How much does the employer pay towards private health insurance in Germany?
In short
How much does the employer pay towards private health insurance in Germany? Half of your premium, but in 2026 at most 508.59 euros a month for health insurance and 104.63 euros for long-term care insurance, 613.22 euros in total. The subsidy also covers children and a spouse if they would be covered free of charge in public health insurance.
Maximum employer subsidy for private health and long-term care insurance in Germany, 2026.
Example
Typical range
Maximum subsidy, health insurance
508.59 euros a month
Maximum subsidy, care insurance
104.63 euros a month
Total maximum
613.22 euros a month, 7,358.64 euros a year
Previous year 2025 for comparison
471.32 and 99.23 euros a month
Maximum amounts as published by the association of private health insurers.
Premiums in the worked example are indicative figures from quoting practice.
Worked example
Employee, 38, married, one child
His partner has no income of her own; partner and child are insured through him.
Health insurance, himself
560 euros
Health insurance, partner and child
520 euros
Health subsidy, half of 1,080 euros
540 euros, capped at 508.59 euros
Care insurance for all, 96 euros
subsidy 48 euros
The employer pays 556.59 euros a month. Of the total premium of 1,176 euros, he pays 619.41 euros.
How the employer calculates the subsidy
The employer pays what it would pay for you in public health insurance: half of the general contribution rate of 14.6 percent plus half of the average additional contribution, applied to your salary up to the contribution ceiling of 5,812.50 euros a month. In 2026 that gives at most 508.59 euros.
There is a second limit: the subsidy is never higher than half of your actual premium. If you pay 700 euros for health insurance, you get 350 euros. If you pay 1,200 euros, you get the maximum of 508.59 euros.
Your health insurance premium
Employer subsidy
Your share
600 euros
300 euros
300 euros
900 euros
450 euros
450 euros
1,017.18 euros
508.59 euros
508.59 euros
1,200 euros
508.59 euros
691.41 euros
The subsidy for long-term care insurance
For private compulsory long-term care insurance the employer also pays half, at most 104.63 euros a month in 2026. That matches the employer's share in public long-term care insurance.
In Saxony the employer's share of care insurance is lower because the Day of Repentance and Prayer remained a public holiday there. The subsidy is correspondingly smaller.
Your family counts too
Contrary to what many think, the family counts. The subsidy also covers relatives who would be family-insured free of charge in public health insurance, meaning children and a spouse on a low income, in 2026 up to 565 euros a month. Their premiums are added to yours, the maximum stays the same.
If your partner earns more than this limit or is employed, their premium does not count. They may get their own subsidy from their employer.
Part-time, parental leave and short-time work
If you earn less than the contribution ceiling, the maximum subsidy falls too: it is 8.75 percent of your salary for health insurance. This mainly affects privately insured people who get exempted from compulsory insurance while working part-time or on parental leave.
During short-time work (Kurzarbeit) the employer keeps paying its own share for the hours lost. Ask payroll how the subsidy is calculated whenever your salary changes.
Conditions for the insurer and when there is no subsidy
The subsidy is only paid for private health insurance run like life insurance, by an insurer that offers a basic tariff and waives ordinary cancellation, among other conditions. Every three years the insurer confirms this, and the certificate goes to your employer.
The self-employed get no subsidy, civil servants get state aid from their employer instead. Pensioners get a subsidy from the pension insurance, and if you become unemployed the employer subsidy ends; the employment agency may then step in.
Step by step
Split the insurer's premium statement into health and care insurance.
List premiums for relatives who would be family-insured.
Give the insurer's certificate to payroll.
Report new premiums straight after any increase.
Ask for a new calculation when working part-time or on parental leave.
Checklist
Care insurance subsidy not forgotten
Children and partner without income reported
Insurer's certificate up to date
Premium increase on 1 January passed on
Payslip checked for the correct amount
Common mistakes
Reporting only your own premium and losing the subsidy for the family
Not reporting a premium increase
Assuming the employer always pays half, even above the maximum
Questions and answers
Frequently asked
Does my employer pay half of my private health insurance?
Yes, but at most 508.59 euros for health and 104.63 euros for care insurance a month, as of 2026.
Do I get the subsidy for my children?
Yes, if they would be family-insured in public health insurance.
Their premiums count towards yours, the maximum stays.
Does the employer pay for add-on tariffs?
The subsidy applies to health insurance with benefits similar in kind to public health insurance.
Your insurer's certificate clarifies which tariff parts count.
What happens during parental leave?
Without salary there is no employer subsidy.
If you work part-time and stay private, the subsidy is based on your lower salary.
Is the subsidy higher in public health insurance?
No, the employer pays at most the same amount in both systems.
In private insurance your own share can be higher or lower than in a public fund.
