The “Family 800+” program is designed to support families in covering the costs of child maintenance. It is a child-rearing benefit, which as of 01.01.2024 amounts to 800 zlotys per month instead of 500 zlotys, and is granted for each child up to the age of 18, regardless of the income earned by the family. Applications for this benefit are submitted only electronically to the Social Insurance Institution.
In the event that at least one parent begins gainful employment in Germany, a Kindergeld family benefit of €250.00 is payable for each child up to the age of 18 and up to the age of 25 if he or she is studying. As of January 1, 2025, this benefit will increase to €255.00 per month per child.
However, these benefits have a strictly regulated order of payment under the coordination of benefits. Priority is always given to the country in which the parent works. Simultaneous collection of the 800+ benefit and Kindergeld is possible, but this depends on the parents’ employment situation and the children’s place of residence. If one parent works in Poland and the other in Germany, the Social Insurance Institution will pay the 800 plus benefit, and Germany will pay only the difference between the German and Polish benefit, the so-called differential allowance. However, if one parent does not work and the other works in Germany, it is possible to collect the 800 plus benefit and the full Kindergeld from Germany at the same time.
It is therefore in the interest of anyone receiving benefits from Germany to apply for Kindergeld and for 800 plus for all minor children (and, in the case of Kindergeld, for all learning children) in order to continue to receive the maximum amount of benefits, whether from one country in full or from two countries in the form of a reduced amount from one country and a differential allowance from the other.
