Germany: parental allowance (Elterngeld) calculator

From your gross pay before the birth, the monthly Elterngeld with the sibling bonus and the multiple-birth supplement: calculated the way the law and the official calculator of the Familienportal do it.

Basic Elterngeld per month

€1,274.65

65% of €1,961.00 net

ElterngeldPlus €637.33 a month
€15,295.80 for 12 months
Net €1,961.00

From €3,000.00 gross you get €1,961.00 net as defined for Elterngeld. Elterngeld replaces 65% of it: €1,274.65 basic Elterngeld a month.

As ElterngeldPlus you get €637.33 a month, but for twice as long: 12 months of basic Elterngeld (€15,295.80) become 24 months of ElterngeldPlus for about the same total. Elterngeld is tax-free but raises the tax rate on your other income (progression clause).

I’m not an accountant or a financial advisor. This is an estimate, for information only. Check with a professional before you decide.

Your numbers

example: change the numbers

Gross pay per month before the birth

The average of your regular gross pay in the 12 months before the month of birth, without one-off payments such as a Christmas or vacation bonus (BEEG § 2c). The calculator works from €604 a month: up to €603 it is a mini-job.

Tax class

What counts is the tax class in the last of the 12 months before the birth, unless another one applied in most of those months (BEEG § 2c para. 3). Tax class 4 with a factor is calculated like tax class 4.

Do you pay church tax?

The deduction counts as 8% of the wage tax in every federal state (BEEG § 2e para. 5), even where church tax is 9%.

YesNo

Social insurance

For the deductions, flat rates of 9% for health and long-term care insurance, 10% for pension insurance and 2% for unemployment insurance count, but only if you are compulsorily insured there (BEEG § 2f).

Birth of the child

The tax is calculated with the wage tax program that applied on 1 January of the year before the birth (BEEG § 2e para. 1): for a birth in 2026 the 2025 program, for a birth in 2027 the 2026 program.

In 2026program 2025In 2027program 2026

How many children are born?

For twins or triplets the Elterngeld rises by €300 (ElterngeldPlus: €150) for the second and each further child (BEEG § 2a para. 4).

One childTwinsTriplets

Older children under 14 in the household

They count for the child allowances that reduce the solidarity surcharge and the church tax: 0.5 per child, in tax class 3 1.0 per child, in tax class 5 none.

Entitled to the sibling bonus?

Yes, if besides the new baby the household includes one older child under 3, two older children under 6, or one older child under 14 with a disability (BEEG § 2a). The bonus ends when the condition no longer applies.

YesNo

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The calculation
	Gross pay	€3,000.00
−	Wage taxTax class 1, program 2025	€306.50
−	Social contributions21% (9 + 10 + 2)	€630.00
−	Employee flat-rate allowanceone twelfth of €1,230	€102.50
=	Net pay as defined for Elterngeld	€1,961.00
×	Percentagebetween 65% and 100%	65%
=	Basic Elterngeld	€1,274.65

How it works

Elterngeld replaces part of your net income before the birth. This net is not the net on your payslip but a flat-rate one: from your gross pay, one twelfth of the employee flat-rate allowance (€102.50), the wage tax with solidarity surcharge and church tax, and a flat 21% for social contributions are deducted (BEEG §§ 2c, 2e, 2f).
The tax is calculated by the wage tax program of the Federal Ministry of Finance that applied on 1 January of the year before the birth, with your tax class. One-off payments such as a Christmas bonus do not count, and tax class 6 is ignored.
You get 67% of the net. Below €1,000 the rate rises by 0.1 percentage points for every €2 less, up to 100%; above €1,200 it falls by 0.1 percentage points for every €2 more, down to 65%. The minimum is €300, the maximum €1,800 a month (BEEG § 2).
On top come the sibling bonus (10%, at least €75) and the multiple-birth supplement (€300 for each additional child). With ElterngeldPlus everything is halved: at most half of the basic Elterngeld, a minimum of €150, a bonus of at least €37.50 and a supplement of €150 (BEEG § 4a).

Worked example

€3,000 gross, tax class 1, no church tax, birth in 2026: wage tax €306.50 (2025 program), social contributions 21% = €630.00, flat-rate allowance €102.50. Net: 3,000 − 306.50 − 630 − 102.50 = €1,961.00. 65% of that = €1,274.65 basic Elterngeld; ElterngeldPlus is half, €637.33 (rounded up from €637.325). With an older child under 3, the sibling bonus adds €127.47.

Sources

Text checked on October 6, 2026

Good to know

Elterngeld is paid for the months of the child’s life in which you do not work or work only a little. Together the parents are entitled to 12 months of basic Elterngeld, plus 2 partner months if the income of one parent falls in two months; one parent gets at most 12 months of basic Elterngeld. Instead of one month of basic Elterngeld you can take two months of ElterngeldPlus (BEEG § 4).
The calculator is for employees with unchanged pay. It does not cover the self-employed, varying pay, part-time work while receiving Elterngeld, the partnership bonus or maternity allowance. The Elterngeld office checks your payslips for the 12 months before the birth month by month: your notice may differ.
One-off payments such as a Christmas or vacation bonus do not count as income (BEEG § 2c para. 1). Tax class 6 is also ignored; if you only have income in tax class 6, you are calculated as in tax class 4.
Elterngeld is tax-free (EStG § 3 No. 67) but subject to the progression clause: it raises the tax rate on your other income (EStG § 32b para. 1 No. 1 letter j). On a tax return this can lead to an additional payment.
There is no entitlement if the taxable income in the last assessed tax year before the birth was above €175,000, for couples the income of both parents together (BEEG § 1 para. 8).

Frequently asked questions

How much Elterngeld will I get?

Usually 65 to 67% of your net income before the birth, at least €300 and at most €1,800 a month. With €3,000 gross in tax class 1 that is €1,274.65; with a very low income the percentage rises to up to 100%.

How much is ElterngeldPlus?

At most half of the basic Elterngeld you would get without income during the payment period (BEEG § 4a). In return it is paid for twice as long: one month of basic Elterngeld becomes two months of ElterngeldPlus.

When do I get the sibling bonus?

When, besides the new baby, the household includes one older child under 3, two older children under 6, or one older child under 14 with a disability. It is 10% of the Elterngeld, at least €75 a month, and ends with the month in which the condition no longer applies (BEEG § 2a).

How much Elterngeld is there for twins?

For the second and each further child there is €300 more a month, with ElterngeldPlus €150 (BEEG § 2a para. 4). With €3,000 gross that makes €1,574.65 basic Elterngeld a month for twins.

Do I get more if I change my tax class?

The tax class changes the net pay from which the Elterngeld is calculated: in tax class 3 it is higher than in 5. What counts is the tax class in the last of the 12 months before the birth, unless another one applied in most of those months (BEEG § 2c para. 3). The calculator shows the difference when you change the class.

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