Splitting parental leave: which split costs your household how much?

Whether the mother takes 12 months or both take 7 each: who earns more decides which split is cheaper. Two scenarios with concrete numbers for a real-life couple.

Most couples pick the classic pattern: mother takes twelve months, father takes two. Not because they've run the numbers. Because that's what everyone does. Yet the cheapest split comes down to a single factor: who earns more in the household.

The figures below are model calculations for a first child, both partners in the statutory health insurance, no church tax, tax class 4 (Steuerklasse 4). Actual amounts will differ, especially with an older sibling, church tax, private health insurance, or different tax classes.

The couple: Natalia and Jonas

Natalia works as an engineer, Jonas as a project lead. Natalia earns €54,000 gross a year, Jonas €40,000. Both are taxed under tax class 4 (Steuerklasse 4). Their normal household take-home pay: around €5,150 a month.

They're expecting a child and ask themselves: who takes how much parental leave? What does one split cost us, and what does the other?

Plan A: the classic model. Natalia 12 months, Jonas 2 months.

Elterngeld (parental allowance) is calculated as 65 percent of the Elterngeld net income (§ 2 BEEG; up to 67 percent at very low incomes). That's not the net pay on your payslip, but a separately calculated amount with flat-rate deductions by tax class. Natalia's Elterngeld: around €1,619 a month. Jonas's Elterngeld: around €1,275 a month.

What the Miravel model works out for the 14 months:

• Months 1 to 12: Natalia at home, Jonas working. Household income: around €3,660 (Jonas's net pay plus Natalia's Elterngeld).
• Months 13 to 14: Jonas at home, Natalia working. Household income: around €3,950 (Natalia's net pay plus Jonas's Elterngeld).
• Average monthly drop over 14 months: around €1,460.

Plan B: an even split. Natalia 7 months, Jonas 7 months.

The Elterngeld amounts stay the same. What changes is when Natalia returns to her higher-paid job.

• Months 1 to 7: Natalia at home, Jonas working. Household income: around €3,660.
• Months 8 to 14: Jonas at home, Natalia working. Household income: around €3,950.
• Average monthly drop over 14 months: around €1,340.

Over 14 months, Plan B brings in around €1,670 more household income. The reason: Natalia returns to her higher salary five months earlier.

Why isn't this the same for every couple?

Natalia earns more than Jonas. If she stays home longer, her higher salary is missing for longer. If Jonas were the higher earner, the result would flip: then Plan A would be cheaper for the household. The split that costs the least always comes down to who earns more.

Plan C: the partnership bonus. Both part-time at the same time.

If you both work between 24 and 32 hours a week at the same time for two to four consecutive months, you get the partnership bonus: that many extra ElterngeldPlus months each (§ 4b BEEG). ElterngeldPlus pays half the normal Elterngeld, but runs for twice as long.

During those months, both partners work part-time and receive ElterngeldPlus on top. Household income is often more stable than when one partner is fully on parental leave, because both have income at the same time. The exact effect depends on each partner's part-time hours and salaries.

Tax class before the birth: the underrated lever

Elterngeld is based on the Elterngeld net income of the twelve calendar months before the month of birth. Changing your tax class in that period changes the Elterngeld net income and with it the size of your Elterngeld. Switching to tax class 3 can raise the Elterngeld for the parent taking leave by several hundred euros a month. The new tax class has to apply for at least seven of the twelve months of the assessment period.

How does parental leave affect your pension?

Elterngeld doesn't count as income subject to social insurance contributions. During parental leave, no pension points are collected through employment. Instead there's the child-raising period: for a child's first three years of life, the parent doing the raising is credited with around one pension point per year (§ 70 Abs. 2 SGB VI).

Important: the credit goes to one parent per month, not to both at the same time. Couples where both take parental leave don't automatically get three years of pension points each. Who gets which months can be settled by a transfer declaration (§ 56 Abs. 2 SGB VI).

Why isn't an Elterngeld calculator enough for this?

An Elterngeld calculator shows how much your Elterngeld will be. Miravel shows how different splits affect household income in each individual month, what that means for savings and pension entitlements, and how Elterngeld, salary, and tax interact in your specific situation. For your household, with your numbers, locally in your browser with no account.

Miravel simulates different parental-leave models for your specific couple and shows which split changes household income in which months, and by how much.

What these numbers don't capture yet

Career and salary progression: the model assumes a flat salary. A longer break can affect salary and career progression. That effect is individual and can widen the gap over the long run.

Childcare costs: whoever returns earlier needs a childcare place earlier. Those costs aren't included in the model and can eat into part of the income you've regained.

Frequently asked questions

Are we entitled to Elterngeld if we moved to Germany from abroad? Yes, in principle, if you live in Germany and are employed or in training (§ 1 BEEG). People with EU citizenship have the same entitlement as Germans. For people without EU citizenship, the entitlement depends on the residence permit. A settlement permit (Niederlassungserlaubnis) and the EU Blue Card usually qualify. Seasonal-work, student, and job-search permits don't. When in doubt, ask the Elterngeld office directly.

Does Elterngeld count as taxable income? Elterngeld is tax-free (§ 3 Nr. 67 EStG), but it's subject to the progression clause (Progressionsvorbehalt, § 32b EStG). It raises the tax rate on the rest of your income in the same calendar year, regardless of tax class. Anyone receiving more than €410 of Elterngeld is required to file a tax return (§ 46 Abs. 2 Nr. 1 EStG). That can lead to a back-payment.

What happens to my health insurance during parental leave? If you're in the statutory scheme, you stay covered free of charge as long as you're not in paid employment. With part-time work, normal contributions apply on the part-time income. If you have private health insurance, you keep paying your private premiums during parental leave.

Can we change the parental leave after the fact? No. Parental leave has to be registered with your employer at least seven weeks before the desired start (§ 16 BEEG). Retroactive changes are ruled out.

Is there Elterngeld for the self-employed too? Yes. The self-employed calculate their Elterngeld based on the profit from the twelve calendar months before the month of birth, using the latest tax assessment. Minimum: €300 a month. Maximum: €1,800 a month.

Is there an income limit for Elterngeld? Yes. For births from April 2025: couples and single parents with taxable income above €175,000 have no entitlement to Elterngeld (§ 1 Abs. 8 BEEG).

There's no single right split. But there's an informed one. Knowing what the different models mean for your own household lets you make a more deliberate decision.