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Kinderopvangtoeslag, kinderbijslag and leave – Dutch family benefits in 2026, step by step

Last updated 25 September 2026Rules checked every MondayOfficial sourcesSources & methodology →

Kinderopvangtoeslag, kinderbijslag and the kindgebonden budget can add up to a serious sum for a family, but each has its own office, deadline and rules for newcomers. This guide sets out the 2026 figures, the leave you can take around a birth, and what WW and AOW mean for you.

Mother with a backpack and her son walking along an Amsterdam canal in autumn
Photo: Arianne/Adobe Stock

The Netherlands supports families through a handful of national schemes, and 2026 changes most of them. Kinderopvangtoeslag (childcare benefit) now covers 96 per cent of the capped hourly price for parents with a joint income up to €56,412. Kinderbijslag (child benefit) rose on 1 July 2026. And on 21 September 2026 the cabinet sent a bill to the Council of State to abolish kinderopvangtoeslag from 1 January 2029 – a proposal parliament has yet to decide on. Everything below is national law; your gemeente (municipality) administers bijstand (social assistance) and decides on extra childcare support.

Most of it comes as toeslagen (benefits) from Dienst Toeslagen (the Benefits Office): you apply once via Mijn toeslagen with DigiD (your digital ID), the benefit renews automatically while you meet the conditions, and you report changes within 4 weeks. You and your partner must both be lawfully resident – EU/EEA and Swiss nationals with a valid residence status, others with a permit that gives entitlement. Toeslagen do not touch a student's right of residence, says the IND (Immigratie- en Naturalisatiedienst); applying for bijstand can cost a student the permit, and an economically inactive EU citizen the right of residence in the first 5 years.

Kinderbijslag: child benefit from the SVB

Kinderbijslag is paid by the SVB (Sociale Verzekeringsbank – the Social Insurance Bank) for every child under 18, whatever your income, quarterly in arrears. Entitlement is assessed on the first day of each quarter: a child born on 20 June counts from 1 July, paid in October. From 16 the child must be in education leading to at least havo, vwo or mbo level 2. Newcomers claim via My SVB; after a birth is registered the SVB writes within 3 to 6 weeks.

Child's agePer quarter, 1st and 2nd quarter 2026From the 3rd quarter 2026
0–5€295.07€298.40
6–11€358.30€362.35
12–17€421.53€426.29

Source: the SVB, read 24 September 2026.

Kindgebonden budget: the income-tested top-up

The kindgebonden budget (child budget) tops up kinderbijslag for lower and middle incomes, paid to the parent who receives kinderbijslag. If you already get zorgtoeslag, huurtoeslag or kinderopvangtoeslag it is granted automatically; otherwise apply via Mijn toeslagen. It starts on the first of the month after the birth. The full amount applies to a test income up to €29,736 for a single parent or €39,141 with a partner; above that it shrinks by 7.6 per cent of the extra income. Assets on 1 January 2026 may not exceed €146,011, or €184,633 with a partner, children's assets included.

Kindgebonden budget 2026, maximum per yearSingle parentWith a partner
One child€5,996€2,580
Two children€8,576€5,160
Each further child+€2,580+€2,580
Extra per child aged 12–15 / 16–17+€724 / +€964+€724 / +€964

Source: Dienst Toeslagen, read 24 September 2026.

How does kinderopvangtoeslag (childcare benefit) work in 2026?

Kinderopvangtoeslag reimburses part of the cost of day care, out-of-school care and a registered childminder (gastouder), provided the provider is in the national childcare register (LRK) and you have a written contract. You and your partner must both work, study, follow a route to work or a compulsory civic integration course – freelancers qualify too. The government pays a percentage of a capped hourly price for at most 230 hours per child a month; anything above the cap is yours. Benefit runs from the day the child first attends, and you should apply within 3 months of that day.

Kinderopvangtoeslag20262027 (provisional)
Maximum hourly price, day care€11.23€11.60
Maximum hourly price, out-of-school care€9.98€10.31
Maximum hourly price, childminder€8.49€8.77
Share reimbursed at the maximum96.0% up to a joint income of €56,412Maximum share up to about €72,000

Source: Dienst Toeslagen and Rijksoverheid, read 24 September 2026.

