Working student and minijob at the same time: conditions & taxes

Working student jobs are attractive for many students. Not only do you earn a comparatively high amount, but you also already gain professional experience – an advantage when applying for jobs later on. But what if the money is still not enough or you simply want to earn some extra money?? Is a working student job plus a mini-job allowed? What must be considered when combining a working student job and a mini-job? And what about taxes? The answers to these and other questions can be found here.

Are you still allowed to have a mini-job as a working student??

Working student jobs are popular among students. Compared to temporary jobs, they often offer a relatively high salary, exciting tasks and serve as evidence of initial professional experience in the resume. Another advantage of working as a student trainee is that you do not normally have to pay social security contributions. This is also known as working student privilege. You do not have to pay into the health and long-term care insurance or into the unemployment insurance. Therefore, more of your gross salary remains. Only pension insurance contributions are due in the case of a student trainee job.

Students who are looking for an additional job in addition to a student trainee position often opt for mini-jobs on a 450-euro basis. You can find such jobs for example in supermarkets and other retail stores, in restaurants or cafes. A practical aspect of mini-jobs is that no social security contributions have to be paid. You are obliged to pay pension insurance, but you can easily be exempted from this obligation.

The important thing is that with a mini-job you do not earn more than 5.earn 400 euros. Otherwise, the exemption from social security contributions is no longer valid. Most mini-jobbers work a few hours every week. You may be able to earn more than 450 euros. However, this is only permitted if it is limited to a maximum of three months (70 days).

In principle, working as a student trainee plus a mini-job is permitted. However, you should consider certain aspects when combining a student job and a mini-job so that you do not have any undesirable disadvantages as a result.

Working student and 450-euro job: This is what you should keep in mind

If you want to take on a mini-job alongside a working student job, you should keep an eye on your working hours. If you work too many hours, you risk losing your student status. In order not to jeopardize your student status, you are normally not allowed to work more than 20 hours per week.

It does not matter what kind of job it is. The work as a student assistant and the mini-job count together. If you work 15 hours a week as a student trainee and eight hours a week as a temporary employee, you will exceed the 20-hour limit and will no longer be considered a regular student.

This does not mean that the combination of student assistant and mini-job is not possible if you work too many hours. However, you are then formally no longer a student, but an employee. If you lose your working student privilege, you will have to pay social security contributions and possibly also taxes.

Working as a working student and mini-job during semester breaks or on weekends: What applies?

However, there is an exception to the 20-hour rule: You are allowed to work more during the semester break as a working student. You are allowed to work more than 20 hours per week for up to 26 weeks per year without losing your status as a regular student. It would be possible, for example, to combine your work as a student trainee with a mini-job during the semester break, even if both together comprise more than 20 hours.

You may also work more outside of the semester break within the limits mentioned above. You could, for example, work as a student trainee and have a mini-job at the weekend at the same time – provided that the mini-job is limited to a maximum of 26 weekends. Within this limit, you may also work a mini-job in the evenings or before your lectures and thus work more than 20 hours per week in total.

You must keep the Working Hours Act in mind for your activities. As a rule, you may work a maximum of eight hours per day, in exceptional cases up to ten hours. The regular maximum working time is 48 hours per week, but in exceptional cases you may work up to 60 hours per week.

Inform your employer about your part-time job

Before you combine a mini-job and a working student job, you should talk to your first employer. On the one hand, it is possible that this person will refuse an additional job if you lose your working student privilege as a result. For the employer it will be more expensive to employ you, because you will be subject to social security contributions. On the other hand, it is generally advisable to inform your employer about all your jobs. You may not have noticed yourself that you are working too much to be officially still considered a student. Only an informed employer can make sure that everything is done correctly.

If it turns out later that you have worked too much or earned too much with the combination of working student and marginal employment, you are threatened with additional payments. If the employer has to pay additional social security contributions for you, you have to contribute your share. Taxes can also be levied retroactively.

Working student and mini-job at the same time: Are taxes due??

In most cases, you do not have to pay taxes as a working student. For students, the regular basic tax allowance of currently 9 % applies.408 Euro per year. On average, you can earn up to 784 euros per month without having to pay income tax on it. If you earn more, however, you will be liable to pay tax on it.

Mini-jobs are tax-free if you earn a maximum of 450 euros or up to 5 euros per month on average.400 euros per year. At the same time, you may earn more than 450 euros for up to three months or 70 working days in short-term employment, provided you do not earn more than 5 euros in total.400 euros of merit.

If you are a regular student, the combination of a mini-job and a working student job is usually unproblematic. No taxes are due within the above limits. If you are considered an employee, you only have to pay tax on your student job if you earn a corresponding amount.

If your mini-job earnings do not exceed 450 euros, you will not have to pay any taxes or social security contributions – provided you have been exempted from compulsory pension insurance. If you work as a student trainee and have a mini-job, the tax class does not change. If you earn more than 450 euros per month for the additional part-time job, you will be classified in tax class 6 for this job. This is connected with high deductions, because there are no allowances.

Working student and part-time job: What about health insurance??

If you work as a student trainee and take on a part-time job, you should also take care of your health insurance. Students up to the age of 25 are usually covered by family insurance. This is free of charge for you, but requires that your studies are your main occupation. For the classification, the 20-hour limit applies again. As a student, you may earn a maximum of 455 euros per month with a mini-job in order to remain in the family insurance. For working student jobs, the monthly earnings limit is 583.33 euros.

If you earn too much to remain insured through your family, or are over 25 years old, you must insure yourself. Student health insurance costs around 80 euros per month. If you have lost your status as a regular student due to your workload, you are covered by health insurance as an employee through your employer. Health and long-term care insurance contributions then come out of your salary on a pro-rata basis.