Child benefit

Child benefit is paid regardless of the parents' income. It has been standardized as of 1 January 2023. The amount no longer depends on the number of children you have.You currently receive €250 a month for each child.

If you are on a low income and do not receive Citizen's benefit, you can also receive a Child allowance under certain conditions.

You are entitled to Child benefit without restrictions until your child's 18th birthday. You can apply for Child benefit as soon as your child is born. If your child has reached the age of majority (18 years old), Child benefit will only continue to be paid under certain conditions until they reach the age of 21 or 25.

Under certain conditions, you can receive child benefit until your child reaches the age of 21 or 25:

Child benefit can be paid until their 21st birthday if your (adult) child is not working and is registered as a jobseeker with an employment agency in Germany, a job center or another state employment agency in the EU, the European Economic Area or Switzerland. The entitlement to Child benefit remains if your child is in marginal employment (e.g. a €566 job) as long as he or she is registered as a jobseeker. If the child only receives Citizen's benefit, this entitlement does not apply.

Until the 25th birthday . Child benefit can be paid until the child's 25th birthday if your (adult) child fulfills the following points:

• he was doing an apprenticeship (this includes school, vocational training and university studies)
• he is between 2 apprenticeships and has no more than 4 months off in between (for example, between leaving school and starting an apprenticeship)
• he is looking for an apprenticeship and can provide evidence of his or her efforts (for example, through written rejections of applications)
• he has been accepted for an apprenticeship, the apprenticeship starts later (for example at the beginning of the company training year)
• is doing a voluntary social year, a voluntary ecological year or another voluntary activity as part of the European Solidarity Corps

After the age of 25. You will only receive Child benefit if your child has a physical, mental or psychological disability. The prerequisite is that your child cannot finance their own life. The disability must have occurred before the 25th birthday and must be proven.

Child benefit will not continue to be paid if your adult child is engaged in so-called "gainful employment that is detrimental to entitlement". This is the case if the regular weekly working hours after completing initial vocational training or a first degree are more than 20 hours. Your child may be in marginal employment (e.g. a €566 job), work as part of an apprenticeship or only temporarily work more than 20 hours per week. This does not affect your entitlement to Child benefit.

Only one person at a time can receive Child benefit. If your child lives in a joint household with both parents, you can determine which of you receives the child benefit by means of a so-called beneficiary determination. This allows you to choose the parent who may have a higher entitlement to child benefit due to "counted children".

If the parents live separately, the parent with whom the child mainly lives will normally receive the child benefit. If the child spends roughly the same amount of time with both parents, you must also submit a determination of entitlement. In this case, you are both entitled to a share of the Child benefit and can divide the amount between you. If the parents cannot agree, the decision on the child benefit share can also be made for them in court.

If the child does not live in the household of one parent, the parent who pays the higher maintenance to the child receives the child benefit.

The determination of entitlement is submitted to your family benefits office with the application for child benefit. The determination of entitlement remains effective until it is revoked.

You can download the application for Child benefit here or complete it directly online. The data and documents you enter are transmitted electronically to the family benefits office. You then print out the application, sign it and send it to the family benefits office.

You can only apply for child benefit in writing to your family benefits office. To do this, you need the application for Child benefit. You must also complete the "Anlage Kind" for each child for whom you are applying for Child benefit. This is where you enter your child's personal details.

If your child is under 18 years old, you only need to provide your tax identification number and that of your child. If your child was born abroad, please also enclose the foreign birth certificate.

If your child is over 18 years old, the family benefits office usually needs additional proof of your child's employment or training.

This includes proof of:

• school education or university studies (certificate from the school, certificate of enrolment)
• in-company vocational training (copy of training contract)
• any missing job or training place (proof of jobseeker registration, copies of letters of application with rejections)
• an internship (copy of internship contract)
• a voluntary service (certificate from the organization)
• a mental, physical or psychological disability (for example a Severely Disabled Pass or a medical certificate)

Once you have submitted your application, the family benefits office will decide whether you are entitled to Child benefit. You will be notified of the decision in writing and sent it together with all the important information about your Child benefit entitlement. The processing time can take 4 to 6 weeks.

When you apply for Child benefit, you undertake to inform the Family Benefits Office of any changes that are relevant to your Child benefit entitlement.

Always contact the family benefits office if

• your address or bank details change
• You and the other parent permanently separate or divorce
• You or your child leave your previous household
• You take up employment in the public sector for more than 6 months
• another eligible person applies for Child benefit from their public employer or employer
• you or another entitled person take up employment abroad
• a child or legal guardian is reported missing or is deceased

After your child's 18th birthday, you must also notify the Family Benefits Office if the child

• changes, breaks off, ends or interrupts their schooling, vocational training or studies
• has already completed vocational training or studies and is now taking up gainful employment
• was previously registered as a jobseeker and is now starting school or vocational training, studying or working
• starts voluntary military service
• is pregnant

This ensures that you only receive payments that you are legally entitled to. If you violate this "notification obligation", this can be treated as a criminal or administrative offense. You will then also have to pay back the excess money paid out.

You can report some changes directly online. The Family Benefits Office requires your signature for some changes. To do this, you can print out the form "Change notification" and send it signed. The family benefits office will regularly check whether you are still entitled to Child benefit.

Yes, Child benefit can be paid retroactively for up to 6 months. The prerequisite is that you were already entitled to Child benefit during this period, but you did not submit a written application for payment, for example.

To submit a retroactive application, please state in your application to the family benefits office that you are applying for retroactive child benefit and from when you would like to receive child benefit.

You will receive a child benefit number from the family benefits office. The last digit (0 to 9) of your child benefit number determines when the amount is transferred to your account each month. The payment dates are set anew each year. You can check the dates online or by telephone (toll-free on 0800 4 555533).

Yes, even if you receive Citizen's benefit, you are entitled to child benefit. Important: Child benefit is counted as income in this case and is offset against Citizen's benefit in the same way as other maintenance payments.

Normally, Child benefit can only be paid to the parents or legal guardians. Even if your child does not live at home during their first training or studies, you are still obliged to support them financially.

However, if a child lives in their own household and no longer receives maintenance from their parents, the child can submit a "Abzweigungs-Antrag" for Child benefit to the family benefits office.

The child bonus was introduced by the federal government in 2020 as a special payment. It was paid out as additional financial aid to families who were particularly hard hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

The 2022 child bonus is a one-off payment of 100 euros per child and is intended to provide additional support for families. Payment was already made in July 2022. Parents will also receive the bonus for children born in 2022 - after the payment month of July.