National childcare subsidy for children under 3 (2025)
An implementation plan issued by the General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and of the State Council, published on 28 July 2025, creates China’s first nationwide childcare subsidy: 3,600 yuan a year for every child under 3, whatever its birth order, backdated to 1 January 2025. The subsidy is exempt from personal income tax, is not counted as income for social assistance, and is mainly funded by the central budget (about 90%). Families apply online at the child’s place of household registration; by March 2026, 33 million families had received it, according to the National Health Commission. The central government allocated 99.9 billion yuan for 2026, 10.6% more than in 2025.
Key points
Families that had received the subsidy
33,000,000
early March 2026 · Observed
according to the National Health Commission, NPC press conference of 7 March 2026[18]
Central budget: more than 90 billion yuan; local budgets: more than 10 billion.
Infants paid the 2026 subsidy
25,000,000
by 21 August 2026 · Observed
according to the Ministry of Finance (« more than 25 million »)[22]
Increase in central funds allocated for 2026
10.6%
2026 compared with 2025 · Observed
according to the Ministry of Finance[19]
99.9 billion yuan allocated in 2026; about 110 billion expected from all levels of government.
Births (China)
7.9M
2025
- Status: In force since July 28, 2025. Provinces were to open applications from late August 2025, by 31 August at the latest; payments to families started in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to the National Health Commission[1][5][18]
- Next milestone: December 31, 2026, Deadline for the first application for children born in 2022-2024
At a glance
Reference text
育儿补贴制度实施方案 (Implementation plan of the childcare subsidy system), issued by the General Office of the CPC Central Committee and the General Office of the State Council[1]
No. 国务院公报2025年第22号（新华社北京2025年7月28日电） · July 28, 2025
Read the text ↗Carried by
- 中共中央办公厅 · 国务院办公厅 (General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and of the State Council)[1]Issued the implementation plan of the childcare subsidy system · 2025 · Initiator
- 国家卫生健康委员会 (National Health Commission)[5][6][8]Runs the scheme: national information system, eligibility review by county health departments, management norms (with the Ministry of Finance); its deputy head Guo Yanhong and Wang Haidong, head of its Population and Family Department, presented it on 30 July 2025 · 2025-2026 · Implementation
- 财政部 (Ministry of Finance)[5][19]Finances the scheme through the central transfer « 育儿补贴补助资金 »; Guo Yang, head of the Social Security Department, presented the funding on 30 July 2025 · 2025-2026 · Implementation
- 财政部 · 国家税务总局 (Ministry of Finance, State Taxation Administration)[7]Exempted the subsidy from personal income tax (announcement No. 6 of 2025) · 2025 · Implementation
Implementation
- National Health Commission (国家卫生健康委员会) and provincial, municipal and county health commissions
- Ministry of Finance (财政部) and local finance departments
- Township governments and street offices (first review of applications)
- State Taxation Administration (国家税务总局)
Stated objective
Effectively lower families’ costs of having and raising children, ensure that eligible infants benefit equally, and create a « fertility-friendly » social climate, while keeping the scheme affordable and sustainable for public finances.[1][6]
According to the implementation plan (general requirements) and the National Health Commission
Infant families expected to benefit each year
20,000,000
each year, as announced in July 2025 · according to the National Health Commission (« more than 20 million »)[2]
Main measures
- 3,600 yuan a year per child (national basic standard) until the child turns 3, for every child born in accordance with the law and regulations, first, second or third child alike, from 1 January 2025. A child born from 1 January 2025 receives 10,800 yuan in all.[1][4]
- Children born before 1 January 2025 and still under 3 receive the subsidy pro rata for the months left before their third birthday: a child born in December 2023 gets 24 months, i.e. 7,200 yuan; every eligible child born from 1 January 2022 can claim.[1][2][6]
- The subsidy is exempt from personal income tax and is not counted as household or personal income when assessing eligibility for the minimum living allowance (dibao) or other social assistance.[1][7]
- A parent or other guardian applies each year at the place where the child’s household registration (hukou) is held, mainly online through a national information system (provincial portals, Alipay and WeChat) or at the township office, with the birth medical certificate and the household register; the child must hold Chinese nationality. Townships make the first review, county health departments confirm, and payment goes to a bank or other account of the applicant or the child.[1][4][8]
- Funding: from 2025 the central budget runs a shared-responsibility transfer, « childcare subsidy support funds », covering a set share of the national basic standard by region (east, centre, west); any local top-up is paid by local budgets.[1][5]
- Local schemes are brought into line: each province applies one policy and standard at least across each prefecture-level city, counties and lower levels may not create their own, and earlier local subsidies above the national standard may continue after evaluation and filing with the level above.[1][6]
In data
Calendar years 2022-2025, first estimates of the annual statistical communiqués
| Year | Births |
|---|---|
| 2022 (Birth rate 6.77 per 1,000) | 9,560,000 |
| 2023 (Birth rate 6.39 per 1,000) | 9,020,000 |
| 2024 (Birth rate 6.77 per 1,000) | 9,540,000 |
| 2025 (Birth rate 5.63 per 1,000; first year covered by the subsidy) | 7,920,000 |
Scale starts at 0 · Scale starts at 0. The subsidy was announced in July 2025 and paid from the fourth quarter of 2025, so 2025 births mostly reflect decisions taken before it; the figures do not measure its effect.
