Childcare in the Netherlands is high quality, broadly available, and expensive — full-time daycare for one child can easily cost €1,800–€2,400 per month in 2026. The kinderopvangtoeslag is the Dutch government's allowance system that refunds a significant portion of these costs to working parents based on income. For most expat families with both partners working, the allowance covers between 70 and 95 per cent of childcare costs, transforming the economics of returning to work after parental leave.
Who qualifies
Both you and your registered partner (or, if you are a single parent, you alone) must meet all of the following: be the legal guardian or biological parent of the child, both be in paid employment, in education or training, or in an integration programme (inburgering); the child must attend a registered childcare facility — meaning the daycare, after-school care (BSO), childminder (gastouder), or playgroup must be registered with the relevant Dutch authority (the LRK — Landelijk Register Kinderopvang); and you must be registered with the Belastingdienst as the parent receiving the allowance.
EU and EEA citizens working in the Netherlands qualify on the same basis as Dutch nationals. Non-EU nationals on residence permits qualify if the permit allows employment. Au pairs, informal grandparent care, and unregistered nannies do not qualify — only formally registered childcare is eligible.
How the allowance is calculated
The amount of allowance you receive depends on three variables: your household income, the type of childcare, and the number of hours of childcare used. The allowance is expressed as a percentage of the hourly childcare cost, applied up to a maximum hourly rate set by the government (these maxima are adjusted annually). In 2026 the maximum hourly rates are approximately: €10.71 for daycare (kinderopvang), €9.52 for after-school care (buitenschoolse opvang), and €8.30 for childminders (gastouderopvang).
The percentage covered ranges from 33.3 per cent (very high incomes, well over €200,000 per year) to 96 per cent (low incomes, under approximately €30,000 per year). Most middle-income expat families fall in the 70–87 per cent range. The Belastingdienst publishes a detailed table showing the exact percentage for each income bracket.
An example
Suppose a household with one child has a combined gross income of €110,000 and uses 40 hours per week of daycare at €11.20 per hour. The daycare bills the family €11.20 × 40 hours × 4.33 weeks per month = approximately €1,940 per month. The allowance is calculated only on the portion up to the maximum hourly rate (€10.71), so the eligible base is €10.71 × 40 × 4.33 = approximately €1,855 per month. At this income level, the allowance percentage is approximately 70 per cent: €1,855 × 70% = €1,300 per month. The family's net cost is approximately €640 per month rather than €1,940.
How to apply
You apply online via mijntoeslagen.nl, using your DigiD. The application asks for your household income (estimated for the year), your partner's income, the number of children, the childcare provider's details (specifically the LRK number, which the provider gives you), and the number of hours per month you expect to use.
Apply within three months of starting childcare — the allowance can be paid retroactively to the start of the month of application, but only within that three-month window. The Belastingdienst pays the allowance monthly, in advance, directly to your bank account. You then pay the childcare provider the full bill yourself.
The annual reconciliation
At the end of the tax year, the Belastingdienst reconciles your actual income against the income you estimated. If your actual income was higher than estimated, you owe back a portion of the allowance you received. If it was lower, you receive additional allowance. This reconciliation is the source of nasty surprises for many families — if you got a raise mid-year or your partner started working more hours, you may owe several thousand euros at year-end. The fix is to log into mijntoeslagen.nl and update your estimated income whenever your circumstances change, not at year-end.
Special considerations for expats
If you start work mid-year, your annualised income may be lower than your full-year gross would suggest, which temporarily increases your allowance percentage. The same applies when one partner is on parental leave at reduced pay. Conversely, the 30% ruling complicates the income calculation: the income figure used for kinderopvangtoeslag is your taxable income (the 70 per cent portion), not your gross salary. This means 30% ruling holders effectively qualify for a higher allowance percentage than their gross salary would suggest. The mijntoeslagen.nl form pulls your income data from the Belastingdienst's records, which already reflect the 30% ruling correctly, so the calculation is automatic.
The 2027 reform
The Dutch government has announced a fundamental reform of the childcare allowance, originally targeted for 2025, then delayed to 2027 and now planned for 2028. The new system, when implemented, will pay the allowance directly to childcare providers rather than to parents — eliminating the cash-flow burden on families and the year-end reconciliation problem. Until then, the current monthly-advance-plus-reconciliation system remains in force.