(2023)
Am I entitled to child benefit if my child is unemployed?
Yes. You can still receive child benefit or child tax allowances if your child is unemployed. The payment ends in the month before the child's 21st birthday.
Registration as a jobseeker can be done not only at an employment agency in Germany. Children registered as jobseekers in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland are also considered.
For the child to be taken into account for tax purposes, it is not detrimental if they have a part-time job and the average annual earnings do not exceed 450 Euro or 520 Euro from 1.10.2022 per month. A short-term employment, limited to 3 months or 70 working days in the calendar year and not carried out on a professional basis, is also not detrimental. If the child works less than 15 hours per week, this is always not detrimental to the parents' entitlement to child benefit. The child is still considered unemployed.
