SteuerGo FAQs

(2022) Is child benefit available during an extended transition period to university?

In some federal states, such as Rhineland-Palatinate, the Abitur is taken as early as March. However, university studies often begin in October or vocational training in September.

Concerned parents are now asking whether child benefit will continue to be paid during this period.

• In principle, there is a claim to child benefit only if the transition period between the Abitur and university studies or vocational training does not exceed four full calendar months (transition period according to § 32 para. 4 no. 2b EStG). The transition period is not calculated to the exact day but covers four full calendar months. If a period of education ends with the Abitur in March, the next one must begin by August at the latest. This four-month period is exceeded here.
• If the transition period is longer than four months, a different rule applies for your child benefit claim: In this case, the child is considered if they "cannot start or continue vocational training due to a lack of training place" (waiting period according to § 32 para. 4 no. 2c EStG). This condition is met if the child applies for a university or training place immediately after the Abitur or already has an offer for a later date (A 17.1 para. 1 DA-Kindergeld 2019).

However, it can sometimes be unclear when a course of study actually begins and when it is considered completed. The BFH recently had to deal with this issue and decided as follows: A university course begins with the first implementation of training measures and generally ends when the child has successfully completed the last examination required by the relevant examination regulations and all examination results have been made available to the child in writing (BFH ruling of 7.7.2021, III R 40/19).

The facts: The claimant is the mother of a daughter born in May 1992. The daughter was enrolled in a Master's programme in "Management" at a university from March 2015. After the university initially informed the daughter verbally of her successful completion, it posted the completion and final grades online at the end of October 2016. The daughter collected the certificates in person from the examination office at the end of November 2016. In March 2017, she applied for another Bachelor's degree in Political Science, which she began in April 2017. The family benefits office granted child benefit for the Master's degree until October 2016 inclusive and for the Bachelor's degree from April 2017. For March 2016, the daughter was not considered for child benefit due to training, but only because of her application for a study place. For the period from November 2016 to February 2017, the family benefits office and subsequently the tax court refused to grant child benefit.

The BFH considered the claimant's appeal to be unfounded. For the question of when a university course is completed, it is generally not the date on which the child is verbally informed of the examination results that is decisive. What matters is that the child has successfully completed the last examination required by the relevant examination regulations. In addition, the child must have received written confirmation of all examination results either sent by the university or must have been objectively able to obtain such written confirmation via an online portal of the university. The decisive factor is which event occurred first. In the case in dispute, it was therefore decisive that the university posted the final grades online at the end of October 2016.

Transition periods between two periods of education are only taken into account for child benefit purposes if they do not exceed four calendar months. In the case in dispute, however, the BFH assumed a transition period of five calendar months. This is because the Master's degree ended in October 2016. The Bachelor's degree did not begin with the application in March 2017, but only when training measures actually took place in April 2017.