Field help:
Did you have a different entitlement to child benefit or similar payments?
Select "yes" if regular German child benefit was not paid for the entire year for the child in 2025.
This is particularly the case if:
- no German child benefit was paid,
- German child benefit was paid only for part of the year, or
- there was an entitlement to comparable (usually foreign) family benefits.
When is there a different entitlement?
Different German child benefit
A different entitlement exists if German child benefit was not available for all months in 2025.
Typical cases are:
- Moving to Germany: Child benefit entitlement starts from a later month
- Moving away from Germany: Child benefit entitlement ends before the end of the year
Example: Moved in April 2025, child benefit is paid from July. → yes, as there is no full annual entitlement.
No German child benefit
There is no entitlement to German child benefit, particularly if the legal requirements are not met.
- The child lives permanently outside the EU/EEA
- A required residence or habitual abode of the child is missing
- Other requirements for German child benefit are not met
Example: Child lives in Thailand all year round. → yes, as there is no entitlement to German child benefit.
Entitlement to comparable benefits
There is an entitlement to comparable benefits if a foreign state family benefit equivalent to German child benefit was available for the child in 2025.
This particularly applies to benefits:
- from an EU or EEA country or
- from Switzerland.
Example: Child lives in Poland, Polish family allowance is paid. → yes, as a comparable benefit was paid.
When to select "No"?
Select "no" if German child benefit was continuously available in full for the child throughout the entire year 2025 and no foreign benefits were relevant.
