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Applying for parental allowance — the most important things at a glance
- You do not automatically receive parental allowance — you must apply for it yourself after the birth of your child
- The application and procedure are not uniform — they differ depending on the federal state
- There are various variants from which you can put together the best solution for your family: Basic Parental Allowance, Parental Allowance Plus and a mix of both
- The amount of parental allowance depends on your last income and tax bracket
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What and under what conditions are you entitled to parental allowance?
Parental allowance is there to help you after the birth of your child. So that you can take care of your young family instead of going straight back to work from morning to evening. That is why you and all new parents in Germany are entitled to parental allowance if you temporarily work less or not at all.
Of course, there are also a few requirements that you must meet:
- You live and live in Germany,
- you care for your child yourself and do not give it to a childminder, for example,
- Your taxable annual income is less than 250,000€ if you are a single parent or less than 300,000€ if you raise your child as a couple.
Your gender or relationship status, on the other hand, do not matter. Mothers and fathers have the same rights, just like married and unmarried couples in the same household.
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How much parental allowance are you entitled to?
How much parental allowance you receive depends on your income throughout the year before the birth or from the start of maternity leave. The benchmark is always the income of the parent who is currently taking care of the child and is working less or no longer for it. By the way, this doesn't always have to be just one parent — parental allowance also offers the option of dividing the time.
The basis for calculation is the so-called net parental allowance. In other words, your net income, from which advertising costs, tax allowances and social security contributions are deducted. Parental allowance is usually around 65 to 67% of net income. As a reminder, net income is the money that your employer transfers to your account.
However, there are also upper and lower limits: At the top, 1.800€ parental allowance is the end, the minimum amount is 300€.
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What can you use the parental allowance for?
Parental allowance is there so that you can concentrate fully on your child after the birth. It is intended to replace your income that you would otherwise have earned with your job. You can therefore use the parental allowance for everything that your family needs in everyday life: food, rent, toys, trips and so on.
Of course, you can also set aside some of the parental allowance for later, for example to save on the first school bag, the big christening party or even your driver's license. For example, the Sparbaum — with it, you can save from just 1€, invest in sustainable projects and generate a decent return.
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When and until when to apply for parental allowance? You need to know these deadlines
You can always apply for your parental allowance only after the birth of your child and you are only entitled to it from this point on.
However, you can still use the time before the birth for this. Because for the application, you need a few documents, which you can also collect in advance. Of course, you will also find out exactly which documents these are in this article.
The important thing is: In order to receive your parental allowance in full, you must submit the application within the first three months of life of your child submit it to the responsible parental allowance office. You can also set it later The absolute deadline only ends after 14 months of your child's life. However, you will then lose money because you will only receive parental allowance for three months retroactively.
By the way: Parental allowance is always based on the child's month of life, not on the calendar months.
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You have these options when it comes to parental allowance
We've got good news and bad news for you.
The good news: You have an insane number of options to flexibly adapt your parental allowance to your life. So you're sure to find a variant that's right for you and your family.
The bad news: At first glance, it seems a bit complicated. But it's actually not that wild once you understand the difference between the parental allowance variants Basic Parental Allowance and Parental Allowance Plus.
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Basic parental allowance
The basic parental allowance is right for you if you would like to take care of your child all day — i.e. you don't want to go to work at all for a while.
If you opt for the basic parental allowance, you can up to 14 months Take full care of your child. If you are a single parent, use these 14 months yourself. If you take care of your child as a couple, you can divide them up freely among themselves. The only restriction: One or one of you takes at least two months off — and the other a maximum of twelve months.
By the way: If your child is born prematurely, you may be entitled to parental allowance for even longer than 14 months.
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Parental Allowance Plus
Parental Allowance Plus is right for you if you want to return to work part-time shortly after giving birth. Part-time means that you work a maximum of 32 hours a week.
With Parental Allowance Plus, you will receive less monthly than with basic parental allowance, but twice as long — in total up to 28 months. In most cases, the Parental Allowance Plus is more than half of the basic parental allowance. So the bottom line is that you get more than with basic parental allowance.
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A mix of both
If you can't decide between the two options, you can simply mix them — and thus put together your very personal parental allowance. You also don't have to decide on the entire period of parental allowance at the beginning — you can change your parental allowance application if you change your mind later on.
But be careful: Changes are only ever possible for the future — not retroactively. It is therefore best to make a plan in advance of how you would like to arrange the period after the birth.
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Reward for a good distribution: the partnership bonus
You already know it: Of course, there are also some special regulations. For example, there is the partnership bonus as part of Parental Allowance Plus. With him, you can dust off additional parental allowance for a few more monthsif you both care about your child equally.
This means that if you both take care of your child and both only work part-time at the same time, you will receive up to four additional months of Parental Allowance Plus.
You can also find a great explanation with lots of examples and options in this video from the Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth.
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Where to apply for parental allowance? Good question — next question!
Okay, now you probably have another big question in your head: “Where do I apply for parental allowance now? “Unfortunately, there is only one answer to this question: It depends on where you live. After all, it would be too nice if it were easy, wouldn't it?
Each federal state has defined its own processes, forms and responsibilities. In Berlin, the parental allowance application can therefore proceed in a completely different way than in NRW or Rhineland-Palatinate.
