, upper or higher civil service) rather than by individual Besoldungsgruppe, unlike most states. The federal government's upper civil service track, for instance, receives 1,744.22 € per month as its Anwärtergrundbetrag.
This calculator reflects Anwärtergrundbeträge for the federal government and all 16 states, each under the same selection as regular Besoldung on the Public Sector Pay overview page.
Worked Example: Besoldungsgruppe A11
A federal civil servant in Besoldungsgruppe A11, stage 5, receives 4,853.76 € base salary per month. That works out to 58,245.12 € annual base salary, excluding family allowance or any office allowances.
The same Besoldungsgruppe and stage can produce a different figure in another state, since each state sets its own table. Choose your actual employer in the calculator above to see the figure that applies to you.
What This Calculator Doesn't Cover: Family Allowance and Other Allowances
Full Besoldung normally also includes a family allowance (Familienzuschlag) based on marital status and number of children, plus potentially office allowances (Amtszulagen) for specific posts or functions, and hardship allowances for particular difficulties of service.
This calculator reflects only base salary, since family allowance and other allowances depend on individual circumstances this page doesn't collect. Actual gross income on a married or multi-child civil servant's own Bezügemitteilung (pay statement) will regularly exceed the figure shown here.
Bund and States: Their Own Tables, Their Own Timing
The federal government and each state decide their own Besoldung adjustments independently, usually taking their own tariff employees' most recent pay settlements as a reference point, but each through its own legislative process and on its own timeline.
As a result, Besoldung raises can lag between states by months or even years, and the shape of the tables can differ slightly too. The Currently paid option can show a provisional payment or an advance payment, and the page labels it that way. Enacted law only uses the last enacted table. A bill that has not been passed is not shown as enacted law.
Why This Calculator Doesn't Compute Net Pay
Unlike tariff employees, civil servants don't contribute to statutory pension or unemployment insurance. For health insurance, they receive no employer share if they fall ill - instead, the employer provides Beihilfe, covering part of actual medical costs. Care insurance still applies independently of this, either as statutory care insurance alongside GKV cover or as mandatory private care insurance alongside PKV cover.
Whether a civil servant is covered by statutory or private health insurance, how high their Beihilfe rate is, and which pension-related deductions apply, all depend heavily on individual circumstances such as marital status, state and Besoldungsgruppe. For these reasons, this calculator computes only gross base salary for civil servants, never a net figure.
Civil Servants and Tariff Employees Compared
Tariff employees are paid by Entgeltgruppe and experience stage under a collective agreement such as TVöD, TV-L or TV-H, and are social-insurance contributors, so their net pay can be calculated the same way as in any other employment relationship, as this site's other calculators do.
Civil servants instead hold a public-law service and loyalty relationship, receive Besoldung rather than Entgelt, and are governed by their own, statutorily rather than tariff-defined system of base salary, family allowance and other allowances.
Common Misconceptions About Besoldung
A common mistake is treating the base salary calculated here as identical to the actual gross figure on your own Bezügemitteilung. Once family allowance or other allowances are added, as explained above, the real figure is higher.
A second misconception is comparing Besoldungsgruppen directly across states and assuming identical amounts. Since each state sets its own table, the same figure can differ noticeably between two states.
Third, Anwärterbezüge is sometimes confused with a low Besoldungsgruppe on the regular table. Anwärterbezüge follows its own, separate table with its own, generally much lower amounts, independent of the Besoldungsgruppe eventually aimed for.