EU salaries are high on paper and widely misunderstood. This calculator turns the official 2025 salary grid, allowances and duty-station coefficients into a single estimate for any grade — from a graduate AD 5 to a senior AD 16, across the whole AST scale, in every EU-27 duty station.
Build your estimate
Basic salary, allowances and coefficients use the official rates in force from 1 July 2025. Results update as you change any field.
Estimate only. Gross basic salary, allowances and coefficients use the official rates from 1 July 2025 (OJ C/2025/6564). The net figure is an approximation: the EU internal income tax is progressive (about 8%–45%) and depends on personal abatements, so real take-home pay varies. The correction coefficient here is applied to basic pay and family allowances; the education allowance is treated as flat. Always confirm your exact figures with your institution’s HR / PMO.
How the number is built
Your package is more than the headline grade. Four things move it:
- Grade & step. Administrators sit on AD 5–AD 16, assistants on AST 1–AST 11. Within each grade you rise a step (a pay increment) roughly every two years.
- Correction coefficient. A multiplier that adapts pay to local living costs. Belgium and Luxembourg are the reference (100); the same grade is worth more in Dublin (130.7) or Copenhagen (130.5) and less in Sofia (66.1) or Bucharest (72.9).
- Allowances. A household allowance (€241.21 + 2% of basic), €527.06 per dependent child, an education allowance, and — for staff working outside their home country — an expatriation allowance of 16% (minimum €714.89).
- Deductions. A pension contribution (9.7%), sickness insurance (~1.7%), a 6% solidarity levy, and the progressive EU internal income tax (~8%–45%).
These salaries sit behind an EPSO competition
To be recruited you first have to pass the EPSO tests — and the reasoning papers are where most candidates fall. Practise them free, with an explanation on every question.
Start practising → First set free · no account needed to tryWant the full picture beyond salary? Read the real benefits of working for the EU — free European Schools, relocation support, health cover and pensions — or compare routes in our guide to AD vs AST vs CAST career paths.
Salary figures, allowances and correction coefficients are basic monthly amounts applicable from 1 July 2025, from the annual update published in the Official Journal of the European Union, C/2025/6564. Pension, sickness-insurance and solidarity-levy rates and the internal-tax scale are set out in the Staff Regulations and Regulation (EEC, Euratom, ECSC) No 260/68. Amounts are updated periodically — verify current figures and your personal entitlements with your institution.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is this EU salary calculator?
The gross figures are exact: basic salary, allowances and the duty-station correction coefficients all use the official rates in force from 1 July 2025 (OJ C/2025/6564). The net figure is an approximation, because the EU internal income tax is progressive (roughly 8%–45%) and depends on personal abatements. Treat gross as reliable and net as an estimate.
What is a correction coefficient?
It is a multiplier that adjusts your pay to the cost of living at your duty station so purchasing power stays comparable across the EU. Belgium and Luxembourg are the reference at 100. The same grade is worth more in Ireland (130.7) or Denmark (130.5) and less in Bulgaria (66.1) or Romania (72.9).
Do EU officials pay tax on this salary?
They are exempt from national income tax on their EU pay but pay a progressive EU internal (‘Community’) income tax of about 8%–45% at source, plus a pension contribution of 9.7%, sickness insurance of about 1.7%, and a temporary solidarity levy of 6%. That is why the calculator shows an estimated net range.
Which grade should I choose?
New graduate administrators normally enter at AD 5; specialist and mid-career competitions recruit at AD 6–AD 7; assistants enter on the AST scale. If you are unsure which competition fits you, see our guide to AD, AST and CAST career paths.