Two parts, one contribution
Salary statement: Health insurance costs that much
07/27/2025 – 2:03 p.m.Reading time: 2 min.
The health insurance contribution is on the salary statement every month. But how exactly is this composed? An overview.
Whether employees, trainees or pensioners – all legally insured pay contributions to their health insurance. The amount is visible on the salary statement, but only a few know how exactly it is composed. It is worth taking a look behind the numbers: The health insurance contribution consists of two components – and only one of them is the same for everyone. This article shows what the difference is, what role the health insurance company itself plays and why the cash can mean.
Anyone who is insured by law pays a fixed contribution every month – deducted directly from the gross wage. The compulsory insurance applies to employees: they have half the contribution, the other takes over the employer. In the event of illness, insured persons only receive access to medical care – such as visits to the doctor, treatments or medication in the event of illness.
On the salary statement, the contribution to health insurance is usually identified with “KV employee” or “KV AG + an”. AG stands for the employer share, “an” for the share of the employee.
The contribution to statutory health insurance is made up of two parts: the general contribution rate and the additional contribution. The general contribution rate is currently 14.6 percent of gross wages (as of July 2025). Employers and employees share this amount – everyone pays 7.3 percent.
The so -called additional contribution to statutory health insurance is determined individually by each health insurance company – regardless of tariff or selected additional services. So how high it turns out depends on which cash register you are insured. Employers and employees also have this contribution in equal parts.
The percentage of such additional contributions has increased to 2.9 percent on average since the beginning of 2025. The GKV top association has provided an overview in which insured persons can view the additional contribution for your health insurance company.
Even if a reduced contribution rate of 14.0 percent applies to certain insured persons – for example without claiming sickness benefit – this example calculation uses the regular sentence of 14.6 percent. The calculation is based on the gross income subject to social security contributions (SV gross). This can be lower than the contractually agreed salary due to tax -free surcharges or deferred changes.
For example, if the SV gross is 2,000 euros per month and the additional contribution is 2.9 percent, the health insurance contribution is calculated as follows:
Good to know: There is also a so -called contribution ceiling. If employees earn more than 5,512.50 euros per month (as of: 2025), their health insurance contribution will only be charged up to this limit. Everything about it remains free of contributions.
