What Happens if You Work Two Minijobs at the Same Time?

The €538 Illusion

Every international student in Germany knows the golden rule of the Minijob: As long as you earn under €538 a month, you pay exactly zero income tax.

So, naturally, students try to hack the system.

"If I work one Minijob at McDonald's earning €500, and a second Minijob at a supermarket earning €500, I can earn €1,000 completely tax-free!"

If you try this, the German tax authority (Finanzamt) will unleash a bureaucratic nightmare upon you.

The Absolute Limit

The €538 tax-free limit is tied to YOU (your Tax ID), not the employer.

You can legally have two Minijobs, but the combined total of both salaries cannot exceed €538 in a single month.

If Job A pays €300, and Job B pays €200, your total is €500. You are perfectly fine. Both jobs remain tax-free.

The Tax Class 6 Penalty (Steuerklasse VI)

What happens if Job A pays €400, and Job B pays €400? Your total income is €800. You have crossed the €538 limit.

Here is how the government punishes you:

Your first employer (Job A) remains your "primary" employer. You will still receive the €400 tax-free.

Your second employer (Job B) is instantly pushed into Tax Class 6 (Steuerklasse VI).

Tax Class 6 is the absolute most brutal, unforgiving tax bracket in Germany. It has zero tax-free allowances (Grundfreibetrag). Your second employer will be forced to deduct roughly 50% to 60% of your paycheck for income tax and social security.

Instead of taking home €400 from your second job, you might only see €180 hit your bank account.

The Solution: Consolidate Your Jobs

If you want to work more hours and earn €800 a month, do not take two Minijobs.

Instead, quit one of them, and ask the other employer to promote you to a Midijob or a Werkstudent contract.

Under a single Werkstudent contract, your €800 salary is processed under Tax Class 1 (Steuerklasse I). Because €800 is below the yearly tax-free threshold, you will pay almost zero income tax on the entire amount (only the 9.3% pension deduction).

Never accept two jobs in Germany without doing the math first. Use our Minijob Calculator to see the exact penalties of crossing the threshold.