Minijobs in Germany: Earning a Little on the Side

This guide is for internationals who have recently moved to Germany and want to understand how a minijob works before taking one. By the end, you will be able to explain the two types of minijob, the earnings limit, how tax and social insurance apply, and which employee rights a minijob carries.

• What a minijob is
• The earnings limit
• How minijobs are taxed
• Social insurance and health insurance
• Your rights as a minijobber
• FAQ

What a minijob is

A minijob is a form of marginal employment. Handbook Germany’s guide to minijobs describes two types:

• Minijob with an income limit (Minijob mit Verdienstgrenze): your earnings stay within a fixed monthly and yearly limit.
• Short-term employment (kurzfristige Beschäftigung): you work for less than three months per year, or less than 70 working days if you work fewer than five days a week. The page states that the amount you earn during this period does not matter.

Minijobs exist both in companies and in private households. The page names catering, retail and trade as sectors with many minijobs. In private homes, it lists cleaning, domestic help and babysitting as typical work.

The earnings limit

For 2026, Handbook Germany gives the limit for a minijob with an income limit as €603 per month or €7,236 per year. The yearly figure is the one that counts. You can earn more than €603 in some months, as long as you earn less in others and stay within €7,236 over the year. One-off payments such as holiday pay or a Christmas bonus are included in that total.

The monthly limit is linked to the statutory minimum wage. The page states that it is set to rise to €633 in 2027.

There is no minimum or maximum number of working hours. What matters is that you stay within the income limit or, for short-term employment, within three months or 70 working days per year.

Earning more than the limit

If you regularly earn more than the limit, the job is no longer a minijob but a Midijob (a job with reduced social insurance contributions). A midijob is subject to social security contributions. However, the contributions to pension, health, nursing and unemployment insurance are smaller than those of regular employees.

There is an exception for unplanned extra work. You still count as a minijobber if you earn more only occasionally and without prior planning, for example by standing in for a sick colleague, up to three times a year. The condition is that your yearly earnings do not exceed 14 times the monthly limit. The page gives this as €8,442 for 2026.

How minijobs are taxed

Income from a minijob is taxable in principle, but the way tax is collected depends on the type of minijob.

• Minijob with an income limit: a flat-rate tax (pauschale Versteuerung) applies. Your employer pays 2% of your gross monthly pay as tax. The page states that you have no other tax obligations as a minijobber.
• Short-term employment: there are two options. One is a flat-rate tax of 25% of income, plus the solidarity surcharge and, where applicable, church tax. The other is individual taxation through what the page calls the Lohnsteuerkarte (income tax card).

According to the page, individual taxation generally costs less, because tax is only due once your earnings pass a basic threshold (the page uses the term Grundsicherung). The page does not state that threshold. The tax office (Finanzamt) is the authority for the exact figure.

Social insurance and health insurance

Minijobbers do not pay social security contributions into long-term care insurance or unemployment insurance.

Pension insurance works differently. By default, part of your wages is deducted and paid into the pension insurance. You can apply to your employer for exemption from this compulsory pension insurance. The page sets out the trade-off: with contributions you take home slightly less, but you build up a small pension and can retire somewhat earlier.

Health insurance is a separate matter. Everyone in Germany must have health insurance, including minijobbers. A minijob does not include health insurance contributions, so cover has to come from elsewhere. The page names family insurance and health insurance for students as examples. Without one of these, you pay the regular contributions yourself. Which option is open to a particular person depends on their situation and on the health insurer, and the page does not go into those details.

Your rights as a minijobber

Labour law applies to minijobbers just as it does to other employees. Handbook Germany states that this includes the statutory minimum wage (Mindestlohn) and holiday entitlement. Midijobbers are also entitled to the minimum wage.

The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs describes the general statutory minimum wage as a level that may not be undercut. It was introduced to protect workers in Germany from unreasonably low wages and came into effect on 1 January 2015. The ministry also offers translated information on the minimum wage in several languages. Neither page used for this guide states the current hourly rate, so the ministry is the source for that figure.

For questions about employee rights and working conditions, Handbook Germany refers readers to the “Faire Integration” network, which lists counselling centres near you.

FAQ

Can I have a minijob alongside a full-time job?

Yes, according to Handbook Germany, but your employer must also agree. One minijob alongside a main job stays exempt from social security contributions. If you have more than one minijob in addition to the main job, the extra minijobs are counted together with the main job, and social security contributions are due on them.

What happens if I receive Bürgergeld from the Jobcentre?

The Jobcentre must be notified about the minijob before you start, or your benefits are reduced. Your earnings reduce your Bürgergeld (citizen’s income), but you keep part of them as an allowance (Freibetrag). The first €100 is always exempt. Of gross earnings between €100 and €520 you keep 20%, and between €520 and €1,000 a further 30%. Between €1,000 and €1,200 (or €1,500 if you look after a child under 18) you keep an additional 10%. The page notes that you receive less Bürgergeld but have more money in total each month. The Jobcentre calculates the exact amount.

Can I work a minijob while receiving unemployment benefit I?

Yes. The page states that the Jobcentre must be notified before you start. You can work a maximum of 14 hours and 59 minutes a week. At 15 hours or more you are no longer considered unemployed and no longer receive unemployment benefit I. You can earn €165 per month, and anything above that is deducted from the benefit.

Does my residence permit allow me to take a minijob?

The pages used for this guide do not cover residence law. The Ausländerbehörde (foreigners’ authority) decides whether a particular residence title permits a minijob. Questions about an individual residence status belong with that authority or with a migration advice service.

Sources: handbookgermany.de · bmas.de

Last verified: 8 November 2026 against the pages linked above. Rules and fees change; the responsible authority always has the final word.

This is general information, not legal or immigration advice. For your own situation, ask the foreigners’ authority (Ausländerbehörde) of your city, a recognised migration advice service or a lawyer (Rechtsanwalt).