We typically differentiate between three payment categories;
- Temporary employment
- Employed as a working student
- Employed subject to full social security contributions
Temporary employment
You are considered in temporary employment if the job is limited to three months or a total of 70 working days each calendar year in advance and is not worked as a profession. The amount you earn is not relevant. Temporary employment is not subject to social security contributions. All temporary employment must always be reported to the Federal Miner's Insurance Institution. (central office for minijobs)
You will need to submit a valid student status certificate for temporary employment.
Wage tax
By contrast, wage tax may still need to be paid for temporary employment. Whether wage tax is due depends on your income amount and wage tax bracket.
Wage tax is a tax paid on non self-employed work. It is generally deducted
for every employee and directly paid to the tax office by the employer.
The tax office works on the basis of a 30-day tax month. The gross wage earned by an employee is extrapolated to 30 tax days.
But there’s no need to panic! Any overpaid wage tax will be reimbursed by the tax office when you submit a tax return.
IMPORTANT! Unfortunately, students aren’t granted any wage tax privileges! Working students and temporary staff often pay slightly higher taxes that standard employees subject to full social security contributions earning the same gross amount, as the payment of social security contributions typically reduces the tax burden.