Basic Income Support; Application

Basic Income Support for Job Seekers is a benefit provided by the welfare state to people capable of working who cannot cover their living expenses with their own income or assets. It is governed by Book II of the Social Code (SGB II).

Basic income support ensures the economic minimum necessary for subsistence and enables you to participate in the cultural and social life of our society. At the same time, recipients of basic income support who are able to work receive comprehensive support from the job centers in their search for employment or training opportunities.

Conversely, anyone who receives benefits from the state—that is, from taxpayers—must actively work toward becoming self-sufficient as quickly as possible. The job centers support you in this effort.

Children in need of assistance also receive basic income support and are monitored by the job centers to ensure they have access to education and can participate in society.

Important: Basic income support is paid only upon application.

Basic income support benefits are transferred to your account each month in advance.

Flat-Rate Monthly Amount (Standard Allowance)

If you receive basic income support, you’ll get a lump-sum amount to cover your living expenses (known as the standard needs allowance). It covers your basic needs, such as food, clothing, and personal hygiene, and is adjusted annually. For 2026, the following amounts apply to the standard needs levels (RBS): 

• Single individuals, single parents, adults with minor partners: 563.00 EUR (RBS 1)
• Adult partners: 506.00 EUR (RBS 2)
• Other adults aged 18 to 24 and individuals under 25 who move out of their parents’ household without a commitment from the local authority (ages 18 to 24): 451.00 EUR (RBS 3)
• Children aged 14 to 17: 471.00 EUR (RBS 4)
• Children aged 6 to 13: 390.00 EUR (RBS 5)
• Children aged 0 to 5: 357.00 EUR (RBS 6)

Immediate Supplement for Children

Children, adolescents, and young adults also receive a monthly immediate supplement of 25.00 EUR (RBS 3–6).

AdditionalNeeds

If you need more money due to special circumstances, you may also be eligible for additional benefits—provided you meet the personal requirements. Benefits for so-called additional needs are provided, for example, to expectant mothers starting in the 13th week of pregnancy, single parents, people with disabilities who receive benefits to support their participation in the workforce, or individuals who require a more expensive diet for medical reasons.

Costs for Housing and Heating

The reasonableness of housing costs is assessed as early as the first year of receiving benefits under SGB II.

A waiting period applies during the first year of receiving benefits: During this period, housing costs are paid up to one and a half times the locally established reasonable limit. Exceptions are possible, such as for households with children. Months during this period in which you do not receive benefits extend the waiting period.

If a rent cap applies to your place of residence, please note the following: If the agreed-upon rent violates a locally established rent cap, you may be required to reduce your costs even during the waiting period. During this cost-reduction process, you may be asked, as a tenant, to file a complaint with your landlord regarding a violation of the rent cap.

• If the local authority has set a maximum rent per square meter, you will also be notified if the costs for your housing are too high in relation to the living space.

In addition, you may be eligible for the following benefits:

• In emergencies where your livelihood is at risk, you can receive a loan in the form of cash or in-kind benefits upon separate application. This could be the case, for example, if something was stolen from you or broke. However, the standard benefit already includes an amount set aside for savings. This means you must normally pay for new purchases and replacements using the money you have saved from your standard benefit.
• In certain situations, you may also receive one-time assistance upon submitting a separate application. Examples include initial furnishings for your home or initial supplies for pregnancy and childbirth.
• You may be eligible for assistance with your health and long-term care insurance premiums.
• For your children, you receive benefits for “education and participation in social and cultural life” (BuT). These are automatically included in the main application, for example for

• school field trips,
• school lunches,
• school supplies (twice a year), or
• benefits for extracurricular learning support (tutoring).

Consideration of Income and Assets

When calculating the basic security benefit, your income and assets—as well as those of all persons with whom you live in a “benefit community”—are taken into account, because you can only receive the basic security benefit if you are in need of assistance.

Income includes:

• Income from employment (including self-employment),
• income replacement benefits such as unemployment benefits from the Employment Agency, parental benefits, or sick pay,
• capital gains and interest income, as well as income from stock holdings, provided they exceed 100.00 EUR,
• Income from renting and leasing, agriculture, and forestry,
• Alimony and child support,
• Pensions,
• one-time income, such as tax refunds, and
• vocational training grants, training allowances, and BAföG.

