Child benefit or children's allowance is a payment which is distributed to the parents or guardians of children, teenagers and in some cases, young adults. Countries operate different versions of the benefit. Child benefit can depend on the number of children. A study found a child benefit at 10 % of income tends to increase fertility by between around 1 to 3%. The cost of raising a child including opportunity costs increases with income and depends on the number of children.
Conditions for payment A number of conditional cash transfer programs in Latin America and Africa link payment to the receivers' actions, such as enrolling children into schools, and health check-ups and vaccinations. In the UK, in 2011 CentreForum proposed an additional child benefit dependent on parenting activities.
Australia In Australia, the system of child benefit payments, once termed child endowment and currently called Family Tax Benefit, is income tested and linked to the Australian Income tax system. It can be claimed as fortnightly payments or as an annual lump sum. It may be payable for dependant children from birth up to the age of 24. Children 16 years or older may alternatively be eligible for Youth Allowance. Parents of dependant children under the age of 16 may also be eligible for Income Support Payments including Parenting Payment and Newstart Allowance for Primary Carers of Children.
On 1 July 2000 the Australian government introduced major changes to the tax system including the introduction of a broad-based Goods and Service Tax (a VAT), substantial income tax cuts, as well as major changes to assistance for families.
These changes to family assistance simplified payments, by amalgamating a number of different forms of assistance, and also provided higher levels of assistance, with reductions in income test withdrawal rates. The new structure combined twelve of the pre-existing types of assistance into three new programs of assistance. The two most important of these are Family Tax Benefit Part A, which assists with the general costs of raising children, and Family Tax Benefit Part B, which is directed to single income and sole parent families. The third programme is Child Care Benefit.
The Family Tax Benefit Part A is paid for dependent children up to 20 years of age, and for dependent full-time students up to the age of 24 (who are not getting Youth Allowance or similar payments such as ABSTUDY and Veterans' Children Education Supplement). It is essentially a two-tier but integrated payment directed to most families with children, with a higher rate for lower income families, including both those in work and receiving income support.
The maximum rate is paid up to a family income of $28,200, and is then reduced by 30 cents for every extra dollar of income, until the minimum rate is reached. Part-payment at the minimum rate is available up to a family income of $73,000 (plus an additional $3,000 for each dependent child after the first). Payments are then reduced by 30 cents in every dollar over that amount until the payment reaches nil.
To receive some Family Tax Benefit Part A, the maximum income levels are $76,256 a year for a family with one dependent child under 18 and $77,355 a year for a family with one dependent 18- to 24-year-old. These thresholds are lifted by $6,257 for each additional dependent child under 18 and $7,356 for each additional dependent 18- to 24-year-old.
Families receiving Family Tax Benefit Part A may also be eligible for extra payments, such as Rent Assistance if renting privately, the Large Family Supplement for four or more children, and Multiple Birth Allowance for three or more children born during the same birth.
Family Tax Benefit Part B provides extra assistance to single income families including sole parents - particularly families with children under 5 years of age. In a couple, if the secondary earner's income is above $1,616 a year, payments are reduced by 30 cents for every extra dollar of income. Parents receive therefore some Family Tax Benefit Part B if the secondary earner's income is below $10,416 a year if the youngest child is under 5 years of age, or $7,786 a year if the youngest child is between 5 and 18 years of age. There is no income test on the primary earner's income, so in the case of sole parents the payment is universal.
The previous entry referred to Youth allowance and Parenting Payment. These are income support payments for young people and for parents who are not employed and looking after children respectively.
Canada The Canada child benefit (CCB) is a tax-free monthly payment made to eligible families to help them with the cost of raising children under 18 years of age. Basic benefit for July 2019 to June 2020 is calculated as: 6,639 CAD per year (553.25 CAD per month) for each eligible child under the age of 6. 5,602 CAD per year (466.83 CAD per month) for each eligible child aged 6 to 17.
This amount is reduced for families with adjusted family net income (AFNI) over $31,120, based on AFNI and the number of children.
Finland From the 1920s there was a child benefit allowance that covered state workers with children. Near universal child benefit was introduced to Finland in 1948 by law, following the example of other Nordic countries. Benefit is paid for children until they are 17, and only for children who live in Finland. There is also a supplement for single parents. Benefit is paid through national Finnish Social Insurance institution (KELA). Åland has a different scheme.
+ Child benefit allowances in Finland starting from 1 Jan 2024. 1. child 94,88 €/month 2. child 104,84 €/month 3. child 133,79 €/month 4. child 173,24 €/month following children 192,69 €/month Single parents supplement for every child 73,30 euros. Children under 3 supplement 26€
Hungary In Hungary there are several forms of family support. Every person who has a work permit and lives permanently in Hungary is eligible for almost all of them.
