The trainee has to pay tuition for private vocational school himself.

Trainees at private vocational schools who receive both BAföG (federal student aid) and unemployment benefit II cannot deduct their tuition fees from their income. This was decided by the Federal Social Court.

The tuition fees for a hairdressing apprentice for private training are no necessary expenditure in the meaning of Social Code (SGB II)), ruled the Federal Social Court.

The case

A cosmetics trainee pays for her private vocational school 400 euros per month school feesShe gets Student BAföG after this Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG). Alongside She works part-time in a beauty salon. The job center paid her benefits to secure her livelihood from April 2018 to March 2019. SGB ​​II. In the calculation The job center had taken into account the BAföG (student loan) and their additional earnings, but not the school fees. The trainees therefore sued for a higher amount. Unemployment benefit II.

The judgment

The Federal Social Court (BSG) clarified: The school fees are no necessary expenditure in the meaning of Section 11b Paragraph 1 Sentence 1 Number 5 of the Social Code (SGB II)According to this rule, only expenses directly related to achieving the desired outcome can be deducted. income-related be. Thus, the school fees not to be included in the job center's calculations and it does not increase them.

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No additional need for BAföG (Federal Training Assistance Act)

Benefits under the BAföG (Federal Training Assistance Act) are a fixed Lump sum"This support is intended to cover the trainees' personal expenses and training costs," the judges explained. Tuition fees at a private vocational school are not included. not as an additional need, which BAföG could cover. Anyone choosing a private school with tuition fees must therefore bear these additional costs. carry yourself.

School fees are generally not The ruling states that the deduction is from income. Therefore, it is not necessary to examine whether an alternative exists. free training whether or whether this is reasonable in the specific individual case.

The judges emphasized: If school fees could still be deducted from income to receive more money under the German Social Code, Book II (SGB II), this would... circumventing legal regulationsThen it would appear as if the school fees were included in the calculation of benefits – which is not the case according to the law. fundamental rights This does not restrict the trainees' freedom to choose their profession.

Federal Social Court, judgment of 12 March 2026, Ref. B 4 AS 8/25 R

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