Family allowance, kindergarten and schools in Austria

Who can receive it: parents (including step-, adoptive and foster parents and grandparents) whose main residence is in Austria, for children who live in their household and stay permanently in Austria. Entitlement does not depend on work or income. Non-Austrians, including EU citizens, must show lawful residence under sections 8 or 9 of the Settlement and Residence Act (NAG). It is generally paid until the child turns 24 if the child is in training or studying.

How much: per child and month, €138.40 from birth, €148.00 from age 3, €171.80 from age 10 and €200.40 from age 19, plus the child tax credit of €70.90 paid with it. The government has kept the amounts at the 2025 level for 2026 and 2027. There are supplements for siblings and for children with a severe disability.

How to apply: for children born in Austria, the allowance is granted automatically after the birth is registered; you may be asked for missing details such as your IBAN. In all other cases, apply through FinanzOnline or with form Beih 100 to the Finanzamt Österreich, with proof of your residence status. Back payments are possible for up to five years.

Working parents who receive family allowance can claim a tax credit of up to €166.68 a month per child under 18 (2026), through the employer (form E 30) or in the annual employee tax assessment. See Taxes in Austria.

• Cost: city kindergartens are free until compulsory schooling if the child and at least one parent have their main residence in Vienna. Meals cost €99.49 a month from September 2026; you can apply for a meal-fee exemption. Without a Vienna main residence, fees apply.
• Registering: the main registration period for city kindergartens is November and December for a place from the following September. You can register at other times as well, but places are limited. Registration is online; if you work or are training, upload proof that is no more than three months old. You can name two preferred kindergartens and learn by the end of March whether you got a place.
• Allocation: places are not given in order of registration but by criteria such as working parents and siblings at the same kindergarten. There is no legal right to a place in a city kindergarten.
• Private kindergartens need a customer number, which you receive automatically when you register for a city place.
• Help: the city's kindergarten information line is +43 1 277 55 55.

Children who have turned five by 31 August must attend kindergarten for at least 20 hours a week from September to June, outside school holidays. This half-day attendance is free throughout Austria.

• Compulsory schooling lasts nine years, from age six to 15 (grades 1 to 9). After that, young people must continue in school or vocational training until 18.
• Primary school (Volksschule) covers the first four years. From age ten, children go either to a Mittelschule or to the lower level of an academic secondary school (AHS, Gymnasium).
• State schools charge no fees; private schools charge fees.

For the first year of primary school, the Bildungsdirektion Wien writes to parents of children who will reach school age. In recent years the first, administrative part of enrolment has taken place in November of the year before school starts, at one school of your choice; a place there is not guaranteed. Parents are told the allocated school by mid-February, and the child then attends a school-readiness and language assessment at that school.

If you arrive during the school year or with an older child, contact the Bildungsdirektion Wien citizens' service on 01 52525-0 about a school place.