Who can apply for the nursing care allowance?

The care allowance can be claimed by those who look after a person in need of care in their own home or the home of the person being cared for. The allowance is granted to compensate for the burdens of care without the need for individual receipts. However, the conditions must be demonstrably met.

Amount of the care allowance:

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

Conditions:

The care must take place in the home of the person in need of care or in your own home. The person being cared for must be a close relative (e.g. spouse, child, parents, parents-in-law) or someone with a personal relationship such as a partner, friend, or neighbour.

Sharing the allowance

If several people share the care, the care allowance is divided equally. It does not matter who provides more care work. Example: If you and your mother jointly care for your father (care level 4 or 5), both receive 900 Euro each as an allowance.

Additional tax benefits

If you also provide financial support in addition to care, you can deduct up to 11.784 Euro in maintenance costs as extraordinary expenses (2024). However, this only applies if there is no entitlement to child benefit or the child allowance for the person being cared for.