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Apply for parental allowance: Baden-Württemberg
In Baden-Württemberg, the competent authority is the Landesbank Baden-Württemberg. Auf whose website You can find all important information and can also apply for your parental allowance directly online. You can also make changes there directly online.
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Parental allowance application Bavaria
In Bavaria, you can apply for your parental allowance at the Bavarian Family and Social Center (ZFBS). You fill out the application directly online off. Particularly practical: You can start using it six months before the birth.
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Apply for parental allowance in Berlin
To apply for parental allowance in Berlin, your path leads you straight to the Youth Welfare Office in your residential district. There you will find a parental allowance office where you can submit your application. By the way, you can find your responsible youth welfare office in the district office of your district.
If you would rather fill out your application from the sofa, you can also use the service in Berlin Digital Parental Allowance use.
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Apply for parental allowance: Brandenburg
In Brandenburg, you apply for parental allowance at the responsible parental allowance office in the respective district or the district-free city.
However, it is more relaxed at home from the sofa: Brandenburg is taking care of the service Digital Parental Allowance , where you can easily fill out your application online.
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Parental allowance application Bremen
If you live in Bremen, your path will lead you to the Office of Social Services. There is a parental allowance office there where you submit your application.
However, Bremen is also taking on service Digital Parental Allowance , with which you can fill out your application for parental allowance online.
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Apply for parental allowance in Hamburg
In Hamburg, the district offices of the districts take care of parental allowance. So you simply go to the district office near you, grab one of the pending applications and fill it out in peace. You will later submit it together with your documents to the parental allowance office.
It's more relaxed online: Hamburg offers the service Digital Parental Allowance , which allows you to fill out your application from the comfort of your home.
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Apply for parental allowance: Hesse
In Hesse, the Office for Welfare and Social Affairs ensures that you receive your parental allowance. To do this, you either make your way to one of six locations in Hesse or you submit your documents and application online one.
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Parental allowance in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, you have various options to apply for your parental allowance. You either load the Online application Download it, fill it out and send it by post to the State Office for Health and Social Affairs, you bring it personally to the responsible office in your area or use the online service to fill it out Digital parental allowance.
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Parental allowance application for Lower Saxony
If you live in Lower Saxony, apply for your parental allowance in classic paper format from your responsible parental allowance office. You can find them in the municipalities in Lower Saxony, for example at your city administration.
It is even more relaxed if you submit the application via the service Digital Parental Allowance fill out.
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Apply for parental allowance: NRW
To apply for parental allowance in North Rhine-Westphalia, it is best to go directly to the parental allowance office of your district administration or administration of your district-free city. You can also apply in advance download online and drop it off there later.
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Parental allowance offices in Rhineland-Palatinate
In Rhineland-Palatinate, the parental allowance offices are affiliated with the respective district administrations — you can find the application there and submit it again later.
It's easier online: Since Rhineland-Palatinate is on service Digital Parental Allowance If you participate, you can also fill out the application from home.
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Applying for parental allowance in Saarland
Saarland makes it easy for you to apply for parental allowance: You can download all forms online or on paper at the State Office for Social Affairs — or you submit your entire application directly online.
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Application in Saxony & Saxony-Anhalt
In both federal states, parental allowance offices are connected to the districts or the district-free cities. In order to fill out and submit the application on paper, your path therefore leads you directly to the district administration of your residential area.
In addition, both federal states are doing service Digital Parental Allowance with. You can therefore also fill out your application online in a relaxed manner.
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Parental allowance application Schleswig-Holstein
In Schleswig-Holstein, you can apply for your parental allowance at the parental allowance offices of the State Office for Social Services. Den motion It is best to download it in advance and fill it out at home in peace and quiet.
You make it even easier for yourself if you use the service Digital Parental Allowance uses. There, you fill out the application directly online.
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Parental allowance application Thuringia
In Thuringia, you apply for parental allowance at the parental allowance offices in your district administration. To do this, it is best to load the motion Download and fill it out so that all you have to do is submit it.
Alternatively, use the service Digital Parental Allowance. There, you fill out the application directly online.
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Documents for the parental allowance application: What you need to make it work
No application without documents. But don't worry: you don't need an A38 pass.
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You should quickly have the information and documents you need for the application together:
- The application form You get it differently in every federal state. Have a look at the section “Where to apply for parental allowance? Good question — next question! ”.
- Your child's birth certificate You can get it from the registry office after the birth. But be careful: Never send the original away — a certified copy is enough. For example, you can get them certified directly at the registry office or at the citizens' office.
- As proof of your income For example, a payslip or a certificate from your employer is used.
- For proof of your partner's income The exact same applies: payslips, a certificate from the employer or the like are sufficient.
- The tax ID For example, you and your partner can be found on the latest income tax return.
- The bank details is important so that the money arrives — simply enter your IBAN here.
Depending on your personal situation, further information and documents may be added. This is the case, for example, if you are self-employed or receive social benefits such as disability pension or citizen benefit. Many parental allowance offices therefore also offer advice to find out exactly what you need.
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Parental allowance: Check! What's next?
Parental allowance application completed? Then it is time to take care of the nice things. How about saving up for the first big family vacation or revolutionizing the pocket money of the big kids, for example? Both are child's play with bling — with the Sparbaum and the Bling Card.
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