Denmark Boerne- og Ungeydelse (Child and Youth Benefit)
Denmark’s tax-free child and youth benefit is paid for each child until age 18. In 2026, the full rates are DKK 5,370 per quarter for ages 0-2, DKK 4,248 per quarter for ages 3-6, DKK 3,342 per quarter for ages 7-14, and DKK 1,114 per month for ages 15-17. Most eligible families are paid automatically.
Denmark’s Børne- og ungeydelse, often called the børnecheck, is an ongoing public benefit for families with children. It is paid for each child until the day the child turns 18. The benefit is tax-free, and the amount depends mainly on the child’s age, the recipient’s income, and how much of the benefit is payable to each parent. For most families who satisfy the ordinary Danish conditions, Udbetaling Danmark calculates the payment automatically rather than requiring a new application for each quarter.
This page is a current-cycle guide to the benefit. It is not a closed competition or a one-time grant, so the deadline is correctly recorded as rolling. Families should still check their Digital Post and the official borger.dk page because payment, custody, tax, residence, and foreign-worker rules can affect an individual case.
2026 opportunity snapshot
| Detail | Current information |
|---|---|
| Official name | Børne- og ungeydelse |
| Common name | Børnecheck; child and youth benefit |
| Administrator | Udbetaling Danmark, Family Benefits |
| Benefit type | Tax-free family benefit paid per child |
| Deadline | Rolling; eligible families are paid on the scheduled payment dates rather than applying to a fixed annual competition |
| Age covered | From birth-related eligibility until the child turns 18 |
| Under-15 payment | Quarterly, paid in advance |
| Age 15-17 payment | Monthly, paid on the 20th in arrears |
| Ordinary application | Automatic when the official conditions and registrations are in place |
| Official source | Børne- og ungeydelse on borger.dk |
Amounts for 2026
The official 2026 table gives the following full and half payments. The full amount is the amount for a parent who is entitled to the whole benefit for the child. When parents share the payment equally, each receives the half amount shown below before any income-based reduction.
| Child’s age | Full payment | Half payment | Frequency |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-2 | DKK 5,370 | DKK 2,685 | Per quarter |
| 3-6 | DKK 4,248 | DKK 2,124 | Per quarter |
| 7-14 | DKK 3,342 | DKK 1,671 | Per quarter |
| 15-17 | DKK 1,114 | DKK 557 | Per month |
These are age bands, not four separate applications. A family with children in different bands receives the applicable rate for each child. The age change is handled by the benefit system. If a child turns 15 during a quarter, the parent receives child benefit for the relevant months through the month of the birthday and youth benefit from the following month. Youth benefit continues until the child’s 18th birthday; the final payment can be smaller when the birthday occurs during a month.
The benefit is tax-free. It can nevertheless be reduced when the recipient’s own income exceeds the 2026 income threshold. The current program page states that the reduction applies above DKK 961,100, and that the other parent’s income does not reduce the recipient’s half under the current rules. The related official reduction guidance describes a 2% reduction of the amount by which the individual’s income basis exceeds the threshold. Udbetaling Danmark uses information from the tax assessment and sends a notice when a reduction applies. Because income data can be updated or reconciled later, the amount shown in a personal decision is more important than a simple estimate from the table.
Who can receive it
The ordinary automatic route requires all of the following conditions:
- The parent has parental custody of the child.
- The child is under 18.
- The child stays in Denmark.
- The parent lives in Denmark and is fully liable for Danish tax.
- The child is not maintained by public funds.
- The parent has lived or worked in Denmark for at least 6 years within the last 10 years, unless a special rule applies.
The six-year condition is the qualifying-period rule, sometimes called the optjeningsprincip. It does not mean that every newly arrived family is simply excluded. The official foreign-resident rules provide a proportional entitlement while qualifying time is accumulated. The published scale reaches 100% at 6 years and includes intermediate steps, such as 50% at 3 years. EU/EEA and Swiss citizens may also count periods in another EU/EEA country or Switzerland when they have earned family-benefit rights there, but Udbetaling Danmark must verify the information with the relevant foreign authority.
There are special rules for EU/EEA or Swiss citizens, Danish citizens returning to Denmark, posted workers, refugees, and people from outside the EU/EEA. A parent who works in Denmark while the child lives elsewhere may need to apply personally. Cross-border families can also be subject to priority rules when another country is responsible for family benefits. Denmark may pay a difference where Danish entitlement is higher, but a family cannot receive the full benefit twice for the same period and child.
The official page also lists circumstances in which payment can be stopped temporarily after a municipal decision. Examples include failure to comply with a parental order, failure to meet certain language-learning duties for young children, failure to meet the education, employment, or other activity duty for ages 15-17, and at least 15% unlawful absence from teaching during a relevant period. Udbetaling Danmark sends a letter if a stop is imposed. These conditions are separate from the routine age and income calculation, so a family should read the decision rather than assume that a missed payment means the whole benefit has ended.
