Other family benefits

Child Benefit

Child benefit (přídavek na dítě) is another useful social benefit available through the State Social Support. It is a basic and long-term social benefit granted to families with lower income and dependent children. Family benefits (namely parental and child benefits) have undergone changes which, thanks to a higher income limit, enable more families to draw the allocated money. Families that start drawing the benefit need to reapply on a regular basis, every 3 months.

When it comes to its accessibility for foreign parents and their children, all those entitled for parental benefit can apply in case they also meet the following general requirements:

• a dependent child up to the age of 26 years,
• living in a family/household with a monthly total (both parents) net income of less than 3.4 times the family’s living minimum (about 3.4 x 14 000).
• at least one of the parents needs to be economically active (employed or self-employed) or getting a benefit replacing their income.

For a rough estimate of your eligibility and amount of the benefit, you can use this calculator.

The amount

Child benefit is provided on three basic levels set according to the child’s age. The mothly amount on a respective level is allocated by the Employment office based on the type(s) of income of the parent(s). See a simple calculator here.

• < 6 years of age → CZK 830 or 1330 / child / month
• 6 – 15 years of age → CZK 970 or 1470 / child / month
• 15 – 26 years of age → CZK 1080 or 1580 / child / month

The procedure

In order to prove your eligibility for this benefit, the applicant needs to provide proof of their income every three months. The documents must only be handed in at the office in the first month of every quarter: January, April, July and October.

 

Other family benefits

Apart from the four main types of family benefits (maternity, paternity, parental and child benefits), there are also other types of social support and reliefs available to parents living in the Czech Republic and their families.

Birth grant (porodné) is definitely worth mentioning. It is a one-off benefit granted to single parents or families (biological, adoptive or foster) with low income and its main purpose is to at least partially cover the costs connected with care for their first (CZK 13,000) and second (CZK 10,000) live-born children¹. As for foreign families / single parents, the rule of the first-born only applies to children born /adopted / taken into foster care in the Czech Republic so even with older children born abroad you are still entitled to the benefit in case you meet this condition as well:

• the total family monthly net income (3 months prior giving birth) does not exceed 2.7 times the family’s living minimum (about 2.7 x 14 000). It is possible to apply up to 1 year back as long as the conditions were met at the time when the child was born / adopted. Check your eligibility here.

Through State Social Support, households with low income can also apply for housing benefit created to level out the difference between the household income and housing costs or, in those sad moments, there is also a funeral grant to cover the costs of a funeral. It also pays off checking out indirect financial support of families via tax measures such as tax advantages for dependent children in the form of tax credit, tax relief or a combination of the two (described in the section Family on the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs).

1.  In case of multiple children (twins, triplets etc.), the sum is the sum of the two amounts – CZK 23,000.