BAföG

In order to receive the monthly subsidy, you must fulfil a number of requirements. The most important are

• Your parents and/or your spouse/partner do not have a higher income.
• You yourself have no or only a low income, for example from a "mini-job".
• Your assets are below the tax-free amount of EUR 15,000 up to the age of 30 or EUR 45,000 from the age of 30 or only slightly above.
• You are aiming for a full-time school-leaving qualification.
• Age limit: 45 years (exceptions are possible)

The amount of your BAföG is based on a fixed monthly requirement. Money is deducted from this requirement if your parents, your spouse/life partner or you yourself earn a little more.

As a student, you will receive the financial support as a grant. You do not have to pay anything back.

In principle, you can receive BAföG if you want to obtain a vocational qualification or a secondary school leaving certificate. However, if you attend a general education school, this only applies from year 10 onwards and only if you cannot live at home (for example, because you cannot complete the desired qualification nearby).
The monthly requirement for pupils is:

• if you live with your parents:
  • EUR 421.00 if you are attending a technical college class that requires you to have completed vocational training, an evening grammar school or a college,
  • EUR 262.00 if you attend a vocational college or a technical college that you can attend without having completed vocational training or
  • EUR 474.00 if you attend an evening secondary school, vocational college, evening secondary school or specialised upper secondary school, which you can only attend if you have completed vocational training.
• if you do not live with your parents:
  • A total of EUR 632.00 if you attend a secondary general school, a vocational school or a specialised secondary school that you can attend without having completed vocational training, or
  • A total of EUR 736.00 if you attend an evening secondary school, vocational college, evening secondary school or specialised upper secondary school, which you can only attend if you have completed vocational training.
• If you have a child under the age of 14 living in your household, you will also receive a childcare supplement: EUR 160.00 for each child.

You can also receive BAföG if you spend a year abroad during your time at school. If you spend a year abroad, supplements are granted towards the travelling expenses for the outward and return journey.

The following amounts are taken into account, i.e. they reduce your BAföG requirement:

• The income of your parents and/or your spouse/partner in the penultimate year before the start of the authorisation period, if it is above the tax-free amount. The tax-free amount is:
  • EUR 2,415 if your parents live together,
  • EUR 1,605 per parent if your parents live separately and
  • EUR 1,605 for a possible spouse/partner.
  • Note: If your parents or your spouse/partner currently earn significantly less than in the year before last before authorisation, you can submit an application for an update.
  • Parent-independent BAföG: Your parents' income is not taken into account if you
    • have been gainfully employed for five years after reaching the age of 18 or
    • have completed a three-year training programme and have been in gainful employment for at least three years thereafter (in the case of shorter training programmes, a correspondingly longer period of gainful employment).
    • In certain exceptional cases, if you are over 30 years old at the start of the training programme
• Your own income if it exceeds EUR 520.00 per month.
• Your own assets if they exceed EUR 15,000 up to the age of 30 or EUR 45,000 after the age of 30.

Note: The starting point for calculating income is generally the total positive income. In the case of training grant law, this is the gross income minus the

• Advertising expenses,
• social lump sum and the
• Taxes actually paid, including church tax and solidarity surcharge.

Child benefit that your parents receive for you is not taken into account.

If you attend an evening grammar school or college, you will receive parent-independent BAföG. This means that your parents' income is not taken into account in the calculation.

Education funding: Announce changes

Information for interns