Elterngeld: parental leave payment explained

Newborn · Family · Reviewed 20 June 2026 · All articles

When a baby arrives in Germany, most families face an immediate financial shift. One or both parents step back from work, income drops, and the costs of a new baby arrive all at once. Elterngeld is the state benefit designed to cushion exactly this moment. It replaces a portion of the net income that a parent had before birth, making it possible for families to spend the early months focused on their baby rather than on financial pressure.

Elterngeld is not a flat payment. It scales with what you earned, it can be split flexibly between two parents, and it comes in two main forms that suit different working patterns after birth. Understanding how it works before your baby arrives means you can plan your leave months in advance, avoid losing entitlements through late applications, and choose the combination that works best for your family. This guide covers every aspect of Elterngeld: the standard benefit, the flexible variant, the partnership bonus, how the calculation works, how to apply, and how it differs from the separate right to unpaid leave.

Basiselterngeld: the standard benefit

Basiselterngeld is the core form of the benefit. It replaces between 65 and 67 percent of the parent's average net income from the twelve calendar months before birth, subject to a floor of 300 EUR per month and a ceiling of 1,800 EUR per month. The replacement rate rises slightly toward 67 percent for parents with lower incomes, and it increases further for families with multiple children under a certain age through a sibling bonus of 10 percent.

The total pool of Basiselterngeld months for a family is 14 months. A single parent can claim all 14 months alone. In a two-parent family, each parent can claim between two and twelve months, and the remaining months belong to the other parent. The crucial detail is that the final two months in the pool require the second parent to take leave or significantly reduce working hours. Those two months are the incentive for both parents to share the responsibility of early care, and they are forfeited if only one parent claims.

Eligible parents include all those who live in Germany with their child, care for the child themselves, do not work more than 30 hours per week during the benefit period, and have an employment or self-employment income to replace. Parents who were not working before the birth still receive the minimum of 300 EUR per month, which acknowledges that parenting itself is work even without a salary to replace.

Basiselterngeld can be received for any month within the first 14 months of the child's life. Parents choose when to start and stop within that window, which allows some flexibility around when each parent returns to work. The benefit is not paid as a lump sum: it arrives monthly, mirroring the rhythm of a salary.

ElterngeldPlus: the flexible option

ElterngeldPlus was introduced to address a gap in the original scheme. Basiselterngeld works well for parents who take full leave, but it is less suited to parents who want to return to work part-time fairly soon after birth. If a parent goes back to work while claiming Basiselterngeld, the benefit is reduced by the part-time income. ElterngeldPlus solves this by offering a smaller monthly payment that is explicitly designed to be combined with part-time work.

The amount of ElterngeldPlus is half the Basiselterngeld that a parent would have received. So a parent entitled to 1,200 EUR per month as Basiselterngeld would receive 600 EUR per month as ElterngeldPlus. The trade-off is duration: one month of Basiselterngeld converts to two months of ElterngeldPlus. This means the total money over time is the same, but the benefit extends further into the child's life, up to 28 months in total if the entire allocation is taken as ElterngeldPlus.

The practical effect is that a parent can return to part-time work relatively early, receive ElterngeldPlus as a top-up, and stay financially afloat across a longer period. This is particularly appealing for freelancers, self-employed parents, or anyone whose employer offers a phased return. It is also the gateway to the Partnerschaftsbonus, which is only available to parents using ElterngeldPlus months.

Basiselterngeld and ElterngeldPlus can be mixed. A parent might take several months of Basiselterngeld at the start when both parents are fully off work, then switch to ElterngeldPlus when returning part-time. The system allows this kind of combination, and the conversion rate between the two forms (one Basis month equals two Plus months) makes the maths straightforward to plan.

Partnerschaftsbonus: the partnership bonus

The Partnerschaftsbonus is an extra incentive layered on top of ElterngeldPlus. It awards four additional months of ElterngeldPlus to each parent, provided both parents work between 25 and 30 hours per week during the same four consecutive months. The bonus is designed to reward genuine shared parenting: both parents working at reduced hours simultaneously, with both actively involved in day-to-day care.

The bonus months must be consecutive and must overlap. Both parents must be working in the qualifying hours range at the same time for all four months. If either parent drops below 25 hours or exceeds 30 hours in any of those months, the bonus for that month can be lost, and the whole block may need to be reassessed. This makes planning important: the Partnerschaftsbonus rewards those who think ahead about their working arrangements rather than making ad hoc adjustments.

In total, a family where both parents claim the Partnerschaftsbonus can receive 8 extra months of ElterngeldPlus payment (4 for each parent) on top of the standard allocation. This represents a meaningful financial reward for dividing parenting responsibilities more equally in the first two to three years of a child's life. It reflects a policy choice to actively incentivise paternity leave and shared parenting, not just permit it in theory.

To claim the Partnerschaftsbonus, parents must include it in their Elterngeld application and provide confirmation from their employer of their agreed working hours. Self-employed parents must provide evidence of their average weekly working time over the relevant period.

How to calculate your benefit

The calculation starts with your average net income over the 12 calendar months before the month of birth. Net income means income after tax and social security contributions. For employees, this is the net pay on the payslip. For the self-employed, it is the income after business expenses and tax prepayments, calculated from the most recent tax assessment.

Several months are excluded from the 12-month reference period if they would distort the average downward. Months in which you received Mutterschaftsgeld (maternity pay), were on sick leave, or had significantly reduced income for reasons beyond your control are replaced by the nearest normal income month going further back. This protects parents who had a difficult pregnancy or illness before birth from a lower benefit due to circumstances outside their control.

