Moving to NL

Guide

Childcare benefit and child benefit

Who this is for: Parents living or working in the Netherlands with children under 18, who want to know about child benefit (kinderbijslag) from the SVB and childcare benefit (kinderopvangtoeslag) from the Tax Administration.

In 60 seconds

If you live or work in the Netherlands and have a child under 18, you can get kinderbijslag (child benefit) from the SVB — a fixed amount per quarter that depends on your child's age, for biological, adopted or foster children; this guide could not verify the exact 2026 euro amounts directly against svb.nl (it blocked automated fetching), so treat any specific figure you see elsewhere as unconfirmed until you check svb.nl yourself. Kinderopvangtoeslag (childcare benefit) is separate and comes from the Tax Administration: for 2026 the maximum hourly rates are €11.23 for daycare, €9.98 for after-school care and €8.49 for a childminder (gastouder) — anything above that you pay yourself. Working parents with a combined income up to about €56,000 in 2026 get the maximum reimbursement percentage of 96%, for up to 230 hours per child per month (2,760 hours a year) in the month you or your partner worked. You must apply for kinderopvangtoeslag within 3 months of becoming eligible — for example, if your child starts childcare on 1 May, you must apply by 31 August at the latest — or you lose the allowance for the months before you applied.

Step by step

  1. 1 Check your eligibility for kinderbijslag (child benefit)

    If you live or work in the Netherlands and have a child under 18, you may be eligible for kinderbijslag from the SVB. It covers biological children as well as, for example, adopted or foster children you are raising and caring for. If you already receive it and have another child in the Netherlands, the SVB automatically adjusts your amount — you don't need to reapply from scratch for that child.

    Where
    Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB).
    How long
    Not stated by the official sources checked for this guide (svb.nl, the primary source, blocked automated access — see the maintenance note below).
    Cost
    Free.

    What to bring

    • Your child's birth certificate or registration details
    • Proof you live or work in the Netherlands

    • If you are living or working in the Netherlands and have children under the age of 18, you may be eligible to receive child benefit. You receive child benefit for raising and caring for your biological children and for, for example, adopted children or foster children.

      Source: Rijksoverheid — Government.nl — Applying for child benefit · checked 2026-09-19 · page last changed 2025-01-10

    • If you already receive child benefit and a second or subsequent child is born in the Netherlands, the SVB will automatically adjust the amount of child benefit for you.

      Source: Rijksoverheid — Government.nl — Applying for child benefit · checked 2026-09-19 · page last changed 2025-01-10

  2. 2 2026 child benefit amounts — could not be verified directly, treat as unconfirmed

    Kinderbijslag is paid quarterly and its amount depends on your child's age (older children get a higher amount) — that mechanism is confirmed by government sources. However, this guide could not fetch svb.nl (the page that actually lists the euro amounts) to confirm the specific 2026 figures by age band: every svb.nl URL tried returned 403 Forbidden. Do not rely on any specific euro amount for kinderbijslag from this guide — check the current amount directly at svb.nl or in your own SVB decision letter.

    Where
    svb.nl (not independently reachable by this guide's research process on 2026-09-19).
    How long
    Paid quarterly, per government/NetherlandsWorldwide sources — exact amounts unconfirmed here.
    Cost
    Free — but the actual benefit amount by age band is not confirmed by this guide.

    • The specific 2026 child benefit (kinderbijslag) euro amounts, broken down by age group and by half-year period, are stated on svb.nl.

      Not verified: svb.nl returned 403 Forbidden on every URL attempted (the Dutch overview page, the Dutch amounts page, and the English amounts page) on 2026-09-19, so this guide could not read the source that actually states the euro amounts. government.nl confirms the general mechanism (fixed quarterly amount depending on age) but does not itself list the figures. This guide deliberately does not repeat any specific euro figure from memory or from unverified aggregator sites — check svb.nl directly for the current amount.

