Kinderopvangtoeslag (childcare benefit): how to apply in the Netherlands

Childcare benefit can help cover the cost of registered care

In most cases, you qualify for kinderopvangtoeslag for paid, registered childcare if you and any toeslagpartner (benefit partner) are working, doing recognised study or an approved route to work, or taking a mandatory inburgeringscursus (civic integration course) at an approved school. Send your application within 3 months after the month in which your entitlement begins. For a standard application, go to Mijn Toeslagen (benefits portal). Report any changes within 4 weeks.

This guide is for parents applying for Dutch childcare benefit, including those who live abroad, work abroad, or use registered childcare abroad.

Warning

Send your application within 3 months after the month your entitlement starts.

Suppose your care and entitlement both start on 1 May 2026. To keep benefit for May, you must apply by 31 August 2026. If you apply later, you can lose benefit for earlier months. To avoid losing it, apply in the month your entitlement starts.

Pick the right childcare category

Paid childcare falls into three categories for benefit rates. Since 1 January 2018, peuteropvang (toddler care) and peuterspeelzaal (toddler playgroup) have been treated as dagopvang (day care). The amounts below are for 2026.

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Make sure the contract and the registration both state the same care category.

Lunch care and informal babysitting are not eligible.

Tussenschoolse opvang (TSO, lunch-break care) does not qualify, even if a registered organisation provides it. Care from relatives or friends also does not qualify, unless the carer is a registered gastouder (childminder) and all childminder rules are met.

Before care begins, check the register and the contract

Do all of these checks before you sign the contract:

• Look up the exact Dutch care address in the Landelijk Register Kinderopvang (LRK, national childcare register). Write down its LRK number and read the most recent inspection report.
• In the contract, check the child’s name, date of birth and address, the hourly price, the number of hours, the start and end dates, and whether the care is day care or BSO.
• Give the provider the correct details for yourself, your partner and your child. Each month, providers send hours and hourly prices to Dienst Toeslagen (benefits service). You are still responsible for your application.
• If a childminder provides the care, check both registrations: the childminder at the exact care address and the gastouderbureau (childminder agency). Pay all amounts through the agency.
• If the care takes place outside the Netherlands, follow the foreign-care rules below.

The rules for childminders changed in 2026

Since 1 July 2026, new quality requirements apply to childminders and agencies. The LRK and the inspection report are still the practical checks you should use. In addition, since 1 January 2026, someone who works as a childminder can qualify for benefit if their own child uses a centre or another childminder, provided all normal conditions are met.

Work out your 2026 benefit and your own share of the cost

Your benefit is based on your income, the type of care, the price and the hours you pay for. Use these rules to estimate the part of the bill you pay yourself. The rules below are for 2026.

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You can claim for the contracted hours you have paid for, even if your child is absent for a day. The provider must offer those hours. Public holidays are an exception.

If joint assessment income is €56,412 or less, the 2026 percentage is 96% for a first child and for a next child. Starting at €56,413, it decreases in steps. Every income band still has a benefit percentage. At €235,698 or higher, the table still gives 36.5% for the first child and 68.2% for a next child.

People living in the Netherlands can find the percentage for each child by using the official proefberekening (trial calculation). Those living outside the Netherlands should check official cross-border guidance or call Dienst Toeslagen. Your childcare benefit cannot be calculated with the calculator.

This example uses 100 hours of day care in one month in 2026 and joint assessment income of €56,412 or less. If a provider charges €1 more than the hourly cap, your own monthly cost rises by €100.

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Warning

There is a calendar limit within the 230-hour rule

The maximum is 230 hours per child per month, no matter how many hours you work or study. The number of hours you can claim depends on the qualifying calendar months. Any valid extension also counts. You can use hours you did not use later in the same calendar year, until 31 December.

Pay the full childcare costs, including your own contribution, and keep bank records. Dienst Toeslagen considers the payment on time if all costs for a year are paid within 6 months after that year ends. For 2026 costs, this means before 1 July 2027.

Check all eligibility conditions

Usually, you and any benefit partner must have a qualifying activity. If you do not have a benefit partner, only your own activity is assessed. Check all the conditions below, including the 2026 child-support amount, and then read the exceptions.

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Check which work, study or programme qualifies

Every adult whose activity is assessed needs at least one qualifying route. The first four rows show the routes that count.

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When you take the mandatory course route, you can find out how to verify your school in the guide to choosing an inburgering (civic integration) school.