Once the average net monthly income is established, the replacement rate is applied. The rate is 65 percent for most parents and rises toward 67 percent for lower earners. The result is compared against the floor (300 EUR) and the ceiling (1,800 EUR), and the applicable amount is used. If a parent had no income before birth, the payment defaults to 300 EUR per month.

For parents who work part-time while receiving ElterngeldPlus, the calculation runs in parallel: the base entitlement is calculated from pre-birth income, halved for the ElterngeldPlus format, and then the part-time income during the benefit period is accounted for. The system is designed so that working part-time never makes the parent worse off than not working at all, but the benefit is reduced proportionally to ensure the total (benefit plus part-time income) does not exceed what the parent would have received without any income replacement.

For self-employed parents, the calculation is more complex because income fluctuates. The Elterngeldstelle (the local office that administers Elterngeld) uses the tax office's income assessment for the reference year. Self-employed parents often benefit from submitting their tax return as early as possible before the birth so that a current assessment is available for the application. Estimated income figures can be used, but the benefit will be recalculated once the actual tax assessment is available, which can lead to repayments if income was overestimated.

How to apply

Applications are submitted to the Elterngeldstelle of the Jugendamt or the regional family benefits office in the Bundesland where the family lives. Since 2021, applications can be submitted online through elterngeld-digital.de, the federal digital portal for Elterngeld. The online process guides parents through the application form step by step and allows documents to be uploaded directly. Paper applications are still accepted at the local office for those who prefer them.

The application can be submitted after birth, and it can be backdated by up to three months. This means if you apply at three months after birth, you will not lose any entitlement for the first three months, because the retroactive window covers that period. However, applying after three months means losing the months that fall outside the retroactive window. Applying early, or at least within the first six weeks, is strongly recommended to keep options open and avoid administrative delays.

Documents typically required for the application include:

The Elterngeldstelle typically processes applications within four to eight weeks. Payments are made monthly in arrears. If your application is approved after several months have passed, the backdated months are paid as a lump sum covering the period from birth (or up to three months before the application, whichever is later).

For births in a hospital or birth centre, staff often provide a Merkblatt (information leaflet) about Elterngeld before discharge. The BMFSFJ website at bmfsjf.de and the elterngeld-digital.de portal both provide detailed guides and a benefit calculator where you can input your income and chosen leave plan to see an estimate of what you would receive.

Elternzeit versus Elterngeld: understanding the difference

Elterngeld and Elternzeit are closely linked but separate things. Confusing them is one of the most common mistakes new parents make when planning leave, and it can have real financial consequences.

Elterngeld is the financial benefit described throughout this article. It is a payment from the state that replaces lost income. It has a fixed duration (up to 14 months of Basiselterngeld, or up to 28 months of ElterngeldPlus), and the amount depends on what you earned before birth.

Elternzeit is the separate legal right to take unpaid leave from your employer. It lasts up to three years per child and can be taken by either or both parents at any point until the child turns eight years old. Elternzeit is a job-protection right: your employer must hold your position (or an equivalent one) until you return. You do not lose your employment contract by taking Elternzeit.

The relationship between the two is that most parents take Elterngeld during Elternzeit. You register your Elternzeit with your employer (usually with seven weeks' notice), and separately apply for Elterngeld from the state. Elterngeld runs out before Elternzeit can. After the Elterngeld months are exhausted, a parent on Elternzeit receives no income replacement from the state unless they return to part-time work. This is why many families plan to return to work either part-time or full-time once Elterngeld ends, or to stagger the parents' Elterngeld and Elternzeit so that income support is maintained longer.

Taking Elternzeit does not require you to claim Elterngeld, and claiming Elterngeld does not automatically register you for Elternzeit. Both are separate processes with separate notices to separate parties.

Frequently asked questions

How much Elterngeld will I receive if I was earning 3,000 EUR net per month?

At 3,000 EUR net per month, the replacement rate is 65 percent, giving approximately 1,950 EUR per month as Basiselterngeld. Since the maximum monthly payment is capped at 1,800 EUR, your actual benefit would be 1,800 EUR per month. If you choose ElterngeldPlus instead, you receive half the Basiselterngeld amount, which is 900 EUR per month, for double the number of months.

Can both parents receive Elterngeld at the same time?

Yes. Both parents can claim their Elterngeld months concurrently, meaning they draw their months simultaneously rather than consecutively. The total pool of 14 Basiselterngeld months does not double when claimed at the same time: both parents are drawing from their own allocated portion. The key constraint is that one parent can take a maximum of 12 months, and the other parent must use at least 2 months to unlock the full 14-month pool.

What is the difference between Basiselterngeld and ElterngeldPlus?

Basiselterngeld pays 65 to 67 percent of your pre-birth net income (minimum 300 EUR, maximum 1,800 EUR per month) for up to 14 months. ElterngeldPlus pays half that amount for double the duration (up to 28 months) and is designed for parents returning to part-time work. The total sum received is the same either way. The advantage of ElterngeldPlus is the longer period of support and access to the Partnerschaftsbonus.

How does Cubby help during parental leave?

Cubby is a free baby care app for tracking feeds, naps, nappy changes, and milestones. During parental leave, when both parents are often sharing care across shifts and days blur into each other, Cubby keeps a shared log so everyone knows what happened and when. You can share access with a partner, grandparent, or carer so the handover is effortless. Cubby also surfaces helpful articles and gentle reminders so you always have trusted information close at hand through the newborn weeks.

Track the newborn days with Cubby

Parental leave goes fast. Cubby helps you log feeds, naps, and milestones, share the picture with everyone caring for your baby, and keep trusted information close when you need it most.

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