What is the minimum wage in Lithuania in 2026 and when did it come into force?

From 1 January 2026, the gross minimum monthly wage is €1,153 and the gross minimum hourly rate is €7.05, set by Government Resolution No 700 of 16 October 2025. This applies to all employees working under an employment contract, regardless of sector or employer size. Lithuania's Labour Code reserves the minimum wage for unqualified work — a role requiring a qualification or professional competence should not automatically be paid at the statutory minimum merely because the employee accepts it.

How much of my salary goes to Sodra contributions and what does it cover?

The total employee Sodra contribution rate in 2026 is 19.5 percent of gross salary, covering: pension insurance (8.72 percent), health insurance (6.98 percent), sickness insurance (1.99 percent), maternity insurance (1.81 percent), and unemployment insurance (1.31 percent). These are automatically withheld from gross salary. Social insurance contributions stop once annual pay reaches €138,729, but the 6.98 percent health contribution continues with no cap.

What are Lithuania's income tax brackets for 2026?

From 1 January 2026, the rates are: 20 percent on annual income up to €83,237 (36 average wages), 25 percent up to €138,729 (60 average wages), and 32 percent above that. The maximum monthly non-taxable allowance (NPD) is €747 for incomes at or below €1,153, tapering to zero at higher income levels. This reform replaced the old two-bracket system that jumped directly from 20 percent to 32 percent.

How is my holiday pay actually calculated — is it just my basic salary?

During annual leave, you are paid your average earnings — not your basic salary alone. Holiday pay equals the average daily rate multiplied by the working days of leave. It must be paid no later than the last working day before your leave begins, under Article 130 of the Labour Code. If you receive bonuses or regular allowances, those must feed into the average. If your employer pays only your base rate, they owe you the difference.

What can I do if my employer is not paying the correct overtime rates?

Start by requesting your written working time records, which your employer is required to keep under Article 108 of the Labour Code. Overtime must be paid at least 1.5 times regular pay for standard overtime and night work, at least 2 times for work on an unscheduled rest day or public holiday, and at least 2.5 times for overtime on a public holiday. If the figures on your payslip do not match, file a complaint with the State Labour Inspectorate at vdi.lt. There is no fee. Claims can go back up to three years under general limitation rules.

Lithuania 2026: What Your Employer Is Legally Keeping From You

As of 1 January 2026, the minimum wage in Lithuania is €1,153 per month — a gross figure that, after taxes and social contributions, looks very different in your pocket. But the minimum wage is only part of the story. Your holiday pay, your overtime rate, your tax allowance — these are rights that already belong to you, whether your employer has ever mentioned them or not.

The Money You Are Losing Without Knowing It

Here is what most people never find out: the law gives you specific, calculable amounts for overtime, for working on a public holiday, and for every single day of annual leave — and none of that is optional. Your employer cannot pay you less. Not in a side agreement. Not in a clause buried in your contract. Not at all.

Yet thousands of workers in Vilnius and across Lithuania quietly accept flat-rate pay for weekend call-outs, skip holiday pay that was never properly calculated, and hand back hundreds of euros a year in tax allowances they never claimed. On 16 October 2025, the Lithuanian government approved the 2026 budget, confirming an 11.1 percent minimum wage increase from €1,038 to €1,153 per month. That is a significant raise — but if your employer is already cutting corners on overtime and holiday pay, a higher floor just means you are losing more.

A key development for 2026 is the implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which introduces new requirements for remuneration policies and employees' right to request information on average salaries in their job category. In other words, the law is moving in your direction — but only if you know how to use it.

What the Law Actually Says

Lithuania's employment rules are set out in the Darbo kodeksas — the Labour Code of the Republic of Lithuania, Law No XII-2603 of 14 September 2016, in force since 1 July 2017. This is not a vague policy document. It sets exact multipliers for every category of extra work, and those multipliers are legally binding on every employer in the country.

The employer may only assign overtime work with the employee's written consent, except in a limited number of exceptional circumstances. Overtime must be paid at a rate of not less than one and a half times the employee's salary. Overtime on a rest day at night is paid at least twice the salary, and overtime on a public holiday — including at night — is paid at least two and a half times the salary.

Under the Darbo kodeksas, Articles 120–137, Lithuanian employees are entitled to a minimum of 20 working days (28 calendar days) of paid annual leave per year. During annual leave, the employee is paid their average earnings — not just their basic salary. Holiday pay equals the average daily rate multiplied by the working days of leave. That distinction matters enormously if you receive any bonuses, commissions, or regular allowances. An employee who regularly receives performance bonuses should see those reflected in their leave pay calculation.

Your holiday pay must be paid no later than the last working day before the leave begins, under Article 130 of the Labour Code. If your employer is handing you a payment after you come back — or not calculating your full average earnings — they are in breach of the law.

The Real Numbers for 2026

Category	Figure	Source
Minimum monthly wage (gross)	€1,153	Government Resolution No 700, 16 Oct 2025; in force 1 Jan 2026
Minimum hourly wage	€7.05	Government Resolution No 700, 16 Oct 2025
Standard annual leave	20 working days (5-day week)	Labour Code, Arts. 120–137
Standard overtime rate	1.5× regular pay	Labour Code, Art. 144
Overtime on a rest day or at night	2× regular pay	Labour Code (amended 1 Jan 2025)
Overtime on a public holiday	2.5× regular pay	Labour Code (amended 1 Jan 2025)
Employee Sodra contributions (total)	19.5 percent of gross	Sodra, 2026 rate table
Income tax — Band 1	20 percent (annual income up to €83,237)	VMI / Lithuanian tax reform, 1 Jan 2026
Income tax — Band 2	25 percent (€83,237 to €138,729)	VMI / Lithuanian tax reform, 1 Jan 2026
Income tax — Band 3	32 percent (above €138,729)	VMI / Lithuanian tax reform, 1 Jan 2026
Non-taxable allowance (NPD), max	€747/month	VMI, 1 Jan 2026
Public holidays per year	16 days	Labour Code, Art. 123 + 2026 calendar
Employer Sodra (permanent contract)	1.77 percent	Sodra, 2026 rate table
Sodra contribution ceiling	€138,729/year	Sodra (60× average wage, 2026)