Before ending an application, review the exceptions.

Other rules may apply for co-parents; a Wet langdurige zorg (Wlz, Long-term Care Act) indication; admission to a care institution; illness; pregnancy; or a benefit partner who is a qualifying family member. Look up the rule that applies in the official sources below, or phone Dienst Toeslagen.

To use the Wlz exception or the qualifying-family-member exception, you must apply by telephone through the BelastingTelefoon (Tax Information Line). Mijn Toeslagen is not an option for these routes. A single parent with a Wlz indication, or a couple in which both partners have one, is not covered by the Wlz exception.

Under co-parenting, the child must spend no fewer than 156 days in each calendar year with each parent. Registration can be at either parent's address. Each parent must have a separate contract, or there must be one joint contract that names both parents. Each parent claims and pays their own portion. Between you, the maximum claim is 230 hours per child per month.

When your partner is awaiting a residence permit or the outcome of an appeal, consult the residence-status conditions for childcare benefit. Certain cases in this situation may be eligible.

From 7 July 2026, parents who must integrate under Wet inburgering 2021 may also be eligible while taking part in MAP (labour-market participation module), PVT (participation statement process) and Z-route activities. The usual childcare-benefit conditions continue to apply. Should Dienst Toeslagen ask for proof of activity, request a statement from your municipality.

Talk to the gemeente (municipality) about support for childcare

When kinderopvangtoeslag is not available to you, the gemeente may be able to assist with the cost of childcare. That help can include voorschoolse educatie (VE, early-childhood education) for toddlers who are at risk of a language or development delay. If VE does not apply, subsidised toddler care might still be an option.

Families facing psychological, social or physical problems may be able to get help through a sociaal-medische indicatie (SMI, social-medical indication). This can provide childcare support for children from age 0 to 12 if they have no entitlement to kinderopvangtoeslag. The rules and amounts vary by locality. Speak to your gemeente, consultatiebureau (child health clinic) or childcare provider.

Send your application as soon as you have signed the contract

To make a standard online application, take these steps:

1. Make sure your child has been born and has a burgerservicenummer (BSN, citizen service number). Both you and your partner also require BSNs.
2. Collect the signed contract, the exact LRK or foreign registration number, the start date, the type of care, the monthly hours and the hourly price.
3. Work out an estimate of your combined annual assessment income. This must include your benefit partner's income. Residents of the Netherlands should use the proefberekening. If you live outside the Netherlands, read the official cross-border guidance or telephone Dienst Toeslagen.
4. Use DigiD (digital government ID) to sign in to Mijn Toeslagen. Fill in the same figures on your application, and keep a copy.

Your application can be submitted before the first day of care

After signing the contract, you may apply before care begins, provided your child has been born and has a BSN. You need to apply only one time. The benefit keeps running as long as you meet the conditions; report changes and end it when your entitlement stops.

Mijn Toeslagen is available only in Dutch. If you are unable to use it, telephone the BelastingTelefoon. You may request an appointment at a tax office or ask to be referred to a Toeslagenservicepunt (benefits service point). The DigiD guide explains how to obtain DigiD.

Start counting from the month in which you first satisfy all the conditions. In these examples, the entitlement is assumed to begin in the same month as the childcare.

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Kinderopvangtoeslag is paid in advance. The payments usually come around the 20th and are for the next month. A childcare organisation may get the payment directly if it has an arrangement with Dienst Toeslagen. You cannot use this option when you use different childcare organisations at the same time or childcare outside the Netherlands. You must still pay the rest of the bill, and you stay responsible for giving correct details and for any money that has to be repaid.

Make sure your advance payment stays correct

Each month, the provider sends the hours and hourly prices to Dienst Toeslagen. Even so, you must compare the contract, the invoices and Mijn Toeslagen. Once the year is over, Dienst Toeslagen uses the final income and the provider's data to make the definitive calculation.

Tell Dienst Toeslagen about any of the following changes when they affect your benefit. If you have already reported a change to your gemeente, you do not need to report that same change again to Dienst Toeslagen.

• Report any increase or decrease in your income or in your partner's income.
• Report changes to hours, hourly price, type of care, provider, care address or registration number.
• Add a child when care starts, and stop a child or location once care ends.
• Report when you or your partner begins or ends work, study, a route to work or civic integration.
• Report relevant changes involving your partner, your household, a co-parenting arrangement or residence status. If you move abroad, report this to your gemeente and check the cross-border rules below.

