Advances from the Maintenance Guarantee Fund

Application:

The process for recognising the advance payment will begin with an application made by the member of the family unit who has the care and custody of the child who is the beneficiary of the advance payment.

If the person in question is an adult with a disability but is not legally incapacitated, they may submit the application themselves

Amount:

€100 per month for each beneficiary, unless the court order specifies a lower monthly amount, in which case the amount specified in the court order shall be paid.

Maximum period for receiving benefits:

18 months, whether on a continuous or intermittent basis.

Economic effects:

The first day of the month following the application.

Recipient of the advance payment:

The advance payment is paid to the person who has the care and custody of the child (usually the mother or father), unless the child is an adult with a disability but not legally incapacitated, in which case the adult will receive the payment themselves.

Incompatibilities:

Receipt of the advance payment is incompatible with receipt of other benefits or grants of the same nature and for the same purpose granted by the various public authorities. The person with custody and guardianship of the child must choose one of these options.

Obligations of the recipient of the advance payment:

• Within 30 days, notify any circumstances that may affect the retention of the right to an advance payment or the amount thereof.
  
• They must also be subject to any verification procedures that may be determined in order to verify the conditions on which the advance payment was granted.
  

Expiry of the advance:

• the beneficiary reaching the age of majority;
  
• receipt of the 18 monthly instalments;
  
• voluntary or enforced payment of maintenance by the person liable for such payments;
  
• the death of the beneficiary or the person liable for payment;
  
• exceeding the financial means limit due to a change in the household’s income;
  
• a court order to that effect.
  

Return of the advance payment:

Any advance payments received in error must be repaid by the person who received them, in accordance with the procedure laid down in the General Tax Collection Regulations, approved by Royal Decree 939/2005 of 29 July. The Directorate-General of Social Security Administration will calculate the amount unduly received that is to be repaid, notify the recipient of the amount and, upon notification, commence the voluntary repayment period.

The State shall, as of right, be subrogated to the rights to which the person concerned is entitled against the person liable for maintenance payments, up to the total amount of the advance payments made to that person.

This subrogation transforms the nature of the obligation, which becomes a public-law obligation, and its recovery by the State shall be carried out in the manner provided for in the General Budget Act. Consequently, the liable party will be informed of the existence of a decision recognising the advance payment and, subsequently, a tax assessment will be drawn up and served in respect of the amounts owed to the State, which must be paid into the Public Treasury; failing that, the State Tax Administration Agency will enforce collection during the enforcement phase through the administrative enforcement procedure.

The following are beneficiaries of advance payments from the Fund:

• minors (and adults with a degree of disability of 65% or more) who are Spanish nationals or nationals of a Member State of the European Union residing in Spain, and who are entitled to maintenance that has been recognised by a court but remains unpaid.
  
• foreign minors who are not nationals of the European Union and who, as holders of a court-ordered maintenance entitlement that has not been paid, meet the following requirements:
  
  • To have been legally resident in Spain for at least five years, two of which must be immediately prior to the date of application for the advance payment. For children under the age of five, these periods of residence will be required of the person who has their care and custody. However, if the person with custody is Spanish, it will be sufficient for the child to be legally resident in Spain at the time the advance payment is requested, without the need to prove any prior period of residence.
    
  • Be nationals of another State which, in accordance with the provisions of international treaties, agreements or conventions, or by virtue of tacit or express reciprocity, grants benefits similar to those granted to Spanish nationals within its territory.

To be eligible for advance payments, the financial resources of the household to which the child belongs must not exceed the income limit resulting from multiplying the annual amount of the Public Indicator of Multiple Effect Income (IPREM), in force at the time of applying for the advance payment, by the relevant coefficient based on the number of minor children in the household.

This coefficient shall be 1.5 if there is only one child, and shall be increased by 0.25 for each additional child, as follows:

• 1 child: 1.5 x IPREM (as applicable at the time of applying for the advance payment): €10,800 in the year in which the application is made
  
• 2 children: 1.75 x IPREM: €12,600 in the year in which the application is made
  
• 3 children: 2 x IPREM: €14,400 in the year in which the application is made
  
• 4 children: 2.25 x IPREM: €16,200 in the year in which the application is made
  and so on
  

In 2025, the annual IPREM value is:

• from 1-1-2025: 7,200.00 euros
  

The following will be counted as the household’s income and earnings from 1 January 2025:

• Income from employment of all members of the household; that is to say, remuneration in cash or in kind derived from employment, benefits recognised by social security schemes – whether funded from public or private resources – and any other income classified as income from employment under the Personal Income Tax Act (IRPF). Example: the Minimum Living Income, the Active Insertion Income, Unemployment benefit, etc.
  
• Income from capital, whether in cash or in kind, deriving from assets or rights owned by any member of the household and not used in the course of economic activities. Example: interest on bank accounts, dividends on shares or bond coupons, etc.
  
• Income derived from economic activities, calculated in accordance with the provisions of the Personal Income Tax Act. Example: Income from self-employment.
  
• The net balance of capital gains and losses of the members of the household. Example: Changes in the value of equity.
  

For the purposes of calculating the household’s annual income, account shall be taken of the income it has, or is expected to have, during the calendar year in which the advance is requested, always in full.

The income limit shall be deemed to have been established on the basis of the household income tax return submitted by the applicant, without prejudice to any checks carried out by the competent authority.

For the purposes of these advance payments, the term ‘family unit’ refers exclusively to that comprising the father or mother and any minor children who are entitled to court-ordered maintenance that remains unpaid and who are in their care; as well as a family unit comprising the children and a natural person, other than their parents, who is responsible for their care because they have been granted their guardianship and custody.

Children with disabilities will be regarded as a single-person household (with their own income being taken into account). Furthermore, care provided to family members will be excluded from the calculation of income.