Toeslagen (allowances) in 2026: choose the right benefit

This guide is for newcomers who live in the Netherlands; it also explains when you need a separate check for a household abroad.

Dienst Toeslagen (benefits service) (External site, opens in a new tab) administers all four allowances. For a claim for the current year, it sends a voorschotbeschikking (provisional award) and pays monthly advances based on your estimated annual income. You normally apply once. The allowance continues in later years while you meet the conditions; kindgebonden budget (child budget) may start automatically.

After the year ends, Dienst Toeslagen uses your final income and other checked facts for the definitieve berekening (final calculation). You receive the difference if your advance was too low. You must repay the difference if it was too high. Receiving a monthly payment does not confirm your final right to that amount.

The income used is toetsingsinkomen (annual income used for allowances) (External site, opens in a new tab). If you file an income-tax return, this is your verzamelinkomen (total taxable income) on the final tax assessment. Otherwise it is your taxable wage. Holiday pay and income from abroad can count. Estimate the whole calendar year, even if you apply for only part of it. For help with your return, read the Dutch income tax guide.

Your toeslagpartner (benefit partner) is the person whose income and, where relevant, assets count with yours. For huurtoeslag (rent benefit), the income of most medebewoners (co-residents) also counts. The household rules below explain who counts.

You must report relevant changes within 4 weeks. Use Mijn Toeslagen or, for changes it supports, the app Toeslagen (External site, opens in a new tab). The official list of changes to report (External site, opens in a new tab) explains the route for each change. These changes can affect your allowance:

• Your income changes, or your benefit partner’s income changes. For rent benefit, this also applies to a co-resident whose income counts.
• You gain or lose a benefit partner, or someone registers at or leaves your address.
• Your bare rent changes or you move. From 2026, service costs are excluded from the rent-benefit calculation.
• Your childcare arrangements change, or you start or stop work, study, an integration course or a programme towards work. Childcare changes include the hours, hourly rate or provider.
• Your health insurance or residence status changes, or you leave the Netherlands. Report what changed; some allowances can continue abroad.

A spouse or registered partner normally counts as your toeslagpartner. An unmarried person at your address can count if any one of the official partner tests applies. Examples include a notarial cohabitation contract, a shared child, pension-partner registration or a jointly owned home. You can have only one benefit partner. Use the official benefit-partner check (External site, opens in a new tab) for your situation.

Since January 2025, your parent or child is not your benefit partner. This includes stepchildren, stepparents, foster children and foster parents. They can still be co-residents for rent benefit. The checker does not cover every exception for hosting a Ukrainian refugee or an au pair. For those cases, use the benefit-partner rules (External site, opens in a new tab).

Partner income affects all four allowances. Partner assets matter for healthcare benefit, child budget and rent benefit; childcare benefit has no asset limit. Rent benefit also usually counts other registered co-residents. A spouse registered elsewhere normally still counts for the other three allowances, but their income and assets are excluded from your rent-benefit calculation.

You can qualify with Dutch nationality or a residence status that gives you a right to allowances. Your benefit partner generally also needs lawful residence. Rent benefit additionally checks co-residents aged 18 or older. A partner waiting for a permit decision may qualify for an exception. For an objection or appeal, the partner must be allowed to wait in the Netherlands. Rent benefit has similar exceptions for adult co-residents.

You need a burgerservicenummer (BSN, citizen service number) for the relevant people, including your child for a childcare application. DigiD (digital government login) (External site, opens in a new tab) is the usual login. Mijn Toeslagen also accepts eIDAS (European digital identification). The first 90 days checklist explains the BSN and DigiD sequence. The BelastingTelefoon (tax information line) (External site, opens in a new tab) can help if you cannot apply online.

For the three allowances with an asset limit, check the assets held on 1 January 2026. Assets include savings and investments, including those abroad; the home where you live and your car are excluded. The official asset rules (External site, opens in a new tab) explain what to include.

Your child’s assets normally count with yours if the child is under 18 on 1 January 2026. If you and the other parent no longer live together, usually only half of your minor child’s assets count. If you alone have parental responsibility, the full amount counts. Check the asset rules for separated parents (External site, opens in a new tab).

