Unemployment benefit ALG I 2026: daily and monthly amount, 6 to 24 months
Estimates only, not financial advice. What you type stays on your device. Checked against sources on 18 Oct 2026.Arbeitslosengeld I in Germany is 60% of a flat daily net pay, or 67% with a child, for 6 to 24 months. With a gross of 3,500 euros a month, tax class I and no child, a 2026 claim pays 47.23 euros a day, which is 1,416.90 euros for a 30-day month, for 12 months.
2026 · Rates and rules read from the sources listed on this page (the earliest on 18 Oct 2026); they may have changed since.
Type your average monthly gross over the last 12 months, bonuses included.
Pick your tax class and say whether you or your spouse have a child.
Type your age and the months you were insured in the last 30 months and in the last 5 years.
Read the daily and monthly Arbeitslosengeld and for how many months it is paid.
This calculator estimates Arbeitslosengeld I (ALG I) for a claim that starts in 2026: the amount per day and per month, and how many months it is paid. It follows the steps of the Sozialgesetzbuch III that the Agentur für Arbeit uses.
Who qualifies (§§ 142, 143 SGB III). You need at least 12 months of insured employment within the last 30 months. Fewer months mean no claim, apart from a special six-month rule for short fixed-term jobs that this page leaves out.
How much (§§ 149-154). The base is your insured gross of the last year divided by its calendar days, the Bemessungsentgelt; a full year of 3,500 euros a month gives 115.07 euros a day. Pay counts only up to 8,450 euros a month, the 2026 pension ceiling. From it the law deducts a flat 20% for social insurance, the daily wage tax of your tax class on 1 January by the BMF Programmablaufplan 2026, and the solidarity surcharge. Church tax and personal allowances do not count. Of what is left, the Leistungsentgelt, you receive 60%, or 67% when you or your spouse have a child counted for tax. A full month is paid as 30 days. The daily wage tax was checked against the BMF's own calculator for 106 wages, and the same flat net reproduces the BA's Kurzarbeitergeld table to the cent.
How long (§ 147). The duration depends on the insured months in the last five years and on your age: 12 months give 6 months of benefit, 16 give 8, 20 give 10 and 24 give 12. From age 50 with 30 months it is 15, from 55 with 36 months 18, and from 58 with 48 months 24 months.
Tax and timing. Arbeitslosengeld is tax-free but raises the rate on your other income in the year. Register as job-seeking at least three months before the job ends (§ 38 SGB III). A severance is not part of the base; for its tax, use the Germany Abfindung Calculator.
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Arbeitslosengeld I is 60% of a flat daily net pay, or 67% with a child. On a gross of 3,500 euros a month in tax class I without a child, a 2026 claim pays 47.23 euros a day, so 1,416.90 euros for a full month counted as 30 days.
Under § 147 SGB III the duration follows your insured months in the last five years and your age: 12 months give 6 months of benefit, 24 give 12. From 50 with 30 months it is 15, from 55 with 36 months 18, and from 58 with 48 months the maximum of 24 months.
Anyone who was in insured employment for at least 12 months within the 30 months before the claim, registers as unemployed and looks for work. A shortened six-month qualifying period exists for mainly short fixed-term jobs with lower pay; this calculator does not cover that case.
Pay counts only up to 8,450 euros a month, the 2026 pension ceiling, which is 277.81 euros a day. In tax class I without a child that gives 93.70 euros a day or 2,811.00 euros a month; with a child or in class III the amount is higher.
Yes. The flat net pay deducts the wage tax of the class you had on 1 January of the year the claim starts. Class III deducts the least and so pays the most; classes V and VI pay the least. A later change of class counts only from the day it takes effect, under special rules.
Arbeitslosengeld is free of income tax under § 3 Nr. 2 EStG, but it is under the Progressionsvorbehalt of § 32b: it raises the tax rate on your other income of the year. With more than 410 euros of such benefits a year you must file a tax return.
Rates and rules change; check the source before you rely on a figure.
Still stuck? Ask about Germany Arbeitslosengeld Calculator 2026 (ALG I) and anybody who knows can answer. No account needed.
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