Short-Time Work Allowance
Kurzarbeitergeld Calculator 2026
Estimate your Kurzarbeitergeld (short-time work allowance): enter your normal wage and your reduced wage during Kurzarbeit to see the monthly amount, based on §§ 95-109 SGB III.
How is Kurzarbeitergeld calculated?
Kurzarbeitergeld replaces part of the wage lost when your employer reduces your hours for economic reasons. The amount is 60% of your net wage loss (Nettoentgeltdifferenz), or 67% if you have at least one child (§ 105 SGB III).
Your normal wage (Soll-Entgelt) and your reduced wage (Ist-Entgelt) are each converted to a notional net figure using the same standardized deduction method as the Arbeitslosengeld calculator (§ 106 Abs. 1 Satz 6 SGB III), not your real payslip deductions. The difference between the two is your Nettoentgeltdifferenz.
This calculator only computes the amount. It does not check whether your employer's short-time work arrangement itself meets the legal requirements (§§ 96-98 SGB III), which is a company-level, case-by-case determination.
Your situation
What you would normally earn in a month without the Arbeitsausfall, excluding overtime pay.
→ Ist-Entgelt: 2,460.00 €. Edit the field below directly if it's not an exact percentage of your normal wage.
What you actually earn during Kurzarbeit, including all owed wage components. Filled in from the percentage above until you edit it directly.
Your current tax class (Lohnsteuerklasse), as registered via ELStAM.
The count from your tax card (Lohnsteuerabzugsmerkmale), usually 0.5 per child, or the full amount as a single parent claiming it entirely.
Raises your benefit rate (Leistungssatz) from 60% to 67% (§ 105 SGB III).
For your real take-home pay estimate
These extra details let us estimate what actually lands in your bank account each month, on top of the Kurzarbeitergeld amount above.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between Kurzarbeit and Kurzarbeitergeld?
Kurzarbeit is the reduced-hours arrangement itself, agreed between employer and employees (or works council) when there's a temporary drop in work. Kurzarbeitergeld is the wage-replacement benefit the Bundesagentur für Arbeit pays for the hours you're not working, calculated as 60% or 67% of your net wage loss.
How long can I receive Kurzarbeitergeld?
The standard limit is 12 months per company (§ 104 SGB III). A temporary regulation extends this to 24 months through the end of 2026, but only for companies that were already on short-time work before 2026 with the same ongoing shortfall; a new Arbeitsausfall starting in 2026 still gets the standard 12 months.
Is Kurzarbeitergeld taxable?
Kurzarbeitergeld itself is tax-free and nothing is withheld from it, but it is subject to the Progressionsvorbehalt (§ 32b EStG): it is added to your income only to determine the tax rate that then applies to your other taxable income for the year. If your Kurzarbeitergeld and any other benefits subject to the Progressionsvorbehalt come to more than 410 € in the calendar year, filing a return is generally mandatory unless you already have to file for another reason. Your employer certifies the amount on your Lohnsteuerbescheinigung, which is where to take the figure from.
Written and maintained by Basaveswara Rao. Last reviewed on September 14, 2026.