Warning

Relevant changes must be reported within 4 weeks

Use Mijn Toeslagen or the Toeslagen (benefits) app (benefits app). You must report changes yourself, even if the provider sends monthly data. If day care changes to BSO, enter the new BSO contract and stop the day-care record. This also applies when the change is at the same organisation.

When work or a programme ends, check your hours

Which activity ends determines how many hours you can still claim. Unused hours are hours that you could have claimed in qualifying months but did not use.

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Warning

Use any unused hours before 31 December

Unused hours lapse on 31 December. When a 3-month extension after work ends crosses into the New Year, each qualifying month in the new year can generate up to 230 new hours. Treat the two years separately. You must stop the benefit yourself once your qualifying period and unused hours come to an end.

Check the rules when you or your partner live or work abroad

The rules for cross-border situations vary according to where a person lives or works. Locate your own situation in the table below, and after that consult the official cross-border childcare benefit guidance.

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Care provided abroad has to appear in the Register buitenlandse kinderopvang (the foreign childcare register). If it is not listed there, first submit an application to Dienst Uitvoering Onderwijs (DUO, the Dutch education service). The registration process may take as long as 10 weeks. Before you apply for kinderopvangtoeslag, you must have a valid registration number. The usual 3-month deadline remains in force, so begin the registration before the care starts.

Look at the type of care that is registered and the date it ends. When the registration will expire within 6 months, request a renewal. Any period in which there is no valid registration cannot receive benefit.

Benefits for families from another country may also lower the Dutch payment. This applies even if you and your child live outside the Netherlands.

Solve common childcare benefit problems

If your final income is higher, or you have fewer hours of childcare that count, you may have to pay back part of your advance. Your entitlement can also be lowered by a period without registration, a qualifying activity that has stopped, or costs you did not pay. In Mijn Toeslagen, compare the definitieve berekening (final calculation) with the most recent voorschotbeschikking (advance decision). Verify the income and care details against your own records.

Retain all of the following records until the final calculation is complete:

• Save every contract and any amendment, each monthly invoice, and the yearly statement from the provider.
• Keep bank records that show the entire invoice and your own share were paid before the deadline for payment proof.
• Preserve proof of LRK or foreign-register registration, particularly if the provider, address or owner changes.
• Keep proof of work, recognised study, route to work, civic integration, and residence status.
• Store every advance decision, confirmation of a change, definitive calculation, and letter about repayment.

Request a payment plan when you are unable to repay in a single payment

A standard repayment plan may last as long as 24 months. Interest is charged on the monthly repayments: 4.3% from 1 January 2026. If this leaves you with too little to live on, ask for a personal payment arrangement. Dienst Toeslagen reviews your income, assets, expenses, and debts.

Select a change, objection, or review request

Pick the route that fits the decision you need to correct. An objection disputes a decision, while a change updates the figures on which your advance is based.

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When you object to a final calculation, repayment is normally paused while Dienst Toeslagen processes the objection. Dienst Toeslagen will not pause repayment if you gave incorrect information or were given a penalty. Read the letter, and continue paying unless the pause has been confirmed. A phone call to Dienst Toeslagen does not lengthen the 6-week period for objecting.

Review your childcare records before applying

Before applying, review all four elements of your childcare arrangement:

• Care: determine whether it is dagopvang, BSO, or gastouderopvang; registered toddler care counts as day care.
• Registration: keep the LRK number for the exact address, or allow as long as 10 weeks for a foreign registration.
• Contract: before signing, confirm the identity, price, hours, dates, and care category.
• Eligibility: check the activity of both adults, the rules for the child and address, lawful residence, and any special exceptions.

After that, check the cost, dates, and records:

• Cost: compare the hourly price with the 2026 maximums of €11.23, €9.98, or €8.49, and plan for your own contribution.
• Application: apply after the birth and BSN, preferably before care begins, and no later than 3 months after the month in which your entitlement starts.
• Changes: compare invoices with the portal data, then report any relevant changes within 4 weeks.
• Evidence: retain contracts, invoices, bank records, proof of activity, and every decision until the final calculation.

Follow current rules while the 2029 proposal is under consideration

The government has proposed direct funding starting 1 January 2029. It intends to contribute 96% up to the maximum hourly price for working parents, no matter what their income is. Parliament has not yet decided on the bill. Follow the current rules and check official updates before you make a childcare budget for the future.

