Kinderopvangtoeslag, Step by Step
The Dutch childcare benefit that covers up to 96% of your daycare bill — and how to claim it before the deadline slips.
If you're paying for daycare in the Netherlands and both parents work or study, the government almost certainly owes you money back — often the large majority of the bill. This is a calm, plain-language walk-through for parents (new arrivals especially): who qualifies, how much comes back, how to apply, and the 3-month trap that catches families every year.
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Last updated: 23 July 2026
Free money you're probably entitled to
Kinderopvangtoeslag is the Dutch government's contribution toward your childcare costs. It's not a loan and it's not charity — it's a standard benefit that most working families are entitled to, and for lower and middle incomes it covers the large majority of the bill. Many international families simply never apply, because nobody told them it exists.
The system is income-dependent: the less you earn, the higher the percentage of your costs that comes back, up to a maximum of 96%. It's paid out monthly, in advance, straight into your bank account — so it lowers what daycare actually costs you month to month, not just at tax time.
There's one catch worth knowing before anything else: you can only claim back a few months, so applying late means losing money you'll never get back. We'll come to that. First, the basics.
Who qualifies?
Three things decide whether you're entitled: both parents having a qualifying activity, using registered childcare, and (for internationals) how your income is taxed here. The exact legal wording lives on belastingdienst.nl — check the current "voorwaarden kinderopvangtoeslag" page for your own situation.
You and your partner must "work"
- "Work" is broad: a job, self-employment (zzp/freelance), or being in a qualifying programme
- Qualifying programmes include a reintegration trajectory, a study, or a mandatory inburgering (integration) course
- If you have a toeslagpartner (tax partner), they must also meet one of these conditions
- If your partner does not work, study, or fall in a target group, there is generally no right to toeslag
Registered childcare only
- The provider must be in the LRK (Landelijk Register Kinderopvang)
- Daycare centres, BSO, and childminders (gastouders) all carry an LRK number
- There is no toeslag for unregistered or informal care
- You'll need the LRK number to apply — it's on your childcare contract (Teddy Kids' is on yours)
Internationals & the 30%-ruling
- You need a BSN (citizen service number) to apply
- If you live here and work abroad, you can still qualify if that income is taxed in NL under the same conditions — cross-border rules have EU/EER nuances, so confirm yours
- Under the 30%-ruling only part of your salary is taxable, and toeslag is calculated on taxable household income (verzamelinkomen) — so the ruling can affect your percentage
- How exactly the 30%-ruling interacts with toeslag is easy to get wrong — verify with the Belastingdienst or a tax advisor before assuming a figure
This audience skews international, so a fair warning: the 30%-ruling interaction and cross-border rules are exactly where confident guesses go wrong. When your situation is unusual, a short conversation with a tax advisor is cheaper than a repayment demand.
How the amount is worked out
Your toeslag is three numbers multiplied together: a maximum hourly rate set by the government, your personal income-dependent percentage, and the number of eligible childcare hours. The headline is that at lower incomes the percentage reaches 96% — but your exact figure depends on your household income, so treat the numbers here as the framework, not your personal answer.
1. The maximum hourly rate
2026 rates
The government reimburses up to a set rate per hour, which differs by type of care (listed below). If your daycare charges more than the maximum, you pay the difference yourself — toeslag is only ever calculated over the maximum rate, never over a higher actual invoice.
2. Your income-dependent percentage
Ranges — check yours
The percentage is regressive: lower combined household income means a higher percentage, up to the maximum of 96%; higher income means a lower percentage. It never drops to zero — there's always a floor, landing around a third of costs for the very highest incomes. The percentage for a second and further child is always higher than for the first. Because the official table crosses two incomes against two child-counts and changes every year, don't rely on a number from any guide: run the official proefberekening (test calculation) on belastingdienst.nl for your exact percentage.
3. The eligible hours
Up to 230 hrs / child / month
Up to 230 hours per child per month are eligible for toeslag — roughly 2,760 hours a year per child. You claim over the contracted hours your child actually attends, within that cap.
