(2023) Who can apply for the nursing care allowance?

Entitlement to a care allowance is granted to those who care for a person in need of care in their own home or the home of the person in need of care.

The allowance amounts to

• for care level 2: 600 Euro
• for care level 3: 1.100 Euro
• for care level 4 or 5 or helplessness: 1.800 Euro

The care allowance is intended to compensate you for burdens that are often difficult to prove. For this reason, you can receive the care allowance without proof; only the conditions must be demonstrably met. It is important that you care for the person in need of care in their home or your own home. The person must be a relative, such as a spouse, children, parents, parents-in-law, fiancé(e) or foster children.

It is also recognised if you care for a partner or registered partner. A personal relationship may also exist with other people to whom you are not related, such as friends or neighbours.

You care for your father (care level 4 or 5) together with your mother. You and your mother are each entitled to a care allowance of 900 Euro. Unfortunately, this also applies if your mother does not file a tax return and therefore cannot use this allowance to reduce her tax.

If you share the care of the person in need of help with someone else, the care allowance is divided equally between you. It does not matter who does most of the care work or whether both carers actually claim the allowance in their tax returns. If there are two carers, each receives half of the allowance.

If, in addition to the care, you also provide financial support to the person in need, you can obtain a tax reduction of up to 10.908 Euro for maintenance in 2023 under extraordinary burdens. However, this is only possible if no one is entitled to child benefit or the child allowance for the person you are caring for. This amount is not an allowance, but a maximum amount. Maintenance payments must generally be proven, but this is not necessary if the person being supported lives in your household.