The young people are important resources for the nation; therefore, everything must be done to ensure that they can fully flourish in their professions and the realization of their family-building goals. The family policy of the Hungarian government, among other things, supports this through family benefits that can be claimed during their higher education, as well as income tax exemption for individuals under 25 and mothers under 30. Additionally, they can benefit from the increased amount in discount loan options for parents as part of the recently launched CSOK Plus option, as stated by Ágnes Hornung, the State Secretary for Families, in her communication with MTI on Friday, 5 January.
The state secretary claimed that research also supports the notion that Hungarian youth want to live in a secure country, providing reliable conditions, and facilitating independent living and family formation. She emphasized,
‘Hence, we cannot allow migration, war, and sanctions to jeopardize the future of our youth.’
She added that even in 2024, efforts will be made to protect the achievements made collectively with and for the youth, despite the challenges. Reminding all that the income tax exemption for individuals under 25 was introduced two years ago on 1 January 2022, the state secretary highlighted its impact. Approximately 332,000 young workers have benefited from the tax relief until the end of October 2023, earning an average of about 38,700 HUF more per month, resulting in a total of 283 billion HUF more in their pockets.
‘The income tax exemption for individuals under 25 aims to encourage them to start their lives, enter the job market, establish independent livelihoods, and eventually acquire their own homes and start families,’ the state secretary went on to say in the press release. She continued that the exemption for mothers under 30, introduced a year ago on 1 January 2023, has already assisted 13,000 young mothers by October 2023, contributing a total of 4.8 billion HUF to their well-being, which equals a monthly average of about 54,000 forints per person.
To ensure the competitiveness of young people’s knowledge, continuous self-education is almost essential. However, there are numerous examples of individuals successfully studying and obtaining degrees while raising children. Therefore,
students are provided with the maternity benefits for two years,
which increases annually with the rise of the minimum wage and guaranteed minimum wage.
Pregnant women have their student loan repayments suspended from the third month of pregnancy to three years, and the remaining debt is halved upon the birth of the second child. After the birth of the third child, the full remaining loan amount is forgiven. Young women under 30, who decide to have a child during their higher education or within two years after obtaining their diploma, are exempt from repaying their existing student loan debt from 1 January 2023.
Hornung detailed that Hungarian family policy offers more than 30 grants, most of which young people can already avail of according to their life situations. Furthermore, various other support schemes available for young people can be found on the csalad.hu website. Here, detailed information is provided about the benefits for newlyweds, support for language and driving license exams, all outlined in Hornung’s communication.
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Source: Hungarian Conservative/MTI
