What "super gross" means
The term appears in no law — it is a convention of donor-funded budgets, as entrenched as if it were one. On an ordinary salary, the employer adds its own 5% contribution on top of the gross: its cost is gross + 5%. On grant-funded projects that does not happen: the donor sets a single budget line for the salary, and the grant pays not a cent above it. That line is declared as the gross salary, and everything is deducted from it: the employee's contribution, the tax, and the employer's contribution as well.
The result: from the same "500 €", an employee on an ordinary contract and a project-funded worker receive different amounts in the bank. That is where the misunderstandings between organisation, worker and donor begin — and the reason this guide exists.
The calculation, step by step
With a super gross of EUR 500:
| Step | Amount |
|---|---|
| Super gross — the budget line, declared as the gross | 500.00 EUR |
| − Employee pension contribution (5%) | 25.00 EUR |
| − Payroll tax (on the 475 EUR base, 0/8/10% bands) | 18.50 EUR |
| − Employer pension contribution (5%) | 25.00 EUR |
| Net in the bank account | 431.50 EUR |
Compare an ordinary gross of EUR 500: there the employee takes home EUR 456.50 and the employer adds EUR 25 from its own budget. The difference in the bank is exactly that employer contribution — EUR 25 — which on a grant comes out of the same line, not on top of it.
The pension trust and the tax administration receive the same amounts in both cases: EUR 50 of contributions and EUR 18.50 of tax. What changes is only who carries the employer contribution — the organisation's own budget or the grant line.
Start from either end — the sum closes
In practice the question comes from both directions. Sometimes you know the budget line and want to know what reaches the worker: 500 super gross → 431.50 in the bank. Sometimes you know the amount you promised the person and need the figure for the project budget: 431.50 in the bank → 500 super gross. Our salary calculator has a "Super gross" mode with both directions — enter what you know, and the other comes out.
When the worker has another job: the secondary 10%
The classic project case: the expert has a regular job elsewhere and joins the project as a second engagement. Then the project organisation is not the main employer and withholds tax at the single rate of 10%, with no progressive bands — under Article 38.3 of Law No. 05/L-028. With a super gross of EUR 500: 25 employee, 47.50 tax, 25 employer — EUR 402.50 reaches the bank. The calculator has this as a separate checkbox.
Employment contract or contract for services
Everything above applies to an employment relationship — an employment contract, a payroll, contributions. But many project engagements are signed as contracts for services, and there the arithmetic is entirely different: tax is withheld at 10% (Articles 38.1 and 38.3), while there are no pension contributions at all, because there is no employment relationship. The super gross concept simply does not exist there — only the tax comes out of the gross payment.
Which form fits a given engagement is not a matter of preference but of the substance of the relationship: working hours, supervision, tools, exclusivity. Genuine employment dressed up as a service contract is the first finding of any serious audit. The full picture of withholding across all payment types is in our withholding tax guide.
The three mistakes we see on projects
- The budget says "salary" without saying which one. The donor reads 500 and understands the total cost; the worker reads 500 and understands their gross — the difference surfaces with the first payment, when it is late. In the budget and the contract, write it explicitly: super gross, gross or net in the bank.
- The employer contribution is left out of the budget entirely. Then either the promised salary cannot be paid, or the organisation covers it from its own funds — which dedicated grants often do not even allow.
- The main/secondary status is never verified. If the worker has a main employer elsewhere, the tax is a flat 10% — and the net you promised under the progressive bands will not come out.
What is declared, and where
A subsidised salary is declared like any salary: the payroll with forms WM and CM through the EDI system, by the 15th of the following month. Towards the donor, reporting follows the grant contract — and the project audit expects the payroll, the contract and the budget line to speak the same language. That is exactly where it helps to have the convention written down correctly from the start.
NGO and donor-project accounting — reporting by project, eligible costs and preparation for the project audit — is covered by our accounting service.