What will change for families in 2026

In 2026, changes to the law that affect children and families will come into force. There will be more child benefit, tax allowances will be increased and the minimum wage will also rise for trainees: Find out about the most important changes here.

Currently, child benefit is 255 euros per child per month. From January 2026, child benefit will increase by 4 euros and will then amount to 259 euros per child per month.

Further information on child benefit can be found here on the Familienportal.NRW.

The entitlement to child sick days per child and parent of 15 days and 30 days for single parents was also set again for 2026.

The basic tax-free allowance will be increased by 252 euros to 12,348 euros on January 1, 2026.

The child allowance will increase by 156 euros to 6,828 euros per child per year. Together with the childcare and education allowance of currently €2,928, this results in a total of €9,756 that parents can claim for tax purposes per child.

The page "Tax benefits for families" here on Familienportal.NRW provides information about the child allowance and other tax relief for families.

Fathers or mothers living apart will have to pay slightly more maintenance for their children in 2026 than before. The rates will be increased by just under 1 percent on January 1, 2026. From the new year, the minimum maintenance for underage children will be 486 instead of the previous 482 euros until their sixth birthday, 558 instead of the previous 554 euros for the period from the sixth to the twelfth birthday and 653 instead of the previous 649 euros per month for the period from the twelfth to the 18th birthday. For adult children, at least 698 euros (instead of the previous 693 euros) must be paid.

For children who receive no or insufficient maintenance, the youth welfare offices pay maintenance advance. These benefits increase in the same proportion as the minimum maintenance. Because the child benefit, which has also increased slightly, is taken into account at the same time, there is no change to the maintenance advance compared to 2026: 227 euros (0 to 5 years), 299 euros (6 to 11 years) and 394 euros are paid.

For detailed information on the maintenance rates, see the article "Neue Düsseldorfer Tabelle 2026" here on the Familienportal.NRW.

The statutory minimum wage will rise to 13.90 euros per hour on January 1, 2026. The mini-job limit will rise to 603 euros per month.

Apprentices starting their training in 2026 will receive at least 724 euros per month in the first year of training, at least 854 euros per month in the second year of training and at least 977 euros per month in the third year of training. In the fourth year of training, the minimum salary is 1,014 euros per month.

• VAT in the catering sector drops to 7 percent
• The commuter allowance rises to 38 cents per kilometer
• E-cars remain tax-exempt until 2035