German care allowance 2026: table and payment rules
What the Pflegekasse transfers each month, when less arrives, and when the money keeps coming despite a hospital stay or a trip abroad.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
Allowance for part of a month
Allowance for the month
€359.40
| full month | €599 |
| per day (month = 30 days) | €19.97 |
Under section 37 of Book XI of the German Social Code the care allowance (Pflegegeld) is €347 a month at care grade 2, €599 at grade 3, €800 at grade 4 and €990 at grade 5 in 2026; grade 1 receives none. It belongs to the person who needs care, who uses it to organise care themselves, usually through relatives, and the long-term care fund pays it monthly into their account. If entitlement starts mid-month the fund pays by the day, counting the month as 30 days: someone with grade 4 from the 13th receives €480 for 18 days. During short-term or respite care half continues for up to eight weeks a year each, and during a hospital stay it continues in full for eight weeks. It does not pause for people living in the EU, the EEA or Switzerland. It never counts as income for means-tested benefits, and passed on to relatives who provide care it is tax-free up to the amount of the allowance.
Care allowance table 2026
| Care grade | Allowance per month | per year | 2024 | per day (30 days) | half, during respite |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2 | €347 | €4,164 | €332 | €11.57 | €174 |
| 3 | €599 | €7,188 | €573 | €19.97 | €300 |
| 4 | €800 | €9,600 | €765 | €26.67 | €400 |
| 5 | €990 | €11,880 | €947 | €33.00 | €495 |
The allowance is the only long-term care benefit paid as free money. The fund does not ask what it is spent on; it only requires that care is properly ensured, and checks this through the home advice visit that is compulsory every six months (section 37(3) SGB XI).
When less is paid
Part months
Payment starts in the month of application, from the day care needs exist. Part months are counted as 30 days: grade 4 from the 13th means 18 days and €480. The calculator above gives the amount for any grade and number of days.
A care service on top
Once a registered care service is involved, the allowance turns into the combined benefit: the share of the services budget used comes off the allowance. If the service bills more visits in winter, the allowance changes month by month with the bill.
Missed advice visit
Without proof of the six-monthly visit the fund cuts the allowance “appropriately” and withdraws it if it happens again (section 37(6)). The visit is free; every second one can be by video until 31 March 2027, so a relative abroad can take part.
Home advice visit: how often it is required
Required visit
every 6 months
| at grades 4 and 5 on request | every 3 months |
| Allowance at risk if missed | €599 |
| Cost to you | €0 |
Every second visit can be by video on request, until 31 March 2027.
When it continues anyway
| Situation | Allowance | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| Hospital or residential rehabilitation | in full, 8 weeks | section 34(2) SGB XI |
| Short-term or respite care | half, up to 8 weeks a year each | section 37(2) SGB XI |
| Living or staying in the EU, EEA, Switzerland | in full, no time limit | section 34(1a) SGB XI |
| Travel to other countries | in full, up to 8 weeks a year | section 34(1) SGB XI |
| Month of death | in full to month end | section 37(2) SGB XI |
Three weeks of short-term care at grade 3 mean 21 days of half allowance, €210 in total, while the stay itself is paid from the €3,539 annual budget. See respite care and short-term care.
Tax, benefits and maintenance
For the person cared for, the allowance is tax-free and ignored for means-tested benefits such as Bürgergeld, housing benefit or basic income support in old age (section 13(5) SGB XI). Passed on to relatives or others who care out of moral obligation, it is tax-free up to the allowance amount (section 3 no. 36 Income Tax Act). A carer who accepts money for caring cannot also claim the carer’s lump sum, so families should compare which is worth more.
From grade 2 the fund also pays German pension contributions for a relative caring at least ten hours a week over two days, highest when only the allowance is drawn; see the carer pension calculator.
Who can be paid from the allowance
The law does not say who must provide the care. Besides children and spouses, neighbours, friends or a privately employed helper all qualify; what counts is that care actually works, which the advice visitor checks. If the family employs a household helper on a German mini-job and pays them from the allowance, the person cared for becomes an employer and has to register the job. Friends and neighbours who help out of personal ties keep the money tax-free as long as they receive no more than the allowance. For families abroad this is often the practical answer: a trusted neighbour covers the daily visits, a relative flies in for longer stays, and the allowance pays for both.
Application and first payment
The allowance is only paid on application, from the month it arrives (section 33 SGB XI). A phone call to the Pflegekasse counts. The fund has 25 working days to decide; a later decision still pays back to the application month, so every month of delay is a month’s allowance lost. See applying for a care grade.