Abono de família: child benefit brackets and amounts in 2026

What the abono de família is

The abono de família para crianças e jovens (child benefit) is a monthly benefit paid by Social Security for each child or young person in the household¹. It helps families with the cost of raising children and does not depend on whether the family pays work-related contributions: what counts is the household’s income and composition.

How much you get is not a fixed amount. It depends on two things: the income bracket (escalão) the family falls into and the age of the child. Let’s see how each is set.

The reference income sets the bracket

The point that most confuses people is that Social Security does not compare total income with the brackets. First it works out the reference income:

Reference income = household annual income ÷ (number of entitled children + 1)

That is, total income is divided by the number of entitled children and young people, plus one. This is why having more children can place the family in a higher bracket (and a larger benefit per child): the same income, split across more people, gives a lower reference income.

The five brackets in 2026

The reference income is then compared with multiples of the IAS (the social-support index, €537.13 in 2026³) times 14. There are five brackets:

A household in the 5th bracket (reference income above 2.5 × IAS × 14) receives no child benefit.

The amounts table by age

Within each bracket, the amount is highest for babies (up to 36 months) and steps down after 36 and 72 months. These are the 2026 monthly amounts¹:

In the 4th bracket, there is no benefit after 72 months.

The single-parent increase

Single-parent families, one adult responsible for the child, are entitled to a 50% increase on the child benefit, up to the 4th bracket¹. It is a significant top-up: in the 1st bracket, a child up to 36 months goes from €190.98 to €286.47/month.

Worked example

Take a household with €18,000 annual income and one child aged 2 (up to 36 months):

• Reference income: €18,000 ÷ (1 + 1) = €9,000.
• Bracket: €9,000 is above €7,519.82 and below €12,783.69 → 3rd bracket.
• Amount: in the 3rd bracket, a child up to 36 months gets €132.07/month, about €1,585 a year.

For a single-parent family, add 50%: €198.11/month. And with two entitled children, the reference income would fall to €6,000 (÷ 3) and the family would move up to the 2nd bracket.

Run the numbers with your own figures in the child benefit calculator.

What this guide does not cover

To be an honest estimate, some rules are left out that you may need to consider:

• The extra increase for a 2nd and 3rd child under 36 months, added to the base amount in households with several young children.
• The pre-natal benefit, a separate support paid during pregnancy.
• The difference between a new claim (assessed on the previous year’s income and that year’s IAS) and an annual reassessment.

To understand what you take home from work (the income that counts for the household), see the net salary calculator and how net salary is calculated.