The following are deducted from this amount:

• Taxes applicable to the income (such as payroll tax and income tax).
• Mandatory contributions to statutory social insurance (such as health insurance, long-term care insurance, and pension insurance)
• Income-related expenses, i.e., certain costs incurred in the course of your profession,
• insurance required by law (such as auto liability insurance),
• a flat rate of 30.00 EUR per month for private insurance, such as home contents insurance, and
• contributions to a Riester pension.

As a general rule: Your income up to 100.00 EUR is not taken into account (deduction). If your income exceeds 100 EUR, an additional, specific amount is also excluded (known as the tax-free allowance). This amount depends on the amount of your gross income.

As a young person, you may keep income from jobs held while in school or college and income from vocational training up to the “minijob” limit (currently 603.00 EUR). Your income from summer jobs while in school is not taken into account at all.

Participants in the Federal Voluntary Service and the FSJ also benefit from increased exemption amounts, as do young people in the transition period between school and vocational training.

Exemptions also apply to “realizable” assets.

Assets refer to the total (stock) of a person’s possessions that can be measured in monetary terms. However, not all assets must be liquidated. Assets are considered liquid if they can be used directly for living expenses or if their monetary value can be used for living expenses through consumption, sale, pledging, renting, or leasing. Assets that you cannot freely dispose of—for example, because they are pledged as collateral—are not realizable.

Assets include, for example:

• Cash,
• balances in investment accounts, savings accounts, home savings accounts, savings bonds, securities, cryptocurrencies,
• whole life insurance policies,
• accident insurance policies with premium refunds, as well as
• home and real estate ownership, condominiums of an unreasonable size, and other real property rights.

With the introduction of the basic income support, new asset exemptions will apply starting July 1, 2026. The exemption applies to each person in the household and is tied to age:

• Until the age of 30, 5,000 EUR of your assets will not be counted as such.
• From age 31 onward, an exemption of 10,000 EUR applies.
• From age 41 onward, up to 12,500 EUR of assets are not taken into account.
• From age 51 onward, the exemption amount is 20,000 EUR.

Any unused exemption amount continues to be transferred within the household.

In general, the following items are not counted as part of your assets:

• reasonable household goods
• A reasonable motor vehicle for each person of working age in the household. A motor vehicle is considered reasonable if its value does not exceed 15,000 EUR.
• An owner-occupied condominium with a floor area of up to 130 m² or a single-family home lot with an area of up to 140 m² is not considered countable assets (larger areas are permitted if there are more than 4 people).
• Insurance policies and other forms of retirement savings intended for retirement, provided they are expressly recognized as retirement savings under federal law.
• For self-employed individuals, other assets intended for retirement planning, regardless of the form of investment. This applies up to a maximum limit to be determined on an individual basis.
• Assets that are demonstrably intended for the imminent acquisition or maintenance of a residential property or a condominium of reasonable size, This applies only if the residential property or condominium serves or is intended to serve as a residence for people with disabilities or those in need of long-term care, and if this purpose would be jeopardized by the use or disposal of the assets.
• Property and rights, to the extent that their disposal would cause particular hardship for the person concerned.

Benefit Reductions

The basic security benefit may be reduced due to breaches of obligations or failure to report:

• If you fail to comply with agreements regarding your obligations to cooperate (making your own efforts, participating in programs, and applying for job referrals), these obligations may be made legally binding for you through formal notices accompanied by information on the legal consequences.
• In the event of a breach of duty, your applicable standard monthly benefit will be reduced by 30 percent for three months.
• Reductions in benefits due to breaches of obligations and failure to report shall not exceed a total of 30 percent of your applicable monthly standard benefit. Benefits for housing and heating are not reduced.
• Your entitlement to benefits may be suspended in the amount of the standard benefit if you fail to accept reasonable employment. In such cases, the opportunity to take a job must actually and immediately exist and must be willfully refused by you.
• The suspension of your entitlement to benefits lasts up to 2 months. It is lifted at the earliest after one month of reduction if the opportunity to take a job no longer exists or if you subsequently accept the job offer.
• Starting with the second missed reporting appointment, your standard benefit amount will be reduced by 30 percent for one month.
• Please note that after three consecutive missed reporting deadlines, you will be considered unreachable. As a result, your entitlement to standard benefits will be revoked.
• This means that, for the time being, you will only receive coverage for housing and heating costs. If you remain unreachable by the Job Center, your entire entitlement to benefits will be revoked.
• Benefits will not be reduced if there is a valid reason or if doing so would result in exceptional hardship in the specific individual case.
• You have the opportunity to present the circumstances of your individual case during a hearing. If you repeatedly violate your obligations or miss reporting appointments, the hearing must take place in person.
• If you subsequently fulfill your obligations, the reduction in benefits will be lifted as of that date, provided the reduction period lasted at least one month. If you cooperate before the end of the first month of the reduction, the reduction will not be lifted until the end of that month.

