German parental allowance if you live abroad and work in Germany
By Felix Böhme, Dipl.-Finanzwirt (FH), graduate in public finance Updated
Many families live in France, Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria or the Netherlands and commute to work in Germany. Even without residence in Germany you can receive German parental allowance. Whether Germany pays first or only a differential amount depends on the other parent. This page explains how it works, which parental allowance office is responsible and what applies to taxes.
In short
- The basis is your employment in Germany. Residence in Germany is then not required – if you live in an EU or EEA country or in Switzerland.
- If the other parent does not work or also works in Germany, Germany pays first.
- If the other parent works in your country of residence, that country pays first. Germany then only pays the difference.
- If you live outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, there is generally no German parental allowance.
Entitlement through employment in Germany
Under the EU regulation you are subject to the law of the country where you work. If you work in Germany, German law applies to you – even if you live with your family in another EU country or in Switzerland. That is why you can receive German parental allowance. What matters is your employment in Germany, not a “German employment contract”.
The other parent can also have an entitlement to German parental allowance through you. The guidelines call this a derived entitlement: a parent who works in the country of residence or does not work receives an entitlement to German family benefits as a family member.
The other conditions must be met: your child lives in your household, you care for the child yourself and you work no more than 32 hours a week on average in the month of the child’s life.
Who pays first? It depends on the other parent
The numbers refer to the full table on Which country pays first?.
If Germany pays first, you receive the full German parental allowance. If your country of residence also has its own comparable benefit, there may be a secondary entitlement there. Conversely, according to the guidelines, such a benefit of the country of residence can be offset against German parental allowance if it exists alongside the German entitlement. As long as you have not applied for it in the country of residence, German parental allowance may be suspended up to the amount of the possible benefit. So find out early whether your country of residence provides such a benefit. The parental allowance office decides in each individual case.
Example: the Laurent family – living in Strasbourg, working in Kehl
Claire works in Strasbourg, Jonas in Kehl. The family lives in France. Because Claire works in the country of residence, France pays first (row 7). France provides €1,000 a month. In Germany, Jonas would be entitled to €1,800 and Claire to €1,200; Claire’s entitlement derives from Jonas. Both receive it at the same time.
Germany pays €3,000 − €1,000 = €2,000. How the €2,000 is shared between Claire and Jonas depends on who receives the French benefit. The full calculation is on Which country pays first?.
Example from the guidelines: both work in Germany
The family lives in France, both parents work in Germany. Germany pays first. The parents can choose freely between basic parental allowance and ElterngeldPlus, even though France also provides a benefit.
Which parental allowance office is responsible?
Because your child does not live in Germany, the parental allowance office at your place of work in Germany is responsible. If both parents work at different places in Germany, the office that receives the application first is responsible.
For agreeing the order of priority, the parental allowance office works with a family benefits office with special responsibility, for example Baden-Württemberg West in Karlsruhe for France, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, or Sachsen in Chemnitz for Poland. Overview: Cross-border commuters.
Taxes: what applies to commuters living abroad
Normally the parental allowance office deducts notional German wage tax, solidarity surcharge and church tax, if applicable, from gross pay, plus the employee lump sum (Arbeitnehmer-Pauschbetrag). For commuters living abroad there is an exception to avoid a double burden:
- you work in Germany,
- you live abroad, and
- under the double taxation agreement between Germany and your country of residence, your country of residence may tax German parental allowance – and actually taxes it.
The parental allowance office then deducts no wage tax, no solidarity surcharge, no church tax and no employee lump sum. Your parental allowance is higher as a result.
If German parental allowance remains tax-free in your country of residence – including where the double taxation agreement exempts it –, the normal calculation with all deductions applies.
Point this out to the parental allowance office in your application and, if possible, submit proof from your country of residence that parental allowance is taxed there. The parental allowance office will tell you which proof it needs.
