When will I receive child benefit and allowances for my child?

To receive child benefit, the child allowance or the allowance for childcare, education or training needs (BEA), the same conditions as for child benefit must be met. There are two different legal bases for entitlement to child benefit:

• Taxpayers are entitled to child benefit under the Income Tax Act (§ 31 f. and § 62 ff. EStG).
• Persons who are not or only partially subject to tax are entitled under the Federal Child Benefit Act.

Germans with a residence or habitual abode in Germany can apply for child benefit. The same applies to Germans living abroad who are either subject to unlimited income tax in Germany or are treated as such. Foreigners living in Germany can apply for child benefit if they have a permanent residence permit.

Important: Child benefit that has been approved is paid retroactively only for the last six months before the beginning of the month in which the application for child benefit was received. Therefore, even if child benefit is approved retroactively for a whole year, it is actually only paid for the last six months.