Does Kindergeld continue after my child turns 18?

What happens in the month your child turns 18

Kindergeld is paid for every child until the 18th birthday. It ends at the end of the month in which the child turns 18. If the birthday is on the 1st of a month, it ends at the end of the month before.

The old decision does not carry on. The Familienkasse instruction says that at 18 a new written application must be made, on paper or online. There is an online form, Kindergeld-Antrag ab 18, that you can send with BundID without printing or signing. We could not confirm that it works for families abroad who also need KG 51, so check this before you rely on it.

The six-month rule applies to this new application too: Kindergeld is paid back only for the six months before the month it arrives.

The reasons Kindergeld continues, and the age limits

§ 32 Abs. 4 EStG lists the reasons. Your child needs at least one of them.

School, university or training: up to 25

Training (Berufsausbildung) is meant widely: general schools, university, in-company training, further training, training for another profession, and the first three months of basic training in voluntary military service.

A short gap is allowed. Kindergeld continues for up to four months between two stages, for example from school to university, if the next stage really starts within those four months.

If training is interrupted by illness for up to six months and a doctor certifies when it will end, payment usually continues. If the illness lasts longer, there is usually no claim from its start. During maternity protection payment continues.

No training place, or looking for work

Up to 25, Kindergeld can continue if your child cannot start or continue training for lack of a place, in Germany or abroad. The child must have searched seriously (keep the rejections), or be registered as looking for a training place, or have a promised place that starts later, or plan to apply in the next round. A written declaration of that plan counts only from the day it reaches the Familienkasse.

Up to 21, Kindergeld can continue if your child does not work and is registered as a job seeker. The leaflet says this can be an Agentur für Arbeit or Jobcenter in Germany, or a public employment office in another EU or EEA country or Switzerland. So a registration at the employment office in Romania, Bulgaria or Poland counts. A Minijob does not stop it. If the child only gets Grundsicherungsgeld, there is no claim.

For both cases, add form KG 11a (Bescheinigung für ein volljähriges Kind ohne Ausbildungs- oder Arbeitsplatz).

Voluntary service and disability

Up to 25, these services count: a voluntary social or ecological year, the Bundesfreiwilligendienst, the European Solidarity Corps, weltwärts, the Internationaler Jugendfreiwilligendienst, the Freiwilligendienst aller Generationen, and another service abroad under § 5 BFDG. Looking for a voluntary service place does not count as looking for a training place.

For a child who cannot support themselves because of a physical, mental or psychological disability that began before 25, there is no age limit. The Familienkasse compares the child's own means with the general living need, which is 12,348 € for 2026. In disability cases, ask the Familienkasse what it needs.

How much can your child work?

During a first vocational training or a first degree, work does not matter for Kindergeld. The hours test starts only after the first training or first degree is finished (§ 32 Abs. 4 Satz 2 EStG).

After that, Kindergeld continues only if the work is allowed: up to 20 hours of regular work a week, work within a training relationship, or a Minijob (the leaflet's example is a 603-Euro-Job). If the hours go above 20 only for a short time, ask the Familienkasse.

Finishing a general school is not a first training. A Master's degree after years of work, or a Meister course, usually counts as a second training, so the 20-hour limit applies. Anlage Kind point 3.2 asks whether a first training is finished, the career goal, the jobs and the total weekly hours.

Romania, Bulgaria, Poland: when the benefit at home ends

Poland: 800 plus is paid only until the child turns 18. German Kindergeld can continue after that under the rules above.

Bulgaria: the monthly child allowance (месечна помощ за дете) is paid until the child finishes secondary school, at the latest until 20.

Romania: we could not confirm from an official Romanian source whether the alocația continues for a young person over 18 still at school, so we say nothing about it here.

Applying again at 18, step by step

Late or missing reports can mean paying money back, and even a fine. A pregnancy must also be reported, with a doctor's certificate.

1. Before the birthday month ends, make the new application: online with Kindergeld-Antrag ab 18, or on paper with KG 1 and Anlage Kind.
2. In Anlage Kind, fill in point 3 (what your child does) and point 3.2 (is a first training finished, which jobs, how many hours).
3. Add the proof from the table above. For a job seeker or a child without a training place, add KG 11a.
4. Send it to the same Familienkasse that pays you now, and keep copies. Send copies, not originals, and black out what is not needed, such as grades.
5. Report every change straight away: a new school or course, a break, the end of training, a new job, or the start of voluntary or military service.

Mistakes to avoid, and what Geldback can do

Geldback cannot yet fill in the forms for a child aged 18 or over, because the Familienkasse needs proof of school, studies or training for each one. For an older child, use the official forms or the online application, and ask the Familienkasse in borderline cases such as illness, disability or hours above 20. If you also have younger children with no Kindergeld yet, Geldback can fill in their forms for a fixed 59 €.