💶 Cost contribution: what you have to hand over from your own income
In brief
Until the end of 2022, children, young people and young adults in full-time foster care or residential care had to hand over a considerable part of their own income – for example from a training allowance or a side job – as a "cost contribution" to the youth welfare provider. With the Act on the Abolition of the Cost Contribution of Young People in Child and Youth Welfare (in force since 1 January 2023), this income-based contribution of young people was abolished entirely. Since then, as a rule you no longer have to contribute anything from your own income to the costs of your accommodation.
Step by step
- Check whether a cost contribution is still being demandedSince 1.1.2023 it is no longer permissible to charge young people from their own income – if it is demanded anyway, this should be checked.
- Look at old cases from before 2023 separatelyA different legal situation applied to notices of decision from before 2023 – have such old cases checked separately.
- Note the child benefit special caseIf a parent still receives child benefit for you while you are placed outside the parental home day and night, you can be asked for a cost contribution equal to that child benefit.
- Have notices checkedIf in doubt, have a cost contribution notice checked by an advice centre (e.g. Careleaver e. V.).
- Document your own income anywayYour income may be relevant elsewhere, for BAföG, basic income support (Grundsicherungsgeld, Bürgergeld until 30.6.2026) or parental cost contributions.
Deadlines
- Do not confuse the abolition of the cost contribution of young people (2023) with the cost contribution of parents (§§ 92–94 SGB VIII) – parents can still be asked for a cost contribution from their own income; this does not affect your own income.
- For the exact historical cost contribution rates for young people before 2023, no reliable percentage figure was verified in the course of this research – for old cases from before 2023, separate advice is recommended rather than relying on figures in circulation.
- The child benefit cost contribution (§ 94 Abs. 3 SGB VIII) is not a remnant of the old rule but remains valid law – however, it expressly concerns only the amount of the child benefit, not your other income.
In depth · legal basis, figures and practice – for advisers and professionals
Legal situation until 31.12.2022
Before the reform, § 94 SGB VIII in its earlier version, in conjunction with the then Cost Contribution Ordinance, provided for young people to be charged from their own income to a considerable extent. Professional associations (including Der Paritätische, DIJuF) criticised this for years as a perverse incentive that made training and saving harder.
The 2023 reform
The Act on the Abolition of the Cost Contribution of Young People in Child and Youth Welfare (BGBl. 2022 I S. 2824, in force since 1.1.2023) abolished charging from own income for children, young people and young adults in the services named in § 91 SGB VIII (including full-time foster care, residential care, support for young adults). § 94 Abs. 6 SGB VIII old version was deleted without replacement ("repealed").
What remains: the child benefit cost contribution
Under § 92 Abs. 1a Nr. 2 in conjunction with § 94 Abs. 3 SGB VIII, a limited contribution remains where services are provided day and night outside the parental home and a parent (or you yourself) receives child benefit for you: in this case a cost contribution equal to the child benefit is payable – this concerns the child benefit amount, not your earned income.
A question about your situation that this page does not answer? Write to us or use the contact form – we will tell you which office is responsible and what to bring. Free of charge, without individual legal advice.