Overview
- Child benefit (Kindergeld) rises to €259 per child per month from 1 January 2026, up from €255 in 2025.
- The Federal Employment Agency’s Family Benefits Office has released the 2025 and 2026 payment calendars, which stagger transfers by the last digit of the Kindergeld number.
- Payouts occur earlier in the month for numbers ending in 0 and toward month‑end for 7–9, and bank processing or weekends can shift the day funds appear.
- The child supplement (Kinderzuschlag) has been up to €297 per child per month since 1 January 2025 to support low‑income families and currently reaches about one million children.
- Eligibility for the supplement is set in BKKG §6 and requires at least €900 gross monthly income for couples or €600 for single parents, an existing Kindergeld claim for a child under 25 in the same household, and a new application every six months via the Family Benefits Office, which can be filed online using BundID; unlike Kindergeld, it is not paid retroactively.