There are exceptions. If someone is your benefit partner for only part of the year, their assets are excluded. Rent benefit also excludes the assets of a co-resident who lives with you for only part of the year. Some special assets are excluded. Ask Dienst Toeslagen to check these cases before deciding that you cannot qualify.

Choose the row for the cost you need help with: health insurance, rent, childcare or children under 18, in that order. Check its main conditions and 2026 figures, then read the exceptions below. Use the proefberekening (trial calculation) to estimate your amount.

Zorgtoeslag is for people aged 18 or older with qualifying Dutch basic health insurance. You must also pay a premium for that insurance. People who pay no premium, for example during detention, cannot receive zorgtoeslag. Some insurance arrangements through the CAK (central administrative office) (External site, opens in a new tab) can also qualify. Visitor insurance, voluntary foreign-student insurance and ordinary foreign policies do not qualify. Check the insurance policies that qualify (External site, opens in a new tab). The health insurance guide explains when Dutch insurance is compulsory.

In 2026, your annual income can be at most €40,857 without a benefit partner, or €51,142 jointly with one. Assets on 1 January 2026 can be at most €146,011 alone or €184,633 jointly. If your counted assets exceed the limit on that date, you cannot receive zorgtoeslag for that year. Falling below the limit later in the year does not restore it.

In 2026, the monthly healthcare-benefit amounts (External site, opens in a new tab) reach €129 without a benefit partner or €246 together with one. These rounded maxima apply at annual income up to €29,500 and fall as income rises. If your partner lacks qualifying insurance, you can receive half the couple amount, while their income still counts. Check your household in the calculator.

You must have a rental contract and be registered at the home. Your home normally must be self-contained. Some designated homes with shared facilities can qualify. You, your benefit partner and adult co-residents must meet the residence rules. Applicants are normally 18 or older; there are limited exceptions for younger applicants. You must pay the rent and be able to show this with bank statements.

The income limit depends on your rent, age and household. Under the 2026 rent-benefit rules (External site, opens in a new tab), high rent no longer blocks eligibility. Service costs are excluded; only bare rent counts. The calculation uses at most €932.93 of bare rent. If the oldest resident is under 21, it usually uses at most €498.20.

On 1 January 2026, your assets can be at most €38,479 without a partner, or €76,958 together with a benefit partner. Each other co-resident can have at most €38,479. One co-resident above their individual limit can block the claim, subject to the part-year and special-asset exceptions above. The huurtoeslag guide explains the housing exceptions and application.

For kinderopvangtoeslag, you and any benefit partner normally need paid work or a qualifying study programme, programme towards work or compulsory integration course. You must meet the residence rules. Your child normally lives and is registered at your address; co-parents have an exception. You need a signed childcare contract and must pay part of the bill yourself. You must prove timely payment with bank statements.

Childcare in the Netherlands must be in the Landelijk Register Kinderopvang (LRK, National Childcare Register) (External site, opens in a new tab). Registered childcare abroad has a separate route.

A partner abroad must also work or meet a qualifying exception. Since 4 March 2022, a partner living outside the EU (European Union) no longer automatically rules out childcare benefit. The childcare-benefit conditions (External site, opens in a new tab) explain the work and programme requirements.

An inburgeringscursus (civic integration course) must be compulsory, with its language course at an approved school. A course through your gemeente (municipality) may qualify; ask the municipality about your course. An approved literacy course before integration can qualify too. Further language courses after you pass the integration exam do not qualify on that basis. The official integration-course rules for childcare benefit (External site, opens in a new tab) explain these cases. The guide to who must integrate explains the integration obligation.

Kinderopvangtoeslag has no income or asset ceiling. Its percentage depends on joint income, the number of children and which child counts as the first child. In 2026, if your joint income is at most €56,412, you can receive 96% of qualifying childcare costs within the maximum hourly rate. The 2026 childcare-benefit hourly limits (External site, opens in a new tab) are €11.23 for day care, €9.98 for after-school care and €8.49 for childminder care.

