Child daycare costs money. There is a wide range of financial aid for families from the state and federal government. This ranges from free childcare fees to covering the costs of shared lunches and tax relief. Find out below what options you have and where you can apply for help.

The state of North Rhine-Westphalia is providing targeted relief for young families with small children. Since August 1, 2020, the last two years before starting school are generally free of charge for all parents, regardless of income. If a child turns four by September 30 of a given year, no contributions need to be paid from August of the same year (start of the new daycare year) until the child starts school.

Child daycare is also free of parental contributions if the burden of cost contributions is unreasonable for the parents and the child. Cost contributions are always unreasonable if, for example, parents or children receive benefits to secure their livelihood in accordance with the Second Book of the German Social Code (Bürgergeld) or other basic security benefits, or if the child's parents receive child supplement in accordance with § 6a of the Federal Child Benefit Act or housing benefit in accordance with the Housing Benefit Act.

The youth welfare office can decide on its own responsibility whether it provides for sibling reductions and how these are structured. It may provide for reduced contributions or exemption from contributions for siblings, even if they attend an all-day school in the primary sector - there are no uniform state requirements in this regard (Section 51 (4) sentence 2 of the Child Education Act). Find out more about this question from the youth welfare office responsible for you.

For children in childcare before the age of four, parents generally have to pay a monthly contribution for childcare, unless the childcare is free of parental contributions because the parents or the child cannot reasonably be expected to bear the costs.

The following costs may be incurred:

There are various financial support options for parents to help with the costs of childcare. Families and single parents can take advantage of these aids and subsidies if they meet the respective requirements:

Exemption from daycare contribution or subsidy towards daycare costs

If there is no parental contribution exemption due to unreasonableness, exemption from the costs of daycare depends on the level of parental income even before the two contribution-free years of daycare. Parents who receive benefits such as citizen's allowance, child supplement etc. are exempt from parental contributions. Please note that there are regional differences in the annual income above which parental contributions are charged.

Benefits from the education and participation package

Under certain conditions, parents can also apply for benefits from the education and participation package for lunchtime meals and daycare excursions. One condition is that the parents or children receive basic income support for jobseekers, social assistance or benefits under the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act, the child supplement or housing benefit.

So that children are not excluded from joint activities when attending daycare, the costs for lunch together and any costs incurred for joint excursions, such as a visit to a theater or zoo, can be covered. Incidentally, leisure activities outside the daycare center, such as attending a music school or joining a sports club, are also covered by the education and participation package.

If you already receive Citizen's Allowance, you do not need to submit a separate application for these benefits, but simply register your need with your local job center.
If you have not yet received any benefits from the job center, contact the youth welfare office of your city or district administration directly for reimbursement of lunch or daycare excursions.

On the website of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs you will find the contact point responsible for you to apply for benefits from the education and participation package.

Benefits from the hardship fund "Alle Kinder essen mit"

In the 2023/24 and 2024/25 school years, the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia is funding communal lunches in schools and daycare facilities for children and young people from low-income families. A subsidy for school trips will also be funded if required. The prerequisite for support from the hardship fund is that the families do not receive any benefits from the education and participation package. Detailed information and the application documents can be found at www.mags.nrw/haertefallfonds.

Some of the costs for childcare can be deducted from tax as special expenses. Everything you need to know about "childcare and taxes" can be found in this article on the Familienportal.NRW.

The state youth welfare offices also support low-threshold care for children from refugee families with funding from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Funding is provided, for example, for parent-child groups, playgroups, child day care services, mobile services and also services offered in cooperation with local family centers.