Why parental income matters
The vocational training allowance is a subsidiary benefit. Trainees are first expected to use their pay, and then parents are asked to contribute within their maintenance obligation. Only when both are insufficient does the employment agency pay. That is why parental income is counted — but only above generous allowances taken from BAföG.
Which income counts?
The income situation in the year before last before the start of the approval period is decisive (section 24 BAföG, to which section 67 SGB III refers). If the approval period starts in autumn 2026, income from 2024 usually counts. Proof is usually the income tax assessment.
A net income is calculated according to BAföG rules: income tax and a social flat rate are deducted from positive income. For employees subject to pension insurance, this flat rate is 22.3 percent, at most €17,200 per year. The result is converted to a monthly amount. For most employees it is close to their actual net pay.
If the parents' current income is significantly lower than in the year before last — for example due to unemployment or retirement — an update application under section 24(3) BAföG can make sense. Then, on special application, the expected income in the approval period is used. Mention this in your application.
The allowances at a glance
Under section 25 BAföG, the following amounts per month remain uncounted:
1. €2,540 if the parents are married or in a civil partnership and not permanently separated,
2. €1,690 for each parent in all other cases,
3. €770 for each other child of the parents who is not in eligible training themselves; that child's own income reduces the amount.
BAB adds a special feature: under section 67(2) SGB III, a further €901 remains exempt if the training company cannot be reached from the parental home in reasonable time. This allowance does not exist for student BAföG.
50 percent plus 5 percent per child
If parental income exceeds the allowances, the excess is not counted in full. Under section 25(4) BAföG, 50 percent of it remains exempt, plus 5 percent for each child for whom a child allowance is granted. With one sibling, 55 percent therefore stays exempt; with two siblings, 60 percent.
Example with figures
Married parents have a net income of €4,500 and, besides the trainee, a younger daughter. The trainee lives so far away that daily commuting is unreasonable. The allowances are €2,540 plus €770 plus €901, €4,211 in total. The excess is €289. Of this, 55 percent remains exempt and 45 percent is counted, i.e. €130.05 per month.
If the training place were easily reachable from the parental home and the trainee had still moved out at 19, the €901 would not apply. Then €1,190 would exceed the allowance, and €535.50 would be counted. The difference shows how strongly distance influences the result.
Siblings receiving BAföG or BAB
If several children of the same parents receive training assistance, the countable parental contribution is split equally under section 11(4) BAföG. If your sister studies with BAföG, the amount counted against your BAB is halved. Funded siblings do not trigger the €770 child allowance in return.
What does not belong in the calculation
Step-parents are not counted as parents. Child benefit does not count as your income. And maintenance your parents actually pay is not counted additionally — only the notionally countable income matters. You can try out different parental incomes in the BAB calculator. The child cost calculator shows what a child costs in total.