When payments arrive
For children under 15, child benefit is paid quarterly in advance. The regular payment dates are 20 January, 20 April, 20 July, and 20 October. If a date falls on a weekend or public holiday, payment is made on the preceding working day. When a person becomes a parent, the first payment is made in the quarter after the parenthood and custody registration. The official examples use these birth periods:
| Child or parenthood registration period | First scheduled payment |
|---|---|
| 1 January-31 March | 20 April |
| 1 April-30 June | 20 July |
| 1 July-30 September | 20 October |
| 1 October-31 December | 20 January |
For ages 15-17, youth benefit is paid monthly on the 20th in arrears. A weekend or holiday moves the payment to the preceding working day. If a young person turns 18 during the month, the last amount is calculated for the part of the month through the birthday. Payments normally go to the recipient’s NemKonto. Parents with joint custody generally receive half each in their own NemKonto; if both use the same NemKonto, both halves go to that account.
Parents who live together or separately
When parents live together and have joint custody, the benefit is divided equally. They cannot change that split while they live together. When parents live separately, they can either continue with half each or arrange for the whole benefit to be paid to one parent. The official system does not support an arbitrary split such as 70/30.
An agreed change is made by the parent transferring their portion through the relevant borger.dk self-service service. A change takes effect no earlier than the payment period after Udbetaling Danmark has processed it: the next quarter for child benefit or the next month for youth benefit. If parents do not agree, a parent may be able to receive the whole benefit by showing that the child is registered at their address and lives with them for at least 9 of 14 days. The official page lists the kinds of custody or contact documentation that can support that request. A move of the child’s address does not automatically change the payment; the parent must notify Udbetaling Danmark.
From 1 January 2026, Udbetaling Danmark can, when it considers this best for the child, pay all or part of the benefit directly to the child or young person. That is a case-specific decision, not an automatic change at age 15. Families should follow the written decision and ask Udbetaling Danmark if the intended payment recipient is unclear.
How to receive the benefit
For a family already registered correctly in Denmark, the practical process is usually:
- Register the parent, child, custody, and address information in the Danish systems. Udbetaling Danmark needs the relevant registration and tax information before it can calculate the ordinary automatic payment.
- Make sure the recipient has a working NemKonto. Check the account and the expected payment in the official family-benefits overview rather than relying only on a bank statement.
- Read letters from Udbetaling Danmark in Digital Post. The agency uses its decision to explain the amount, any income reduction, a missing condition, or a request for evidence.
- If the family is an EU/EEA case, a cross-border case, a newly arrived family, or a case where the child does not live in Denmark, use the application route or contact instructions on the official page. MitID applicants attach the relevant documents through the online service. Applicants without MitID use the declaration-and-consent form and attach the required evidence, including an employment contract and the child’s birth certificate where requested.
- If the parent is not an EU/EEA citizen, contact Udbetaling Danmark for the route that applies to the residence and work situation. Do not send sensitive CPR information by ordinary email; the official guidance directs people to the secure or postal channels it specifies.
Adoption and placement situations can require a manual contact even when ordinary birth registrations normally trigger automatic payment. If a person has a care permit or temporary Danish passport for the child before the parent is registered, Udbetaling Danmark may need documentation before paying. The same principle applies to custody changes and foreign-benefit coordination: report the change and supply the evidence requested instead of assuming the next scheduled payment will correct itself.
Changes that must be reported
Recipients have a duty to notify Udbetaling Danmark promptly when a change can affect the benefit. Important examples include losing custody, taking work abroad, no longer being fully tax liable in Denmark, the child staying abroad, the child being placed or otherwise maintained by public funds, a change in custody or contact arrangement, or a new entitlement to family benefits from another country. Failing to report a change can lead to a reassessment and repayment demand.
A payment can also be affected by a debt to a municipality for daycare, club care, or school-based care. The Danish Debt Collection Agency may offset that debt against the recipient’s benefit and will send a separate notice. This is different from the income reduction and should be handled with the authority named in the notice.
Practical checklist
Before contacting the agency, gather the child’s CPR and custody information, the parent’s address and tax status, NemKonto details, employment information, residence history for the qualifying-period rule, and any foreign family-benefit decision. Keep copies of employment contracts, birth certificates, custody documents, and correspondence from another country’s authority when the case is international.
If the amount is lower than expected, check four things in order: the child’s current age band, whether the payment is half or full, whether the income reduction applies, and whether the qualifying-period rule makes the entitlement proportional. Then check whether a public-care decision, municipal offset, foreign-benefit priority rule, or repayment is involved. The official page provides self-service links and contact details for Udbetaling Danmark, Family Benefits. Use that source for a personal decision because the general rates cannot account for every family arrangement.
The program remains active and accepts eligible claims on an ongoing basis. There is no announced closing date for the underlying benefit and no reason to replace rolling with a made-up annual deadline. The official source should be checked whenever a family has a new child, changes address or custody, starts or stops work in another country, or receives a new tax or benefit decision.