Fill in the Kinderzuschlag application in English

Extra money for families with a small income — from Familienkasse.

You answer the questions in your language — the official form is filled in in German.

Kinderzuschlag is extra money for families who live on their own income but do not have enough left for the children. It comes to at most 297 € per child per month and is paid by the Familienkasse. The condition is that Kindergeld is being paid for the child.

From when is it paid?

Payment runs from the month in which the application reaches the Familienkasse. Not earlier (§ 6a Abs. 7 Satz 2 BKGG).

With Kindergeld there are six months of retroactive payment. With Kinderzuschlag there is none. Anyone who waits a month loses that month for good.

Something is often mixed up here, and the confusion costs money. With Kinderzuschlag there are two periods of six months, and they point in different directions:

The approval period runs six months forward from the month of application. That is how long payment lasts.
The assessment period lies in the six months before it. Income is calculated from it.

The second looks back and is still not a retroactive payment. Anyone who confuses the two waits before applying — believing the money will come later anyway.

After 6 months the approval ends. A new application is then needed; nothing continues by itself.

What you need to have ready

The application asks for figures covering half a year. Anyone who gathers them beforehand fills the form in one go instead of three.

Always needed:

The child benefit reference number. It appears on every letter from the Familienkasse.
Records of all income from the six months before the month of application — payslips, decisions on unemployment benefit, sickness benefit, parental allowance or pension.
The tenancy agreement and the last statement of service charges. For owner-occupied property, the interest and the running costs.
The tax identification number for you and for each child.

Depending on the case, also:

For self-employed work: the profit statement for the period.
If a child receives maintenance or an advance maintenance payment: the amount and the decision on it.
If a child earns money of their own: training pay, holiday job, side job.
For larger assets: details of them, for you and for the children.

The income over the six months is the most important part. If something is missing there, a query follows — and that is the most common reason an application is left lying.

What can be in your set

Which sheets belong with it follows from your answers. You see the list in the application before you pay anything.

Always included

KiZ 1 — Antrag auf Kinderzuschlag
KiZ 1-AnA — Anlage Antragsteller(in) und Partner(in)
KiZ 1-AnK — Anlage Kind (Kinderzuschlag)

Depending on your situation

KiZ 1-K — Kurzantrag Kinderzuschlagif nothing substantial has changed since the last application and the last one was not already a short application
KiZ 6 — Anlage zum erheblichen Vermögenif there are more substantial assets
KiZ 7 — Anlage zum Mehrbedarfif someone needs special food for health reasons
KiZ 5c — Anlage zu Unterhalt und Unterhaltsvorschussif the other parent does not live in the household and no or too little maintenance is paid for the child
KiZ 5a — Anlage Einkommen aus selbständiger Tätigkeitif someone works as a self-employed person

Sheets that others fill in

We enclose these sheets ready prepared. They are filled in by your firm or by an authority — not by you and not by us.

KiZ 5 — Verdienstbescheinigung des ArbeitgebersPrint this official form out and hand it in at your firm.

How it goes

Step 1
Answer questions
One step after another, in your language. What is compulsory carries a red asterisk; without those details things cannot go on.
Step 2
Check details and buy
Before payment you see all your answers once more and a picture of the first sheet. Only then do you pay.
Step 3
Download and hand in
After payment the finished set is ready as a PDF — for 48 hours, as often as you like. Print, sign, hand in.

What it costs

The price depends on how many children you are applying for the supplement for.

Your case	What is produced	Price	Difference
One child	Main application, the annex about you and one child annex.	4,90 €	—
Two children	Plus one annex for every further child.	4,90 €	—
Three children	Plus one annex for every further child.	4,90 €	—

The price is fixed — it does not depend on how extensive your case turns out to be. It is a one-off payment: no subscription, no account.

How much is the Kinderzuschlag?

At most 297 € per child per month. Anyone earning more receives less: the amount falls as income rises.

The immediate supplement of 25 € is already contained in this amount (§ 6a Abs. 2 BKGG). It does not come on top.

What the Kinderzuschlag brings with it appears on hardly any page and is often worth more than the money itself:

Benefits for education and participation (§ 6b BKGG) — school supplies, the journey to school, learning support, lunch and a contribution towards a club or music school.
The contribution for the nursery then counts as unreasonable (§ 90 Abs. 4 SGB VIII). It is waived — but not by itself: that runs through the nursery provider, not through the Familienkasse.

As at: 22.08.2026. Source: § 6a Abs. 2 BKGG.

How much may you earn?

There are two limits, and only the lower one is a figure.

The lower limit is 900 € gross per month for couples and 600 € for single parents (§ 6a Abs. 1 Nr. 2 BKGG). Anyone below that receives no Kinderzuschlag; Bürgergeld exists for that.

The upper limit is not a fixed figure. It is calculated from your own need — rent, heating costs, size of the family. No guide can therefore name an amount that holds in the individual case: it depends on the home.

The calculation uses the income of the six months before the month of application, the assessment period. A single good or bad month carries less weight within it.

Larger assets can rule out the entitlement.

Who receives Kinderzuschlag?

Four things must come together:

Kindergeld is being paid for the child.
The child is under 25 years old, unmarried and lives in the household.
The income lies above the lower limit.
With the Kinderzuschlag the money is enough for the family. If it is not enough even then, Bürgergeld is the responsible benefit.

Single parents are not excluded, nor is self-employed work, nor is parental leave.

Whether these conditions are met is decided by the Familienkasse, not by us.

How long does processing take?

There are no fixed deadlines. How long it takes rests with the Familienkasse and with the individual case. We therefore give no figure that we could not keep to.

What often makes processing longer because it leads to a query:

missing records of the income in the assessment period;
missing details on rent and heating costs;
income from self-employed work that has to be examined first;
a missing signature.

Payment runs from the month of application, even if the decision comes later. The waiting time therefore costs nothing. What is expensive is only the late application.

Questions about particular cases

Some situations occur so often that they have a page of their own. There you will find which annex the case requires and how it is filled in.

Hand it in at Familienkasse yourself

Take the application to the responsible Familienkasse or send it there by post. The responsible office is the Familienkasse at your place of residence. Here is how to find it: Go to www.familienportal.de and open the page „Beratung vor Ort“ (advice near you). Under „Thema“ (topic) choose „Kinderzuschlag“ and enter your postcode. The application is not sent from here.

Ready?

You can stop at any time and carry on later — what you enter stays on this device for 7 days. Payment comes only at the end.

Start filling in