You pay the remaining share and any price above the maximum rate. You can receive benefit for at most 230 childcare hours per child per month. Apply within 3 months after the month in which you first qualify; applying later can lose older months.

Example for October 2026: your household qualifies and your joint annual income is €40,000. Your child attends 100 hours of day care at €12 per hour. The bill is €1,200. The benefit calculation covers only €11.23 per hour, so it uses €1,123 of that bill.

Before rounding, 96% of €1,123 is €1,078.08. You pay €121.92: the remaining 4% plus the full price above the hourly limit. This example assumes all 100 hours qualify. Your actual award depends on the details in your application.

Kindgebonden budget helps with the costs of children under 18. Normally, it goes to the parent whose name is on the kinderbijslag (child benefit) record at the SVB (Sociale Verzekeringsbank, social insurance bank) (External site, opens in a new tab). For children aged 16 or 17, you may qualify even without receiving kinderbijslag. Check the child-budget conditions (External site, opens in a new tab).

There is no single income ceiling. Your amount depends on joint income, whether you have a benefit partner, the number of children and their ages. Assets on 1 January 2026 can be at most €146,011 without a partner or €184,633 jointly, subject to the part-year exception above.

You need a residence status that gives you a right to allowances. Your partner normally needs lawful residence too. If your child is Dutch or lawfully resident in the Netherlands, your partner need not have a valid residence permit. You still need a residence status that gives you a right to allowances and must meet the other conditions. The child-budget residence rules (External site, opens in a new tab) explain the exception.

If you already receive zorgtoeslag, huurtoeslag or kinderopvangtoeslag, Dienst Toeslagen normally awards kindgebonden budget automatically when you qualify. If you receive no other allowance, apply yourself. If you expect child budget but no notice arrives, check whether the child-benefit record and application are in the correct parent’s name, then apply if needed.

The SVB administers kinderbijslag and pays it after each quarter. For the current year, Dienst Toeslagen pays the four allowances as monthly advances. Kinderbijslag depends on your child’s age rather than household income. Apply through the SVB; the Government.nl child-benefit application page (External site, opens in a new tab) explains how. The SVB child-benefit record normally determines which parent gets kindgebonden budget.

For a family new to the Netherlands, arrange the required BSNs, apply for kinderbijslag where needed, then check the allowances. The kinderbijslag guide explains the quarterly payment and claim rules.

Apply for childcare before the other allowances if its deadline is near. Child budget may start automatically. Keep the calculation inputs and result so you can update them later. Follow these steps:

1. Check who counts in your household with the official benefit-partner check.
2. Gather estimated full-year incomes and, where relevant, 1 January assets, bare rent, household dates, childcare contract, hours and hourly rate.
3. Run the official proefberekening (External site, opens in a new tab) with those facts.
4. Apply for each allowance whose conditions you meet in Mijn Toeslagen.
5. Check that the household, income and other details on the award are correct.
6. Save the award.

The calculator gives an estimate; Dienst Toeslagen decides your application. The tool cannot calculate childcare benefit or child budget if you live abroad. It also excludes special assets and some rent-benefit cases involving special income, care at home or a household member away for more than a year. Ask Dienst Toeslagen to check those cases.

The How to apply for Dutch allowances page (External site, opens in a new tab) explains telephone and appointment help. Mijn Toeslagen is in Dutch.

Zorgtoeslag, huurtoeslag and kindgebonden budget for 2025 can be claimed through 31 December 2026. For 2026, the deadline is 31 December 2027. A granted income-tax filing extension for you or your partner can give you longer. For rent benefit, a co-resident’s extension can also count.

If you previously stopped an allowance, a separate review route may let you restart it for that same year after the normal deadline. You must write to Dienst Toeslagen to request a review of the stop decision. The allowance application deadlines page (External site, opens in a new tab) explains this exception.

A foreign account is allowed if it is a current account in your name. Send a signed letter with the account details and documents required by the foreign bank-account instructions (External site, opens in a new tab). Include recent copies of valid identity evidence and bank evidence, following the page’s 2-month document limit. The authority sends a confirmation letter within 3 weeks. Allow for that processing time.

