The 2026 ARS arrives with a question that comes up every summer: is this money really used to pay for the back-to-school period, or does it ultimately blend into the general budget of low-income families? The available figures offer a more nuanced answer than the public debate suggests. The vast majority of recipients do pay school-related expenses with it, but the allowance covers only part of the cost of schooling over the full year.

To understand what the 2026 ARS actually finances, two periods need to be distinguished: the back-to-school period itself, when spending is highly concentrated, and the months that follow, when clothing, insurance, sports, school meals and other school expenses are added. This distinction completely changes how the amount paid is viewed.

What families actually pay for with the ARS

The Cnaf study carried out in 2023 among 2,000 recipient families first shows that school-related use is overwhelming. 98% of the households surveyed use the ARS for school supplies, spending an average of €146 per child. Clothing concerns 96% of families, with average spending of €370.

Spending does not stop with the visible purchases made at the end of August. 81% of families also devote part of their budget to school insurance, averaging €35. 79% pay for sports equipment, at €95, and 69% incur school meal costs averaging €335.

These figures make it possible to move beyond an overly narrow view of back-to-school spending. If you look only at notebooks, pens and a few September purchases, the ARS may seem generous. But schooling generates expenses well beyond the first week of classes.

Amount paid versus actual cost: the real gap

In 2026, the ARS amount is €426.87 for a child aged 6 to 10, €450.41 for ages 11 to 14 and €466.02 for ages 15 to 18. Cnaf estimates that around €400 per child is spent during the back-to-school period itself.

In the short term, the allowance is therefore close to the average cost of back-to-school spending: it exceeds that benchmark by around €26.87 to €66.02, depending on the child's age. Viewed in isolation, this calculation can give the impression that back-to-school costs are fully covered.

But over a full year, average school-related spending reaches €1,315 per child for recipient families. The gap then becomes very large: after deducting the ARS, around €848.98 to €888.13 remains to be financed depending on the age bracket. In other words, the allowance covers only a little more than one third of annual school costs.

In my view, this is the most useful figure for understanding the debate. Comparing the ARS only with the checkout total at the end of August leads to an underestimation of the real budget pressure. The right comparison is not only “allowance versus supplies,” but also “allowance versus a full school year.”

Bills, food: can spending outside the back-to-school period be quantified?

This is precisely where the available data require caution. A qualitative survey reported by The Conversation was conducted among 20 parents living below the poverty line, including 19 women and 12 parents raising their children alone. It helps explain the trade-offs households make, but it cannot be used to derive a national percentage.

In the studies cited, there is no consolidated figure showing how many families directly use part of the ARS for overdue bills, food or other expenses with no immediate connection to the back-to-school period. Giving a percentage on this point would therefore be misleading.

It should also be remembered that the ARS is not an earmarked benefit: its use is not monitored and families are free to spend it as they choose. In a household with a tight budget, money is therefore inevitably fungible. Paying for school supplies with the ARS can, for example, avoid taking the same amount from the regular household budget and leave more room for other expenses during the month. That does not mean the allowance has been “misused”; rather, it shows that a family budget operates as a whole.

This context matters all the more because the average monthly income of households receiving the ARS was €1,836 net in 2023 and 49% of them were single-parent families.

How should the ARS be prioritized when it cannot cover everything?

The most effective approach is to avoid treating the allowance as a single pot of money to be spent as soon as it arrives. A simple way to prioritize it is to use three levels.

1. Secure mandatory and immediate expenses

Start with the expenses needed for the child to begin the school year: required supplies, genuinely essential clothing and school insurance when necessary. The benchmark of €400 spent on average during the back-to-school period helps set a mental limit and avoid absorbing the entire allowance in advance purchases.

2. Set aside part of it for school expenses that come after September

School meals and sports equipment show that school costs continue after the start of term. If your situation allows it, keeping part of the ARS for these future expenses may be more useful than trying to buy everything in August. The fact that 69% of families spend money on school meals and 79% on sports shows that these items are far from marginal.

3. Do not confuse “back-to-school money” with the “annual cost of school”

With average school costs of €1,315 per child per year, the ARS cannot absorb everything. A family with several children therefore needs to look at the remaining costs over several months, not just the amount available on the day the allowance is paid. This view avoids a common trap: assuming that a small amount left over at the end of August is genuinely disposable money when more school expenses are still to come.

  • Priority 1: what is essential for starting school.
  • Priority 2: foreseeable school expenses in the following weeks.
  • Priority 3: purchases that can be postponed if the household budget is under pressure.

So, does the 2026 ARS really pay for back-to-school costs?

Yes, very largely in terms of observed use: 98% of the recipients surveyed by Cnaf use it for school supplies, and the other major spending categories reported are also directly linked to school life or the child's needs.

But no, it does not finance the entire school year on its own. Its amount of €426.87 to €466.02 is close to the average cost concentrated around the back-to-school period, estimated at around €400, while annual school spending reaches €1,315 per child. This difference explains why the allowance can feel both essential in August and insufficient over the course of the year.

As for spending outside the back-to-school period, particularly bills or food, the available data do not allow its frequency to be measured reliably. The most useful approach is therefore not to turn a complex budgeting issue into a judgment about families' intentions: the solid figures mainly show an allowance used overwhelmingly for school, in households that then still have to absorb substantial remaining school costs.