Child benefit during your studies - the most important information about child benefit for students

For students, in addition to financing from parents, BAföG or student credit, child benefit during their studies serves as income. While child benefit is generally paid by the child benefit fund up to the age of 18, it must then be applied for. Anyone who is already 18 can continue to receive child benefit until the age of 25. In this case, the child benefit entitlement is subject to certain conditions. In any case, the following applies: Child benefit is requested by the parents and paid to them by the child benefit fund.

Requirements and proof of child benefit during your studies

As long as the child is under 18, the child benefit fund automatically pays the child benefit to the parents. There are certain conditions attached to whether adults over and above continue to be entitled to payment of child benefit.

If the adult child is either studying or training, the parents receive child benefit. However, it must be demonstrated that Training and study seriously pursued become. This is especially true when studying: in addition to the certificate of enrollment, the child benefit fund can regularly provide one Proof of performance demand.

If the study or training takes considerably longer than usual, the family welfare fund assumes that there is no intention to complete the study or training. The family fund demands one especially in areas where there is no regular attendance requirement Proof of activity and success of the student. In addition to age, one of the most important requirements for child benefit after the age of 18 is above all Status of study or training.

Tip: Parents apply for child benefit. They have to prove that their child is studying or completing an apprenticeship. Appropriate documents such as the matriculation letter, the required proof of performance or proof of training must be submitted to the family fund.

Child benefit during your studies

Child benefit during studies and age limit

18 years:
Up to this age, child benefit is automatically paid to the parents.

25 years:
During the course of studies or vocational training, the age limit for child benefit is increased to 25 years. As long as the training or study continues, child benefit will continue to be paid at the request of the parents – up to the age of 25. This also applies if the child is married.

Beyond the age of 25:
Under certain conditions, the child benefit fund pays child benefit even after the age of 25 to 27. Child benefit for students over 25 is paid at:

disabilities: If the child is disabled and the disability occurred before the age of 25, the parents receive child benefit even after the age of 25.
Military or community service: Until June 31, 2011, the child benefit was extended by the period of military service or civilian service. However, since conscription has been suspended, this requirement has ceased to exist.

The amount of child benefit

The exact amount of child benefit depends on the number of children. For the the first and second child are 192 euros per month, from January 2018 it is 194 euros per month. For the third child there is 198 euros per month, from January 2018 it will be 200 euros per month. From the fourth child, the monthly amount is of child benefit 223 euros, from January 2018 it is 225 euros.

If one parent does not receive child benefit for a child because the child lives with the other parent, it can be called a child benefit "Zählkind" be valid. The children whose entitlement to child benefit has expired are no longer counted.

Tip: Since January 1, 2012, the income limit for child benefit has been removed without replacement. This means that there is child benefit for children from the age of 18 to the age of 25, regardless of how high the income is. Only the above requirements have to be met if the parents want to continue receiving child benefit.

Apply for child benefit for adults and students

Apply for child benefit during your studies – how it works

Parents get child benefit regardless of how much they earn. However, it will Child benefit after the age of 18 is no longer automatically transferred every month, but must be requested from the family fund.

The family fund is part of the employment agency. The application for child benefit after the age of 18 can be downloaded, printed out and completed online. Another option is to apply for the necessary forms directly from the family fund. In addition to the child benefit application Enrollment certificate or study certificate, training certificate and any proof of achievement to be submitted for the course – for each semester.

Child benefit for studying and training

As long as the child is studying and is not yet 25 years old, the child benefit fund usually pays the child benefit while studying. To do this, the application must be submitted and the requirements must be met. However, that applies only for the first training and not for the second degree or further education measures. With a second apprenticeship, the requirements are much stricter. It is often not clear whether further training is part of initial training or is regarded as second training. The courts often have to make a decision here.

Entitlement to child benefit in the Bachelor and Master

Since the child benefit reform in 2012, the child benefit fund has differentiated between first and second training. The successful completion of a bachelor’s degree is the first professional training for the child benefit fund. In order to The right to child benefit ends after this graduation.

Anyone who wants to complete a further course of study and achieve his master’s degree is therefore not entitled to child benefit. However, there are ongoing legal proceedings in which the quality and necessity of a master’s degree should be clarified. Is it a second apprenticeship or is the master’s degree part of a course of study that is completed in several stages? Whether the child benefit will continue to be paid in a master’s program depends on the clarification of this question in court.

Tip: The right to child benefit is not linked to the length of the study period. If the requirements such as age are met, the family fund pays child benefit beyond the standard period of study.

Child allowance can be rejected during your studies?

The training or study must be carried out with seriousness so that there are no problems with child benefit. In addition, the claim only applies to initial training. If the application for children’s education is made during a two-course course, it is rejected in most cases.