Regular advances arrive on the 20th for the following month. If the 20th falls on a weekend or public holiday, payment moves to the next working day. These are the remaining official payment dates (External site, opens in a new tab) in 2026:

Banks can credit payments at different times. Several allowances may arrive separately on the payment day. Dienst Toeslagen says all allowances arrive by midnight on the payment day. Check Mijn Toeslagen under Uitbetaald (payments made) for the amount paid for each allowance.

For a claim for the current year, your first advance follows the provisional award and is paid on a regular payment day. If that payment day has passed, wait until the next one. The first-payment instructions for allowances (External site, opens in a new tab) explain the timing.

If you apply for 2025, you receive no provisional award. You must wait for the final calculation.

An advance uses estimated annual income. The final calculation uses your checked annual income. Report your new estimate within 4 weeks. Update the facts instead of stopping an allowance just because income changes. Keep the new award. If the annual income used for your household exceeds its zorgtoeslag limit, you cannot receive it. The other allowances use their own rules.

Assets work differently. For healthcare benefit, rent benefit and child budget, the 1 January position normally controls the whole year. Childcare benefit has no asset test.

If your income is uncertain, you can also claim the three non-childcare allowances later, within their deadlines. That means waiting for the money instead of receiving monthly advances. The employment contracts guide explains pay such as vakantiegeld (holiday pay).

Check the residence rule for the allowance you want. You need a status that gives you a right to it. Your partner normally needs lawful residence too. A pending partner-permit decision, or permission to await an objection or appeal, can preserve your right. Rent benefit also checks adult co-residents; child budget has the child-status exception explained above.

Rent benefit is for a home in the Netherlands. Healthcare benefit depends on insurance; an uninsured partner can reduce the amount. Childcare benefit normally requires both partners to work or meet a qualifying exception, including a partner abroad. Child budget abroad depends on SVB child benefit and cross-border family-benefit rules (External site, opens in a new tab). Ask Dienst Toeslagen for a check of your household before deciding that you cannot apply.

Report what changed within 4 weeks. Higher income or changed assets normally calls for an update. If your right to an allowance ends, follow the instructions for stopping an allowance (External site, opens in a new tab). Some changes stop it automatically; others need action in Mijn Toeslagen. The app cannot stop an entire allowance. Stopping future payments does not remove a repayment owed for earlier months.

If you stop working, childcare benefit can continue for 3 months from the first day of the following month. Afterwards, you may use qualifying unused hours until year-end. Finishing a study, work programme or integration course does not give this 3-month period, but unused hours may remain. The unused childcare-hours rules (External site, opens in a new tab) explain the difference. Report the change, including a child leaving care, and stop the benefit when you no longer qualify.

Moving abroad ends rent benefit. Healthcare benefit, childcare benefit and child budget can sometimes continue under cross-border rules. Report the move and ask which allowances can continue in your situation.

For a current-year provisional award, first correct the facts in Mijn Toeslagen or the app where supported. A formal objection is usually unnecessary. If you want to challenge a final calculation or other decision, object within 6 weeks (External site, opens in a new tab) of the date on the decision. If the calculation is correct but you cannot repay the amount, use the repayment route.

Follow the repayment letter. A payment arrangement (External site, opens in a new tab) can spread repayment over at most 24 months. If that leaves too little to live on, request a personal payment arrangement; it may reduce the monthly amount. Monthly repayment carries interest. Ask for help before the letter’s payment deadline.

After a new job, move, partner change, insurance change or childcare invoice, check your details in Mijn Toeslagen. Check them again before year-end. Keep the provisional award, calculation inputs, childcare invoices and bank payments, rent records, residence documents and change confirmations. Report changes within 4 weeks; use the new award to check that they were processed.

For your next check, choose one of these guides:

• Childcare benefit: eligibility, rates and deadlines
• Dutch health insurance for newcomers
• Huurtoeslag: rent rules and how to apply