• Toeslagen: the Dutch benefits overview
• Kinderbijslag (child benefit): eligibility and claiming
• Dutch school system: enrolment and school types

Official Sources

• Dienst Toeslagen: Kan ik kinderopvangtoeslag krijgen? - the qualifying work, recognised study, route-to-work and mandatory civic-integration routes; LRK, same-address, own-contribution and payment-proof conditions; and applying after birth and a BSN
• Dienst Toeslagen: Voor welke opvang krijg ik kinderopvangtoeslag? - approved care, the exact-address LRK number, required contract fields, excluded lunch care, dual childminder registration, payment through the agency, foreign care and the 2026 childminder-parent change
• Rijksoverheid (Dutch central government): Welke soorten kinderopvang zijn er? - day care, out-of-school care, childminder care, and excluded lunch-break and informal care
• Dienst Toeslagen: Toeslag voor dagopvang en buitenschoolse opvang - the age routes for day care and BSO, the primary-school transition and the end of childcare benefit on the first day of the month in which secondary school starts
• Government.nl: Accessing the National Childcare Register (LRK) - the LRK requirement and approval of facilities by the municipality and municipal health service
• Rijksoverheid: Bedragen kinderopvangtoeslag 2026 - the 2026 hourly caps, full income-percentage table, 96% band through €56,412, the higher-income floors and the role of qualifying calendar months
• Dienst Toeslagen: Voor hoeveel opvanguren krijg ik kinderopvangtoeslag? - the cap of 230 contracted hours per child per month regardless of work or study hours, and using unused hours later within the year
• Dienst Toeslagen: I want to apply for a benefit - applying through Dutch-only Mijn Toeslagen with DigiD, assisted routes, BSN requirements, the 3-month childcare deadline and applying only once
• Dienst Toeslagen: Tot wanneer kan ik toeslag aanvragen? - the exact 3-month childcare application rule and the official 1 May to 31 August example showing which months are lost after a late application
• Dienst Toeslagen: Zorg dat uw kinderopvang uw juiste persoonsgegevens heeft - the monthly hours and price data providers send to Dienst Toeslagen, the parent data they need and the parent’s continuing duty to correct changes
• Dienst Toeslagen: Er verandert iets in de opvang van mijn kinderen - the 4-week deadline for changed hours, prices, providers, an additional child or stopped care, with Mijn Toeslagen and app routes
• Dienst Toeslagen: Voorschotbeschikking toeslagen - the advance calculation, monthly payment around the 20th for the following month, final calculation in 2027 and need to update estimates
• Dienst Toeslagen: Ik wil kinderopvangtoeslag aan de opvang laten uitbetalen - the optional direct-payment route, provider-agreement condition, exclusions for multiple providers and foreign care, and the parent’s remaining responsibility
• Dienst Toeslagen: Kan ik nog opvanguren opmaken als ik niet werk of studeer? - the 3 full calendar months after work ends, no such extension after study, a route or civic integration ends, use of unused hours and the 31 December boundary
• Dienst Toeslagen: Ik word co-ouder - the 156-day co-parent test, same-address exception, separate or jointly signed contracts, each parent paying their own share and the combined 230-hour cap
• Dienst Toeslagen: Kinderopvangtoeslag bij langdurige ziekte - Wlz and care-institution exceptions, exclusions for a single parent or two partners with Wlz indications, and the telephone application route
• Dienst Toeslagen: Kinderopvangtoeslag als u tijdelijk niet werkt - continuing entitlement during illness, pregnancy or leave while employment continues, and routes for self-employed people and longer illness
• Dienst Toeslagen: Mijn toeslagpartner is een familielid - the qualifying-family-member exception when the relative does not work or study, and the telephone application route
• Rijksoverheid: Wanneer heb ik recht op kinderopvangtoeslag? - child-support and contract conditions, Wlz exception, paid contracted hours, and municipal alternatives such as VE, subsidised toddler care and SMI
• Dienst Toeslagen: Ik ben geen Nederlander - lawful-residence conditions for the applicant and partner, valid benefit-entitling residence status, foreign residence and post-2021 United Kingdom rules
• Dienst Toeslagen: Kinderopvangtoeslag en buitenland - the official routing hub for living abroad, a partner abroad or working abroad
• Dienst Toeslagen: Kinderopvangtoeslag als u in het buitenland woont - eligible residence countries, Dutch work and tax requirements, limits on study and civic-integration routes abroad, BSNs and coordination of foreign family benefits
