€1,800/month for staying home with your baby — Elterngeld Basis + Plus decoded
Germany pays up to €1,800/month Basiselterngeld for the parent caring for a newborn. Plus extends the window at half the rate. Here's what the 2026 income cap + 14-month logic actually means for Blue Card families.
€1,800/month for staying home with your baby
Germany's Elterngeld covers 65–67% of your net salary for up to 14 months of parental leave. Basis + Plus let you stretch the window. The 2026 income cap tightened — Blue Card families need to know exactly where they stand.
Basiselterngeld maximum, 2026
€1,800/mo
Both parents splitting 14 months or one parent taking 12 — covered up to €1,800/month. Plus variant stretches double the duration at half the rate.
Planning family finances around the new arrival? The Benefits Optimizer models Grundsicherung versus working and weighs Kindergeld, Kinderzuschlag and Wohngeld against your rent and work costs.
The three variants
| Provider | How long | How much | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
Basiselterngeld Best | 12 months (14 with Partnermonate) | €300–€1,800/mo (65–67% of net) | Full parental leave, one primary parent |
ElterngeldPlus Good if you want to keep a foot in your job. | Double duration | Half rate (€150–€900/mo) | Part-time work while caring |
Partnerschaftsbonus | Extra 4 Plus months | Plus rate | Both parents working 24–32 hrs simultaneously |
- How long
- 12 months (14 with Partnermonate)
- How much
- €300–€1,800/mo (65–67% of net)
- Who it suits
- Full parental leave, one primary parent
Good if you want to keep a foot in your job.
- How long
- Double duration
- How much
- Half rate (€150–€900/mo)
- Who it suits
- Part-time work while caring
- How long
- Extra 4 Plus months
- How much
- Plus rate
- Who it suits
- Both parents working 24–32 hrs simultaneously
Who qualifies
- Have a new babyBirth or adoption
- Live with the childIn same household
- Not working >32 hrs/weekDuring the claim
- EU / Blue Card / §19cFull eligibility
Blue Card + §19c skilled workers qualify fully. Student visa holders usually don't unless they're transitioning to a work residence.
The 2026 income cap
| Provider | Combined taxable income prior year | Elterngeld eligibility |
|---|---|---|
Under €175,000 Best | Full eligibility | Yes |
Above €175,000 (births after April 2024) | Excluded entirely | No |
Above €200,000 (births before April 2024) | Excluded entirely | Grandfathered at the old threshold |
- Combined taxable income prior year
- Full eligibility
- Elterngeld eligibility
- Yes
- Combined taxable income prior year
- Excluded entirely
- Elterngeld eligibility
- No
- Combined taxable income prior year
- Excluded entirely
- Elterngeld eligibility
- Grandfathered at the old threshold
How the amount is calculated
Start with your pre-birth net salary
Familienkasse looks at the 12 months before Mutterschutz began. Bonuses are partially excluded.
Apply 65% (or 67% for lower earners)
Ersatzrate = 65% for most Blue Card salaries. 67% for anyone earning below ~€1,240 net/month pre-birth.
Floor at €300, cap at €1,800
Whatever you earn, you'll receive at least €300/month and never more than €1,800/month Basiselterngeld.
Add Geschwisterbonus if you already have kids
+10%If you have a child under 3 already (or 2+ kids under 6), add 10% of your Elterngeld amount (minimum €75/month extra).
Add multiple-birth bonus if twins/triplets
+€300/child€300 extra per additional child for every multiple birth.
How to apply
Register the birth (Geburtsurkunde)
Within 7 daysStandesamt — they issue the Geburtsurkunde. You need 5–6 copies for various authorities.
Submit Antrag zur Elterngeldstelle
30–60 minOnline in most states (e.g., ElterngeldDigital in Berlin, Hamburg, NRW). Paper fallback everywhere.
Upload payslips + employer Bescheinigung + Geburtsurkunde
15 minEmployer confirms leave dates. Krankenkasse confirms Mutterschaftsgeld amounts.
Wait for decision
4–8 weeksDecision covers the full 12–14 months in one document, payments backdated to birth.