If you are under 25 years of age, you will generally be offered counseling in the event of a reduction in benefits.

• You are able to work. This means that you
  • can work at least 3 hours a day and
  • are at least 15 years old and have not yet reached the retirement age for the statutory pension insurance. If you were born after 1963, this age is 67. If you were born before 1964, you can look up the applicable retirement age in the table in Section 7a of Book II of the Social Code (SGB II).
• You are in need of assistance. This means that you cannot cover your own necessary living expenses and those of family members living with you in a joint household who are unable to work—neither from your own resources (income and assets) and efforts (labor) nor with the help of other or priority benefits (such as unemployment benefits, housing assistance, or the child supplement).
• You have no priority claims against other benefit providers (such as housing assistance) or other individuals, such as a divorced spouse or the father or mother of your child.
• You live in the Federal Republic of Germany.

Basic income support benefits for job seekers are contingent upon application. Only those who apply for the citizen’s income will receive benefits, provided the other requirements are met. The application is retroactive to the first day of the month. Benefits are granted for a period specified in the notification. After that period, a new application must be submitted.

To receive basic income support for job seekers, you must submit an application. To do so, register with your Jobcenter. You can also do this online.

Apply for basic income support in writing:

• Visit your local Jobcenter. It is located in the county or city where you usually reside or are registered.
• At the Job Center, your personal situation will be discussed, and you’ll receive all the application forms and documents you need to fill out.
• The application forms can be mailed to you if you request this, for example, during a phone call. You can also find the application forms online.
• Fill out the application forms for basic income support. You can get help with this at the job center or use the instructions for filling out the forms, which are available in German.
• Submit your complete application documents to your Jobcenter. These also include:
  • Proof of rent, heating, and utility costs, and
  • Proof of income and assets.
• The Job Center will decide on your application. You will be notified of the decision regarding your application in writing by mail or online.

Apply for basic income support online:

• Simply and conveniently access the online application for basic income support on the Federal Employment Agency’s website.
• Follow the instructions and guidance on filling out the form, and complete the application online.
• If you already have supporting documents for your application, please upload them as well. If you are unable or unwilling to submit supporting documents at this time, you can do so later or when your Jobcenter requests them.

The Job Center will decide on your application. You will be notified of the decision regarding your application in writing by mail or online.

There is no deadline. However, benefits are not granted until the month in which you submitted your application.

If you are currently still receiving unemployment benefits, it is advisable to submit your application well in advance of when those benefits expire so that you do not face financial hardship.

• Required document(s)
  
  • Application Forms
  • Valid identification document:
    • Identity card or
    • Valid passport with a current certificate of residence
    • Residence permit
  • Proof of income, such as a pay stub or recent bank statements (e.g., showing pension payments, sick pay, child support, alimony, or advance alimony payments)
  • Proof of assets (such as savings, stocks, securities, or home savings contracts)
  • Proof of expenses, such as bank statements (or, for example, a lease agreement, rent receipts, heating bills, and documentation of insurance premiums)
  • Proof of previous benefit receipt, including from another Jobcenter (approval notice, proof of benefits)
  • If you are submitting the application following a period of employment:
    • Employment documents (including a letter of termination or a statement regarding resignation)
  • Employment verification (to be completed by the employer)

• Bank statements for the last 3 months from all accounts (including PayPal, etc.)
• additional supporting documentation, if necessary

There are no costs involved.