If you live and work in Hungary and you have one or more underage children living with you in Hungary, you are most probably entitled to receive the following two child benefits: family allowance, which is a general financial support for families, and family tax benefit as a form of tax relief for your family.
There are several factors influencing the amount of these child benefits, and you have to keep your employer and the government up to date in order to receive the right amount of net salary and family allowance.
Report changes to your or your child’s status
- The amount of family allowance is calculated by the authorities and granted directly by the state, therefore you must report all relevant changes to the authority who handles your family allowance transactions.
- The family tax benefit is calculated by the accountant or payroll specialist of your employer based on data you supply (filled declaration form). As a result, it is your responsibility to notify your employer or their accountant of any changes that may affect the amount of the family tax benefit.
These child benefits are connected, so any changes to your eligibility for family allowance has an effect on your eligibility for the family tax benefit, too.
If you are unsure whether to notify your employer or the authorities connected to data relevant to any of these child benefits, start with your employer, and the payroll specialist will be able to tell you how to proceed.
The following changes will have an effect on the family allowance you are receiving. Please notify the authorities IF
- your residency status changes in Hungary (if you are in Hungary with a work permit or with an EU registration card)
- your child’s residence status changes in Hungary
- you do not anymore live in the same household as your child, or if any of your children leaves your household permanently (e.g. they are going to live with grandparents or a divorced parent; HOWEVER, going to boarding school in another town does NOT count)
- your child turns 16 (if they attend high school, from this time on you must also submit a certificate of enrolment each year by 30 September)
- your child finishes high school, or turns 20 while still in high school (which is unusual since people usually finish high school around the age of 18 or 19)
- your child enrols in higher education (college or university) while still living in your household (in which case you must also submit a certificate of enrolment each year by 15 October in order to increase the family allowance you receive after your younger children)
- your child suspends higher education or finishes it by earning the first diploma (BA or MA)
- your child turns 18 and is not dependent on you anymore, meaning they have a regular income (which is an income from employment for more than three continuous months; HOWEVER, a short school holiday job does NOT count)
- you leave Hungary (and the European Economic Area) for more than 3 months (in which case the allowance is going to be suspended)
- you start working in another EU or EEA country
- you start receiving family allowance in another country
- your name, address or your bank account number changes
- your marital status changes
- any of your other personal data changes
You can find the relevant documents for announcing changes to data relevant for child benefits on this link, under “Egyéb nyomtatványok, változás bejelentés, megszüntetés” (other documents, reporting changes or cancellation).
As the above changes will most probably have an effect on the amount of family allowance you receive, you should also report them to your Employer by submitting a declaration. This way your Employer’s accountant will be able to make the modification in your family tax benefit setup.
Keep track of your child’s status
It is your task as a responsible parent to keep track of your and your children’s status and report any changes to the authorities AND to your employer’s accountant to make sure you receive the right amount of child benefits, most importantly family allowance and family tax benefit.
