Family allowances 2026: amounts, eligibility and applications

Family allowances 2026: amounts, eligibility and applications

Family allowances are intended to offset part of the cost of maintaining children. Federal law sets minimum amounts and eligibility rules; the cantons may provide higher amounts as well as childbirth and adoption allowances.

Scope: This guide primarily covers family allowances under the FamZG for work outside agriculture; it also outlines the rules for people not in gainful employment and people receiving unemployment benefit. Self-employed farmers and agricultural employees are governed by the separate FLG regime; see leaflet 6.09. The competent family allowances compensation fund (CAF) decides individual cases.

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Minimum amounts and age limits

Allowance	Entitlement period	Federal minimum per month
Child allowance	From the month of birth to the end of the month in which the child turns 16	CHF 215
Education allowance	During post-compulsory education or training, no earlier than the child turning 15, until completion, but no later than the end of the month in which the child turns 25	CHF 268

If post-compulsory education begins before the 16th birthday and the statutory conditions are met, the education allowance replaces the child allowance. The competent CAF determines the exact monthly start.

Only education or training recognised under OASI rules qualifies. A young person who is mainly in gainful employment and attends school or courses only as a secondary activity is not considered to be in education. There is no entitlement to an education allowance if the young person's annual gross earned income exceeds CHF 30'240. A child who has turned 16 and is still attending compulsory school is also entitled to the education allowance from the following month.

A child aged 16 to 20 who cannot work because of a health impairment continues to qualify for a child allowance. Some cantons provide a higher rate in this situation.

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Cantonal amounts for 2026

The following monthly amounts come from the FSIO table “Types and amounts of family allowances 2026”, dated 12 December 2025. They generally apply from 1 January 2026. The FSIO table is an overview; the statutory provisions and the decision of the competent CAF are authoritative.

Canton	Child allowance/month	Education allowance/month	Scale
Zurich (ZH)	CHF 215 / 268	CHF 268	Child allowance: CHF 215 until the 12th birthday, CHF 268 from the 12th birthday
Bern (BE)	CHF 250	CHF 310	—
Lucerne (LU)	CHF 215 / 260	CHF 268	Child allowance: CHF 215 until the 12th birthday, CHF 260 from the 12th birthday
Uri (UR)	CHF 240	CHF 290	—
Schwyz (SZ)	CHF 230	CHF 280	—
Obwalden (OW)	CHF 220	CHF 270	—
Nidwalden (NW)	CHF 258	CHF 311	—
Glarus (GL)	CHF 215	CHF 268	—
Zug (ZG)	CHF 330	CHF 330 / 385	Education allowance: CHF 330 until the 18th birthday, CHF 385 from the 18th birthday
Fribourg (FR)	CHF 265 / 285	CHF 325 / 345	First amount for each of the first two children, second from the third child
Solothurn (SO)	CHF 215	CHF 268	—
Basel-Stadt (BS)	CHF 275	CHF 325	—
Basel-Landschaft (BL)	CHF 215	CHF 268	—
Schaffhausen (SH)	CHF 230	CHF 290	—
Appenzell Ausserrhoden (AR)	CHF 230	CHF 280	—
Appenzell Innerrhoden (AI)	CHF 245	CHF 298	—
St. Gallen (SG)	CHF 245	CHF 298	—
Graubünden (GR)	CHF 240	CHF 290	—
Aargau (AG)	CHF 225	CHF 278	—
Thurgau (TG)	CHF 215	CHF 280	—
Ticino (TI)	CHF 215	CHF 268	—
Vaud (VD)	CHF 322 / 365	CHF 425 / 468	First amount for the first two children, second from the third allowance paid to the claimant; the child-allowance rate is also subject to an acquired-rights safeguard (footnote 7 of leaflet 6.08)
Valais (VS)	CHF 327 / 435	CHF 477 / 585	First amount for each of the first two children, second from the third child
Neuchâtel (NE)	CHF 240 / 270	CHF 320 / 350	First amount for each of the first two children, second from the third child
Geneva (GE)	CHF 311 / 411	CHF 415 / 515	First amount for each of the first two children, second from the third child
Jura (JU)	CHF 275	CHF 325	—

The FSIO lists additional rules, including for children under 16 in education in Vaud and Valais and for children aged 16 to 20 who are unable to work in Vaud and Geneva. These cases should be checked directly with the CAF.

