According to social policy in Austria, a family with children constitutes the factor necessary for the functioning of society. Therefore, the provisions of Austrian law provide for various forms of support for families. One of them is the family allowance Familienbeihilfe which this article concerns.
1. What is Familienbeihilfe?
Familienbeihilfe is an Austrian family allowance which constitutes a financial assistance for families with children. It’s intended to help beneficiaries with covering the costs of caring for and raising children. The Tax Office in Austria (Finanzamt Österreich) is the institution responsible for the payment of the benefit in question.
2. Persons entitled to receive Austrian family allowance
Familienbeihilfe is available to parents/guardians of a child who are legally registered in Austria. The granting of the benefit doesn’t depend on the amount of income of persons applying for it.
The allowance in question is payable to citizens:
- of Austria,
- of EU, EEA States and Switzerland, including Polish nationals who live and work in Austria,
- of other countries who have the right to stay on the territory of Austria (among others: third-country nationals with a permanent residence permit, recognised refugees).
Moreover, in order to obtain funds from Familienbeihilfe, it’s necessary to live in the same household with a child for whom Austrian family allowance is to be granted. However, situations where a child has a different address of residence and the parent/guardian supports this child financially are accepted, even though he/she doesn’t live in the same household with the child. This takes place, for example, when paying maintenance for a child.
It should be noted here that the mother – as the parent responsible for running the household – has priority in receiving Austrian family allowance. Exceptionally, the mother may waive her right to the family allowance in favour of the other parent. On the other hand, in the case of parents living separately, Familienbeihilfe is granted to that one with whom the child lives.
3. Which children Familienbeihilfe is granted for?
Familienbeihilfe can be obtained for:
- biological children,
- adopted children,
- foster children,
- stepchildren,
- other children raised as the beneficiary’s own.
As a rule, the right to receive the benefit applies to children under the age of 18. However, if the child continues education, the entitlement to the benefit doesn’t expire. In such a situation, the allowance is paid until the child reaches the age of 24. Adult children who combine studies with work don’t loose their entitlement to Familienbeihilfe. However, their income can’t exceed a certain treshold on an annual basis. Currently (i.e. in 2024), this limit is EUR 15,000 per calendar year. In the event that the income of an adult child is higher, Austrian family allowane is to be reimbursed only with the amount by which the aforementioned limit was exceeded.
In addition, it’s possible to extend payments until the age of 25, provided that certain criteria are fulfilled (e.g. students with a disability degree of at least 50%, students who are pregnant or have already given birth to their own child, students doing 8-12 months of voluntary work in the framework of social assistance of a non-profit organisation based in Austria).
On the other hand, children permanently incapacitated for work (due to physical or mental disability) aren’t subject to an upper age limit. In this case, the entitlement to the benefit never expires in the event that the incapacity for work occurred before the age of 21 or arose during vocational training but before the age of 25.
4. Submitting an application for the family allowance in Austria
The application for the Familienbeihilfe allowance shall be submitted to the Austrian tax office Finanzamt with jurisdiction over the place of residence. It’s possible to submit it on paper in person or by regular mail, either electronically via the portal FinanzOnline (https://finanzonline.bmf.gv.at/fon/).
In order to apply for family allowance in Austria, it’s necessary to complete a Beih100 form. The request shall be accompanied by, among others:
- the child’s birth certificate;
- a copy of the applicant’s identity document (identity card or passport);
- a certificate of receiving or not receiving family allowance in the country of origin – in the case of persons who aren’t citizens of Austria;
- a document confirming registration in Austria.
For children born in Austria before 1 May 2019, it isn’t necessary to apply for Familienbeihilfe in order to receive the allowance in question. This is because these children are automatically registered in the Central Civil Status Register after their birth, along with the parents’ marital status information. Then, the necessary data are sent to the tax authorities and the benefit is automatically granted to the beneficiary who, in addition to the funds tranferred to his/her account, will also receive an information letter concerning the child’s entitlement to family allowance. If it turns out that certain data are missing, the parent/guardian will be asked to complete it. In such a situation, it’s sufficient to send back the information letter with the necessary answers and any supporting documents. There’s no need to submit a request.
It’s possible to apply for Austrian family allowance up to 5 years back from the month of submitting the request, but social security contributions in Austria must be paid during this period.
If important changes concerning the beneficiary’s life circumstances (e.g. termination on employment) occur, it’s necessary to report them to the Austrian tax office immediately.
5. Payment and amount of Familienbeihilfe
Payments of Austrian family allowance take place every month. The amounts due from the benefit are transferred directly to the beneficiary’s account.
The age of the child constitutes one of the main criteria on which the amount of Familienbeihilfe depends. The older the child is, the more money is granted in the framework of the benefit. The first increase takes place when the child reaches the age of 3, the second one when he/she turns 10 and the third one when exceeding 19 years of age.
