Quick answer
Important
1. Two payments, not one
Almost nobody receives their maternity pay from a single source, and understanding the split is what stops the first payslip being alarming.
The first payment comes from your statutory health insurance fund and is capped at a low daily figure. The second comes from your employer and makes up the difference between that cap and your normal net pay. The cap has not moved in a long time, so for most employees the employer’s share is by far the larger of the two.
Mutterschaftsgeld from statutory health insurance
13 €
per calendar day, maximum
Where average net pay per calendar day is higher, the employer has to top the difference up, so take-home pay is broadly maintained.
Last verified 14 August 2026 · Familienportal (opens in a new tab)
Example
How the two parts combine
Suppose average net pay works out at 70 € per calendar day over the reference period. The split would be:
Illustrative figures. Your own daily net is calculated from your last three settled months.
2. The employer top-up
The employer’s obligation is triggered whenever your average net pay per calendar day exceeds the health insurer’s cap. In other words, for nearly everyone in normal employment.
The reference period is the last three settled calendar months before the protection period began. That detail matters if your hours or pay changed recently, because a recent reduction pulls the average down and a recent rise pulls it up.
Employers are reimbursed for this through a statutory levy scheme, so the cost does not fall on your individual employer directly. It is worth knowing if you meet resistance: paying it is not a favour and not discretionary.
The German words you will see
- Zuschuss zum Mutterschaftsgeld
- The employer’s top-up to maternity pay, bridging the gap between the insurer’s capped daily amount and your normal net pay.
- Kalendertäglich
- Per calendar day, meaning every day of the month including weekends, not per working day.
- Umlageverfahren U2
- The levy scheme that reimburses employers for maternity costs, so the top-up is not a cost your employer bears alone.
3. Who pays, depending on your situation
The source of the payment depends on your insurance status rather than on your job title, and the differences are substantial. This is the section to read carefully if you are privately insured or self-employed.
| Your situation | Who pays |
|---|---|
| Employee, statutory health insurance | Health insurer up to the daily cap, plus the employer top-up |
| Employee, privately insured or family-insured | Federal Office for Social Security up to a limited total, plus the employer top-up |
| Employee in a Minijob | Depends on insurance status; the employer top-up can still apply |
| Self-employed, statutory insurance with sickness allowance | Health insurer, according to your policy |
| Self-employed, no sickness allowance cover | Often no maternity payment; check your policy well before the birth |
| Receiving unemployment benefit | Continued through the Employment Agency rather than as Mutterschaftsgeld |
A summary, not a determination. Your health insurer confirms which route applies to you.
Official source
The Federal Office for Social Security pays Mutterschaftsgeld to employees who are not members of a statutory fund. It is a separate application from the employer top-up.
Federal Office for Social Security (BAS)
4. How to apply
The application is straightforward, but it depends on a certificate that can only be issued in a narrow window before the birth, so the timing matters more than the paperwork.
Get the certificate of the expected date of birth
Your doctor or midwife issues it, and it can only be issued from a defined point in the pregnancy. It states the expected date, which is what fixes the start of your protection period.
Send it to your health insurer
This is the Mutterschaftsgeld application. If you are not in a statutory fund, it goes to the Federal Office for Social Security instead.
Give your employer the expected date
The employer needs it to calculate the top-up and to arrange the protection period. They do not need the original certificate for the insurer.
Send the birth certificate afterwards
The insurer needs the actual date of birth to settle the period correctly, particularly where the baby arrived early or late.
Check the arithmetic on the first payment
Confirm the daily net figure used against your last three payslips. An error here runs for the whole period, and it is much easier to query at the start.
5. Tax, and the effect on Elterngeld
Mutterschaftsgeld is not taxed, but like Elterngeld it falls under Progressionsvorbehalt: it is counted when determining the tax rate applied to your other income for the year. A tax return is mandatory for the year you receive it, and an additional payment at the end of the year is common.
It also interacts directly with Elterngeld. Maternity payments for the weeks after the birth are offset against Basiselterngeld for those same life months. That is why parents usually do not claim Elterngeld for the first couple of life months: the entitlement would largely be cancelled out, and those months are better saved for later.
Important
6. Frequently asked questions
Statutory health insurance pays up to 13 € per calendar day. Because that is far below most salaries, the employer tops it up to your average net pay from the three settled months before the protection period. The two together broadly maintain your normal take-home pay.
Yes, wherever your average net pay per calendar day is higher than the insurer’s cap, which is almost always. Employers are reimbursed through a statutory levy scheme, so it is not a discretionary payment and not a cost they carry alone.
Employees who are not in a statutory fund apply to the Federal Office for Social Security instead, which pays a limited total rather than a daily amount without limit. The employer top-up still applies. Check the detail with your insurer well before the birth.
It depends entirely on your policy. If your statutory or private cover includes a sickness allowance, payment during the protection period usually follows from that. Without it, there may be no maternity payment at all. This is worth checking long before you need it.
It is not taxed directly, but it counts towards the tax rate applied to your other income under Progressionsvorbehalt. Filing a tax return is mandatory for that year, and an additional payment at the end of the year is common.
Maternity payments are offset against Basiselterngeld for the same life months. In practice this means the first months after the birth are already covered, so parents normally do not claim Elterngeld for them and save those months for later instead.
As soon as you have the certificate of the expected birth date, which can only be issued from a defined point in the pregnancy. Send it to your health insurer straight away and give the date to your employer.
Official information
Rules and amounts change. Always verify current requirements using official sources.
Maternity benefits (Mutterschaftsleistungen), opens in a new tab
Familienportal
The protection periods, Mutterschaftsgeld from the health insurer, and the employer top-up.
Mutterschaftsgeld without statutory health insurance, opens in a new tab
Federal Office for Social Security (BAS)
The office that pays Mutterschaftsgeld to employees who are not members of a statutory health insurance fund.
Health insurance in Germany, opens in a new tab
Federal Ministry of Health
Official explanation of statutory and private health insurance and who belongs where.
Related guides
Amounts and legal requirements can change. We verify this information against official sources and show when each figure was last checked, but always confirm important requirements with the responsible authority before you apply.
Einfach Germany is an independent information platform and is not affiliated with the German government.