Self-Employed

When you are self-employed, you have one thing above all else: little time. That is why we provide you with your own personal SBK consultant, who will take care of many things for you and advise you.

Basis for Contribution Calculation

The amount of contributions for self-employed persons depends on income. This means that your contributions are tailored to your individual income situation.

Your contribution is calculated based on the SBK contribution rate and your total income. If, in addition to your gross profit, you have interest income, rental income, or other earnings, these are also included in your total income.

If your income falls below the minimum assessment threshold set by law (€1,318.33 per month), contributions are calculated based on this minimum amount.

If your income exceeds the maximum assessment ceiling of €5,812.50 per month, you pay contributions calculated only up to this maximum.

This means that in 2026 you will pay contributions based on:

Health Insurance Contribution

The reduced contribution rate is 17.8% and the standard contribution rate is 18.4%, each including the SBK additional contribution. Whether you pay the reduced or standard rate depends on your entitlement to sickness benefits in case of prolonged incapacity to work.

Self-employed persons who lose their income fully or mostly in the event of incapacity to work can opt for entitlement to sickness benefits starting from the seventh week of incapacity. This coverage also includes maternity benefits. In this case, you pay the standard contribution rate of 18.4%.

Statutory sickness benefits are calculated based on your regular income from self-employment, up to the contribution assessment ceiling of €5,812.50. Sickness benefits amount to 70% of your last gross earned income, minus the long-term care insurance contribution payable on the sickness benefit.

You decide on your level of coverage and, consequently, your contribution rate. The entitlement to sickness benefits can be added or removed at any time. If you choose statutory sickness benefit coverage, this choice is binding for three years. You can select statutory sickness benefit coverage in the Meine SBK app.

Select Coverage

Long-Term Care Insurance Contribution

The basic contribution rate for long-term care insurance is 3.6%. This applies to insured persons with one child or to those under 23 years of age.

Insured persons with two or more children receive relief depending on the number of children. For each child under 25 years old, the basic contribution rate is reduced by 0.25 percentage points. A detailed table of contribution rates according to the number of children can be found here.

For insured persons over 23 years old without children, the contribution rate is 4.2%.

All income used to cover living expenses is considered contributory income, including, for example:

Once a year, we will send you a questionnaire about your income situation in order to determine the contributions you need to pay.

If your spouse or partner is not covered by statutory insurance, his or her income will be taken into account when calculating your contributions.

Proof of income

You provide proof of your income by submitting a copy of your most recent income tax assessment. Since the latest income tax assessment is used to calculate contributions, your income is always considered with a time delay.

Submit tax assessment

Example: Your contribution for the calendar year 2025 is initially calculated based on your 2024 income tax assessment. Once you receive and submit your 2025 income tax assessment, we will review your contribution classification for 2025 and finalize the contribution amount. Please send us the current assessment as soon as you receive it so that you immediately know whether your contributions need to be adjusted for the year of the income tax assessment.

Additional payment or refund

After submitting your income tax assessment, the following scenarios may occur:

Minimum and maximum assessment limits

The minimum and maximum assessment limits for the relevant year are taken into account: For example, if you have paid the minimum contribution and your income according to the income tax assessment is below the minimum assessment limit, the minimum contribution remains.

Before the first tax assessment

If you do not yet have a tax assessment showing your income from self-employment, please estimate your income to calculate a provisional contribution. Once the tax assessment is submitted, contributions will be recalculated, and you may receive a refund or be required to make an additional payment. We therefore recommend estimating your income as realistically as possible.

Deadline for submission

For income that must be proven with an income tax assessment, the assessment must be submitted no later than three years after the relevant tax year. For example, the income tax assessment for 2023 must be submitted by December 31, 2026. After this deadline, a final contribution will be set at the maximum contribution rate.

You can easily pay your contributions by direct debit. To do this, simply grant us a direct debit authorization in the Meine SBK app. We will then automatically debit your contributions from your account on time.

Grant Direct Debit Authorization

Alternatively, you can send us a direct debit authorization by mail using this form:SEPA Direct Debit Mandate Form

Or you can transfer your contributions yourself. Please note that your contributions must be credited to our account by the 15th of the following month at the latest. For example, the contributions for January are due by February 15th. Please transfer your contributions to:

SBK Siemens-Betriebskrankenkasse
IBAN: DE58 7902 0076 0027 9131 99
BIC: HYVEDEMM455
UniCredit Bank GmbH

Are you becoming self-employed? We are your reliable partner in this process as well. We are happy to provide you with individual advice on your insurance and contributions. Your personal advisor will accompany and assist you comprehensively and competently with all questions regarding insurance and contributions for the self-employed. You will also receive valuable tips and information on topics that are important for you as a start-up entrepreneur, such as the start-up grant.

If you are starting a business, you have the opportunity to apply for a grant from the Federal Employment Agency. This start-up grant supports you on your way to self-employment. You will initially receive the start-up grant for six months. The amount of the grant depends on the amount of your unemployment benefit entitlement. The rule is as follows: The monthly start-up grant corresponds to the amount of the last unemployment benefit received, plus an additional €300, which is completely exempt from contributions.

This means that your contributions are calculated based only on the last unemployment benefit you received. For more detailed information on the grant itself, please contact the Federal Employment Agency.