Significant relief from the burden of inflation is brought to citizens in 2025, especially to families with children and workers whose earnings range from 800 to 1,000 euros a month.

Directly or indirectly, through tax cuts or increases in wages and benefits, in 2025 more than 3 million households are expected to see a benefit of €1.4 billion, or about €450 on average.

The benefits are multiple and even greater for couples of public and private sector workers, doubling per household. Added up, this all translates into half or even an extra, 13th salary for many of them in 2025.

Specifically:

1. Working wage earners: In April the minimum wage in the private sector will increase in April.

What does this mean?

In the private sector: An increase of at least 40 euros each month (or slightly higher if necessary) in the minimum wage from April 2025, so that the 120-euro gap is gradually covered in three years, from 830 euros in 2024 to 870-880 euros in 2025, with the prospect of it rising to around 910 euros in 2026, before reaching 950 euros in 2027, based on the target.

On an annual basis (including bonuses) the newly hired employee will receive over 450 euros extra, half a salary extra compared to the 830 euros he/she currently receives. More than half a million employees are currently paid at the minimum wage.

All those completing three-year contracts, which have been unfrozen and count again from this year, will also see larger increases.

These increases are for gross pay, which means less will be seen in hand. However, the increase in pensionable earnings also boosts the future amount of pension they will receive, as each year’s annual earnings throughout their working lives are counted to calculate it.

In addition, for all employed workers, the health insurance contribution is reduced by 0.5% of their salary. This means 4-8 euros more and net in hand each month for most employees or 50-100 euros extra each year.

In the public sector: From 850 euros the introductory is increased to the level where the private sector minimum will be reached. Thus, the introductory salary of a civil servant will rise to 870 euros (based on current data) or 20 euros extra per month. On a 12-month basis (excluding gifts in the civil service), an additional 240 euros will be added, which will be received by all of the nearly 600,000 civil servants, new and old, without exception, regardless of their salary, as well as uniformed personnel, NHS doctors and all special payrolls. All those who move up a pay scale in 2025 due to years of service, instead of the 40-60 euros they were expecting, will get 60-80 euros more each month. In addition, in 2025 the target achievement bonus will continue and be extended for tens of thousands of civil servants, who will receive up to one and a half extra salary.

In households with two working wage earners: The above increases count double in the total income that goes into the household as a whole.

In households with children: Professionals and farmers will see €90-220 less tax on their tax statement this year, as the tax-free allowance was increased by €1,000 for each child in 2024. Employees who had a second job that was tax-free or had little tax withheld in 2024 will also see a benefit, as they will be charged the sum of their incomes on the final tax statement and will pay more tax in 2025.

In addition, for households with dependent children, the child allowance (A21) also gets an increase of 17-20 euros per month or 200-240 euros extra per year for each child. The birth grant also got an increase, from EUR 2,000 to EUR 2,400-3,500 for each child born in 2025. For those with children studying at higher education institutions in the region, the cohabitation allowance is increased by 500 euros (from 2,000 to 2,500) and three-parent families will not lose the status when their children finish school.

At the same time, in 2025, vouchers for nursery schools are exempt from tax in 2025. They range from €2,600 to €5,000 and the indirect benefit (9%-22% of the value for most) ranges up to an additional €600 each year. In addition, there is an incentive for (mainly large) companies to voluntarily give benefits of up to 5,000 euros to employees for each first child they have (or up to 10,000 or 15,000 for the second or third child).

Members of the Armed Forces and Security Forces: Members of the Armed Forces and Security Forces are given larger increases. In addition to the annual across-the-board increases in state and family allowances, all those receiving monthly night allowance will get a 4-36 euro gross increase in 2025, or 50-400 euro extra per year. And from July onwards everyone without exception will receive an extra 100 euros as a hazard allowance, an extra 600 euros for the second half of the year, rising to 1,200 euros every year from 2026 onwards – that is a 13th salary per year for most people.

NHS doctors: On-call duties will henceforth be taxed independently at 22%, instead of up to 36% or 44% as is currently the case. The monthly net benefit on average for doctors is estimated at 150 euros, and in many cases exceeds 200 euros. On an annual basis they save 1,800 euros per year. As the on-call allowance for NHS doctors has been increased by 20% since January 2024, the benefit of free taxation will be reflected in the tax statements issued in the first half of 2025.

Additional increases of up to 600 euros a month or 7,200 a year will also be seen by doctors who choose to serve on the unofficial line.

2. Pensioners: A 2.4% increase in pensions or an extra 120-240 euros a year for pensions of 500 to 1,000 euros.

3. Farmers:They will see an increase of 20% in their VAT refund, totaling €100 million. The refund is now made permanent and the average annual benefit increases from around 300 euros to 360 euros a year for a total of 273,000 beneficiaries.

4. Property owners: In 2025 the ENFIA reduction is doubled from 10% to 20% for insured homes, offering a 10-50 euro discount to those who did not benefit from the measure last year or an additional 5-30 euro benefit to those who already used the measure last year.