Use this calculator to find out exactly which months or year count for your Elterngeld. It only takes a minute.
The assessment period (Bemessungszeitraum) is the time window that determines how much Elterngeld you receive. The Elterngeldstelle looks at your income during this period, calculates the monthly average, and bases your benefit on that number. Getting the assessment period right is important because it directly affects your monthly payment.
The rules are defined in §2b BEEG (Bundeselterngeld- und Elternzeitgesetz). The period is not the same for everyone. It depends on whether you were employed, self-employed, or had income from both sources. The assessment period is also calculated separately for each parent, so you and your partner may have different ones.
If you are employed, the assessment period covers the 12 calendar months before the birth month (§2b Abs. 1 BEEG). The birth month itself is never included.
For mothers, the period typically ends before the start of Mutterschutz (maternity protection), which begins 6 weeks before the expected due date. For fathers, it ends with the month before the actual birth month.
The Elterngeldstelle takes your gross salary from each of those 12 months, calculates a standardized net (Elterngeld-Netto), and averages it. This includes regular salary, bonuses paid in those months, and overtime. Sonstige Bezüge (one-time payments like a 13th month salary, year-end bonus, or severance) are generally not included. Only recurring (laufende) salary components count.
If you are self-employed, the assessment period is the last completed tax year before birth (§2b Abs. 2 BEEG). For a baby born in July 2026, the assessment period is January to December 2025.
Your income is taken from your Einkommensteuerbescheid (tax assessment) for that year. The Elterngeldstelle uses the profit (Gewinn) shown in the tax assessment and divides it by 12 to get the monthly average.
If the tax assessment for the relevant year is not yet available, the Elterngeldstelle may initially accept the income tax return as filed or a profit and loss statement (EÜR). However, the final Elterngeld amount will be adjusted once the official tax assessment is issued.
If you had both employed and self-employed income in the relevant period, a special rule applies (§2b Abs. 3 BEEG). The self-employed rule takes over for all your income. This means the assessment period becomes the last completed tax year before birth, even for the employed portion.
This is important because it can change which 12 months count. Instead of looking at the 12 months before birth (employee rule), everything shifts to the calendar year.
There is an exception: if the self-employed profit was very small (less than €35 per month on average, which means less than €420 per year), you can choose which rule to apply. You can either use the 12 months before birth or the calendar year. Pick whichever gives you higher income.
Certain months can be excluded from the assessment period. This is important because months with reduced income would lower your average and therefore your Elterngeld. The exclusion rules are designed to protect parents from being penalized for pregnancy or caring for older children.
Months are excluded if any of the following applied:
When months are excluded, the assessment period shifts further back in time. The Elterngeldstelle still needs 12 months of income, so it replaces each excluded month with an earlier one. The shift is automatic for employees. You do not need to request it.
In more complex cases, multiple exclusion reasons can overlap. If you received Elterngeld for your first child and then immediately became pregnant again, several months may need to be excluded.
For self-employed parents, the shift works differently. If you received Elterngeld, Mutterschaftsgeld, or had pregnancy-related income loss in your default tax year, you can request to shift to the previous year. Unlike employees, this is not automatic. You must explicitly request the shift in your Elterngeld application.
The shift cascades: if the previous year was also affected, you can shift back further, up to the limit.
Before requesting the shift, compare your income across the relevant years. The default year might actually have higher income if you only received Elterngeld for a few months. Always run the numbers.
When dealing with the assessment period, parents frequently make errors that cost them money. Here are the most common ones:
Follow these steps to find out which months or year count for your Elterngeld:
A few things to keep in mind when thinking about your assessment period:
Your average monthly net income from employment counts. For employees: the 12 calendar months before the birth month. For self-employed: the last completed tax year before birth. Months with maternity protection, Elterngeld for an older child, or pregnancy-related illness can be excluded.
For self-employed, the last completed tax year before birth is the assessment period (not 12 months before birth). The tax assessment or income statement serves as proof. Income during the benefit period is calculated based on a forecast and later reconciled with actual income.
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