Germany Launches €70 Monthly Digital Care Allowance as Disability Support Overhaul Accelerates

Germany launches DiPA entitlement, digital disabled ID pilot, EU card harmonization, and tax relief up to €7,400 for disabled individuals in 2026.

People receiving long-term care in Germany can now claim digital care applications (DiPA) worth up to €70 per month, regardless of their care grade (1 through 5). The entitlement took effect on 1 January 2026, but the official directory maintained by the Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices (BfArM) was empty during the first half of the year. A streamlined approval process is expected to generate the first listings later in 2026. The entitlement applies to any care recipient whose chosen app or device appears on the BfArM register.

Parallel to this, Germany is moving toward a fully digital version of the severely disabled person’s ID card. A joint pilot project launched in early June between Hamburg and Thuringia, funded with €1.2 million from the federal government, aims to supplement the physical card with a digital variant accessible via the EUDI Wallet on smartphones. The wallet system is slated to be available across all EU member states by early 2027, while the pilot itself runs until September 2027 and will serve as the template for a nationwide rollout. In Thuringia alone, roughly 216,080 people — about one in ten residents — held a severely disabled person’s ID at the end of 2025.

At the European level, harmonisation efforts are advancing. Following the late-2024 decision to create a new EU disability card, 2026 has been set aside for national implementation. The card will complement rather than replace national documents and is designed to simplify access to travel discounts within the bloc. A uniform EU parking permit for disabled drivers is also being developed, with practical use expected from 2028. Meanwhile, the Barrierefreiheitsstärkungsgesetz (Accessibility Strengthening Act) entered force on 28 June 2025, establishing additional participation standards.

Financial relief for disabled individuals remains substantial. For 2026, the tax allowance for a degree of disability (GdB) of 100 reaches up to €2,840. Where the person carries marker H (helplessness) or Bl (blindness), the allowance can go as high as €7,400. Additional benefits include a flat-rate travel-cost deduction of up to €4,500, full exemption from vehicle tax for holders of markers aG, H or Bl (with a 50 percent reduction for G or Gl), a reduced public-transport annual pass for €104 (free for H or Bl), and a reduced broadcasting licence fee of €6.12 per month for those with marker RF. Statutory extra leave of five days and special protection against dismissal continue to apply.

Court rulings have clarified a pair of legal issues. Baden-Württemberg’s State Social Court confirmed that the 10.8 percent pension deduction for early disabled-retirement benefits remains lawful, stating that the 2014 legislative amendments did not alter the constitutional logic of offsetting early withdrawals. In Thuringia, the same court ruled that there is no general entitlement to an unlimited-duration disability ID; fixed-term validity remains the rule unless an atypical case is shown.

On the employment front, the statutory quota for hiring severely disabled workers stands at 5 percent of the workforce. In the Wetterau district, that figure reached 8.26 percent in 2024. Companies that fail to meet the quota must pay a compensatory levy. According to the Federal Statistical Office, severely disabled people accounted for approximately 9.3 percent of the total population in 2023. The official aid directory, updated in March 2026 by the National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Funds, now lists roughly 48,000 products — a reflection of ongoing efforts to expand support infrastructure.