Tax class before the birth
Elterngeld is computed from a hypothetical net figure, and your tax class feeds into it. Change class in good time and you can raise your Elterngeld noticeably. Change it too late and nothing happens at all.
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Why the tax class matters here
Elterngeld is measured against the Elterngeld-Netto: your average gross over the twelve months before the month of birth, less flat-rate tax and social contributions.
Under § 2e BEEG that flat-rate tax is computed using the Steuerklasse that applied in most of those twelve months. Class III produces a small deduction and so a high Elterngeld-Netto; class V does the exact opposite.
The difference is not marginal. Between class III and class V, a middling salary can mean several hundred euros of Elterngeld a month — a four-figure sum over the whole period.
The deadline that actually matters
What counts is the class that applied in the majority of the twelve months of the assessment period. A change therefore has to cover at least seven of those twelve months to take effect.
In practice that means changing well before the birth — usually before the pregnancy begins or in its first weeks. A change in the eighth month will not move your Elterngeld at all.
For self-employed parents a different assessment period applies: the last completed tax year, where the tax class plays no role.
Why this is not free money
Moving to a more favourable class raises your monthly net before the birth — but it does not change your income tax. Whatever was under-withheld is reclaimed through your tax return.
The Elterngeld advantage survives that, because Elterngeld attaches to your running net pay rather than to your final tax liability. That is exactly why the change is worth considering.
At the same time something shifts within the couple: moving from V to III improves your own Elterngeld but worsens the other parent’s monthly net. In a shared household that is a calculation to do together.
What the authorities say about it
Changing tax class purely to increase a wage-replacement benefit is permitted. The Bundessozialgericht has confirmed this expressly for Elterngeld; it is not an abuse of the rules.
A change is possible several times a year and takes effect from the month following the application.