Births (China)
7.9M
2025
Total fertility rate
1.01children per woman
2024
Timeline
- Announced
Third Plenum calls for a birth subsidy system[10]
« Establish a birth subsidy system » (建立生育补贴制度), in the CPC Central Committee decision on further deepening reform
State Council measures on fertility support: draft the birth subsidy plan and its management norms[11]
Circular 国办发〔2024〕48号 (published 28 October 2024) asks to « draw up the implementation plan and management norms of the birth subsidy system » and to apply the income-tax deductions for the care of children under 3.
- Announced
Government work report: « distribute childcare subsidies »[12]
Premier Li Qiang’s report to the National People’s Congress lists « formulate policies to promote births, distribute childcare subsidies » (发放育儿补贴)
Press conference on jobs and growth: the childcare subsidy announced among forthcoming measures[13]
The National Development and Reform Commission lists « establish and implement a childcare subsidy system » among measures to support consumption.
State Council Information Office press conference: about 90 billion yuan budgeted for 2025[5][6]
The Ministry of Finance announces a first budget of about 90 billion yuan for 2025, with the central government bearing about 90% of the national basic standard overall; the National Health Commission says applications will open from late August, by 31 August at the latest, online (provincial portals, Alipay, WeChat) or at the township office.
Income-tax exemption confirmed (Ministry of Finance and State Taxation Administration announcement No. 6 of 2025)[7]
The subsidy is exempt from personal income tax, with effect from 1 January 2025; county health departments file the exemption for applicants.
Management norms issued by the National Health Commission and the Ministry of Finance (国卫办人口发〔2025〕24号)[8][9]
Applications are made each year; review within 30 working days in principle; at least one payment batch per quarter; orphans and children without de facto carers are covered, and child welfare institutions may apply.
15th Five-Year Plan proposal: « make use of the childcare subsidy and income-tax deductions »[14]
The CPC Central Committee proposal for 2026-2030, published on 28 October 2025, asks to make use of the childcare subsidy and personal income-tax deductions to lower the cost of having, raising and educating children.
More than 31 million online applications, according to the head of the National Health Commission[15]
Lei Haichao, director of the National Health Commission, says that applications can now be filed as soon as a child is born.
Applications for the 2026 subsidy open nationwide[16]
Government work report: the subsidy « benefits more than 30 million infants »[17]
33 million families paid; more than 100 billion yuan spent by central and local budgets[18]
At a press conference during the National People’s Congress, the National Health Commission says the central budget paid more than 90 billion yuan and local budgets more than 10 billion.
Central government allocates 99.9 billion yuan for 2026 (+10.6%)[19]
All levels of government are expected to spend about 110 billion yuan on the subsidy in 2026, according to the Ministry of Finance; applications approved in a quarter must be paid by the end of the following quarter.
More than 25 million infants have received the 2026 subsidy, according to the Ministry of Finance[22]
- Upcoming: the outcome is not known
Deadline for the first application for children born in 2022-2024[21]
The debate
Citoyen takes no position: arguments are reported as their authors put them.
