20 family policy measures targeting women
International Women's Day is a day of respect and appreciation for women, celebrated every year on 8 March around the world, as well as in Hungary. The Government of Hungary supports women with a number of measures to protect their health, to value their work and to balance family and work. The Government aims to provide as much financial support as possible to mothers and families raising children.
In Hungary, women are respected and valued for their achievements in all walks of life. Whether it's their work, raising children or keeping the family together, women's valuable contribution is indispensable to society. The Hungarian family support system is constantly expanding and now offers more than 30 different forms of support, including 20 measures specifically for women, but there are also many other measures to help women, mothers and families prosper. The Mária Kopp Institute for Demography and Families (KINCS) has compiled and prioritised family support schemes that help women to achieve financial security, recognition in the family and at work, and protection of their physical and mental health:
Personal income tax exemptions for women
1. Personal income tax exemption of the infant care fee (CSED) and the child care fee (GYED),
2. Personal income tax exemption for mothers with four or more children
3. Personal income tax exemption for mothers with three children
4. Personal income tax exemption for mothers with two children
5. Personal income tax exemption for mothers under 30
From July 2025, mothers with a child under two years old will not have to pay personal income tax on the infant care fee (CSED) and the child care fee (GYED). Following mothers of four or more children, mothers of two and three children will also benefit from a lifetime personal income tax exemption: the exemption for the mothers with three children will come into force from October 2025 and for those with two children, it will be fully phased in over four years from 1 January 2026, by 2029. This will bring the number of Hungarian mothers exempt from personal income tax to around 1 million by 2029.
Family allowances for women only
6. Maternity allowance
7. Infant care fee (CSED)
8. Child care fee for graduates
9. Remission of student loans
10. Remission of loan for young blue-collar workers
11. ”Women 40” = Grandmothers’ pension
After the birth of their child, mothers are entitled to a number of benefits, which (with some exceptions) are available only to them. These include the maternity allowance, the infant care fee (CSED) being equal to 100% of the previous salary and the child care fee (GYED) for university student mothers. The latter women, if they have active student loans, can apply for a 3-year repayment moratorium after the birth of their first child, then 50% of the outstanding student loan debt is waived for the birth of the second child and 100% of the total student loan debt for the birth of the third child. If a woman has a child before the age of 30 during or within two years of completing her higher education studies, her entire student loan debt is forgiven.
Women who have taken out a loan for young blue-collar workers, do not have to pay any repayments for two years after the birth of their first child, half of the debt is waived for the second child and the whole outstanding debt for the third. In addition, women can retire after 40 years of employment to spend more time with their grandchildren, thus strengthening intergenerational ties.
Family benefits mainly for women
12. Advance payment of child maintenance
13. Free language examination for mothers
14. Free highway code examination for mothers
As of 1 January 2022, the state will advance child maintenance for mothers raising their children alone following already three months of delay instead of the previously expected six months delay. From July 2020, mothers receiving infant care fee (CSED), child care fee (GYED) and child care allowance (GYES) will also be able to benefit from the reimbursement of language examination and highway code examination fees.
Protecting women's physical and mental health
15. Health visitor service
16. Breast cancer screening
17. Cervical cancer screening
18. HPV vaccination
19. Infertility treatments
20. Victim Support Service
Hungary provides many ways to protect women's health from early childhood to old age. The health visitor service provides vaccination for young girls, care for pregnant women and mothers with young children, and screenings. The HPV vaccine has been available free of charge for girls since 2014. Since 2003, women aged 25-65 have been offered cervical screening free of charge on the basis of an invitation letter received every three years. Mammography breast screening has been provided every two years since 2002 and is free for women aged 45-65. The Victim Support Service provides rapid and effective support to victims of relationship violence, alleviating both emotional and psychological distress.
Supporting women at work
The Hungarian Government places a strong emphasis on women's ability to reconcile work and family responsibilities, and to be properly recognised in the labour market. Women and working parents have benefited from significant wage increases in recent years, especially in professions where women are the majority.
In the largest increase in teachers' salaries in the history of Hungary, the salaries of teachers and kindergarten teachers almost doubled between 2022 and 2025, rising by an average of 32.2% from 1 January 2024 and 21.2% from 1 January 2025, with the average salary of teachers reaching HUF 844,000 gross. For health professional workers, including nurses, the last two increases were 18% in July 2023 and 20% on average in March 2024, so that nurses' pay has quadrupled since 2010.
In the labour market, women and mothers benefit from a number of advantages, such as working time benefits for mothers with young children, for example for breastfeeding, protection of mothers with young children against dismissal or restrictions on night work, compulsory provision of part-time work before the age of 5 at the mother's request, or additional leave days for parents.
Women's labour market and insurance status enable mothers to benefit from more home creation, home renovation and family benefits, be it the family taxation, the Baby expecting subsidy, CSOK Plus or Village CSOK.
In Hungary, women are valued and supported as a priority, not only in society but also in government. Year by year, the Government's family policy measures help mothers more and more. This is the purpose of the introduction of Europe's largest tax reduction programme, under which the Government will double the family tax allowance in two steps: from July 2025 and from January 2026, the amount of the tax allowance will increase by 50-50%. The Government's measures have been and will continue to ensure a valued and supported life path for all women and mothers in Hungary.
8 March 2025.
