The changes will also affect the amount that parents and grandparents (self-sufficiency amount) can keep for themselves.
The new Düsseldorf Table, which comes into effect at the beginning of the year, provides for a higher amount of maintenance for children living separately. This was announced by the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf (Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf). The Table has served as a generally recognized guideline for calculating child support in Germany for decades.
The minimum maintenance payment for minor children will increase by four euros in all three age groups. Thus, effective January 1, 2026, the minimum will be €486 for children up to five years old, €558 for children aged six to eleven, and €653 for teenagers aged twelve to seventeen. These figures will apply to the first income group of maintenance payers (up to €2,100 net).
Accordingly, maintenance amounts will also rise for all subsequent income groups. For adult children, the minimum will be €698 (up from the previous €693).
The maintenance amount for students who do not live with their parents or one of them will remain unchanged compared to 2025 at €990. According to the court, the self-sufficiency amounts (Selbstbehalte)—the funds that must remain available to those obligated to pay maintenance to cover their own living expenses—have also not changed.
Specific Maintenance Self-Sufficiency Amount for Parents
What is new, however, is the specific determination of a reasonable self-sufficiency amount when paying maintenance to parents. In the future, this amount is set at a minimum of €2,650 for adult children who must financially support their parents, for example, if the parents require care. For spouses living with the payer, a minimum amount of €2,120 is set.
The basis for this determination was a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) from October 2024, according to which maintenance payers for parents should be allowed to keep about 70 percent of the income exceeding the minimum self-sufficiency amount.
What Grandparents Are Allowed to Keep
For the first time, the table also includes guidelines on a reasonable self-sufficiency amount when paying maintenance for grandchildren. Grandchild maintenance must be paid if the parents are unable to meet their obligation to support their children.
Grandparents can thus claim the same minimum amount as for parent maintenance: €2,650 for the payer and €2,120 for their spouse.
However, unlike parent maintenance, income exceeding this amount will only be taken into account by half in such cases. The court cited the jurisprudence of the Federal Court of Justice in justifying this point as well.
The Düsseldorf Table is used by all Higher Regional Courts to determine child support. The Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf has issued it since January 1, 1979. It is developed with the participation and in agreement with all Higher Regional Courts and the Maintenance Commission of the German Family Court.
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