Sozialversicherungsbeiträge: contribution payment and Beitragsnachweis deadline
Date note: Schema requires a fixed day-of-month; the actual legal rule (§23 Abs. 1 SGB IV) is the third-to-last bank working day of the SAME month in which the work was performed (an estimate, trued up the following month), which moves with bank holidays and weekends. Day 28 approximates this for September 2026; always confirm the exact date with your payroll provider or Krankenkasse each month. The Beitragsnachweis (contribution statement) itself is due even earlier, typically two bank working days before the payment date.
Every month, due by the 28th. · Approximates the 'third-to-last bank working day of the current month' rule in §23 SGB IV; the exact date shifts month to month.
What changes
Employers must pay estimated total social insurance contributions (health, pension, unemployment, long-term care insurance) for the current month by the third-to-last bank working day of that same month, and submit the Beitragsnachweis (contribution statement) to the relevant Krankenkasse shortly before that. Any shortfall/surplus versus actual payroll is corrected in the following month's payment.
Who is affected
Any employer in Germany with staff subject to German social insurance, including small companies running their own payroll or via an outsourced bookkeeper/Lohnbüro.
Sizes: micro, small, medium, large · Sectors: All sectors · Applies if: We employ staff
What to do
Set up your payroll or Lohnbüro process to calculate an estimate and submit the Beitragsnachweis a couple of bank working days before the third-to-last bank working day of the month, then pay by that date; verify the exact date every month since it depends on the banking calendar.
Next occurrences
Sources
- gesetze-im-internet.de – SGB IV §23 (Fälligkeit der Beiträge) (www.gesetze-im-internet.de)
Last verified 8 September 2026. Informational only, not legal advice.