💰 Single parent tax relief (Entlastungsbetrag)

If you live alone with a child, you pay less tax – via tax class II or with your tax return.

Single parent tax relief (Entlastungsbetrag) Tax class II Shared household § 24b EStG ELStAM

In brief

Single people with at least one child in the household can deduct the single parent tax relief from their taxable income (§ 24b EStG). It is €4,260 per year for the first child and increases by €240 for each further child for whom you receive child benefit or a child allowance.

"Single" means: no shared household with another adult – unless that person is themselves still entitled to child benefit or a child allowance (e.g. your own adult child in training). If another adult is registered with a main or secondary residence in your home, the law presumes that you run a household together – you can rebut this presumption.

Step by step

Apply for tax class IIApply to the Finanzamt for tax class II so that the single parent tax relief is already taken into account monthly in payroll tax withholding.
Check registration statusMake sure that no other adult (other than your own children entitled to child benefit) is registered with a main or secondary residence in your home – otherwise you have to rebut the presumption of a shared household.
Report changesIf you move in with a new partner, the single parent tax relief lapses proportionally from that month – report this to the Finanzamt.
Claim it with your tax returnIf tax class II was not entered in time, claim the single parent tax relief afterwards through your annual income tax return.

Deadlines

monthly reduction

The annual amount is reduced by one twelfth for each full calendar month in which the requirements were not met§ 24b Abs. 3 EStG

Watch out – common mistakes

If a new partner moves in with you and registers with a main or secondary residence, the single parent tax relief lapses from that month – regardless of whether you actually run a household together, unless you rebut the statutory presumption in the individual case.
An adult child of your own who is still entitled to child benefit (e.g. in training) and is registered with you does not harm the single parent tax relief – this is often wrongly assumed.
With genuine shared parenting, the single parent tax relief may have to be split equally between both parents; this requires a joint application or a corresponding declaration – without it, one parent risks getting nothing.
Tax class II is not assigned automatically, even if you really are a single parent – you must actively apply for it at the Finanzamt.

In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals

Statutory wording and amounts

§ 24b EStG grants single taxpayers with at least one child registered in the household and entitled to child benefit or a child allowance a relief amount of €4,260 per calendar year for the first child, plus €240 for each further child. These amounts are set in the text of the law itself (gesetze-im-internet.de, retrieved September 2026) and are not subject to automatic annual adjustment – changes require an amendment of the law.

Definition of "single"

A person is single if they do not meet the requirements of the splitting procedure or are widowed, and do not form a shared household with another adult – unless that person is also entitled to child benefit or a child allowance or performs voluntary service under § 32 Abs. 5 EStG. The registration of another adult in your home triggers a rebuttable statutory presumption of a shared household.

Splitting under shared parenting

If child and parents live in a genuine shared parenting arrangement, since the new rule for assessment periods from 2021 the single parent tax relief can be split equally between both eligible parents on a joint application, instead of being allocated in full to just one parent (§ 24b Abs. 1 Satz 3 f. EStG). Without such an application, it remains allocated to the parent with whom the child is registered.

Who is responsible

Finanzamt

Quick questions

Worum geht es bei „Single parent tax relief (Entlastungsbetrag)“?

If you live alone with a child, you pay less tax – via tax class II or with your tax return.

Which deadlines and figures matter?

monthly reduction: The annual amount is reduced by one twelfth for each full calendar month in which the requirements were not met (§ 24b Abs. 3 EStG)

What should I do first?

Apply for tax class II: Apply to the Finanzamt for tax class II so that the single parent tax relief is already taken into account monthly in payroll tax withholding.
Check registration status: Make sure that no other adult (other than your own children entitled to child benefit) is registered with a main or secondary residence in your home – otherwise you have to rebut the presumption of a shared household.
Report changes: If you move in with a new partner, the single parent tax relief lapses proportionally from that month – report this to the Finanzamt.

What do I need to watch out for?

If a new partner moves in with you and registers with a main or secondary residence, the single parent tax relief lapses from that month – regardless of whether you actually run a household together, unless you rebut the statutory presumption in the individual case.
An adult child of your own who is still entitled to child benefit (e.g. in training) and is registered with you does not harm the single parent tax relief – this is often wrongly assumed.
With genuine shared parenting, the single parent tax relief may have to be split equally between both parents; this requires a joint application or a corresponding declaration – without it, one parent risks getting nothing.

Evidence

§ 24b EStG (gesetze-im-internet.de, retrieved September 2026)

As of

As of September 2026. · Sources and method

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