Kinderzuschlag (child supplement)
Who receives Kinderzuschlag?
Kinderzuschlag is paid when all of this applies at once (§ 6a Abs. 1 BKGG):
- There is a claim to Kindergeld for the child.
- The child lives in the household, is unmarried and not yet 25 years old.
- The parents have an income of at least 900 €, single parents of at least 600 €.
- With Kinderzuschlag there is no longer any need for assistance — so there is no claim to Grundsicherungsgeld.
Whether the conditions are met is decided by the Familienkasse, not by us.
Kindergeld is the door
Without a claim to Kindergeld there is no Kinderzuschlag (§ 6a Abs. 1 BKGG). Both run through the same Familienkasse.
The minimum income
What counts is the parents' income without housing benefit, Kindergeld and Kinderzuschlag. The limit is 900 € a month, for single parents 600 € (§ 6a Abs. 1 Nr. 2 BKGG).
What matters is the average of the 6 months before the approval period (Bewilligungszeitraum) (§ 6a Abs. 8 Satz 1 BKGG).
No Grundsicherungsgeld alongside
Kinderzuschlag is meant to avoid drawing Grundsicherungsgeld. It is therefore only paid if, with it, there is no longer any need for assistance (§ 6a Abs. 1 BKGG).
Housing benefit counts in this assessment. If none is drawn, it is included at the amount that would probably be granted (§ 6a Abs. 1 Satz 2 und 3 BKGG).
There is an exception (§ 6a Abs. 1a BKGG). Kinderzuschlag is also possible if all of this applies:
- With income, Kinderzuschlag and housing benefit, at most 100 € is missing from the household's needs.
- At least 100 € is deducted from the parents' earned income.
- Nobody in the benefit household draws or has applied for benefits under the Second or Twelfth Book of the Social Code.
Assets
Assets only count once they exceed 40.000 € for the applicant and 15.000 € for each further member of the benefit household (§ 6a Abs. 3 Satz 5 BKGG).
How much there is
Kinderzuschlag is decided for 6 months at a time (§ 6a Abs. 7 BKGG).