How do gaps in training affect my entitlement to child benefit?

There may be up to four full calendar months between two training periods. During this time, you are entitled to child benefit, provided the child is under 25 years old. If they have not started training within this period, you must prove that they have been actively seeking a place, for example, through relevant application letters or rejections and, if applicable, registration at the job centre. In this case, child benefit and allowances can be granted for a longer period.

However, if the transition period lasts longer than four months, for example, if your child travels around the world for six months after finishing school, you will lose your entitlements from the start. The training gap must not exceed four full calendar months, meaning it must end by the month following the fourth month at the latest.

Typical training gaps include the transition period between school and university or the time before or after voluntary service or military service.

Example: Your daughter finishes school on 15 May. She should start training or university by October at the latest, so you as parents can continue to receive child benefit or tax allowances during the transition period.

If your child has confirmation of a training place, child benefit can continue for more than four months. However, this does not apply to voluntary services, as clarified by the Federal Fiscal Court. For example, if your child starts voluntary military service six months after finishing school, child benefit will be stopped immediately. You can avoid this if the child registers as unemployed for the transition period. This works at least until their 21st birthday.

Current decision by the Federal Fiscal Court states that there is no entitlement to child benefit if a child cannot start their training due to illness and the end of the illness is not foreseeable (BFH ruling of 12.11.2020, III R 49/18).

Current decision by the Federal Fiscal Court also states that the termination of voluntary service due to illness leads to the loss of entitlement to child benefit (BFH ruling of 9.9.2020, III R 15/20).