Day care in Germany: looked after by day, home by evening
A place in a day centre a few days a week, collected in the morning and brought back in the afternoon, paid from a budget that sits beside every other benefit.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
How many days of day care a month are covered
Covered days per month
18
| Day care budget | €1,357 |
| Allowance stays | in full (s. 41(3)) |
You pay meals and investment costs; the relief amount can cover them.
Day care (Tagespflege) means that a person with a German care grade spends the day in a part-residential centre and lives at home in the evening and at night; night care works the other way round (section 41 of Book XI of the Social Code, SGB XI). It is available from care grade 2 when care at home is not enough on its own or needs supplementing. In 2026 the long-term care fund pays up to €721 a month at grade 2, €1,357 at grade 3, €1,685 at grade 4 and €2,085 at grade 5. This budget comes on top of the care allowance, the services budget or the combined benefit and is not deducted from them. It covers care, supervision, medical treatment care at the centre and transport between home and the centre. Meals and investment costs are billed separately; the relief amount of €131 can pay them. For a family caring at grade 3, the yearly total of usable benefits rises from €12,803 to €29,087 with day care.
What a day at the centre looks like
The minibus collects in the morning, around eight or nine. At the centre there is breakfast, gentle exercise, memory games, a shared lunch, a rest and afternoon coffee before the trip home. Staff help with the toilet, give medication and make sure people drink enough. For the family that is a predictable free day: a daughter can work, a husband can shop or simply rest. For relatives abroad it also means that on those days someone trained sees your parent and would notice a change.
The law sets two conditions: at least grade 2, and a need because care at home is insufficient or should be supplemented and strengthened (section 41(1) SGB XI). The second condition is broad: it is enough that day care strengthens care at home, for instance by giving the carer a break. The centre must hold a contract with the care funds.
A separate budget for each grade
| Care grade | Day care budget | Days at a €70 rate | Days at a €90 rate | Days at a €110 rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | €721 | 10 | 8 | 6 |
| 3 | €1,357 | 19 | 15 | 12 |
| 4 | €1,685 | 24 | 18 | 15 |
| 5 | €2,085 | 29 | 23 | 18 |
More important than the amount is the next sentence of the law: day and night care may be used in addition to services, allowance or the combined benefit without any deduction (section 41(3) SGB XI). Someone at grade 3 attending twice a week, about 8.7 days a month on average, stays well below the €1,357 budget at a rate of €90 with €783.00, and the care allowance of €599 continues unchanged.
What the budget pays and what it does not
| Part of the bill | Who pays | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Care and supervision | care fund, from the day care budget | section 41(2) |
| Medical treatment care at the centre | care fund, from the day care budget | section 41(2) |
| Transport from home and back | care fund, from the day care budget | section 41(1) |
| Meals | family, refundable from the relief amount | section 45b(1) |
| Investment costs of the centre | family, refundable from the relief amount | section 45b(1) |
The centre bills the care part directly to the fund. Meals and investment costs come as a separate invoice to the family, at amounts that differ by centre and state. That invoice can be claimed from the relief amount, because section 45b names day and night care as a permitted use (section 45b SGB XI). Many centres bill this part directly too if you sign an assignment form, so no money has to be advanced from abroad.
Relief amount: what is left and for how long
Usable until 30 June 2027
€1,048
| Entitlement 2026 | €1,572 |
| refunded | €524 |
After that the 2026 balance lapses (section 45b(1)).
What day care adds over a year
A family at grade 3 using only the allowance, the relief amount, consumable aids and the annual respite budget reaches €12,803 a year. With day care fully used, that rises to €29,087 without losing a euro of allowance. Few benefits offer such a ratio of value to effort, yet many households skip it because they assume day care costs them the allowance. Under the current section 41(3) that cannot happen: nothing is deducted, neither from the money nor from the care service.
Families using a care service lose nothing either. The services budget stays in full for visits at home and day care comes on top, which matters at grades 4 and 5 when a service comes morning and evening and the hours between need cover.
Who benefits most
People with dementia who grow restless alone at home and are steadied by a fixed routine. People living alone whose children work or live far away, because on those days the centre takes care of meals, medication and company. And caring partners with health problems of their own who need time for appointments. Ask for a trial day, which quickly shows whether the atmosphere suits and takes away the fear of the unknown. If you are abroad, ask the centre whether staff can send a short message after the trial day; many are happy to.
Planning month by month
The budget applies per calendar month. It cannot be saved or moved to the next month, and a month with public holidays, illness or a family holiday brings fewer days. To use day care well, fix regular weekdays and add an extra day in months with gaps, as long as the amount lasts. If a month’s bill exceeds the budget, the remainder comes from the relief amount or the family. The centre usually lists the days with the bill; a look mid-month avoids surprises.
For working relatives day care is often what links a job with caring. Together with a care service in the morning for washing and dressing and the minibus to the centre, a full working day can be covered. If more time is needed, the carers’ leave page explains the options for time off work.
The shared-flat exception
Anyone living in a shared care flat and receiving the shared-flat supplement can use day or night care only if a Medical Service review confirms that care in the flat is not sufficient without it (section 45f(1) SGB XI). The rule stops shared flats from routinely sending residents to a centre while still drawing the supplement.
Four steps to a place
- Ask the Pflegestützpunkt for day centres within reach of a minibus route and call two or three.
- Arrange a trial day and request a cost breakdown separating care rate, meals and investment costs.
- Use the calculator to check how many days the budget covers and decide how many days a week.
- Have the family’s share billed against the relief amount and use last year’s balance before 30 June.
Before the first day, confirm with the care fund that the grade has been set and that the centre holds a contract with the funds. While the decision is pending it is open whether the fund pays the care rate, and the family carries that risk.