Abbreviations in payroll accounting explained

What does elsg mean on the payslip?

In payroll accounting, ELSG stands for the Continued Remuneration Act. This law regulates the continued payment of wages in the event of illness and other absences from work for personal reasons, such as an accident or maternity. It obliges employers in Germany to continue to pay their employees' salaries for a certain period if they are unable to work through no fault of their own. The continued payment of wages usually lasts up to six weeks before sick pay is paid by the health insurance fund. The correct application of the ELSG is a central component of payroll accounting in order to meet the legal requirements and take account of employees' entitlements. The individual letters stand for single payment subject to income tax, subject to social security contributionsand total gross pay(also abbreviated to GB).

Abbreviations, designations and their meaning on the payslip

A - Severance payment - A severance payment can be granted to the employee in connection with a dismissal.

Deductions - Sum of the deducted amounts (taxes, social security contributions, etc.)

AG - Employer's share - Share of social security contributions paid by the employer

Employee share - share of social security contributions paid by the employee

AV - Unemployment insurance - Contribution to unemployment insurance

B - Seafarers' fund Employee's share - Former fund for seafarers. Since 2005, converted to the German pension insurance fund Knappschaft-Bahn-See with the pension reform.

BGRS - Contribution group code - The contribution group code indicates which social insurances apply to an employee (health, long-term care, pension and unemployment insurance).

BG - Employer's Liability Insurance Association - Insurance for accidents at work

Gross / GB - Gross salary (total gross amount) - salary before deduction of taxes and social security contributions

BVE - Contribution procedure for deferred compensation - Refers to agreements in which part of the salary is converted into pension benefits, e.g. for company pension schemes. This reduces the gross salary, which can also reduce the tax burden.

E - One-off payment - irregular, one-off payments such as vacation pay and Christmas bonuses

EZ - one-off payment - special payments such as bonuses or vacation pay

FKB - company child benefit - employer's contribution to child benefit

G - Basic wage / basic salary - the agreed basic salary without additional components such as a bonus.

H - Additional amount - The additional amount on the pay slip increases the taxable income by adding certain allowances or benefits to the gross income. May occur in the case of several employment relationships.

IAP - can have three meanings - 1. inflation adjustment premium, 2. individual working time logging, 3. company pension scheme

KV - health insurance contribution - contribution to statutory health insurance

KK - Health insurance fund - Indicates the name of the statutory health insurance fund

KK% - Health insurance contribution rate - The contribution rate for statutory health insurance

KiFrbtr - Child allowance - A registered child allowance reduces the taxable income

KiSt - Church tax - Tax for members of a church

L - current salary - A current salary on the payslip refers to regularly paid income, such as monthly basic salary, bonuses or fixed allowances.

LSt - wage tax - tax on income from employment

MFB - Multiple employment - Employees who have additional employment relationships with other employers.

N - Recalculation - Used for corrections and adjustments to previous payslips.

Net - Net salary - Salary after deduction of taxes and social security contributions

P - Lump-sum taxation - Lump-sum taxation on the payslip means that the employer pays the tax on certain benefits (e.g. benefits in kind) as a lump sum, not the employee.

PGRS - person group code - The person group code on the payslip classifies employees according to social security characteristics, e.g. full-time, part-time or trainee.

PV - long-term care insurance - contribution to long-term care insurance

RV - Pension insurance - contribution to statutory pension insurance

S - Other remuneration - is used in the same way as one-off remuneration

SB - non-cash benefits - refers to non-cash benefits that the employee receives in addition to their salary, e.g. company car or meals.

SolZ Solidarity surcharge - additional tax on top of wage tax

Tax ID - Tax identification number - The tax ID on the payslip is a unique, lifelong identification number that is used for the tax registration of a person in Germany.

StKl - Tax class - Class for calculating income tax. The tax class on the payslip determines the amount of income tax, depending on the employee's marital status, number of children and other personal circumstances.

Tax-free benefits - amounts that do not have to be taxed, e.g. benefits in kind

Hourly wage - salary per hour worked

SV - social insurance - includes several social security contributions

Um - pay-as-you-go system - The pay-as-you-go system refers to the financing of social insurance benefits (e.g. sick pay), in which the contributions of employers and employees are used jointly.

Vacation pay - Additional payment for vacation days

VKZ - Processing indicator - Used for internal identification or assignment of salary components or wage types in the payroll system. The exact meaning may vary from company to company.

VL - Capital-forming benefits - Savings allowances from the employer

W - Value credit - The value credit on the pay slip refers to saved working time or money that can be used for later leaves of absence (e.g. sabbaticals, partial retirement).

Christmas bonus - special payment at Christmas

ZVK - Zusatzversorgungskasse - ZVK (Zusatzversorgungskasse) is a company pension scheme for employees in the public sector that secures additional pension entitlements.

ZZ - Zulage - Supplements for night, Sunday or public holiday work

What is on a payslip

A payslip contains basic personal and tax information about the employee, such as name, address, tax ID, tax class and social security number. The employer's details, the payroll period and the health insurance company and contribution group code are also noted.

The statement is divided into gross pay, deductions and net amount. Gross pay includes the basic salary, supplements and any one-off payments such as bonuses. Deductions include income tax, church tax and social security contributions (health, long-term care, pension and unemployment insurance). After deduction of all contributions, the net salary is shown. Further details such as vacation days, capital-forming benefits and employer contributions complete the statement. Further details may vary depending on the agreement and employer.

Other and compound abbreviations on the payslip

LSG - a combination of L,S,G - is often used here to indicate(L)ohnsteuerpflichtig,(S)ozialversicherungspflichtig and(G)esamtbrutto. Depending on tradition, the abbreviation may also be composed differently. Under certain circumstances and without direct identification of a position, in rare cases LSG can also appear for Landessozialgericht on a payslip.

EBV - The abbreviation stands for Entgeltbescheinigungsverordnung and refers to the ordinance on the preparation of a remuneration statement. It is mainly used in context. Examples are Net pay according to EBV or EBV statement.