For 2027 the cabinet proposes €322 million extra, with the maximum percentage for joint incomes up to about €72,000. And from 1 January 2029 the plan is an income-independent subsidy of 95.6 per cent of the maximum hourly price, paid directly to childcare organisations, with a limited own contribution for parents. Both are proposals. Municipalities add their own layer, such as voorschoolse educatie (pre-school education) for toddlers at risk of a language delay: Amsterdam's voorschool gives children aged 2 to 4 a 16-hour week for an income-dependent fee, at most €24 a month with a Stadspas.

Maternity, partner and parental leave

Leave is set by national law and paid through UWV (the Employee Insurance Agency). You get 6 weeks of pregnancy leave and at least 10 weeks of maternity leave – at least 16 in total – and must stop working no later than 4 weeks before the day after your due date; weeks not taken before the birth are added afterwards. Ask your employer at least 3 weeks before the leave starts; they may not refuse, and dismissal is prohibited during pregnancy, leave and 6 weeks after. Self-employed women can apply for a ZEZ benefit of at least 16 weeks. After the birth, register the baby with the municipality within 3 working days, which gives it a BSN, and with your insurer within 4 months; an unmarried partner must acknowledge the child to become a legal parent.

LeaveHow muchPaid
Pregnancy and maternity leaveAt least 16 weeks; the part after 6 weeks post-birth can be spread over up to 30 weeks100% of your daily wage, up to the maximum daily wage of €309.91 from 1 July 2026
Partner leave (geboorteverlof)1 working week, within 4 weeks of the birth100%, by the employer
Additional partner leaveUp to 5 weeks, within 6 months of the birth70% of the daily wage, via UWV
Parental leave (ouderschapsverlof)26 times your weekly hours per child, until the child is 89 weeks at 70% via UWV if taken in the first year

Source: Rijksoverheid, read 24 September 2026.

A Verlofwet (leave act) merging these schemes went into consultation on 29 June 2026, aiming at 2028; durations and payment levels would not change.

WW, bijstand and AOW: unemployment, assistance and the state pension

Lose your job and you may get WW (unemployment benefit) from UWV if you are below AOW age, lose at least 5 working hours a week, are available for work, worked at least 26 of the last 36 weeks as an employee and did not resign. It pays 75 per cent of your WW monthly wage for the first 2 months and 70 per cent after that, for at least 3 months and at most 24 depending on your employment history. Bijstand is the last resort, run by your municipality: from 1 July 2026 it is €1,419.46 a month net for a single person and €2,027.79 for a couple, holiday allowance included, and never available in your first 3 months.

AOW, the state pension, is built up by living or working here: each insured year in the 50 years before your AOW age gives 2 per cent of a full pension, so a newcomer loses 2 per cent for every year abroad. Missing years can be bought back if you apply within 10 years of arriving and have been insured at least 5 years. The AOW age is 67 for people born between 1 March 1957 and 31 December 1960 and 67 years and 3 months for those born up to 30 September 1964; later dates are expected to rise. A full AOW from 1 July 2026 is €1,662.16 gross a month for a single person, €1,139.39 per partner for a couple.

What to do now

StepWhatWhen
1Register your children in the BRP (Basisregistratie Personen – the population register), then claim kinderbijslag via My SVBAfter registration
2Apply for kindgebonden budget and zorgtoeslag via Mijn toeslagenOnce you have DigiD
3Choose LRK-registered childcare and apply for kinderopvangtoeslagWithin 3 months of the first day
4Tell your employer when your pregnancy leave will startAt least 3 weeks before it starts
5Register a newborn with the municipality and your insurerWithin 3 working days, and within 4 months
6Report changes in income, partner or childcare to Dienst ToeslagenWithin 4 weeks

Source: the SVB and Dienst Toeslagen, read 24 September 2026.

Official sources

The official pages this guide is based on, read 24 September 2026. Links open the authority’s own website.

Relocate in Europe provides general information, not legal or financial advice for your individual situation. Check with the authority named above before you act – rules change, and your case may differ.