Since 2020 a single figure has protected millions of adult children in Germany from being charged for their parents’ care costs: EUR 100,000 of gross annual income. A draft bill from June 2026 would remove exactly that threshold. For well-earning self-employed people and employees in mid-life it would be one of the most consequential changes in years — because it creates an obligation whose size you cannot know and whose duration you cannot control.
What applies today
Since the Relatives Relief Act took effect on 1 January 2020, § 94(1a) SGB XII governs the position: the social welfare authority can only transfer the parents’ maintenance claim to itself once the child’s gross total income exceeds EUR 100,000 a year. Below that, you are outside the scope — and in principle need not disclose your income to the authority at all.
Where liability does arise, protected-income floors apply on top. The Federal Court of Justice quantified them again for the first time since 2020 in its decision of 23 October 2024 (XII ZB 6/24); the 2026 Düsseldorf Table sets them as follows:
| Item | Amount per month |
|---|---|
| Protected income of the liable child | EUR 2,650 (including EUR 1,000 rent and heating) |
| Protected income of the spouse | at least EUR 2,120 (including EUR 800 rent and heating) |
| Of income above the protected floor | 70% remains exempt |
The 70 percent rule is the real relief: only 30 percent of the excess income is drawn on. The weak point lies elsewhere — in the EUR 1,000 for rent and heating built into the floor. Anyone paying for a family flat in Munich, Frankfurt or Hamburg will not recognise that figure.
What is planned
- 1 January 2020
Relatives Relief Act enters into force
The EUR 100,000 threshold is introduced. Adult children are only charged for parental support above that gross annual income.
- 23 October 2024
Federal Court of Justice quantifies protected income
Decision XII ZB 6/24 sets the appropriate protected income for the first time since 2020 — the basis for the 2026 Düsseldorf Table.
- June 2026
Draft care reorganisation bill
Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) wants the EUR 100,000 threshold removed, to relieve social welfare authorities and therefore municipalities of rising care expenditure.
- As of August 2026
A proposal, not a law
This is a ministry proposal. No date, no replacement threshold named, and the coalition is split. Until § 94(1a) SGB XII is amended, the EUR 100,000 threshold applies unchanged.
Resistance comes not only from the opposition and from social associations such as VdK and SoVD, but from within the coalition. The federal government’s care commissioner, Katrin Staffler (CSU), opposes outright abolition: “I would consider it wrong to strike the threshold completely.” Children of parents in need of care, she argues, already carry organisational, emotional and financial responsibility; the level of protected income is open to discussion, its abolition is not.
What a care case actually costs
The decisive figure is not the threshold but what waits behind it. The care-home co-payment in 2026 averaged EUR 3,245 per month nationally in the first year of residence — up EUR 261, or 9 percent, on the previous year. By federal state the range runs from EUR 2,890 to EUR 3,760.
| Component | Amount per month |
|---|---|
| Uniform facility co-payment (EEE) | around EUR 1,685 |
| Accommodation and meals | around EUR 1,046 |
| Investment costs | around EUR 514 |
| Total | around EUR 3,245 |
Roughly EUR 39,000 a year, rising most recently at nine percent — and with no foreseeable end, because nobody knows how long a care case lasts. Where the parent’s pension and assets fall short, the social welfare authority steps in and then looks for recourse. That is exactly where the EUR 100,000 threshold currently stands.
Why this is structurally the same pattern
Readers of the other articles here will recognise the construction: an obligation that attaches to your own income, is open-ended in amount, and is measured by factors you cannot control.
Three burdens built the same way
-
Parental support without a threshold
Attaches to gross income, is indeterminate in amount and runs for as long as the care case lasts. Protected income and the 70 percent rule cap the instalment, not the total.
-
Exit taxation under § 6 AStG
Measured on company value at the moment of departure — the more successful the business, the more expensive leaving later becomes.
-
A possible wealth levy
Would be assessed on a cut-off date. The German wealth tax is not abolished but merely suspended; Art. 106 of the Basic Law remains in force.
The common denominator: all three get more expensive the later you engage with them, and all three can only be shaped beforehand. Details in Emigration: 8.2 million Germans and German wealth levy: EUR 2.8 trillion.
What can be prepared — and what cannot
Clarity matters more than sales arguments here, because parental support attracts more half-truths than any other topic:
- Speak to a family-law specialist early — not once a care case arises
- Know your income and asset structure before the authority asks
- Build your own retirement provision — it is protected within reasonable limits
- Consider your location decision as a whole, not risk by risk
- Betting that political resistance holds the threshold permanently
- Shifting assets at short notice once a care case is foreseeable
- Assuming residence abroad extinguishes the maintenance obligation
Frequently asked questions
FAQ
From what point must I pay for my parents' care?
Under § 94(1a) SGB XII, only once your gross total income exceeds EUR 100,000 a year. That threshold has applied since the Relatives Relief Act of 1 January 2020 and remains in force as long as the legislator does not amend the provision. Below it you are not charged.
Will the EUR 100,000 threshold really be abolished?
Nothing has been decided. A June 2026 draft of the care reorganisation act provides for its removal in order to relieve municipalities, and Health Minister Nina Warken (CDU) is pursuing it. There is neither a date nor a named replacement threshold, and the coalition is divided — care commissioner Katrin Staffler (CSU) expressly opposes outright abolition.
How much would I be left to live on?
Under the 2026 Düsseldorf Table, protected income of EUR 2,650 per month including EUR 1,000 for rent and heating; for the spouse at least EUR 2,120 including EUR 800. Of income above the floor, 70 percent remains exempt. The critical element is the rent assumption: EUR 1,000 all-in does not cover a family flat in a major city.
What does a care-home place cost at present?
The co-payment in the first year of residence averaged EUR 3,245 per month nationally in 2026, EUR 261 or 9 percent more than the year before. It comprises the uniform facility co-payment (around EUR 1,685), accommodation and meals (around EUR 1,046) and investment costs (around EUR 514). By federal state the range runs from EUR 2,890 to EUR 3,760.
Does the obligation end if I move abroad?
No. The obligation under § 1601 BGB exists regardless of where the parties live, and the social welfare authority can demand disclosure from people abroad too. What differs is enforceability: within the EU the Maintenance Regulation applies, and beyond it the 2007 Hague Maintenance Convention between its contracting states. Where enforcement is practically excluded, the substitute liability of other obligated relatives under § 1607(2) BGB can apply — so the burden may shift to siblings.
What is the most important step now?
Engaging with your own situation while the threshold still applies and no care case exists. Short-notice asset transfers once a care case is foreseeable are open to challenge; early, clean structuring is not. Both belong in a conversation with a family-law specialist rather than with a guide article.
This article is general information and does not constitute legal or tax advice. It is based on § 94(1a) SGB XII, the Federal Court of Justice decision of 23 October 2024 (XII ZB 6/24), the 2026 Düsseldorf Table, the vdek co-payment analysis for 2026 and the June 2026 draft care reorganisation act, which had not been enacted at the time of writing. Parental support is always case-specific — consult a family-law specialist. As of August 2026, subject to changes in the legal situation.