Salary conversion – Free for the company. Even profitable.
Your employees get the Deutschlandticket through salary conversion – as the employer you not only pay €0, you effectively earn €1.71 per employee per month.
Company pays €0
Employees pay only ~€38 net
Company earns +€1.71/month
Company pays €0 – even earns +€1.71
Social security savings of €12.92 minus flat-rate tax (€10.21) and the service fee (€1) leave the company with a net gain.
Employees pay only approx. €38 net
Instead of €63 when buying privately, the conversion means employees effectively pay just €38.36 net – a saving of almost €25 a month.
Supplementary agreement 100% automated
The legally required addendum to the employment contract is generated automatically through Jobticket+ and signed digitally. No HR effort.
How salary conversion works
With salary conversion, employees give up part of their gross salary (€63 – the full ticket price without the discount) to finance the Deutschlandticket. Important: the full price of €63 – not the discounted price – is used as the conversion amount, because this maximises the social security saving for the company. The employer taxes the amount at a flat 15% under §40 (2) sentence 2 no. 1 EStG. This keeps the benefit in kind free of tax and social security contributions for employees. Net income falls by approx. €38.36 – not by €63. The tax advantage can be used on top of the existing €50 benefit-in-kind allowance.
Example calculation: costs for employer and employees
Example: an employee on €3,000 gross per month (tax class I, Bavaria, liable for church tax)
Employer
| Salary conversion amount (gross waived by employee) | €63.00 |
| Employer social security saving (20.5% × €63) | +€12.92 |
| Flat-rate tax (15%) + church tax (8%) | −€10.21 |
| Subtotal (before service fee) | +€2.71 |
| Jobticket+ service fee | −€1.00 |
| Effective total employer cost | +€1.71 (gain) |
Employees
| Gross salary waived | €63.00 |
| Effective net cost for employees | €38.36 |
| Monthly saving vs. buying privately | €24.64 |
| Annual saving | €295.71 |
Note on §40 EStG:Because the employer covers the 15% flat-rate tax, employees’ deductible commuter allowance is reduced by €63 per month (the amount taxed at the flat rate). If travel costs exceed that value, the remainder stays deductible.
Benefit-in-kind advantage: The tax advantage from salary conversion applies on top of the €50 benefit-in-kind allowance (§8 (1) sentence 3 EStG). Mobility vouchers (MILES, Bolt, TIER, Dott) via Jobticket+ can still be granted tax-free.
Example calculation – not tax advice. The figures are based on the defaults of the Jobticket+ calculator (€36,000 gross per year, tax class I, church tax 8%, solidarity surcharge 0%, employer social security share 20.5%) and may differ depending on tax class, federal state, church tax and social security contributions. Please consult your tax adviser about the specific implementation.
Frequently asked questions about salary conversion
Is salary conversion possible for mini-jobbers?
No. Salary conversion does not apply to marginally employed staff (mini-jobbers). Instead, the cash salary has to be reduced by the value of the employer subsidy – similar to the 100% subsidy model. Please contact your tax adviser about the exact implementation.
Do I need the employees’ consent?
Yes. Salary conversion requires a supplementary agreement to the employment contract setting out the salary waiver. This agreement is generated automatically through Jobticket+ and signed digitally by employees – no additional work for HR.
What happens if someone pauses or cancels?
If an employee pauses the ticket, the salary conversion does not apply for that month – their net salary is correspondingly higher. On termination the subscription ends automatically at the end of the month, and offboarding runs automatically through Jobticket+.
Introduce the Deutschlandticket – at €0 for your company
No IT knowledge required. Setup in under 5 minutes, ticket issued in 30 seconds. No minimum term, supplementary agreements generated automatically.