• Dienst Toeslagen: Kinderopvangtoeslag als u in het buitenland werkt - the income-tax condition for a Netherlands resident working abroad and coordination of Dutch and foreign family benefits, sometimes through the SVB
• Dienst Toeslagen: Kinderopvangtoeslag als uw partner in het buitenland woont - partner activity, comparable foreign study, route-to-work and foreign-benefit comparability, BSNs, who applies and the rule since 4 March 2022 for partners outside Europe
• Dienst Toeslagen: Buitenlandse kinderopvang registreren - the Register buitenlandse kinderopvang, registration validity, DUO form, processing time of up to 10 weeks and the foreign registration number used in the application
• Dienst Toeslagen: Definitieve berekening van mijn toeslagen - the final calculation using final income and childcare-provider data, the documents in Mijn Toeslagen and requests for missing evidence
• Dienst Toeslagen: Waarom moet ik kinderopvangtoeslag terugbetalen? - common repayment causes, including higher final income and fewer actual care hours than reported, and comparing the final and advance calculations
• Dienst Toeslagen: Kan ik een betalingsregeling krijgen? - repayment in up to 24 months, the 4.3% interest rate from 1 January 2026 and the route to a means-tested personal arrangement
• Dienst Toeslagen: Mijn toeslag klopt niet - the distinction between changing current-year data and objecting to a final calculation within 6 weeks
• Dienst Toeslagen: Bezwaar tegen een voorschotbeschikking - when to change an advance instead of objecting, when a formal objection is appropriate, the 6-week period and the required letter details
• Dienst Toeslagen: Bezwaar tegen een definitieve berekening - the 6-week objection period, form and evidence route, payment deferral while an objection is handled and the exceptions to that deferral
• Dienst Toeslagen: Verzoek om een beslissing te herzien - the review request after a missed objection deadline, supporting evidence, address and the usual 5-year limit from the end of the benefit year
• Rijksoverheid: Nieuwe eisen gastouders en gastouderbureaus vanaf 1 juli 2026 - the live 1 July 2026 quality requirements for childminders and agencies, including work plans, education, coaching, agency limits and emergency backup
• Rijksoverheid: Plannen kabinet voor nieuwe financiering kinderopvang - the proposed 1 January 2029 direct-funding system for working parents regardless of income; Parliament has not yet decided on the bill
• Overheid.nl (Dutch government portal): Harmonisatie kinderopvang en peuterspeelzaalwerk - the conversion of toddler playgroups to childcare from 1 January 2018
• Dienst Toeslagen: Inloggen op Mijn toeslagen - the official benefits portal, applications, changes and login methods
• Dienst Toeslagen: Proefberekening toeslagen - the official benefit calculator, which cannot calculate childcare benefit for applicants living abroad
• Dienst Toeslagen: Wijzigingen doorgeven voor uw toeslag - the 4-week change-reporting rule and the exception for changes already reported to the municipality
• Dienst Toeslagen: Mijn kind wordt 4 - the school transition, new BSO contract and stopping the day-care record even at the same provider
• Dienst Toeslagen: Persoonlijke betalingsregeling toeslagen - the application route and assessment of income, assets, expenses and debts
• Rijksoverheid: Voorjaarsnota 2025 (spring budget update) - the proposed 96% contribution up to the maximum hourly price for all working parents in 2029
• Dienst Toeslagen: Ik ga ander werk doen - qualifying work, including unpaid work in a partner’s business, and reporting changes in work type
• Rijksoverheid: Kwaliteit kinderopvang - official supervision and inspection reports in the LRK
• Dienst Toeslagen: Alle voorwaarden voor kinderopvangtoeslag - eligible children including grandchildren, the €529 quarterly support threshold, taxable paid work, unpaid work in a partner’s business and excluded volunteer work
• DUO: Register buitenlandse kinderopvang - checking foreign registrations and their care type, renewal within 6 months of expiry and applications to DUO
• Dienst Toeslagen: Bellen met Dienst Toeslagen - the official telephone contact route
• DUO: Kinderopvangtoeslag voor alle onderdelen inburgering - Since 7 July 2026, parents required to integrate under Wet inburgering 2021 can also qualify during MAP, PVT and Z-route participation activities. The normal childcare-benefit conditions still apply. If Dienst Toeslagen requests activity evidence, ask your municipality for a statement.