However, you will continue to receive the child benefit beyond this if:
- Your child is unemployed and registered as a job-seeker with an Employment Agency (up to age 21).
- Your child is in education or training (up to age 25 or the completion of their first vocational qualification or degree).
- Your child has a disability and cannot support themselves (up to age 25).
How to apply for Kindergeld in Germany
The easiest way to apply for child benefit is online via the Federal Employment Agency website (in German). You will need your tax ID as well as your child’s, and your bank details. If your child was born outside of Germany, you will also need to submit their birth certificate as part of the application process.
If you have a newborn child, you should receive a tax identification number for your child from the Federal Central Tax Office within a few weeks of their birth.
Shortly after this, you should also receive a welcome letter from your local Family Benefits Office with a personal access code to start your child benefit application. If you use this access code, most of the online form will be autofilled for you, making the application process a lot easier.
If you have recently moved to Germany with your child, you will receive their tax ID along with your own when you both complete the Anmeldung process.
If you prefer, you can also download the Kindergeld application form, print it and fill it out, before submitting it to your local Family Benefits Office. You can find your responsible office on the Arbeitsagentur website by entering your postcode.
You should hear back from the Family Benefits Office within six weeks of submitting your application. If they need any more information from you, they will contact you.
What should I do if my child benefit application is rejected?
If your application is rejected, contact your Family Benefits Office for more information. If you disagree with the decision, you can object to it within one month. You must object in writing or personally at the office.
Your child benefit number
When you start receiving the child benefit, you will also receive a child benefit number (Kindergeldnummer). This is a unique sequence of numbers that identifies each person who applies for child benefits.
You can find your child benefit number at the top of any letter you receive from the Family Benefits Office.
When is Kindergeld paid out?
The child benefit is paid monthly, usually directly into the parent’s bank account.
The exact date on which your child benefit will be paid depends on the final digit of your child benefit number. You can find the Kindergeld payment dates for 2025 on the Arbeitsagentur website (in German).
Is child benefit taxable?
The child benefit is tax-free.
However, you should still declare it on your tax return, so that the tax office can determine whether receiving the child benefit or the child tax-free allowance (see below) is more beneficial for you.
Tax-free allowances for children (Kinderfreibetrag)
Under certain conditions, parents may receive tax-free allowances (Freibeträge für Kinder) for their children, instead of the child benefit.
The tax-free allowance essentially makes more of the parents’ income tax-free, reducing their overall tax bill and saving them money.
There are two tax-free allowances for children:
- The child tax-free allowance (Kinderfreibetrag)
- The tax-free allowance for care, upbringing or educational needs (Freibetrag für die Betreuung, Erziehung oder den Ausbildungsbedarf)
How much is the child tax-free allowance?
As of 2025, the allowances are as follows:
- The child tax-free allowance is 6.672 euros or 3.336 euros per parent, per year.
- The tax-free allowance for care, upbringing or educational needs is 2.928 euros or 1.464 euros per parent.
Additional tax relief for single parents
Single parents are typically entitled to half of the tax-free allowances, plus additional tax relief of 4.260 euros per year (plus an additional 240 euros per year for each additional child). You can find out more on the Family Services portal.
To benefit from this single parent tax relief, you need to apply to the tax office to change your tax class to II.
How do I apply for the tax-free allowances?
You don’t apply for the tax-free allowance; instead, the tax office will apply it automatically if it is beneficial to you.
When assessing your income tax, the tax office will compare the amount of child benefit you have already received to the amount you could save if the tax-free child allowance were granted to you.
The option most favourable to you will be chosen by the tax office. If you are granted the child allowance, the tax relief given will be offset against the child benefit payments you have already received.
Child allowance in Germany (Kinderzuschlag)
As well as child benefit, low-income parents are entitled to claim a child allowance to help cover the cost of taking care of them. This is known as the supplementary child allowance (Kinderzuschlag).
How much is the child allowance in Germany in 2025?
As of 2025, the child allowance is up to 297 euros per month per child. The exact amount you will receive is determined by your income and assets.
You can also claim education and participation benefits, which entitle your child to free school meals and support with purchasing school supplies. If you receive the child allowance or housing benefit, you are exempt from paying fees for daycare in states where fees apply.
If your child has any income (e.g. maintenance payments), this will be deducted from the supplementary child allowance.
Child allowance requirements
In order to qualify for the child allowance, you need to fulfil certain conditions:
- You receive the child benefit for the child.
- Your child lives with you and is below the age of 25.
- Your child is unmarried.
- You earn at least 900 euros per month before deductions (600 euros for single parents).
- You earn less than the maximum income limit (varies according to the parents’ cost of living and is calculated individually by the Family Benefits Office).
You can check whether you might qualify for the child allowance online via the Federal Employment Agency website.
How to apply for the child allowance in Germany
You can apply for the supplementary child allowance online via the Federal Employment Agency's website (in German).
You will need to provide certain documents during the application process, typically:
What is the difference between child benefit and child allowance?
While the child benefit is a universal benefit paid out to all parents in Germany to help cover the cost of raising a child, the child allowance is a means-tested benefit specifically intended for low-income families who are struggling to meet their child’s basic needs with their income.
Maintenance advance (Unterhaltsvorschuss)
For single parents who receive irregular, partial or no maintenance payments from the other parent, there is a special supplementary payment to help cover costs. The amount of maintenance advance you will receive depends on the child’s age:
* In order to qualify, children above the age of 12 and their parents must not be in receipt of the citizens' allowance.
It is increasingly possible to apply for the maintenance advance online. To do this, you will need a form of identification like a residence permit or an identity card with the eID function activated. You can check on the Family Portal if online applications are possible in your area.
If it’s not possible for you to apply online, you will need to visit your local Youth Welfare Office (Jugendamt), which can provide you with a form to fill out. You will need to bring:
Federal Parental Allowance (Elterngeld)
New parents who fulfil certain conditions are also eligible for the parental allowance. This income-replacement benefit is important for offsetting the loss of earnings caused by the birth of a child, enabling parents to rest and spend time with their newborn children.
Child sickness benefit (Kinderkrankengeld)
The German name may be very similar, but it's a very different benefit. Child sickness benefit (Kinderkrankengeld) is paid out by the statutory health insurance company if the parent has to take time off work to look after their sick child.
Tax deductions for children
Parents can also make further tax savings by deducting their expenses for daycare and school fees, if applicable. The tax relief from these allowances will also be balanced against the amount of child benefit you have already received. For more details on how to request tax deductions, visit our annual tax return page.