Child Day Care Costs

Child care costs money. State and federal governments offer a wide range of financial assistance to families. This ranges from waivers of child care fees to coverage of the cost of group lunches and tax breaks. Below, you’ll learn about your options and where you can apply for assistance.

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia provides targeted financial relief to young families with small children. As of August 1, 2020, the last two years before a child starts school are generally free of charge for all parents, regardless of income. If a child turns four by September 30 of a given year, no fees need to be paid from August of that same year (the start of the new daycare year) until the child starts school.

Child day care is also free of parental fees if the financial burden of the fees is unreasonable for the parents and the child. Fees are considered unreasonable whenever parents or children receive, for example, benefits to secure their livelihood under Book II of the Social Code (basic income support for job seekers) or other basic income support benefits, or if the child’s parents receive a child supplement pursuant to Section 6a of the Federal Child Allowance Act or housing assistance under the Housing Allowance Act.

The Youth Welfare Office may decide on its own authority whether to grant sibling discounts and how these are structured. It may provide for reduced fees or fee exemptions for siblings, even if they attend a full-day elementary school—there are no uniform state-wide guidelines on this matter (Section 51(4), Sentence 2 of the Child Education Act). Please contact your local Youth Welfare Office for more information on this matter.

For children under the age of four in childcare, parents are generally required to pay a monthly fee for childcare, unless the daycare is free of charge because the financial burden of the fees would be unreasonable for the parents or the child. 

The following costs may apply:

Parents have access to various forms of financial assistance to help cover the costs of child care. Families and single parents can take advantage of these forms of assistance and subsidies if they meet the respective requirements:

Exemption from daycare fees or a subsidy toward daycare costs

Unless there is an exemption from parent fees due to financial hardship, exemption from childcare costs even before the two fee-free years of childcare depends on the parents’ income. Parents who receive benefits such as basic income support, child supplement, etc., are exempt from parent fees. Please note that there are regional differences regarding the annual income threshold at which parent fees are charged. 

Benefits from the Education and Participation Package

Under certain conditions, parents can also apply for benefits from the Education and Participation Package. One condition is that the parents or children receive basic income support for job seekers, social assistance, or benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, or that they receive the child supplement or housing allowance.  

To ensure that children are not excluded from group activities while attending daycare, the costs for group lunches and any expenses incurred for group field trips—such as visits to a theater or zoo—may be covered. By the way: Leisure activities outside of daycare, such as attending a music school or membership in a sports club, are also covered by the Education and Participation Package. 

If you are already receiving basic income support for job seekers, you do not need to submit a separate application for these benefits; instead, report your need to your local Jobcenter. 
If you are not currently receiving benefits from the job center, contact the youth welfare office of your city or county administration directly to request reimbursement for daycare lunches or field trips. 

On the website of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs website, you can find the appropriate contact point to apply for benefits under the Education and Participation Package.

Benefits from the Hardship Fund “All Children Eat Together”

During the 2023–24 and 2024–25 school years, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia is funding communal lunch programs in schools and daycare centers for children and adolescents from low-income families. A subsidy for field trips is also available if needed. To qualify for support from the Hardship Fund, families must not be receiving benefits from the Education and Participation Package. Detailed information and application forms can be found at www.mags.nrw/haertefallfonds.

A portion of the costs for child care can be deducted from your taxes as special expenses. Everything you need to know about “Child Care and Taxes” can be found in this article on the Familienportal.NRW website.

The state youth welfare offices also use funds from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia to support low-threshold care services for children from refugee families. Funding is provided, for example, for parent-child groups, playgroups, child day care services, mobile services, and programs offered in cooperation with local family centers.