- Daycare (dagopvang, ages 0–4) at a centre: up to €11.23 per hour
- After-school care (BSO) at a centre: up to €9.98 per hour
- Childminder care (gastouderopvang): up to €8.49 per hour
- Your exact percentage: check the proefberekening on belastingdienst.nl
How to apply, step by step
The whole thing is done online through Mijn Toeslagen (the Belastingdienst's benefits portal). Set aside twenty quiet minutes and have your documents ready — it's more straightforward than its reputation. Menu labels on the portal are updated from time to time, so follow the meaning of each step rather than hunting for an exact button name.
Get your documents together
You'll need your DigiD login, your childcare provider's name and address, its LRK registration number (on your contract), the contracted hours per week, and the hourly rate the provider charges.
Log in with DigiD
Go to belastingdienst.nl / toeslagen.nl and sign in with your DigiD, then open Mijn Toeslagen. No DigiD yet? Arrange one first at digid.nl — it can take a few days for the activation code to arrive by post, so don't leave it to the last minute (remember the deadline below).
Start a new childcare-benefit application
Choose to make a new application and select kinderopvangtoeslag. You'll link the correct registered location by searching on the LRK number or the organisation's name.
Enter your hours, cost and income estimate
Fill in the contracted hours per week and the monthly cost, and give an estimate of your annual household income. This estimate is what the monthly advance is based on — take a moment to get it right (see the pitfalls section).
Check everything and submit
Review your answers and submit. A decision usually follows within about eight weeks; once approved, the toeslag is paid to your bank account monthly, in advance, as a voorschot based on your estimated income.
The 3-month deadline that catches families every year
This is the single most expensive mistake with kinderopvangtoeslag. You can only claim with retroactive effect for a limited window: apply within 3 months of the month your child first started at childcare, and you get the full back-payment to the start date. Apply even one month too late, and you only receive toeslag from the date you applied — the earlier months are gone for good, with no way to reclaim them. For a family paying a full daycare bill, that can be thousands of euros. So: enrol, then apply the same week. Confirm the exact current deadline wording on belastingdienst.nl ("Tot wanneer kan ik toeslag aanvragen?"), but do not wait to find out — apply now, correct details later.
Beat the deadline
- Arrange your DigiD before your child's first day, not after
- Apply in the same week your child starts — the moment you have the LRK number and contract
- A rough income estimate now beats a perfect application submitted too late
- You can always adjust the details afterwards; you cannot recover forfeited months
Common pitfalls (and how to avoid a repayment)
Toeslag is paid as an advance based on your estimate, then reconciled against your real income later. Almost every horror story about a big repayment bill comes down to the same handful of avoidable mistakes.
Income goes up, estimate doesn't
The #1 cause of repaymentsA raise, a bonus, a new job, or a partner who starts earning all push your real income above your estimate. If you don't update it in Mijn Toeslagen, the Belastingdienst reconciles afterwards and reclaims the overpaid amount — sometimes a full year's worth at once.
- Update your income estimate the moment your situation changes
- Check it a few times a year even if nothing obvious changed
- If in doubt, estimate slightly high — an overestimate just means a small top-up later, never a bill
Hours claimed don't match reality
Over-claiming correctionsToeslag is capped at 230 hours per child per month and is tied to the contracted hours your child actually attends. Claiming more hours than your contract, or not adjusting after a contract change, leads to a correction later.
- Enter the hours from your actual childcare contract, not a guess
- Report any change in hours, cost, or provider promptly
- Stopping or switching daycare? Update it the same month
Forgetting to stop it
Payments after care endsWhen your child leaves childcare — moves to school, changes provider, or you move away — the toeslag doesn't stop on its own. Payments that keep arriving after your child has left are money you'll have to pay back.
- Stop or adjust the toeslag in Mijn Toeslagen as soon as care ends
- Do the same when a child moves from daycare to BSO or to school
- A quick check when anything changes saves a clawback later
The golden rule
- An underestimate leads to a repayment demand; an overestimate simply means a small refund later
- When unsure, err on the side of estimating slightly higher
- Keep Mijn Toeslagen up to date — it's the whole game
"Nearly free childcare": where the reform actually stands
2025
An earlier build-up step
The cabinet invested an additional €455 million as part of a phased build-up toward the eventual reform — still an income-dependent system, just more generous than before.