One-off payments under the 183-day rule
If your pay is not subject to German wage tax deduction because of the 183-day rule of a double taxation agreement, the parental allowance office does not distinguish between regular pay and one-off payments. A 13th month’s salary in the assessment period then counts – but a one-off payment in a month of receipt reduces parental allowance.
The income limit also applies to you
Parental allowance is not paid if taxable income in the last completed assessment year before the birth exceeds the income limit: for births from 1 April 2025, more than €175,000 (combined for couples). Income taxed in an EU or EEA country or in Switzerland also counts. Whether the partner lives in Germany does not matter.
Living outside the EU: generally no entitlement
If you live outside the EU, EEA and Switzerland, the EU rules do not apply. Then, despite employment in Germany, you are generally not entitled, because German law requires residence or habitual abode in Germany.
Exceptions are set out in section 1(2) BEEG. The following are also entitled:
- employees temporarily posted abroad by their employer in Germany who remain subject to German social insurance law,
- civil servants and soldiers temporarily seconded, transferred or assigned abroad,
- development workers,
- missionaries of certain missionary organisations,
- Germans temporarily working for an intergovernmental or supranational organisation,
- in each case also their spouses living in the same household.
Members of NATO forces stationed in Germany, by contrast, are generally excluded from parental allowance. Details: Posted workers and civil servants abroad.
Parental leave with your German employer
If you usually work in Germany, you are entitled to parental leave under the BEEG – even if you live abroad. This even applies with a foreign employment contract, as long as you usually carry out your work in Germany. Under the EU rules, parental leave counts as employment as long as the employment continues.
If a fixed-term contract ends, parental leave ends too. The guidelines give an example: a person lives in Austria and takes parental leave during fixed-term employment in Germany. After 18 months the contract expires. Germany remains responsible first for the duration of the parental leave. This ends from the month after the contract ends if no more German parental allowance is received.
FAQ
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I live in Poland and work in Görlitz. My wife does not work. Who pays?
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My wife works in France, I work in Germany, we live in France. Is a German application worthwhile?
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Will notional German taxes be deducted?
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Where do I submit the application?
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I am moving back to my home country after the birth. Do I keep my entitlement?
Sources and legal basis
Same sources as the German page (`U3_wohnsitz-ausland-arbeit-deutschland.de.md`). “RL” = Guidelines on the BEEG, as of 07/2026; “p.” = PDF page.
- Entitlement through employment: Arts. 11, 68 Regulation (EC) 883/2004; RL Part II 3.0 (p. 398); derived entitlement RL Part II 3.15.2 (p. 414) and 3.16 (p. 415); section 1(1) nos. 2–4, (6) BEEG.
- Who pays first: RL Part II 3.16, table “child lives elsewhere in the EU or Switzerland” (p. 416), special case one parent (p. 417).
- Additional benefit in the country of residence, suspension: section 3(1) sentence 1 no. 3, (3) BEEG; RL 3.1.1.3 (p. 216); RL annex V case 6 (p. 480).
- Laurent example: RL Part II 3.18.4 example 2 (pp. 421–422); both in Germany: RL annex V case 2 (pp. 477–478).
- Responsible office, family benefits offices: RL Part II 4.1.1 (p. 427), 4.1.2.1 (pp. 428–430).
- Taxes with residence abroad: sections 2c(4), 2e BEEG; RL 2c.4 (pp. 158–159), 2e.7 (p. 189).
- 183-day rule: RL 2c.1.1 (p. 143).
- Income limit: section 1(8) BEEG; RL 1.8 (p. 80), 2.0 (p. 81).
- Residence outside the EU, exceptions: section 1(1) no. 1, (2) BEEG; RL 1.2.1–1.2.6 (pp. 49–53); NATO RL 1.7.3.1 (p. 77).
- Parental leave: RL 15.1.1.3 (pp. 311–312), 15.1.1.4 (p. 312); RL Part II 3.3 (p. 404).
- Still employed through parental allowance: RL Part II 3.3 (pp. 402–403).
Sources checked: November 2026
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As of November 2026.