Which canton and fund are competent?

The applicable scheme cannot be determined solely from the canton of residence or from a simplified “employer canton” rule. Employees contact their employer or the employer's CAF. If there are several employers, salaries are added together for the income threshold; the application generally goes to the CAF of the employer paying the highest salary. Employers must register in every canton where they have a registered office or branch with employees; a branch is generally subject to its canton of location, although intercantonal agreements may provide otherwise. Self-employed people contact the CAF with which they are registered. The canton of residence, place of employment and the other parent's situation may matter where claims compete.

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Who is eligible?

People in gainful employment

• Employees: OASI-contributory income of at least CHF 630 per month or CHF 7'560 per year. Salaries from multiple employers are added together.
• Self-employed people: Registration with a CAF and OASI-contributory income of at least CHF 630 per month or CHF 7'560 per year.
• Below that threshold, the person is treated as not gainfully employed for family-allowance purposes.

In the event of sickness or accident, allowances generally continue for the current month and the following three months. During statutory leave such as maternity, other-parent or adoption leave, entitlement generally continues for the statutory duration.

People not in gainful employment

A person not in gainful employment may be eligible if they:

• are considered not gainfully employed under OASI rules,
• live in Switzerland,
• have annual taxable income of no more than CHF 45'360, and
• do not receive OASI/DI supplementary benefits,
• do not receive an ordinary old-age pension and are not married to a person who receives an ordinary old-age pension.

Some cantons provide more favourable rules. Leaflet 6.08 lists an income ceiling of CHF 60'480 for Vaud, while Geneva, Jura and Ticino have removed the income ceiling. The CAF should confirm the other conditions and any additional cantonal beneficiary groups. The cantonal CAF of the canton of residence is generally competent.

People receiving unemployment benefit

A person receiving unemployment-insurance daily allowances is not entitled to family allowances under the FamZG. They may instead receive a subsidiary supplement equal to the child or education allowance in their canton of residence. Unemployment insurance does not pay this supplement if a person in gainful employment is entitled to family allowances for the same child and period. Applications go to the unemployment insurance fund in the canton of residence.

A special rule applies to unemployed mothers only if they are entitled to maternity allowance: during its 14-week payment period, they receive family allowances as people not in gainful employment without the income and supplementary-benefit restrictions above.

Which children may qualify?

Entitlement may arise for:

• children with whom the claimant has a legal parent-child relationship,
• stepchildren who live mainly in the claimant's household or lived there until adulthood,
• foster children taken in free of charge for permanent care and upbringing,
• siblings and grandchildren if the claimant is primarily responsible for their upkeep.

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When more than one person is eligible

Only one allowance of the same type may be paid for each child. Parents cannot freely choose who has first entitlement. The FSIO gives the following statutory order:

1. A person in gainful employment takes precedence over a person not in gainful employment.
2. If both are in gainful employment, the person who has parental authority or had it until the child reached the age of majority takes precedence.
3. If parental authority is shared, or neither eligible person has it, the person with whom the child mainly lives or lived until the child reached the age of majority takes precedence.
4. If both parents and the child live in the same household, the person working in the child's canton of residence takes precedence.
5. If both work in the canton of residence, or both work outside it, the person with the higher OASI-contributory income from employment takes precedence. If neither has employment income, the higher income from self-employment decides.

The next criterion is used only if the preceding one does not decide the issue.

Intercantonal differential allowance

If two eligible people work in different cantons and the allowance at the second claimant's place of employment is higher, that person may request the difference. A differential allowance does not arise automatically merely because of a canton of residence or employment; the statutory order of entitlement must first be established.

