Investboard …
Calculator · FIRE & freedom
When will you reach financial independence?
The calculator determines the FIRE number with the German tax uplift and models the Regular, Coast and Barista variants.
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FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early: building enough wealth to live off your investment income.
The Abgeltungsteuer (flat capital-gains tax of 26.375 %) and the Teilfreistellung (partial exemption) raise the amount you need to roughly 34x your annual expenses.
3.0–3.5 % after tax. The well-known 4 % rule does not account for the German Abgeltungsteuer.
You have saved enough that compound growth alone carries your wealth to the FIRE number by retirement age, with no further contributions required.
Calculate Kapitalertragsteuer (capital gains tax), Solidaritätszuschlag (solidarity surcharge), and Kirchensteuer (church tax) on your capital earnings.
Calculate now →What remains of your dividend after Abgeltungsteuer, solidarity surcharge, and church tax?
Calculate now →Calculate the advance lump sum tax on your ETFs and funds, for the 2024 to 2026 tax years, each due in January of the following year.
Calculate now →Which ETF type gives you more wealth after German taxes? Long-term comparison with Vorabpauschale, partial exemption, and saver's allowance.
Calculate now →Distribute your saver's allowance across banks and brokers without leaving allowance unused.
Calculate now →Calculate your wealth after 10, 20, or 30 years, optionally with German tax deduction (Vorabpauschale).
Calculate now →How much financial cushion do you need?
Calculate now →How much do you need for your property?
Calculate now →Calculate tax-free allowances and tax liability
Calculate now →What will your child's savings plan grow to?
Calculate now →What's missing for your retirement?
Calculate now →How long will your assets last?
Calculate now →FIRE stands for Financial Independence, Retire Early. The FIRE number is the level of wealth at which your annual expenses can be covered from the portfolio indefinitely. The base formula is simple:
FIRE number = annual expenses ÷ safe withdrawal rate
At a 4% withdrawal rate that gives the well-known 25 times annual expenses, at 3.5% roughly 29 times, at 3% roughly 33 times.
The 25x rule of thumb comes from the US. In Germany two factors push the number up:
1. Taxes on withdrawals. Every sale realises gains on which Abgeltungsteuer (flat capital-income tax) is due. The calculator therefore grosses up your expenses by the expected tax: it assumes a 70% gain share per withdrawal, applies the 30% partial exemption (Teilfreistellung) for equity funds and uses a 26.375% rate (more with church tax). Net, that adds roughly 15% to the required FIRE number.
2. A longer horizon. Retiring at 40 means planning across 40 to 50 years rather than the 30 years of the classic Trinity study. Analyses by Kitces, Pfau and Early Retirement Now point towards a rate of 3.0 to 3.5% for such horizons.
Example: at EUR 24,000 of annual expenses and a 3.5% withdrawal rate, the FIRE number is about EUR 686,000 before tax; with the German tax load the calculator arrives at roughly EUR 787,000, about 33 times annual expenses.
Regular FIRE covers all expenses from the portfolio. Coast FIRE asks: is today's wealth enough if it simply keeps compounding until a target age, with no further contributions? The calculator discounts your FIRE number back to today for that. nets a part-time income against your expenses: the portfolio only has to carry the gap, which lowers the target considerably.
Inputs
FIRE variant
Expected return p.a.
Withdrawal rate
Common guideline in Germany: 3.0–3.5% (after Abgeltungsteuer)
Your Tax Profile
of EUR 1.000
Your FIRE number (Regular)
Germany factor: 32.81× annual expenses
With Abgeltungsteuer plus the solidarity surcharge you need roughly 32.81× rather than the often-quoted 25×.
FIRE number
EUR 787.487,16≈ 32.81× annual expenses (EUR 24.000,00)
To reach FIRE in 18.5 years
Simulation · not a return forecast or guarantee. Based on an assumed 7% return p.a.; actual performance may differ substantially.
Figures in today's purchasing power; the return is applied in real terms (after inflation).
You need EUR 787.487,16 for your FIRE plan. With Investboard you track your progress automatically, with a forecast, milestone markers and daily updates.
Your calculation result is carried over automatically as a goal target.
Alongside the FIRE number, the calculator shows the years to target at your current savings rate, your FIRE age and the monthly savings required for a chosen target age. It assumes a constant real return: the assumed return is netted of an assumed 2% inflation so that every figure stays in today's purchasing power.
The model uses a constant return and no sequence-of-returns risk; the saver's allowance is not modelled. All figures are in today's purchasing power: the return is applied in real terms (after an assumed 2% inflation), and expenses and withdrawals stay in today's euros. You choose the withdrawal rate yourself. The result is an orientation, not a promise.