Apply for child supplement

The child supplement is a benefit for families with a small income. The child supplement supports your family if you have a small income and cannot cover the needs of the entire family or can only just cover them.

You are entitled to child supplement for your children under 25 if

• your child/children is/are not married or partnered and live in your household,
• you receive child benefit for the child or are not entitled to child benefit only because you receive another comparable government benefit that excludes child benefit,
• you have enough income for yourself and can cover your family's needs with the child supplement,
• your monthly income reaches a minimum limit (the so-called minimum income limit), and
• your income and assets that are counted towards the child supplement are not so high that the child supplement is reduced to zero.

The maximum amount of the child supplement is 229.00 EUR per month per child. If your income is higher than your needs as parents, the child supplement is reduced. The income of your children is also taken into account, for example, if your children receive alimony, alimony advance or half-orphan's pension.

The child supplement is granted for 6 months at a time. After 6 months, you must submit a new application.

The following will be counted as income

• 45 percent of your child's/your children's own income, e.g. alimony, advance alimony or half-orphan's pension,
• 45 percent of your parents' income from employment or self-employment that exceeds their own needs,
• Income replacement benefits such as unemployment benefit, short-time allowance or sick pay,
• parental allowance,
• pensions from social security,
• capital and interest income,
• income from renting and leasing, and
• Alimony payments (spousal support).

Since January 1, 2020, you can also receive the child supplement if your earned income, child supplement and housing allowance do not leave you more than EUR 100.00 per month below the SGB II entitlement.

INFO:

If you receive child supplement or housing allowance, you can receive benefits for education and participation for your children. In addition, you can be exempted from the KiTa fees.

The KiZ-Lotse helps you to quickly and easily check whether you are eligible for child supplement. You can find the KiZ-Lotse on the website of the Familienkasse of the Federal Employment Agency under the navigation bar

The family cash office offers video counseling, which you can use to ask questions about the child supplement from home. You can make an appointment for video counseling online or by calling 0800 4555530.