Important information for clients, Q1 2026
Mar 17, 2026
Please take your time to read through the following points 1 to 11 and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Our process
To ensure that you and your employees receive accurate and timely payslips, we ask that you provide the payroll documents by the 15th of the month.
The storage location for the documents will now be different.
We are now using Datev Unternehmen online! Simple, clear and efficient.
1. Our move towards digital collaboration – with Datev Unternehmen Online
We want to make our collaboration with you even simpler and more modern, and are switching to the Datev Unternehmen Online portal. In future, all payroll-related and HR documents will be stored there in an audit-proof manner.
This will require a new link and new login details. As soon as your company has been migrated, you will receive an email with detailed instructions.
Here is an initial overview.
Please note that we are only switching over payroll. Everything will remain as before for financial accounting.
Further information can be found here: www.hcsm.digital
Emails should now only be used for notifications and arranging appointments. In future, all personal data should be stored directly in Datev Unternehmen Online.
We are setting up ‘Employees Online’ for your staff. This will give your employees a clear, centralised view of all payroll-related documents, including all documents since the switch to Datev. Employees will receive a letter from Datev containing all the necessary steps for logging in.
If you or your employees currently receive reports by post, there will be no change. If you would prefer to receive reports digitally, please let us know.
Digitisation costs money. For several years now, we at HCSM have been covering the cost of your tool to help you get started with digitisation. From 2026, we will be forced to pass on these costs.
2. Mini-job threshold from January 2026: €603
The statutory minimum wage in 2026 is €13.90 per hour.
From 1 January 2027, the statutory minimum wage will be €14.60 per hour.
This means:
For those in marginal employment, it must be checked whether the €603 limit is exceeded following the wage adjustment. If this is the case, a switch to a midi-job (€603.01 to €2,000.00) or a reduction in the number of monthly hours must be made.
Certain sectors have their own collectively agreed minimum wages.
The Minimum Wage Act applies in principle to all employees; there are only a few exceptions.
3. Part-time jobs from 2026
Since 2023, the part-time job income threshold has been raised to €2,000 and will remain at this level in 2026. At this income level, employees pay lower social security contributions.
4. Child data
Since the middle of the year, child data has been included in the electronic data sent to us by the tax office. In principle, we are bound by this data. In a few exceptional cases, however, manual adjustments are still necessary. This applies to employees with stepchildren, adopted children, children living abroad, or children who were already 18 years old in 2011.
5. Private health insurance certificates
From 2026, certificates showing the health insurance contributions of privately insured individuals will be available electronically. In exceptional cases, a paper certificate may still be required.
6. Company parties / group accident insurance – flat-rate taxation
Company parties or group accident insurance policies from 2025 can still be taxed on a flat-rate basis, free of contributions, until 28 February 2026.
If permissible flat-rate taxation is applied only after the income tax certificate has been issued, this payment must be subject to social security contributions. Please forward the relevant supporting documents to us as soon as possible.
7. Deadlines: Levy for severely disabled persons and Artists’ Social Security Fund
Reports relating to the levy for severely disabled persons and the Artists’ Social Security Fund must be submitted by 31 March 2026.
Levy for severely disabled persons:
The levy for severely disabled persons, also known as the compensation levy, is a statutory payment for employers with at least 20 employees who do not employ the prescribed number of severely disabled persons. These employers are obliged to fill at least five per cent of their vacancies with severely disabled persons or, failing that, to pay the levy. The levy serves to offset the particular burdens and is paid annually to the relevant integration offices.
Artists’ Social Security Fund:
The artists’ social security contribution is a statutory levy through which companies contribute to the social insurance of self-employed artists and publicists. It must be paid by companies that do not merely occasionally commission self-employed artists or publicists and use their services for their own operational purposes. The levy is calculated as a percentage of the remuneration paid during the calendar year and paid to the Artists’ Social Security Fund.
8. Non-cash benefit values for 2026
The monthly allowance is €345 for meals and €285 for accommodation and rent. This means that for subsidised or free meals, the rate is €2.37 for breakfast and €4.57 for lunch or dinner.
9. NEW: Recipient verification by the banks
We provide you with digital SEPA transfers for your wages and salaries. The newly introduced recipient verification is not carried out by us, but by the banks. A payment order may contain a single transfer or several – known as a batch transfer. For individual transfers, recipients are always verified. For batch transfers, this depends on the banks’ settings. If you require clarification, please contact your bank advisor.
10. Obligation to file an income tax return for wage replacement benefits
If employees received wage replacement benefits, such as short-time working allowance or sick pay, during 2025, or if tax classes 3 and 5 were applied, they are required to submit an income tax return to their local tax office. If the tax return is prepared without tax advice, it must be submitted by 31 July 2026.
11. Active Pension Act
The Act on Tax Incentives for Employees of Retirement Age has been in force since 1 January 2026.
The Active Pension will be implemented in one of the next versions of Datev. Retroactive adjustments will then be made.