RSU Tax Calculator for Germany

At vesting, the full market value of your RSU shares is treated as employment income (geldwerter Vorteil). It's added to your salary for that month and taxed at your marginal income tax rate — typically 42% plus solidarity surcharge for tech workers earning over €66,761.

Yes, most employers withhold income tax, solidarity surcharge, and social contributions at vesting through payroll. They may sell a portion of your shares to cover the tax (sell-to-cover). Check your payslip in the vesting month for details.

Any gain between the vesting price and your sale price is taxed as capital gains at 26.375% (Abgeltungssteuer including solidarity surcharge). You can offset this with the €1,000 annual Sparerpauschbetrag allowance.

Direct reduction is limited since RSUs are taxed as income. However, you can invest RSU proceeds into tax-advantaged strategies like investment property (generating deductible depreciation), maximize pension contributions, or time sales to use the Sparerpauschbetrag effectively.

Your Steuerklasse determines the withholding rate. Class I (single) and Class IV (married, similar incomes) use standard rates. Class III (married, higher earner) has lower withholding but your spouse in Class V pays more. The total annual tax is the same — it only affects monthly cash flow.