We help you prepare the Kindergeld application — in your language, step by step.
Start preparation →Many families raising children in Germany may be able to apply for Kindergeld, depending on their situation.
But claiming it means filling out a KG1 form and a separate Anlage Kind for each child — pages of questions about income, marital status, employment, and tax IDs. All in German. All with specific format requirements.
And if you have a birth certificate from another country, it must come with a certified translation. One missing document or a wrong tax ID format sends the application back.
Families can lose time when the form is returned or incomplete. GermanyFlow helps make the preparation step clearer.
A completed KG1 form and one Anlage Kind per child — filled with your real family data as drafts prepared for use with the official blank forms.
Not a checklist. Not a blank PDF. Filled preparation examples for review before using the official forms.
The official Kindergeld forms (KG1 + Anlage Kind) are free public documents from the Bundesagentur für Arbeit. You can download them directly.
Download official forms (PDF)GermanyFlow is not a government service and is not affiliated with the Familienkasse or Bundesagentur für Arbeit. We help you prepare your application. You submit it yourself at the Familienkasse.
Kindergeld is a monthly payment for children. It is decided and paid by the Familienkassen (§ 70 (1) EStG), and unlike social assistance it does not depend on how much you earn — it follows the child. This guide sets out who is entitled, how much the law provides, which children count and until what age, what the application needs, and what to do if the decision goes against you. Every figure and rule below is from the Einkommensteuergesetz (EStG) or the Abgabenordnung (AO), linked at the end.
You can claim if you have a residence or your habitual abode in Germany, or are treated as subject to unlimited income tax here (§ 62 (1) EStG). The claim also requires that you are identified by your own tax identification number; if the number is issued later, it counts for the months in which the other conditions were already met. Citizens of an EU or EEA state who establish a residence in Germany have no Kindergeld claim for the first three months, unless they show domestic income from employment, business, farming or self-employment (§ 62 (1a) EStG). People without freedom of movement need one of the residence titles named in the law: a settlement permit or an EU long-term residence permit; or an EU Blue Card, an ICT or mobile ICT card, or a residence permit that allows work for at least six months. Permits issued for study, for an au-pair stay, for seasonal work, for recognising a foreign qualification or for looking for work are excluded (§ 62 (2) EStG).
The law sets Kindergeld at 259 euros per month for each child (§ 66 (1) EStG, the figure in force in 2026). It is paid from the beginning of the month in which the conditions are met until the end of the month in which they cease (§ 66 (2) EStG). The trap is in a different paragraph: once Kindergeld has been granted, it is paid retroactively only for the last six months before the month your application arrived (§ 70 (1) EStG). The entitlement itself is not shortened — only the payment. Applying three months after a birth costs nothing; applying a year later costs half a year of payments that cannot be recovered.
Your own children count, and so do the children of your spouse and your grandchildren once you have taken them into your household (§ 63 (1) EStG). A child counts in the month it is born and every month before it turns 18 (§ 32 (3) EStG). After 18 the claim continues in defined cases: until 21 if the child is not employed and is registered as looking for work with an employment agency in Germany, and until 25 if the child is in vocational training or education, or in a transition period of no more than four months between two stages of it (§ 32 (4) EStG).
A Kindergeld decision is issued as a written Bescheid (§ 70 (1) EStG). If you disagree with it, the remedy is an objection, and it has a deadline: one month from the notification of the decision (§ 355 (1) AO). Your Bescheid names the office the objection goes to and how to file it — follow that notice rather than a general template, and send the evidence the decision says is missing. This is general information, not legal advice; for a contested case, take the Bescheid to a specialist adviser.
259 euros per month for each child (§ 66 (1) EStG, the amount in force in 2026).
Six months. Granted Kindergeld is paid retroactively only for the last six months before the month your application arrived (§ 70 (1) EStG).
Not in the first three months after establishing residence, unless you show domestic income from employment, business, farming or self-employment (§ 62 (1a) EStG).
It depends on the title. A settlement permit or EU long-term residence permit qualifies, as does an EU Blue Card, an ICT or mobile ICT card, or a permit allowing work for at least six months. Permits for study, au-pair, seasonal work or job-seeking do not (§ 62 (2) EStG).
Not always. It can continue until 21 while the child is registered as looking for work and not employed, and until 25 during vocational training or education, including a transition period of up to four months (§ 32 (4) EStG).
No. Only one person is paid for a child — the one who has the child in their household. Parents in a joint household choose between themselves; if they do not, the family court decides on application (§ 64 EStG).
GermanyFlow is built and maintained by an independent developer with first-hand experience navigating German bureaucracy — Anmeldung, residence permits, Kindergeld, and more. Content is checked against official sources and updated when the rules change; see our Editorial Policy for details. Spotted something outdated? Let us know.