Parental allowance is a benefit for parents of infants and toddlers. It replaces a portion of the lost income if you want to be there for your child after birth and take a break from or reduce your work. Parental allowance is also available to parents who had no income at all before the birth.
There are three types of parental allowance:
- Basic Parental Allowance
- Parental Allowance Plus
- Partnership Bonus
Parental Allowance Plus and the Partnership Bonus provide you with additional support if you share work and family responsibilities equally with your partner after the birth.
Even if you are a single parent, you can apply for these different types of benefits. Parental allowance is also available for adopted children and children in foster care.
As parents, you can decide for yourselves who will receive the parental allowance and for what period. In your application, you must specify the months of your child’s life for which you wish to apply for parental allowance and which parental allowance option you are choosing.
The amount of parental allowance is calculated on an individual basis. The calculation is based on the income you had before the birth and which you no longer receive after the birth. If you had no income at all before the birth or if you do not lose any income after the birth, you will receive a minimum amount. For basic parental allowance, this is at least 300.00 EUR per month. For Parental Allowance Plus, it is at least 150.00 EUR per month.
Tip: To help you plan and calculate your benefits, you can use the parental allowance calculator provided by the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs.
You are eligible for parental allowance if you meet the following requirements:
- You care for and raise your child yourself.
- You are a resident of Germany or normally reside here.
- You live in the same household as your child.
-
You are either not employed at all or, as a rule, work no more than 32 hours per week.
- There are several exceptions to the 32-hour-per-week limit, such as during vacation or if you are a student or in vocational training.
- For children born on or before March 31, 2024: Your taxable income did not exceed 250,000 EUR. For two-parent families, the limit is generally 300,000 EUR.
- For births on or after April 1, 2024: Your taxable income did not exceed 200,000 EUR. This limit applies to single parents as well as couples.
- For births on or after April 1, 2025: Your taxable income did not exceed 175,000 EUR. This limit applies to single parents as well as couples.
The parental allowance office points out that although the federal government has already provided the appendices to the parental allowance application for the interfaces with the pension insurance institution and the registry offices, these do not yet exist. The interface for health insurance companies has also not yet been set up.
We therefore ask you to enclose the relevant supporting documents (maternity allowance from the health insurance fund (copy), birth certificate in the version "for applying for parental allowance" in the original, and also proof of income for the assessment period for calculating the parental allowance (copy)) with the application documents.
Thank you for your understanding.
You can only apply for parental allowance after the birth.
It is best to submit the application within the first 3 months of your child's life, as parental allowance is paid retroactively for a maximum of 3 months.
Due to staffing shortages at the parental allowance office, processing times are currently longer than usual.
Your application can only be processed promptly if all requested documents are submitted in full.
We ask that you refrain from inquiring about the status of your application. If there are any uncertainties or missing documents, we will contact you.
If the processing time for parental allowance causes a financial emergency, you can apply for housing assistance at the Housing Assistance Office or apply for SGB II benefits at the Job Center.