2026 (now)
Still income-dependent
This year is not yet income-independent. The cabinet added another €199 million to raise the reimbursement percentage for working parents, and the maximum hourly rates rose about 4.84% versus 2025. Lower incomes already reach the 96% maximum; middle and higher incomes see improved but not maximum percentages.
2027
Percentages rise further
Subsidy percentages are set to keep rising, intended to make childcare "nearly free" for middle-income families — but this is still an income-dependent percentage system, not the final reform.
2029 (target)
Full reform — a target, not a promise
The new system — removing income-dependency, so all working parents get the maximum ~96% regardless of income — is now targeted for 2029. But this date has already slipped twice (2025 → 2027 → 2029), and as of mid-2026 the legislation is still in the pipeline, not enacted. Treat 2029 as a current target, historically subject to delay — and check for fresh status before making plans around it.
Frequently asked questions
We just moved to the Netherlands — can we still apply?
Yes, as long as you meet the conditions (both parents working or studying, registered childcare) and you have a BSN and DigiD. Sort out the DigiD early, because the postal activation code takes a few days and the 3-month deadline runs from when your child starts childcare, not from when your paperwork is ready.
Does the 30%-ruling change how much I get?
It can. Toeslag is calculated on your taxable household income (verzamelinkomen), and under the 30%-ruling only part of your salary is taxable — so your taxable income, and therefore your percentage, can differ from what the same gross salary would give without the ruling. Exactly how it plays out for your household is easy to get wrong, so verify it with the Belastingdienst or a tax advisor rather than assuming.
What if my income changes during the year?
Update your estimate in Mijn Toeslagen as soon as it happens. The toeslag is an advance based on your estimate; if your real income ends up higher and you didn't adjust, the Belastingdienst reclaims the overpayment afterwards. Reporting changes promptly is the single best way to avoid a repayment bill.
How much will actually come back to me?
It depends on your household income and the number of children, so there's no single number we can honestly quote you here. The reliable answer is the official proefberekening (test calculation) on belastingdienst.nl — it uses the current-year table and gives you a figure for your own situation in a few minutes.
Is childcare about to become free?
Not yet, and not on a guaranteed date. The move to nearly-free, income-independent childcare is now targeted for 2029, but it has been postponed twice already and the law isn't enacted. For every decision you make today, the current income-dependent system is what counts.
Which hourly rate applies to Teddy Kids?
For children aged 0–4 in daycare (dagopvang) at a centre, the 2026 maximum reimbursable rate is €11.23 per hour; for after-school care (BSO) it's €9.98. If the actual rate is higher than the maximum, the toeslag is still only calculated over the maximum, and you pay the difference yourself. Your contract shows the actual rate and the LRK number you'll need to apply.
Official sources
Figures change every year, so always confirm with the source. These are the official government pages — the ones that count.
- Belastingdienst — maximum hourly rates for childcare (2026)
- Rijksoverheid — childcare benefit amounts 2026
- Rijksoverheid — the move toward nearly-free childcare (reform status)
- Mijn Toeslagen — apply and manage your benefit (log in with DigiD at belastingdienst.nl / toeslagen.nl)
- Belastingdienst proefberekening — calculate your own percentage and amount
- A registered tax advisor — for 30%-ruling, cross-border, or unusual situations
About this guide
This guide is for general educational purposes and reflects the 2026 rules as published by the Belastingdienst and Rijksoverheid at the time of writing. It is not tax or financial advice, and Teddy Kids cannot calculate or guarantee your entitlement. Childcare-benefit rules, rates and percentages change every year, and cross-border and 30%-ruling situations carry nuances this guide does not cover — always verify the current figures on belastingdienst.nl, use the official proefberekening for your own amount, and consult the Belastingdienst or a qualified tax advisor for advice on your personal situation.
Teddy Kids is here for you
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