Child benefit to rise to 267 euros a month in 2027 under a new draft tax law
Families in Germany are set to receive more Kindergeld from 2027. A draft bill from the Federal Ministry of Finance, first reported by Bild and seen by WELT, would raise the monthly child benefit by eight euros - from the current 259 euros to 267 euros per child - with a further five-euro step in 2028 taking it to 272 euros. Kindergeld is paid for every child regardless of the parents' income, and non-German parents can receive it too, provided they hold a residence status that carries the entitlement and meet the conditions the Familienkasse applies.
The increase sits inside a wider income tax package being prepared under the working title Einkommensteuerreformgesetz 2027. The basic tax-free allowance, the Grundfreibetrag, would rise by 216 euros next year and by a further 336 euros in 2028, reaching 12,900 euros. The child allowance, the Kinderfreibetrag, would go up by 300 euros, and the standard employee deduction is expected to rise by around 200 euros. The ministry puts the total relief at roughly three billion euros in 2027, about seven billion in 2028 and around ten billion a year once fully in force. Part of the cost is covered by extending the top rate of income tax: 45 percent from 250,000 euros of taxable income and 47 percent from 280,000 euros, alongside cuts to tax allowances for associations and for gains on business sales.
Anyone already receiving Kindergeld does not need to do anything - the Familienkasse adjusts the amount automatically. A separate change matters more for new parents: on 9 July 2026 the Bundestag passed a law introducing Kindergeld without an application, due to take effect on 1 January 2027 and to be rolled out in two stages during that year. From around March 2027 it should apply automatically to parents who already have an older child, and from around November 2027 to first-time parents. For the automatic route, at least one parent must live with the child in Germany, an IBAN must be on file, and at least one parent must be working in the country. The Bundesrat has still to approve it.
One further point is worth knowing for families who file a tax return. Kindergeld and the Kinderfreibetrag cannot both be claimed. The tax office runs a Guenstigerpruefung automatically and applies whichever is worth more, and because the monthly payment is rising, the income threshold at which the allowance becomes the better option moves higher. Families on lower and middle incomes will generally be better off with the higher cash payment, and no separate application is needed - the child's details simply have to be complete in the tax return. One caution on all of this: it is a ministry working draft, not law. The figures still have to clear cabinet, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat, and they can change.