Municipal Tax (Kommunalsteuer, KommSt)
Definition
The Kommunalsteuer under §§ 1–6 KommStG is an employer-only levy of 3 % on the gross wage and salary sum of all employees at a business location. Employees pay nothing. The receiver is the municipality where the business is located, not the Finance Ministry, KommSt is a municipal levy and flows directly into the local budget. The base is essentially gross payroll (ongoing + special payments), with the same exemptions as SI. The rate has been unchanged since the levy was introduced in 1994.
KommSt rate by year
Current year live from the calc engine; 2024/2025 hardcoded (rate unchanged since 1994); 2027 not yet set (»—»). Applied to both ongoing and 13th/14th special pay.
Example: gross € 4.000/month (2026)
Ongoing: € 4.000 × 3 % = € 120/month KommSt. 13th / 14th: € 4.000 × 3 % each = € 120. Yearly total: 14 × € 120 = € 1.680, paid by the employer to the municipality, adding to the other employer-side payroll costs (SI-DG, DB, DZ, MVK).
See also
- Sozialversicherung (SV) , KommSt shares the SI contribution base, the central payroll-cost figure on the employer side.
Sources: §§ 1–6 KommStG 1993 (RIS), BMF Lohnsteuerrichtlinien Rz 8001 ff., BVAEB "Beitragsrechtliche Werte 2026".