Child-raising allowance calculator (Romania)

How is the child-raising allowance calculated?

The monthly child-raising allowance (indemnizație pentru creșterea copilului) is set under art. 2 alin. (2) OUG 111/2010 at 85% of the average net income earned in the last 12 months out of the 2 years before the child's birth. What counts is taxable income: salaries and similar income, self-employment, intellectual property rights or farming. The basic condition, in art. 2 alin. (1), is that you earned such income for at least 12 months in the 2 years before the birth.

A concrete example: for average net income of 6,000 lei per month, the gross allowance is 6,000 × 85% = 5,100 lei. The 10% CASS is withheld from this amount, that is 510 lei, so you actually receive 4,590 lei per month. It is paid during child-raising leave (concediu pentru creșterea copilului, the Romanian form of parental leave), until the child turns 2, or 3 for a child with a disability.

What are the minimum and maximum allowance in 2026?

The law sets two limits. The allowance cannot be lower than the amount obtained by applying a coefficient of 2.5 to the social reference indicator (ISR), and cannot exceed 8,500 lei. The ISR is 660 lei and stays frozen at that level in 2026, under art. XXXIII Law no. 141/2025. Arithmetically, 2.5 × 660 makes 1,650 lei, but the minimum announced and paid by the authorities is 1,651 lei, because the official calculation uses the unrounded ISR value.

The limits apply to the gross amount, before CASS is withheld. In practice, even if 85% of your income came to 12,000 lei, the allowance stops at 8,500 lei gross, and if it came to only 1,200 lei, you receive the minimum of 1,651 lei gross.

What is the return-to-work incentive?

The return-to-work incentive (stimulent de inserție) encourages an earlier return to work. Under art. 7 alin. (1) OUG 111/2010, if you earn taxable income before the child is 6 months old (1 year for a child with a disability), you receive 1,500 lei per month until the child turns 2, or 3 for a child with a disability. If you return after that point, the incentive is 650 lei per month. Art. 7 alin. (2) covers one more situation: if you go back to work after the leave ends, you receive 650 lei per month while the child is between 2 and 3 years old (between 3 and 4 for a child with a disability). The incentive cannot be combined with the allowance, and no CASS is withheld from it.

Is CASS deducted from the allowance?

Yes, this is the major change brought by Law no. 141/2025. Since 1 August 2025, the 10% health insurance contribution is withheld at source from the child-raising allowance. You do not have to file any declaration: the paying institution calculates and pays over the contribution, and you receive the net amount. You stay insured in the public health system, and the allowance remains exempt from income tax. Be careful with sources published before August 2025, which still show amounts without the CASS deduction.

AJPIS sets the actual amount based on the income certificates in your file, and in practice disputes often arise over the income taken into account, the periods counted as if you had earned income (perioade asimilate), or recalculation. If you are in that situation or want to check your rights, you can read more about dealing with Romanian authorities, see the family law page (Romanian), or contact me directly. If you also need the maintenance a parent owes a child, use the child maintenance calculator.