Salary conversion is the smartest funding model in Jobticket+: employees exchange €63 of gross salary for a Deutschlandticket – and effectively pay only ~€38 net. The employer also saves on social security contributions and even generates a small profit. Win-win.
How Salary Conversion Works
In the salary conversion model (under §40 Para. 2 Sentence 2 No. 1 EStG), the employee waives €63.00 of gross salary per month. In return, the employer covers the cost of the Deutschlandticket and taxes it at a flat rate of 15%.
The result: the lower gross salary reduces social security contributions for both parties – employer and employee both save.
Important: In this model, the full ticket price of €63.00 is used as the conversion amount – not the discounted business price. This maximises social security savings for both sides.
The Numbers in Detail
Employer Costs
| Cost item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Social security savings (employer share) | +€12.92 |
| Flat-rate tax (15% of €63) | −€10.21 |
| Jobticket+ service fee | −€1.00 |
| Net result for employer | +€1.71/month |
The employer makes a profit of €1.71 per employee per month with the salary conversion model.
Employee Costs
| Amount | |
|---|---|
| Standard ticket price | €63.00 |
| Gross salary reduction | −€63.00 |
| Effective net saving | ~€25.33 saved |
| Effective net cost |
Example calculation: Bavaria, €3,000 gross, tax class I. Figures are indicative.
Legal Basis: §40 Para. 2 Sentence 2 No. 1 EStG
The employer taxes the conversion amount at a flat rate of 15% – this amount is exempt from social security contributions. This is the core of the tax advantage:
- No income tax for the employee
- No social security contributions on the converted amount
- Both employer and employee save roughly 50% of social security contributions on €63
Regarding the commuter allowance: Since the conversion amount (€63) reduces the employee's commuter allowance, this should be assessed individually for employees with long commutes. In most cases, the net saving of ~€25 still clearly outweighs any reduction.
Legal Compliance via Jobticket+
The salary conversion model requires a supplementary employment contract agreement. With Jobticket+, this is automatically generated digitally – no lawyer, no paperwork.
Jobticket+ also automatically checks whether employees are eligible for this model. Mini-jobbers, for example, cannot use salary conversion (as their salary cannot be reduced further) – alternatives include Split Pay or the 100% employer subsidy.
Additional Benefits for All Employees
Regardless of the funding model, all Jobticket+ users receive:
- ~€10 in vouchers per month for MILES, Bolt, dott, TIER and Lime – tax-free under §8 Para. 1 Sentence 3 EStG
- Pause feature: pause the ticket up to 24h before month-end – 27% of users do this (avg. 1 month/year)
- Express checkout: Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal – ticket active immediately
- €20 new customer bonus on first purchase
- Central management dashboard for HR
Setup in Under 5 Minutes
No IT department, no training required. The entire setup runs digitally – including automatically generated supplementary contract agreements. Employee ticket issuance: possible in 30 seconds.
Who is Salary Conversion Right For?
This model is ideal when:
- Employees want maximum net savings (~€38 instead of €63)
- The company wants to offer a strong benefit cost-neutrally (or with a slight profit)
- No additional budget is available for an employer subsidy
- The workforce consists primarily of full-time employees
Set up Jobticket+ for your company now – free and non-binding.
This does not constitute tax advice. Please consult a tax advisor for your individual situation.
