State care allowance; application

People in need of care can apply for state care allowance or apply for state care allowance on their behalf.

The state care allowance amounts to EUR 1,000 per year; a reduction to EUR 500 is planned from the 2026 care allowance year. It is a voluntary benefit from the Free State of Bavaria. The Bavarian state government thus supports people in need of care in a very special way: They can use the money to do something good for themselves or to show appreciation to the people who care for them on a daily basis. The decision on how to use the money is up to the people in need of care. This is intended to strengthen their right to self-determination beyond the organization of their daily lives. It is not intended to cover necessary care needs, participation needs or subsistence and is therefore not offset against benefits to cover care needs and participation needs or against social benefits to ensure subsistence.

The state care allowance is granted irrespective of income. It is tax-free.

Please note: If you have already been granted state care allowance, you do not need to submit a new application for state care allowance. The initial application continues to apply for the following care allowance years as long as it is not withdrawn.

Important note: Changes to the Bavarian State Care Allowance Act are planned. Up-to-date information on this can be found on the website of the Bavarian State Office for Care at: https://www.lfp.bayern.de/landespflegegeld/

• The following must be submitted together with the application:
  • a copy of the notification or letter from the statutory or private care insurance fund or a social welfare provider regarding the level of care (the report from the Medical Service - MD is not sufficient for this)
  • If applicable, a copy of the power of attorney or guardian's certificate

  If you do not yet have the documents (e.g. notification from the care insurance fund), the application must be submitted incompletely in order to meet the deadline.

People in need of care who

• are registered with their sole residence or main residence (main residence) in the Free State of Bavaria and
• were in need of care to an extent of at least care grade 2 on at least one day of the respective care allowance year, regardless of whether they live at home or in a care home and
• submit a corresponding application.

The care allowance year is the period from October 1 of one year to September 30 of the following year.

The application can be submitted in writing or electronically with the required documents to the State Office for Care.

Please note that it is not possible to submit applications by e-mail. An application submitted by email will not be considered.

Due to the clearly assignable signature, electronically transmitted applications can only be submitted with an electronic ID card (nPA) that has activated online functions or with an Elster certificate.

The application must be submitted either by the person in need of care themselves or by a legal representative, proxy or guardian.

To meet the deadline, you must submit an incomplete application to the Bavarian State Office for Care by December 31 (the date of receipt by the State Office is decisive for meeting the deadline). The missing documents must then be submitted subsequently.

Payment is made in the year in which the application is submitted after the approval notice has been issued; payments for the following care allowance years always begin after the end of the respective care allowance year.

Please note: If you have already been granted state care allowance, you do not need to submit a new application for state care allowance. The initial application continues to apply for the following care allowance years as long as it is not withdrawn.

The application must be submitted no later than three months after the end of the respective care allowance year. Applications for the care allowance year 2023/2024 (October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024) must therefore be received by December 31, 2024 at the latest.

To meet the deadline, the application can also be submitted incompletely or informally (not by email).