Students are entitled to child benefit during their studies – under specific conditions,

Child benefit after completing training

As long as the child has not reached the age of 25, the parents can Child allowance continues after graduation Respectively. This is interesting if the student does not find employment immediately after successfully completing vocational training. In this case, the graduate work no more than twenty hours a week.

If the working hours exceed this number of hours, the child benefit fund stops paying child benefits. In the case of harmless income, the child benefit fund also pays after the end of your studies.

Harmless income that does not affect the payment of child benefit:

450 euro jobs marginal employment short term employment

For these jobs, the weekly working hours should not exceed twenty hours:

the year of recognition that future educators have to do a traineeship an internship, which is required after graduation, a legal traineeship, the preparation of the 2nd state examination in law, an apprenticeship according to BBiG, a part-time course of study, a dual course of study, the employment relationship with professional soldiers, the employment relationship with candidates for the civil servant status

Child benefit during the semester of vacation

Is there a right to child benefit if you are on leave from your studies??

In principle, there is no entitlement to child benefit if the student decides to take a break or a break. Despite leave of absence, it is possible under certain conditions to continue receiving child benefit during your studies. This is for example with a illness the case where the student has to stop studying. During such a leave of absence, an application for child benefit can be maintained.

Tip: The right to child benefit also remains if the vacation semester is for completing one study-related internship is being used. Leave of absence counts as a practical semester.

Entitlement to child benefit during a transition period or waiting period

If a transition period has to be bridged before studying, on a waiting list, the cancellation of a course or in the event of a dropout, there is still a right to child benefit. However, this is only valid for a period of four months. Then training has to be started again.

Tip: Child benefit is also paid between studies and legal clerkship, if all other conditions are met. For this purpose, all supporting documents have to be submitted before the legal clerkship.

Child benefit as a student abroad

Studying abroad jeopardizes the right to child benefit considerably. In most cases, the family fund will lift the child benefit. However, if the child remains domiciled in Germany and considers the parental home as his or her own, there is an option to continue receiving child benefit.

BAföG and child benefit

Counts child benefit as student income?

BAföG and child benefit can be obtained simultaneously during your studies. The Federal Office of Administration does not count child benefit on the student’s income. If all other requirements are met, there is no need to fear deductions from the BAföG.

Part-time job and child benefit while studying

If BAföG, the maintenance of parents and child benefit are not sufficient during the course of study, students may have to earn money during their studies. The success of the course must not be jeopardized by this. If you work too much, you may lose your right to child benefit.

What is the limit of income for a part-time job while studying??

Basically, there is no limit on earnings for a student job. The work should twenty hours maximum during the week be. As long as the number of working hours is not significantly exceeded, two jobs can be combined. It only depends on the total weekly working time. For example, if less work is done during the lecture period, the weekly working hours may be longer during the semester break.

Tip: The child benefit fund does not check whether the weekly working time actually has a detrimental effect on the payment of child benefit until the end of the approval period. If the weekly working hours have exceeded the maximum duration, the child benefit is reduced by the time in which the working hours were too high. Those who plan their working hours with foresight and always have an overview avoid a reduction in child benefit.

Repayment of child benefit

In some cases, the family fund insists on repayment of the child benefit. This is the case if incorrect information was given when the application was made and this is later revealed by the family fund.

Parents do not have to pay back child benefit if they drop out of university. However, this only applies if the student is about to start a new apprenticeship or study.

Student credit as an alternative to child allowance during studies

If the right to child benefit has expired, the course can be financed by student credit. There are different banks and providers that have a special student loan in their portfolio. These include the student loan from the state-owned KfW bank, which can be arranged through the student union or the house bank. However, there are some conditions attached to the KfW Bank loan. A comparison of online providers can be worthwhile because the conditions here are kept to a minimum.

Other alternatives to finance your studies:

Education loan: The education loan is offered by the Federal Office of Administration. There you will also find all information about the admission requirements, the amount of the education loan and the conditions for the repayment.

Education Fund: The money from an education fund can be used to finance the costs of daily maintenance, tuition fees or a stay abroad. Foundations, private investors and companies invest in the education fund. If you want to participate as a student, you have to apply like a scholarship.

Tip: Vexcash’s “bad grades” scholarship is an unusual method of financing your studies. This is where students are promoted whose achievements weaken due to work and private life.

Tuition fee loans: This loan is granted by some state state banks. This allows the tuition fees to be paid: the university receives the money directly from the banks. The individual conditions depend on the federal state in which the Landesbank is located.

Tax tips for child benefit for students

If the child is 25 years old, no child benefit is paid even if the training is not completed. If the parents support their children financially, they can claim these payments for tax purposes. Those who pay child support or support their children with money during their vocational training can claim these expenses as extraordinary burdens in the tax return.

The same applies to grandparents if they support their grandchildren financially with their studies or training. However, the student’s child benefit entitlement must have expired at this point. The tax office wants proof that the student cannot finance himself sufficiently through work and income.

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