Lithuanian employers quote gross salaries. If you've been offered โฌ900 a month or โฌ8 an hour, that isn't what reaches your account. Enter what you've been offered and see the real figure.
Your student pay
- Take-homeโฌ693.90
- Income taxโฌ30.60
- Sodraโฌ175.50
Students working part-time often have the NPD or Sodra applied wrongly by an employer, and it is recoverable through the annual declaration if you catch it.
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Where Your Money Goes
Two deductions come off a Lithuanian gross salary, and they behave differently โ income tax and Sodra.
| Income tax (GPM) | Sodra | |
|---|---|---|
| Headline rate | 20% | 19.5% |
| Charged on | Only income above your NPD | The full gross, no allowance |
| Allowance | NPD โฌ747 a month at low earnings | None |
| Typical part-time student result | Often โฌ0 | Deducted from the first euro |
| What it is made of | Rises to 25% and 32% at high incomes | Pension 8.72%, health 6.98% (PSD), sickness 1.99%, maternity 1.81% |
| What it buys you | Nothing directly โ it is tax | Public healthcare access |
Your employer also pays 1.77% on top of your gross โ that's their cost, not a deduction from you.
The Sodra deduction buys something worth having
The 6.98% health portion of your Sodra contributions puts you into Lithuania's state health insurance system (PSD). For a non-EU student, that's significant โ students who aren't working must otherwise cover themselves for the residence permit, either with a foreigners' medical-expenses policy (priced by quote only โ no Lithuanian insurer publishes a student health price) or by paying PSD contributions to Sodra themselves. Once you're employed and PSD-covered, you may be able to drop that policy. Check before cancelling. Student health insurance guide โ
The income tax line behaves in the opposite way. Where Sodra takes a fixed slice of everything you earn, income tax starts only above an allowance that most student pay never clears.
Why students often pay little or no income tax. Lithuania has a tax-free allowance called NPD (neapmokestinamasis pajamลณ dydis). At low earnings it's โฌ747 a month, and it shrinks as your salary rises โ reaching zero at โฌ2,677.49. Since most student jobs pay well under that, a large slice of your income is untaxed. Below roughly โฌ747 a month you pay no income tax at all โ though Sodra contributions still apply from the first euro.
Before You Accept a Job
- Mind the weekly cap, and note that it changed. Since 22 May 2026 non-EU students may work 20 hours a week in bachelor's years 1 and 2 and 40 hours a week in higher years and on master's and doctoral programmes. It applies across all jobs combined, not per employer, and the rule makes no distinction between term time and holidays โ older guides promising full-time hours over the summer are out of date. Exceeding the cap risks your student residence permit. Migration Department, 25 May 2026 ยท Work rights guide โ
- Check the figure is gross. It almost always is. Ask explicitly if the offer doesn't say.
- Get a written contract. Undeclared cash work puts your immigration status at risk, not just your tax position.
- Make sure your IBAN works. A Lithuanian IBAN from Revolut or Paysera is usually accepted by payroll โ confirm before your first payday. Student accounts โ
- Compare against tech roles. Vilnius fintech and IT companies hire students, pay considerably better than hospitality, and operate in English.
Worked Examples
Typical student earnings, using the same formulas as the calculator above.
| Monthly gross | NPD | Income tax | Sodra | Net pay | You keep |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| โฌ300 | โฌ747.00 | โฌ0.00 | โฌ58.50 | โฌ241.50 | 80.5% |
| โฌ500 | โฌ747.00 | โฌ0.00 | โฌ97.50 | โฌ402.50 | 80.5% |
| โฌ800 | โฌ747.00 | โฌ10.60 | โฌ156.00 | โฌ633.40 | 79.2% |
| โฌ1,153 (minimum wage) | โฌ747.00 | โฌ81.20 | โฌ224.84 | โฌ846.96 | 73.5% |
| โฌ2,000 | โฌ331.97 | โฌ333.61 | โฌ390.00 | โฌ1,276.39 | 63.8% |
This calculator is for guidance only. Assumes no Pillar II pension contribution and standard NPD. Individual circumstances vary.
How the Calculation Works
For anyone who wants to check the arithmetic:
- Work out your NPD. If gross โค โฌ1,153, NPD is โฌ747. Above that:
NPD = 747 โ 0.49 ร (gross โ 1153), floored at zero. - Taxable income = gross โ NPD.