Re-plan if you add Plus or Partnerschaftsbonus months
30 minYou can switch Basis → Plus for individual months; file a change request any time during the claim.
Both parents can split — and 2 months are yours to claim
- BirthDay 1
- Both parentsCan alternate
- 14 months totalBasis (12+2)
- Equal split works7+7, 10+4, etc
The 4 ways to split
Primary parent takes 12 months
Months 1–12Most common pattern — one parent (often birthing parent) uses the bulk of Basiselterngeld with first-year childcare.
Second parent takes 2 Partnermonate
Months 13–14These 2 months are reserved — if not claimed, they're forfeited. Most second parents take them around the baby's 1st birthday for stepped-down childcare transition.
Partnerschaftsbonus adds 4 Plus months
+4 monthsIf both parents work 24–32 hrs/week simultaneously for 4 consecutive months, each gets 4 additional ElterngeldPlus months. Good for dual-Blue-Card couples returning part-time.
Equal split works too
7 + 7 or 10 + 4Nothing forces a 12 + 2 split. Two parents can each take 7 months (7+7), or 10+4, or any combo that totals 14. Same total money, different daily shape.
Vätermonate (father's months) is the colloquial term for the Partnermonate when the second parent is the father. Taking them around the baby's 2nd birthday helps balance the post-partum transition — many German couples schedule it this way.
Employer + tax interactions
| Provider | Stacks with Elterngeld? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Mutterschaftsgeld (first 8 weeks) | Counted against Elterngeld | Your Kasse + employer cover the full net during this window — Elterngeld starts after |
Employer top-up (Zuschuss zum Elterngeld) Best | Neutral | Some tariff contracts pay a top-up to full salary; doesn't reduce Elterngeld |
Part-time income during Elterngeld | Reduces amount | Above €32 hrs/week = ineligible |
Kindergeld | Independent | Runs in parallel from birth regardless |
Kinderzuschlag | Case-by-case | KiZ-Lotse integrates the computation |
- Stacks with Elterngeld?
- Counted against Elterngeld
- Notes
- Your Kasse + employer cover the full net during this window — Elterngeld starts after
- Stacks with Elterngeld?
- Neutral
- Notes
- Some tariff contracts pay a top-up to full salary; doesn't reduce Elterngeld
- Stacks with Elterngeld?
- Reduces amount
- Notes
- Above €32 hrs/week = ineligible
- Stacks with Elterngeld?
- Independent
- Notes
- Runs in parallel from birth regardless
- Stacks with Elterngeld?
- Case-by-case
- Notes
- KiZ-Lotse integrates the computation
Common mistakes
Get this right
- Apply within 3 months of birth — late applications lose retro months
- File employer Bescheinigung before starting leave — it confirms your eligibility early
- Use Plus variant for the back half if you want to return part-time
- Check if your employer offers Zuschuss zum Elterngeld top-ups (IG Metall + many tech companies do)
Avoid these
- Don't work >32 hrs/week during claim — auto-disqualifies
- Don't forget the Partnermonate — 2 months reserved for the second parent are lost if not claimed
- Don't apply without knowing your 12-month pre-birth net — the amount depends on it
- Don't skip Geschwisterbonus if you have a second kid under 3 — 10% uplift is automatic but you have to declare
Newcomer-specific tips
- Blue Card couples with dual income over €175k/yr — excluded entirely. Plan finances accordingly.
- Single-earner Blue Card families — usually fully eligible.
- Ausbildung parents — eligible; the €300 floor protects low apprenticeship pay.
- Self-employed parents — eligible, but calculation uses your last tax-return profit, not monthly invoicing.
- Foreign-born child of Blue Card holder — works the same; register birth at the German Standesamt upon return.
Related free-money programs
- Kindergeld €259/month per child — runs in parallel from birth.
- Kinderzuschlag €297/month — top-up for working families.
- Tax deductions — Elterngeld is tax-free but counted for Progressionsvorbehalt.
Source: BMFSFJ — Elterngeld, BEEG 2024 reform, ElterngeldDigital portals.
Last updated: 2026-04-23