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Childbirth and adoption allowances in 2026

A childbirth allowance is a one-off payment for a child born alive or after at least 23 weeks of pregnancy. An adoption allowance concerns a minor child placed with a family with a view to adoption; adoption of a stepchild does not qualify.

Canton	Childbirth allowance	Adoption allowance	Note
Lucerne (LU)	CHF 1'075	CHF 1'075	—
Uri (UR)	CHF 1'200	CHF 1'200	—
Schwyz (SZ)	CHF 1'000	—	No adoption allowance in the FSIO table
Fribourg (FR)	CHF 1'500	CHF 1'500	—
Vaud (VD)	CHF 1'617 / 3'234	CHF 1'617 / 3'234	Higher amount per child for multiple births or multiple adoptions
Valais (VS)	CHF 2'142 / 3'213	CHF 2'142 / 3'213	Higher amount per child for multiple births or multiple adoptions
Neuchâtel (NE)	CHF 1'200	CHF 1'200	—
Geneva (GE)	CHF 2'073 / 3'073	CHF 2'073 / 3'073	First amount for each of the first two children, second from the third child
Jura (JU)	CHF 1'500	CHF 1'500	—

These one-off allowances are governed by cantonal law. The competent CAF decides whether all conditions are met.

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Funding and applications

• Employees: Apply through the employer or the employer's CAF; payment is generally made with salary.
• Several employers: Apply in principle to the CAF of the employer paying the highest salary.
• Self-employed people: Apply to their own CAF and pay the applicable CAF contributions. Contributions are levied only on income up to CHF 148'200.
• Both employed and self-employed: Claim through the employer if annual salary exceeds CHF 7'560 and the employment lasts more than six months or is open-ended; otherwise clarify competence with the CAF.
• People not in gainful employment: Apply in principle to the cantonal CAF in the canton of residence.
• Unemployed people receiving daily allowances: Apply for the subsidiary supplement to the unemployment insurance fund in the canton of residence.

The documents required depend on the case, including the relationship to the child, education, household situation and the other parent's employment. Changes such as completion of education, separation or a change of job or canton should be reported promptly.

Family allowances can generally be claimed retroactively for up to five years from the date on which they were due.

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Children living abroad

A child living abroad does not automatically create entitlement. Family allowances are exported only where a social security agreement or a specific statutory rule requires it.

• For children and young people who leave Switzerland for education or training, Swiss residence is presumed to continue for no more than five years. The CAF checks the individual case; this does not create a general export entitlement for other children living abroad.
• Swiss and EU/EFTA nationals who live or work in Switzerland may be entitled in respect of children living in an EU/EFTA state.
• If Swiss and EU/EFTA entitlements coincide, special international coordination rules apply, not the purely Swiss order above.
• Where entitlement exists, child and education allowances may be exported, but childbirth and adoption allowances may not.
• Without an agreement there is generally no entitlement, subject to a small number of statutory exceptions. A purchasing-power adjustment is relevant only in such exceptional cases.
• Special Brexit transitional rules apply to the United Kingdom depending on when the cross-border situation began.

Cross-border cases should always be checked with the competent CAF.

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Application checklist

• Identify the competent body: employer/CAF, cantonal CAF or unemployment insurance fund
• Check the earned-income threshold or the conditions for people not in gainful employment
• Have information about the other parent's situation available
• Submit the required education certificate for a child in education or training
• Where two claims exist, ask the CAF to determine priority and any differential allowance
• Report changes in employment, residence, parental authority, custody or education

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Official sources

• FSIO: Benefits and conditions
• FSIO: Types and amounts of family allowances 2026 (PDF)
• FSIO: Children living abroad
• OASI/DI Information Centre: Leaflet 6.08 Family allowances (German)
• OASI/DI Information Centre: Leaflet 6.09 Family allowances in agriculture (German)

Content checked on 14 July 2026. The FSIO amounts table is dated 12 December 2025 and presents the rates as at 1 January 2026.