- Income tax = taxable income ร 20%.
- Sodra = gross ร 19.5% (or 22.5% with Pillar II).
- Net pay = gross โ income tax โ Sodra.
Worked example at โฌ2,000: NPD = 747 โ 0.49 ร 847 = โฌ331.97. Taxable = โฌ1,668.03. Tax = โฌ333.61. Sodra = โฌ390.00. Net = โฌ1,276.39.
MMA (โฌ1,153), the NPD formula and Sodra component rates are verified for 2026. The higher GPM brackets (25% above โฌ83,237, 32% above โฌ138,729) sit well above any realistic student income and don't affect this calculator.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do students pay tax in Lithuania?
Yes, on the same basis as anyone else โ there's no separate student tax status. But the NPD tax-free allowance means many part-time student jobs attract little or no income tax. Sodra contributions apply from the first euro regardless.
How much can I earn before paying income tax?
Roughly โฌ747 a month, which is the full NPD at low earnings. Below that, your taxable income is nil. Sodra is still deducted.
Do I pay Sodra on a small student job?
Yes โ Sodra applies to the full gross with no allowance. In return you're covered for state health insurance, which matters if you're a non-EU student currently paying for private cover.
How many hours can I work as a student?
EU students have no student-specific cap. Non-EU students are capped by the conditions attached to their residence permit: since 22 May 2026 that is 20 hours a week in bachelor's years 1 and 2 and 40 hours a week in higher years and on master's and doctoral programmes. The limit applies across all jobs combined rather than per employer, and it makes no distinction between term time and holidays โ older guides promising full-time summer hours are out of date.
What is NPD?
Neapmokestinamasis pajamลณ dydis โ the tax-free allowance. It's โฌ747 a month at low earnings and tapers to zero at โฌ2,677.49 gross.
Should I join the Pillar II pension as a student?
It adds 3% to your deductions in exchange for building a private pension pot. Most students opt out to maximise take-home pay and join later when earning more, but it's a personal decision โ the calculator lets you model both.
Does working affect my health insurance?
Yes, usefully. Employment brings you into the state PSD system, which may let a non-EU student drop the private policy required for their permit. Confirm your coverage is active before cancelling anything.
Can a student job cover the funds I have to prove for my residence permit?
Treat those as two different numbers answering two different questions. The study-based permit asks you to show half the minimum monthly wage for each month of stay โ with MMA at โฌ1,153 in 2026 that is โฌ576.50 a month, or roughly โฌ6,918 across a twelve-month period. Meanwhile a job worked right up to the 20-hour cap at the statutory minimum hourly rate of โฌ7.05 grosses in the region of โฌ611 a month before deductions. The two figures are close, which is exactly why people assume one satisfies the other. Whether earnings can substitute for funds you have to evidence up front is a question for the Migration Department, not for a calculator โ ask before you plan your year around it.
My employer applied the wrong NPD, or deducted Sodra when they should not have. Can I get it back?
Often yes, through the annual income tax return, which is where a year's deductions are reconciled against what you actually owed. Part-time student pay is where this goes wrong most: the NPD is a monthly taper, so an employer who assumes the wrong base โ or a second employer who applies the allowance a first one has already used โ produces a payslip that is wrong every month until someone notices. The return is form GPM311, filed by 1 May of the following year under the law; for the 2025 tax year that deadline rolled forward to Monday 4 May 2026 because 1 May is a public holiday. Employment income sits on annex GPM311B. Keep your payslips: reclaiming is a matter of showing what was taken.
What actually happens if I go over the hours cap?
You put the residence permit itself at risk, not just your tax position โ the hours are a condition attached to the permit rather than a labour-law rule, so exceeding them is a permit problem. The same logic applies to undeclared cash work: no contract means no record that you were working lawfully within your conditions. Two related points worth planning for rather than discovering. Self-employment may be treated differently from employment under your permit conditions, so confirm with the Migration Department before invoicing anyone. And the permit ends with your studies โ you cannot simply carry on working after graduation, you have to move to a different permit basis, and that is something to arrange before your final year ends.
Related
Disclaimer
This calculator provides general estimates using standard 2026 rates and assumes the standard NPD applies. Individual circumstances โ additional allowances, multiple employers, non-standard contracts โ can change the result. It is not tax advice. Confirm your position with VMI or your employer's payroll department.