Family allowance One of them is called family allowance () which is corresponding to the social program in other countries under the name child benefit. Its amount depends on the number of children. For families with one child it is 12,200 HUF, for families with two children 13,300 HUF and for families with three or more children it is 16,000 HUF per child per month. For single parents (parents who are raising their children alone) the amount of family allowance is 1,500 HUF more in the first and second categories and 1,000 HUF more in the third category. Family allowance is paid until the age of 18 or to the completion of secondary education.napi.hu Zsolt Papp, Júlia Barabás - Drasztikus családi pótlék-emelés jön? (14 September 2016) For children with disability the amount is 23,300 HUF and for disabled children of single parents it is 25,900 HUF.officina.hu Családi pótlék 2017/2018 összege,...
{| class="sortable wikitable" ! style="width:5%;"| Number of children ! style="width:10%;"| Monthly amount pro child for one parent in double parent household ! style="width:10%;"| Monthly amount pro child for single parent household |- | 1 child | 12,200 HUF (32.49 €) | 13,700 HUF (36.48 €) |- | 2 children | 13,300 HUF (35.41 €) | 14,800 HUF (39.41 €) |- | 3 or more children | 16,000 HUF (42.60 €) | 17,000 HUF (45.27 €)
If the child misses more than 50 school hours without permission, the family allowance will be suspended until the child re-fulfills his/her school attendance obligation properly. In the case of pre-school age children, family allowance will be suspended in case of an unjustified absence exceeding 20 days of education.
The government has no plans to raise child benefit, but the amount of the tax benefit will be doubled by 2026.
Family tax benefit
The other one is called family tax benefit () which is a tax reduction for families according to the number of children living in the household. Its amount can be maximal 10,000 HUF for parents with one child, 15,000 HUF for parents with two children and 33,000 HUF for parents with three or more children per month. There are no differences between single and double households or between families with one or two parents employed.officina.hu Családi adókedvezmény összege,...
{| class="sortable wikitable" ! style="width:5%;"| Number of children ! style="width:10%;"| Monthly maximal tax saving pro child for one parent |- | 1 child | 10,000 HUF (26.63 €) |- | 2 children | 20,000 HUF (53.25 €) |- | 3 or more children | 33,000 HUF (79.88 €)
People get family allowance and family tax benefit at the same time, so it is also common to count them together as a kind of child benefit.
Ireland Child Benefit (Sochar Leanaí) is payable to parents of children under 16 years of age, or under 18 years of age if they are in full-time education, Youthreach training or has a disability. The payment is paid by the Department of Social Protection. The monthly payments are as follows:
Number of children Monthly ratePer child €140.00 Multiple births are a special case. In the event of twins, 150% of the monthly payment is paid for each child. Triplets, or more, are paid the double (200%) rate each; provided that all of them remain qualified (i.e. stay in further education until 19). In addition, a special 'once-off' grant of €635 is paid on all multiple births. Further 'once-off' grants of €635 are paid when the children are 4 and 12 years old respectively.
Fraudulent claims of Child Benefit are treated very seriously, and can result in large fines or prison for up to 3 years.
Japan
Luxembourg Family allowance The government, through the Caisse pour l'avenir des enfants (Children's Future Fund), pays €299.86 per month per child. The allowance is universal and is not means-tested.
When a child is 6 years old, the amount increases to €322.53 per month.
When a child is 12 years old, the amount increases to €356.43 per month.
The family allowance is paid until the child is 18, unless they continue in education, in which case it is paid until the adult child ceases being enrolled at an educational institution or is 25 years old, whichever happens first.
Supplement for disabled children The family allowance amount is increased by €200 per month for children who have a permanent disability causing them to lose at least 50% of their physical or mental capacity in comparison to a child of the same age with no disabilities.
Back-to-school allowance In addition to the family allowance, a lump-sum back-to-school allowance is paid once a year in August for every child aged 6 or over enrolled at a primary or secondary school or college.
The allowance is €115 every August per child over 6 years old and under 12 years old.
The allowance is €235 every August per child over 12 years old until their schooling comes to an end.
Netherlands The Netherlands has one of the lowest child benefits (Dutch: kinderbijslag) in Western Europe.
In 2021, the amount per child per month is: 74.46 euros for children aged 0 to 5 years; 80.41 euros for children aged 6 to 11 years; 106.37 euros per month for children from 12 to 17 years.
In comparison to the Netherlands, its neighbour Germany pays 3 times more per month with lower income tax.
Kindgebonden budget
In addition to these general child benefits, there's a benefit depending on household income. For a household income up to 70.000 (single) or 99.000 (two parents), the "kindgebonden budget" is (2021) up to: {| class="sortable wikitable" ! style="width:5%;"| Number of children ! style="width:5%;"| Monthly maximal kgb |- | 1 child | 100.33 € |- | 2 children | 185.50 € |- | 3 children | 262.08 € |- | Additional children | 76.58 €
Inkomensafhankelijke combinatiekorting
If a household has a child less than 12 years of age and the parent with the lowest income has an income of more than 5.154 euro per year (2021), he or she receives a tax deduction of up to 2.815 euro per year (234,58 per month, 2021).