Taking into account the age of the child, the benefit amount in 2024 is:
- for children aged 0-2 years – EUR 132.30
- for children aged 3-9 – EUR 141.50
- for children aged 10-18 – EUR 164.20
- for children from 19 years of age – EUR 191.60
The number of offspring also affects the amount of Austrian family allowance. If the beneficiary has two or more children, an additional amount – the so-called sibling rate – Geschwisterstaffelung is transferred for each child per month. Importantly, the amounts granted under Geschistterstaffelung for each child increase with the number of offspring. Therefore, more funds for each child will be granted in the case of four children than for three or two. The monthly rate for siblings for 2024 is as follows:
- 2 children – EUR 8.20 for each child
- 3 children – EUR 20.20 for each child
- 4 children – EUR 30.70 for each child
- 5 children – EUR 37.20 for each child
- 6 children – EUR 41.50 for each child
- 7 and more children – EUR 60.30 for each child
Example: The beneficiary has three children aged 2, 12 and 15. Under the basic family allowance, EUR 132.20, EUR 164.20 and EUR 164.20, respectively, are paid monthly for individual children, making a total of EUR 460.60 per month. On the other hand, the rate for siblings in the case of 3 children is EUR 20.20 per month for each of them, i.e. a total of EUR 60.60. Thus, monthly sum of money that is paid into the recipient’s account in the framework of Familienbeihilfe and Geschwisterstaffelung in 2024 is EUR 521.20.
| Age of an illustrative beneficiary’s children | Familienbeihilfe – amount of basic family allowance in 2024 | Geschwisterstaffelung – monthly rate for siblings for 3 children in 2024 | Total monthly amount in 2024 (Familienbeihilfe + Geschwisterstaffelung) |
| 2 years | EUR 132.20 | EUR 20.20 | |
| 12 years | EUR 164.20 | EUR 20.20 | |
| 15 years | EUR 164.20 | EUR 20.20 | |
| Total per month | EUR 460.60 | EUR 60.60 | EUR 521.20 |
It’s worth mentioning here that the indexation of family allowance, established by the Austrian National Council and applying to children staying in other countries, was in force in Austria from January 2019 to June 2022. As a consequence, the amount of family allowances for children from other EU countries began to be adjusted to the costs of living in a given country with the result that citizens of some States, including Poland, were entitled to lower funds from Familienbeihilfe. In June 2022, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) declared this indexation incompatible with EU law and led to its repeal in line with the equal treatment of EU citizens. Therefore, pursuant to the above decision, the adjusment of family benefits to the costs of living in other countries was discontinued in Austria as of July 2022, and in the case of previous differences to the disadvantage of the beneficiary, i.e. benefit amounts indexed ″downwards″, it was ruled that they were subject to reimbursement to persons previously concerned by such indexation. On the other hand, in the event that, as a result of previous indexation, the beneficiary had received overestimated amounts during its validity, it was concluded that he/she didn’t have to give back the surplus.
6. Supplements to Austrian family allowance
In certain special situations, persons receiving Austrian family allowance Familienbeihilfe can obtain more funds thanks to various supplements to such a benefit. The most important of them are:
- child tax credit (Kinderabsetzbetrag) – the so-called negative tax in the form of a tax deduction which is automatically paid monthly together with family allowance and therefore, doesn’t require a separate application.
- school start-up payment (Schulstartgeld) – an additional amount for children aged 6-15, which is paid together with Familienbeihilfe, but only once a year. Schulstartgeld doesn’t require a separate application.
- increased family allowance (Erhöhte Familienbeihilfe) – granted for children with a degree of disability of at least 50%, as well as with a permanent inability to support themselves. In order to obtain this supplement, it’s necessary to submit a request using the Beih3 form to the tax office with jurisdiction over the place of residence.
- multifamily allowance (Mehrkindzuschlag) – granted for the third and each subsequent child in the family, but on condition that the family’s annual income doesn’t exceed a certain amount (EUR 55,000). This supplement requires the annual submitting an appropriate request which will be processed by the Tax Office with jurisdiction over the applicant’s place of residence.
7. Familienbeihilfe and 800 plus
EU/EEA and Swiss citizens, including Poles, are subject to special rules when it comes to the possibility of using Familienbeihilfe. According to the provisions of Union law, it’s impossible to receive two family allowances in different countries at the same time. This type of benefit is available to parents/guardians in the State of employment, even if the family’s permanent residence is elsewhere. On the other hand, when parents work in different EU countries, they are subject to the right to such funding in the child’s State of residence.
Therefore, if a given person receives family allowance in a country other than Austria, e.g. he/she benefits from the 800+ scheme in Poland, he/she isn’t entitled to Familienbeihilfe. However, the so-called indemnity, i.e. payment of the difference between the Austrian family allowance ant its equivalent from another country, has been provided for in cases where the amount in the framework of Familienbeihilfe would be higher. For this purpose, it’s necessary to submit a special form with an application for equalisation benefit – Beih38.
8. Legal notice
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