Self-employed workers
All you need to know about health insurance for self-employed workers
If you are self-employed your contribution is calculated from the SBK contribution rate and your total income. For example, if in addition to your gross earnings you also receive income from interest, rental income or other sources of income, this will also be included in the calculation as part of your total income.
Your total income will be considered up to the contribution assessment ceiling of €4,987.50 (monthly limit for 2023). If your income falls below this amount, your contributions for health insurance for self-employed workers will be adjusted based on your actual income. The minimum limit for calculating contributions for health insurance for self-employed workers is €1,131.67 per month.
Your benefits with SBK:
- You are assigned a personal consultant, a specialist who provides you with comprehensive, competent advice and support on all matters concerning insurance and contributions for self-employed workers.
- Our special services for self-employed workers: we are happy to advise you on whether your tariff really is the right one for you and will send you regular reminders to submit your income tax assessment.
- If your total income exceeds the contribution assessment ceiling, no supporting evidence is required to determine your contributions.
- If your income reduces – when you retire, for example – then your contributions for the future also reduce. Not so with private health insurance for self-employed workers – these contributions are not linked to your income and often increase as you age.
- You can also secure entitlement to sickness benefits.
Health and nursing care insurance contributions for self-employed workers
Contributions for self-employed workers are linked to income. This means that your contributions are adjusted in line with your individual income. If your income falls below the legally prescribed minimum limit for calculating contributions (€1,131.67), your contributions will be calculated from this limit at a minimum. If your income exceeds the contribution assessment ceiling (€4,987.50), you will pay contributions calculated from this maximum limit.
To calculate the contribution, the contribution rate for health and nursing care insurance is multiplied by the income subject to contributions.
Sample calculation:
Your monthly income is €3,000.
The contribution rate for health insurance is currently 15.5%, or 16.1% with entitlement to sickness benefits.
The contribution rate for nursing care insurance is currently 3.4% or 34.0% for individuals over the age of 23 with no children.
Health insurance contribution: €3,000 × 15.5% = €465
Nursing care insurance contribution: €3,000 × 3.4% = €102
Proof of income
A copy of your most recent income tax assessment serves as proof of your income. Since your last income tax assessment is used to calculate your contributions, your contributions are always calculated first and then adjusted later in line with your actual income. For this reason, it is best for you to send us your current assessment as soon as you receive it, so you can avoid having to pay more later and can benefit from any contribution savings.
If you do not yet have a tax assessment for income from self-employed work, you can estimate your income in order to calculate a temporary contribution. When the tax assessment is submitted, your contributions will be recalculated and you may receive some money back or you may need to pay more. For this reason we recommend being as realistic as possible when estimating your income.
Reduced contribution
If your income from self-employed work is currently 25% lower than the income in your last tax assessment, your contributions can be reduced. Simply send us a preliminary income tax assessment, which indicates your expected earnings. If the evidence you provide is complete, we can reduce your contributions from the following month.
Paying contributions
You can simply set up a direct debit for your contributions. To do so, send us a direct debit authorisation via your personal online self-service branch, Meine SBK. We will then debit your contributions from your account on time, every time. Alternatively you can give us a SEPA direct debit mandate. Please contact your personal consultant to do so.
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, contributions for January must reach our account by 15 February at the latest.
Please transfer your contributions to the following bank account:
SBK, HypoVereinsbank, IBAN: DE58 7902 0076 0027 9131 99, BIC: HYVEDEMM455