According to its supporters
- Direct cash eases the financial burden of raising children, sends a clear pro-birth signal and works together with childcare, education, tax and housing policies; it is the first broad, universal, direct cash benefit since 1949, according to Guo Yanhong, deputy head of the National Health Commission.[6]
- Covering the first child matters because first births are more than half of all births and the first child is where families start; most earlier local schemes paid only for second and third children, according to the National Health Commission.[5][6]
- The amount is reasonable by international standards: in developed countries child allowances per child usually equal 2.4% to 7.2% of GDP per capita, according to Zhu Kun, researcher at the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Sciences.[3]
- A national scheme replaces a patchwork of local subsidies in more than 20 provinces with broader coverage and more sustainable funding, which matters most for low-income families, according to experts quoted by Xinhua, including Zhang Benbo (National Development and Reform Commission) and She Yu (State Council Development Research Center).[2][3]
According to its opponents
- Cash alone can hardly solve the problems of raising children: childcare services, housing and education policies must also improve, according to Huang Wei, associate professor at Peking University’s National School of Development.[3]
- The subsidy is not a « master key »: without maternity leave, childcare, education and housing measures alongside it, a single cash measure risks having a limited effect, according to Mao Zhuoyan, of the Population and Development Research Center of Capital University of Economics and Business.[3]
- Its effect on births varies from one family to another, and raising the wish to have children is a long process, according to Song Jian, of Renmin University’s School of Population and Health.[3]
Indicators to watch
- Births · NBSSee the card →
- Fertility rate (children per woman) · World BankSee the card →
- Population aged 65 and over (% of total) · World BankSee the card →
- Number of infants and families paid the childcare subsidy · National Health Commission · Ministry of Financeno Citoyen card yet
- Central childcare subsidy funds (budget allocation) · Ministry of Financeno Citoyen card yet
Sources
- [1]中共中央办公厅 国务院办公厅印发《育儿补贴制度实施方案》（国务院公报2025年第22号） –中国政府网 (gov.cn), 国务院公报; 新华社, July 28, 2025
- [2]国家育儿补贴方案公布！3周岁前每娃每年3600元 –中国政府网 (gov.cn), 新华社, July 28, 2025
- [3]国家育儿补贴方案六大热点问答 –中国政府网 (gov.cn), 新华社, July 28, 2025
- [4]对照表来了！来查查你家娃能领多少育儿补贴 –中国政府网 (gov.cn), July 28, 2025
- [5]每孩每年3600元，中央财政预算约900亿元：国新办发布会解读育儿补贴方案 –中国政府网 (gov.cn), 新华社, July 30, 2025
- [6]标准如何设定、补贴对象有谁、资金如何保障：育儿补贴制度详解来了 –中国政府网 (gov.cn), 人民日报海外版, August 1, 2025
- [7]关于育儿补贴有关个人所得税政策的公告（财政部 税务总局公告2025年第6号） –财政部, 国家税务总局 (via 中国政府网), August 18, 2025
- [8]关于印发育儿补贴制度管理规范（试行）的通知（国卫办人口发〔2025〕24号） –国家卫生健康委办公厅, 财政部办公厅 (via 中国政府网), August 24, 2025
- [9]《育儿补贴制度管理规范（试行）》解读 –国家卫生健康委 (via 中国政府网), September 18, 2025
- [10]中共中央关于进一步全面深化改革 推进中国式现代化的决定 –中国政府网 (gov.cn), July 18, 2024
- [11]国务院办公厅印发《关于加快完善生育支持政策体系推动建设生育友好型社会的若干措施》的通知（国办发〔2024〕48号） –国务院办公厅 (中国政府网), October 19, 2024
- [12]政府工作报告：2025年3月5日在第十四届全国人民代表大会第三次会议上 –国务院公报 (中国政府网), March 5, 2025
- [13]建立实施育儿补贴制度、定向增发购车指标……这些举措将出台！ –中国政府网 (gov.cn), April 28, 2025
- [14]中共中央关于制定国民经济和社会发展第十五个五年规划的建议 –国务院公报 (中国政府网); 新华社, October 28, 2025
- [15]为中国式现代化提供良好健康根基和人口根基：访国家卫生健康委党组书记、主任雷海潮 –中国政府网 (gov.cn), November 18, 2025
- [16]2026年育儿补贴，下周一起全面开放申领 –中国政府网 (gov.cn), December 31, 2025
- [17]政府工作报告：2026年3月5日在第十四届全国人民代表大会第四次会议上 –国务院公报 (中国政府网), March 5, 2026
- [18]补贴、新职业、“校园餐”……五部门回应民生热点！（十四届全国人大四次会议记者会） –中国政府网 (gov.cn), March 7, 2026
- [19]中央财政下达育儿补贴补助资金999亿元支持实施育儿补贴制度 –中华人民共和国财政部 社会保障司, June 2, 2026
- [20]收支运行平稳 政策更加积极：透视上半年财政改革发展成效 –中国政府网 (gov.cn), July 23, 2026
- [21]国务院7月重要政策 –中国政府网 (gov.cn), August 1, 2026
- [22]财政部：超2500万名婴幼儿及其家庭领到2026年度育儿补贴 –中国政府网 (gov.cn), August 21, 2026
- [23]中华人民共和国2022年国民经济和社会发展统计公报 –国家统计局, February 28, 2023
- [24]中华人民共和国2023年国民经济和社会发展统计公报 –国家统计局, February 28, 2024
- [25]中华人民共和国2024年国民经济和社会发展统计公报 –国家统计局, February 28, 2025
- [26]中华人民共和国2025年国民经济和社会发展统计公报 –国家统计局, February 28, 2026