KfW 300 — Home Ownership for Families
A subsidised loan of 170.000 € to 270.000 € for families building or first-buying a climate-friendly home. Not a grant and not the old Baukindergeld — a loan whose size depends on the number of children, on income and on the funding tier. How much mortgage you can afford in Germany depends on this funding tier as much as on income — the two interact directly.
In short
Who is eligible for KfW 300?
Families and single parents with at least one child under 18 living in the household, who will occupy the new-build themselves. The taxable household income must stay within the limit and there must be no prior residential property in Germany.
Does KfW 300 work if I live abroad?
The programme requires you to occupy the property yourself, which rules out most non-resident constellations for KfW 300 — but not KfW funding as such. Which programme fits a return-to-Germany or cross-border case is checked before any application is filed.
How does the KfW 300 loan for families buying or building a home work?
KfW 300 is a subsidised loan of between 170.000 € and 270.000 € for families building or first-buying a climate-friendly home — not a grant, and not the discontinued Baukindergeld scheme. The loan amount depends on the number of children in the household, on household income and on which funding tier the family qualifies for.
How much mortgage a family can realistically afford in Germany depends on this funding tier just as much as on income itself, since the two interact directly: a higher tier means more subsidised capital available before market-rate financing has to fill the gap.
Because eligibility is assessed per household rather than per property, it is worth checking the exact income and children thresholds before assuming a given tier applies, since a small difference in income can shift the funding amount considerably.
What is KfW 308 — and what changes on 3 August 2026?
"Jung kauft Alt" (KfW 308) is a low-interest loan for buying an energy-inefficient existing property (energy class F, G or H) for families with at least one minor child and a taxable household income up to €90,000 (plus €10,000 per additional child).
It funds the purchase price including the plot for an owner-occupied unit — not the renovation. From 3 August 2026, the maximum amounts rise to €140,000 (one child), €160,000 (two children) and €180,000 (three or more children), and instead of a full renovation to Effizienzhaus 85 EE, defined individual energy measures now also qualify.
The catch remains: the renovation must be proven within 4.5 years, or KfW can reclaim the interest discount. Anyone buying now should time the application correctly and plan the renovation financing in from the start.
Both programmes are aimed at the same households and cannot be drawn for the same unit at the same time. KfW 300 funds building or first-buying a new home; KfW 308 funds buying an existing one in energy class F, G or H. Which of the two applies is decided by the property, not by the application.
What the programme actually grants
KfW 300 is a subsidised loan, not a grant. It never covers the full cost of a project; it sits alongside a bank loan and lowers the blended rate.
The loan amount follows two variables at once. For the tier „Klimafreundliches Wohngebäude" it is 170,000 € for one or two children, 200,000 € for three or four, and 220,000 € from five children. With the QNG certificate those tiers rise to 220,000 €, 250,000 € and 270.000 €.
The headline figure of 270.000 € that circulates online therefore requires five children and a QNG-certified building. Most families land between 170,000 € and 220,000 €.
Source: BEG-Förderrichtlinien Wohngebäude (BEG WG) and Einzelmaßnahmen (BEG EM), BMWE, effective from 21.07.2026, published on 20.07.2026 at energiewechsel.de; KfW overview page 'Adjustments 2026'; KfW press release of 08.07.2026. Checked on 21.07.2026.
Three conditions that decide the case
Income limit. The taxable household income must not exceed 90.000 € with one child, plus 10,000 € for every further child. What counts is the taxable income averaged over the two tax assessments before the year of application — not gross salary, and not the current year. This is where most applications fail.
No prior ownership. There must be no existing residential property in Germany. An inherited share counts. If this applies, the Wohneigentumsprogramm 124 is the route to check instead.
Climate-friendly new build only. KfW 300 applies to new construction meeting the Klimafreundliches-Wohngebäude standard, and to the first purchase of such a building. An existing property does not qualify — for that, KfW 308 „Jung kauft Alt" is the relevant programme.
What can be combined — and what cannot
With a bank loan: always, and by design. KfW 300 is a building block, never the whole financing.
With KfW 297/298 (Klimafreundlicher Neubau) and with KfW 261 for the same dwelling: excluded. You choose one route, and you choose it before filing.
With the Wohneigentumsprogramm 124: possible. And with most of the regional funding banks — IBB Berlin, NRW.BANK, L-Bank Baden-Württemberg, SAB Sachsen and others — which is where a second subsidised tranche can come from.
The mistake that forfeits the funding
KfW funding is forfeited if the application is filed after the contract is signed. The sequence is fixed: application first, through your own bank, never directly with the KfW — then the purchase or construction contract.
That sequence, and the deadline management when a regional programme runs alongside it, is what we coordinate. It is the most common and the most expensive error in the whole process. The owner-occupier subsidy roadmap lays out that order across KfW, BEG and the tax bonus on a single page.
Frequently asked questions
Who can apply for KfW 300?
How large is the KfW 300 loan?
Source: BEG-Förderrichtlinien Wohngebäude (BEG WG) and Einzelmaßnahmen (BEG EM), BMWE, effective from 21.07.2026, published on 20.07.2026 at energiewechsel.de; KfW overview page 'Adjustments 2026'; KfW press release of 08.07.2026. Checked on 21.07.2026.
Can KfW 300 be combined with other programmes?
Does the programme work if I live abroad?
When does the application have to be filed?
Related financing topics
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