      Source: Rijksoverheid — Government.nl — Applying for child benefit · checked 2026-09-19 · page last changed 2025-01-10

  3. 3 Check the 2026 kinderopvangtoeslag maximum hourly rates and reimbursement percentage

    Kinderopvangtoeslag only reimburses up to a maximum hourly rate per type of care — anything your childcare provider charges above that, you pay yourself. For 2026: €11.23 per hour for daycare at a childcare centre, €9.98 per hour for after-school care at a childcare centre, and €8.49 per hour for care with a registered childminder (gastouder). Working parents with a combined (toetsings)income up to about €56,000 in 2026 get the maximum reimbursement percentage of 96% of that hourly rate. You can claim kinderopvangtoeslag for a maximum of 230 hours per child per calendar month in which you or your partner worked (2,760 hours per year).

    Where
    Applied for via toeslagen.nl (Mijn toeslagen); the childcare itself must be with a provider registered in the Landelijk Register Kinderopvang.
    How long
    Reimbursed per month worked, up to 230 hours per child per month / 2,760 per year.
    Cost
    You pay any amount your provider charges above the maximum hourly rate yourself; the allowance itself is free to apply for.

    What to bring

    • Your childcare contract and invoices
    • Proof of your (and your partner's) work or study hours

    • Maximum hourly rates for 2026: dagopvang (daycare) €11,23, buitenschoolse opvang (after-school care) €9,98, gastouderopvang (childminder) €8,49.

      Source: Rijksoverheid.nl — Bedragen kinderopvangtoeslag 2026 · checked 2026-09-19

    • Met de middelen krijgt de groep werkende ouders met een gezamenlijk inkomen tot circa €56.000 in 2026 recht op het maximale vergoedingspercentage van 96%. (Working parents with a combined income up to approximately €56,000 in 2026 get the maximum reimbursement percentage of 96%.)

      Source: Rijksoverheid.nl — Bedragen kinderopvangtoeslag 2026 · checked 2026-09-19

    • Per kalendermaand waarin de ouder of partner heeft gewerkt krijgt een ouder voor maximaal 230 uur kinderopvangtoeslag (maximaal 2.760 uur per jaar). (Per calendar month in which the parent or partner worked, a parent gets childcare benefit for a maximum of 230 hours, up to 2,760 hours per year.)

      Source: Rijksoverheid.nl — Bedragen kinderopvangtoeslag 2026 · checked 2026-09-19

  4. 4 Apply for kinderopvangtoeslag within 3 months of becoming eligible

    You are on time if you apply for kinderopvangtoeslag within 3 months of becoming eligible for it. For example, if your child starts childcare on 1 May, you must apply by 31 August at the latest — apply later and you lose the allowance for the months before you applied.

    Where
    Mijn toeslagen, on the Belastingdienst / Dienst Toeslagen website.
    How long
    Within 3 months of becoming eligible (e.g. your child's childcare start date).
    Cost
    Free to apply.

    What to bring

    • Your childcare contract showing the start date
    • Registered childcare provider details (Landelijk Register Kinderopvang number)

Common mistakes

  • Confusing kinderbijslag (SVB, age-based, no income test) with kinderopvangtoeslag (Tax Administration, income-based, requires registered childcare) — they are two separate schemes.
  • Missing the 3-month window to apply for kinderopvangtoeslag after your child starts childcare.
  • Using a childcare provider that is not registered in the Landelijk Register Kinderopvang — only registered childcare qualifies for kinderopvangtoeslag.
  • Assuming a childcare invoice above the maximum hourly rate is fully reimbursed — you pay the difference above the maximum rate yourself.
  • Treating any single euro figure for kinderbijslag found online as certain — this guide could not verify the exact 2026 amounts against svb.nl itself.

When this does not apply to you

  • Your child is 18 or older — kinderbijslag stops at 18; a different scheme (such as student finance) may apply instead.
  • You use informal, unregistered childcare (not listed in the Landelijk Register Kinderopvang) — kinderopvangtoeslag does not apply.
  • You or your partner don't work or study — kinderopvangtoeslag generally requires this; kinderbijslag itself does not have this condition.

Not covered here

This guide deliberately says nothing about child support after divorce, alimony, adoption, school fees, student finance. Those are separate procedures with their own rules; guessing about them would do more harm than staying silent.

This guide gives general information, not legal or tax advice. Amounts, income thresholds and hourly rates change every year — always confirm current figures directly at svb.nl and belastingdienst.nl before relying on them; the kinderbijslag amounts in particular could not be verified against svb.nl for this guide (see the maintenance note).

Facts last checked against their sources on 2026-09-19.