What happens if the child does not take up the training place?
Parents are generally entitled to child benefit or the child allowance if their child is over 18 and seeking a training place but has not found one (§ 32 para. 4 no. 2c EStG). The child must prove their willingness to train with appropriate evidence, such as applications or rejections.
Entitlement to child benefit during waiting periods
A child is also considered if they have been offered a training or study place starting the following year. In this case, there is a continuous entitlement to child benefit, regardless of a four-month limit, as long as the child is waiting to start training.
What happens if the child does not accept the training place?
If a child does not take up an offer for a training or study place for personal reasons, the entitlement to child benefit lapses. The Federal Fiscal Court has ruled that a child who rejects a training place is no longer considered willing to train, and child benefit ceases when the acceptance deadline passes (BFH ruling of 26.8.2014, XI R 14/12).
Postponing the start of training
Postponing the start of training for organisational reasons by the school or company is harmless if the child has an offer. A postponement due to a temporary illness is also accepted, provided the training can start later (BFH ruling of 28.5.2013, XI R 38/11).
Illness with no foreseeable end
However, the Federal Fiscal Court has ruled that there is no entitlement to child benefit if a child cannot start training due to illness and the end of the illness is not foreseeable (BFH ruling of 12.11.2020, III R 49/18).
Child benefit for waiting periods of more than four months
If the waiting period for a training place or an interruption lasts longer than four months, the child must register as seeking a training place or seeking employment to maintain the child benefit entitlement. A child seeking a training place is considered until the age of 25, while a child seeking employment is only entitled to child benefit until the age of 21.
Important: If the child does not register in time as seeking employment or a training place, the child benefit entitlement for the transition period is completely lost. The Münster Finance Court ruled that parents lost their child benefit entitlement because the child was not registered as seeking a training place during a pandemic-related waiting period (FG Münster, ruling of 14.6.2022, 13 K 745/21 Kg).
Special regulations during the Corona pandemic
If training cannot objectively be continued due to the Corona pandemic, the child benefit entitlement can remain similar to an interruption due to illness or maternity leave. However, the Schleswig-Holstein Finance Court ruled that there is no willingness to train if a child interrupts their training of their own accord during the Corona pandemic and neither registers as seeking a training place nor actively seeks a training position (ruling of 27.3.2024, 5 V 71/23).
