Germany Kindergeld and Kinderzuschlag Calculator

About the Germany Kindergeld and Kinderzuschlag Calculator

Every family in Germany gets Kindergeld (child benefit) of €259 a month for each child, from the Familienkasse. Families who earn enough for themselves but not for their children can also get the Kinderzuschlag (child supplement, KiZ) of up to €297 a month for each child, which falls as the parents’ income rises above their own needs, and which only helps if the family then does not need Grundsicherungsgeld. And in the income tax assessment, the tax office checks whether the child allowances would save more tax than the Kindergeld paid.

This calculator does all three for your family: the Kindergeld per child, the Kinderzuschlag with the parents’ own need (their Regelbedarfe, extra needs and their share of the rent), 45 % of the earnings above it and of each child’s maintenance, the check that the family’s needs are covered (with the Wohngeld it would get, worked out from your Mietenstufe), the extended access when the family is up to €100 short, and the comparison with the child allowances for your taxable income. Without a Pro pass the result is a free preview: your Kindergeld and Kinderzuschlag in full, the first rows of the tables and the first step of the working; the other figures, the CSV, copying and printing unlock with the pass. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

Common uses

• Check whether your family can get the Kinderzuschlag before you apply.
• See how a pay rise or more hours would change the Kinderzuschlag.
• Find out whether the child allowances or the Kindergeld are better for you in your tax assessment.
• Understand a Familienkasse notice: the parents’ need, the income counted and the reductions.

Kindergeld

Kindergeld is €259 a month for every child (§ 66 EStG), whatever the family’s income, until the child turns 18; from 18 to 24 it is paid while the child is in education or training, between two stages of training for up to four months, looking for a training place, or in a voluntary service. It is paid to the parent the child lives with. In the income tax assessment the tax office compares it with the child allowances — €3.414 for the child’s basic needs and €1.464 for care and education for each parent, so €9.756 a year for a married couple (§ 32 (6) EStG) — and applies the allowances instead when they save more tax than the Kindergeld (§ 31 EStG). That helps families with higher incomes; the Kindergeld is never paid back.

How the Kinderzuschlag is worked out

Each child under 25 who lives with you and for whom you get Kindergeld can get up to €297 a month (the Familienkasse’s figure, with the immediate supplement). That is reduced by 45 % of the child’s own income, such as maintenance or Unterhaltsvorschuss. The sum for all children is then reduced by 45 % of the parents’ earnings above the parents’ own need, and by other parental income above it in full (§ 6a BKGG). The parents’ own need is their Regelbedarf as for Grundsicherungsgeld (€563 for a single parent, €506 each for a couple), their extra needs (for a single parent, for example), and their share of the rent and heating: 77 %, 63 %, 53 %, 46 % or 40 % for a single parent with one to five children, and 83 %, 71 %, 62 %, 55 % or 50 % for a couple (the Familienkasse’s leaflet). Payments are rounded to the full euro (§ 11 BKGG).

When the Kinderzuschlag is paid

Three conditions apply. The parents’ gross income must be at least €900 a month for a couple or €600 for a single parent (Kindergeld, Wohngeld and the supplement do not count). With the Kinderzuschlag and the Wohngeld the family gets or would get, it must not need Grundsicherungsgeld; if it is still short, it can get the supplement anyway when it is at most €100 short, has earnings, and no one in the household receives Grundsicherungsgeld (the extended access). And assets count only above €40.000 for the applicant and €15.000 for each further member of the household. It is granted for six months at a time, from the average income of the six months before.

Wohngeld and other help that comes with it

The Kinderzuschlag and Wohngeld are often claimed together: Wohngeld is applied for at your town’s Wohngeld office, the Kinderzuschlag at the Familienkasse, and both count in each other’s check of whether the family is covered. Families who get the Kinderzuschlag also get the education and participation benefits (school supplies, lunches, school trips), and day-care fees are waived on application for families with the Kinderzuschlag or Wohngeld (§ 90 (4) SGB VIII). The Germany Wohngeld Calculator works out the Wohngeld in full, and the Germany Grundsicherungsgeld Calculator what the Jobcenter would pay instead.

Limitations

• An estimate: the Familienkasse decides the Kinderzuschlag from your documents; its own KiZ-Lotse checks the claim too.
• Income counted is worked out from gross and net pay with the €100 basic allowance and the earnings allowance; higher work expenses, a car to work, maintenance you pay and self-employed income are not modelled.
• The Wohngeld worked out for the check counts gross pay with the usual deductions; enter the Wohngeld you get for a better check.
• For six or more children enter the parents’ housing share your Familienkasse uses.
• The tax comparison uses the income tax tariff only; solidarity surcharge and church tax are worked out with the allowances in any case.

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