Child benefit amount 2019 - payment, dates and application

The child benefit amount depends on the number of children in the family. For the first be >

Number of children Child benefit amount 2019 1 child 204 euros 2nd child 204 euros 3rd child 210 euros 4th child 235 euros Every additional child 235 euros

As can be seen from the child benefit table above, there is currently 204 euros per child per month for the first and second child. With the third child, the child benefit will then increase to 210 euros per month. The child benefit for the fourth child then rises to 235 euros per month. For all other children who follow the fourth child, the amount of child benefit no longer changes, but remains at EUR 235 per child per month.

Calculation example: A family has two sons and two daughters, each of whom are not yet 18 years old, so that the parents are entitled to child benefit for all four children. Then the family would receive a total child benefit of 853 euros (204 euros + 204 euros + 210 euros + 235 euros) per month for their four children. If the family were still entitled to child benefit for another child, the family would even receive child benefit of 1,088 euros per month (204 euros + 204 euros + 210 euros + 235 euros + 235 euros).

When calculating how much child benefit is due to a family, so-called counting children are also taken into account. Counting children are children for whom no child benefit is paid themselves, but which affect the child benefit amount of the other children. Above all, parents who live separately can benefit financially from the regulation for counting children. Suppose a father had a child from his first marriage and two other children with his new wife. If the child from the first marriage lives with the ex-wife, she is also entitled to child benefit and the father receives no money for this child from the first marriage.

Nevertheless, it is taken into account when calculating the child benefit amount for the other two children from a second marriage as a counting child. As a result, these children are not classified as first and second children, but rather as second and third children when determining the child benefit level. The counting child gives the family 414 euros per month instead of just 408 euros. The effect of the counting children would be even greater if the father had two children from their first marriage. Then his children from the second marriage would be treated as the third and fourth child. The two counting children would then give the family 445 euros per month instead of 408 euros, an increase of 37 euros per month.

Child benefit increase as of July 1, 2019

The child benefit amount was adjusted at the beginning of the second half of 2019. Because on July 1, 2019 there was a child benefit increase. At that time, child benefit was increased by ten euros per month for each child. Accordingly, after the child benefit increase from July 2109, instead of 194 euros, parents now receive 204 euros per month for the first and second child from the family fund. The child benefit for the third child will increase from 200 euros to 210 euros per month from July 2019. For the fourth child and all other children thereafter, there will be a payment of EUR 235 instead of EUR 225 per child per month from July 2019. The following child benefit table shows again how much child benefit parents have received for the first, second, third, fourth and every additional child from July 2019:

Child benefit table from 1 July 2019

Number of Children	Child benefit after July 1, 2019	Child benefit before July 1, 2019
1 child	204 euros	194 euros
2nd child	204 euros	194 euros
3rd child	210 euros	200 euros
4th child	235 euros	225 euros
Every additional child	235 euros	225 euros

Dates for the payment of child benefit?

In Germany, child benefit is generally paid out once a month. It is sufficient if the eligibility requirements are met on a single day of the month in order to secure the full amount of child benefit for the respective month. However, not all parents receive child benefit at the same time. Because the dates for payment are always based on the respective child benefit number. The payment dates also change from month to month. You can find further information on child benefit payments on the following page on child benefit payment dates.

When are parents entitled to child benefit?

The claim child benefit arises in the month in which the child is born. In any case, the child benefit is valid until the child who has reached the age of 18. Parents can still claim child benefit even for children over 18 years of age. However, additional requirements must be met for this. Parents can continue to receive child benefit if their child is unemployed and registered as a job seeker with the Federal Employment Agency. In this case, the child benefit will continue to be paid until the child’s 21st birthday.

Child allowance for training and studies

Parents can receive child benefit even longer if their children are studying or doing an apprenticeship. In this case, the parents can continue to receive child benefit up to the child’s 25th birthday. After new legal The amount of income for children of legal age no longer plays a role in the child benefit. There is only one restriction to be observed: If the child continues to pursue further studies or further training after completing vocational training or a completed first degree, child benefit will be discontinued if the child has more than 20 hours in addition to training or studies works a week. With a lower weekly working hours, however, the full amount of child benefit is paid. In contrast to the weekly working hours, according to the new legal situation, the amount of the child’s income is no longer relevant for child benefit entitlement and the amount of child benefit.

It is quite possible that children do not find a training place or study place directly, but first have to bridge a certain waiting time. Parents continue to receive child benefit even when the adult children are looking for an apprenticeship or study place. However, it is a prerequisite that the children also make serious efforts to study or undertake an apprenticeship during this time. Otherwise, the child benefit entitlement can be lost. This shows a current ruling by the Federal Fiscal Court (BFH, ruling of August 26, 2014, XI R 14/12) that the family fund was allowed to stop paying child benefit after the plaintiff’s daughter had rejected a study place offered to her.

Child benefit in the voluntary social year

Nowadays, however, there are also many young people who want to start a voluntary social year after finishing school before starting an apprenticeship or study. But even during this time, parents do not have to forego child benefit payments. Because child benefit is also paid to parents of their adult children voluntary social Make year, continue to pay in full, as long as the offspring has not yet reached the age of 25.

Child benefit entitlement for children with disabilities

Normally, the payment of child benefit ends at the latest when the child has reached the age of 25. However, a special regulation applies to children with a serious disability, as a result of which the child is unable to make a living on his own. In this case, the parents can receive child benefit beyond the child’s 25th birthday without any further time restrictions. However, the prerequisite is that the child’s disability was diagnosed before the child’s 25th birthday.

Child benefit application – How to apply for child benefit

The right to child benefit arises when the child is born, but the money is not automatically paid out to the new parents on this date, but an application must first be made. As a rule, the family fund is responsible for the child benefit application. An exception applies only to civil servants and civil servants. In this professional group, it is not the family fund, but the remuneration or salary office that is responsible for child benefit. However, this has no impact on the amount of child benefit.

The application must always be submitted in writing to the responsible body. You can obtain the required application form for the child benefit application from the family fund. Alternatively, you can find the application form on the website of the Federal Employment Agency. You can fill out the form online. After that, however, it must be printed out, signed and sent to the family fund by post. Unfortunately, it is currently not yet possible to send the application form online to the family fund. When applying for child benefit for the first time, parents must also present the child’s birth certificate to the family fund. In the case of children of legal age, corresponding proof must also be provided in the form of a training certificate or study certificate that the son or daughter is completing an apprenticeship or study and therefore continues to be entitled to child benefit.

Since January 1, there has also been an important change in child benefit applications. Parents who want to make an application to the family fund must now always provide their tax identification number and the tax identification number of the child for whom they are applying for child benefit.

Child allowance as an alternative to paying child benefit

Instead of having the child benefit paid out each month, parents can alternatively take advantage of the child allowance. The child allowance is a tax-free allowance, which reduces the taxable income of the parents and thus ensures that they have to pay less tax. In contrast to the amount of child benefit, which depends on the number of children, the child allowance is always the same. In 2019, the child allowance is EUR 7,620 per child for both parents. This amount is made up as follows:

2,640 euros for childcare, education and training needs
4,980 euros for the neuter subsistence level of the child

If the child’s parents live separately, half of the child allowance is added to each of the two parents. If parents want to exhaust the child allowance, they cannot have child benefit paid out at the same time. Because one fundamentally excludes the other. So parents always have to choose one of the two alternatives. However, the tax office automatically carries out a favorable assessment for the taxpayer to determine whether the child tax allowance or the payment is the financially better choice for the individual.