Until 2026, Lithuania ran a simpler two-tier income tax. From 1 January 2026, a middle band was added, so there are now three rates. For the vast majority of Lithuanian workers earning below €83,237 a year, the 20 percent rate applies. But the non-taxable allowance (NPD) is the tool that most workers never fully exploit. The NPD formula was rebased to the 2026 minimum wage, with the maximum monthly NPD set at €747 for incomes at or below €1,153 and tapering to zero at higher income levels. If you earn at or near the minimum wage and your employer is not applying the full NPD, you are overpaying tax every single month.

What Your Employer Will Never Tell You

This is where workers get caught out. Your employer knows the rules. They have a payroll accountant who filed the 2026 Sodra returns and reads the VMI updates. The information asymmetry is deliberate — the less you know, the cheaper you are to employ.

Here are three things you can act on right now.

First, on the working day immediately before a public holiday, the working day must be shortened by one hour. If, due to the organisation of work or the employer's uninterrupted activity, it is not possible to shorten the working day, the employer must pay that hour as overtime. Does your employer shorten your pre-holiday shift — or simply schedule you for the full day and say nothing? If the latter, you are owed overtime pay for that hour, every single time.

Second, leave pay must reflect your average earnings, not your basic salary alone. This means an employee who regularly receives performance bonuses should see those reflected in their leave pay calculation. Check your last holiday pay slip against your actual average monthly earnings. The difference can run into hundreds of euros per year.

Third, check your NPD. For employees with earnings above the minimum wage, the applicable monthly non-taxable income amount (NPD) is calculated using the formula: NPD = 747 – 0.49 × (monthly salary – MMA). If your employer's payroll system is not applying this formula dynamically each month, you may be overpaying income tax and building up a refund claim with the State Tax Inspectorate (VMI) at vmi.lt. You can check and file your own return through the VMI Electronic Declaration System (EDS) — it is free, it is online, and any overpaid tax comes back to you.

For an instant calculation of how all these figures combine into your real take-home pay, use the free salary calculator at EuroDuty — it applies the 2026 NPD formula, the three income tax bands and the 19.5 percent Sodra rate automatically.

Lithuania vs The Rest of Europe

Context matters. In the group of EU countries with minimum wages between €1,000 and €1,500 per month, Lithuania sits at €1,153 alongside Greece (€1,027), Croatia (€1,050), Portugal (€1,073), Cyprus (€1,088), Poland (€1,139), Slovenia (€1,278) and Spain (€1,381). Lithuania is not at the bottom — but it is not comfortable either.

Latvia's national minimum salary increased to €780 gross per month from 1 January 2026. Estonia's minimum wage rose to €946 per month from 1 April 2026. Lithuania's €1,153 leads both Baltic neighbours by a meaningful margin. But here is what the raw number hides: social insurance contributions stop once annual pay reaches €138,729 in 2026, but the 6.98 percent health contribution continues. Lithuania places almost the entire social insurance burden on the employee — 19.5 percent from the worker and just 1.77 percent from the employer on a permanent contract. Compare that structure to countries where employer contributions run at 20–30 percent of gross salary and you start to see why a Lithuanian gross salary in euros stretches differently than the same number elsewhere in the EU. Use the EuroDuty salary comparator to see exactly how your net pay stacks up against workers in Latvia, Estonia, Poland and beyond.

How to Claim What You Are Owed

Calculate your true holiday pay entitlement. Take your total earnings (including bonuses and allowances) over the last three months, divide by the number of working days in that period, and multiply by your leave days. Compare that number to what your employer actually paid you. The VMI publishes a worked example — search "atostoginiai skaičiavimas" on vmi.lt.
Check your overtime records. Under Article 144 of the Labour Code, your employer is legally required to keep daily and weekly working time records for every employee. Request a copy. If you worked on a public holiday and received only standard pay, you are owed the difference up to the 2.5× rate. File a complaint with the State Labour Inspectorate (Valstybinė darbo inspekcija) at vdi.lt — it is free.
Review your payslips for the correct NPD. Log into your VMI account at the Electronic Declaration System (EDS) on vmi.lt. Your cumulative income tax withheld is visible there. If your employer has not applied the NPD correctly, file a personal income tax return (GPM declaration) to reclaim the overpaid amount.
Verify your Sodra record. Your full social insurance contribution history — every month your employer paid in — is visible in your personal account at gyventojams.sodra.lt. Gaps in contributions affect your pension and your right to sick pay and maternity benefits. If a month is missing, it is your employer's legal obligation to correct it.
Get written consent for overtime. From 1 January 2025, employers require written consent from employees for overtime work. If your employer is assigning overtime verbally and then not paying the correct premium, you have grounds for both a wage claim and a Labour Inspectorate complaint.
Know your severance rights. For no-fault termination, severance pay ranges from one average monthly salary for one year of service to six months' average salary for ten or more years of service, under Article 57(6) of the Labour Code. Do not sign anything before you verify the number you are owed.

Calculate your exact net salary and compare your rights across all 27 EU countries at EuroDuty — completely free.