Childcare Allowance in the Netherlands 2026: Hourly Caps, the Income Table and What Changes in 2027
Dutch childcare allowance (kinderopvangtoeslag) for 2026 in English: €11.23, €9.98 and €8.49 hourly caps, 230 hours, the 96% band and where 2027 stands.
In 2026 the Dutch childcare allowance (kinderopvangtoeslag) pays 96% of the hourly price for every child in households with a combined income up to €56,412, capped at €11.23 an hour for daycare, €9.98 for after-school care and €8.49 for a childminder, for at most 230 hours a month per child. Above €56,412 the first child's rate falls step by step to 36.5%, while every other child keeps at least 68.2%. The 2027 figures were still a draft in October 2026.
In 2026 the Dutch childcare allowance, kinderopvangtoeslag, pays 96% of the hourly price for every child in families with a combined income of up to €56,412 a year. The price it counts is capped at €11.23 an hour for daycare, €9.98 for after-school care (BSO) and €8.49 for a childminder, and no more than 230 hours a month per child count. Above €56,412 the rate for your first child falls in steps to 36.5%, while each other child keeps a much higher rate. The figures below come from the Belastingdienst's own calculation sheet, Berekening kinderopvangtoeslag 2026, and the matching table on Rijksoverheid, both checked on 18 October 2026.
You can try your own numbers in the Dutch childcare allowance calculator.
The 2026 caps
| Type of care | Maximum hourly price counted in 2026 |
|---|---|
| Daycare at a childcare centre (dagopvang) | €11.23 |
| After-school care at a centre (BSO) | €9.98 |
| Childminder via an agency (gastouderopvang), daycare or after-school | €8.49 |
If you pay less than the cap, your real price is used. If you pay more, the part above the cap does not count at all. The Belastingdienst page on maximum hourly rates also lists the earlier years: daycare was capped at €10.71 in 2025 and €10.25 in 2024.
How the allowance is worked out
The Belastingdienst works it out in seven steps:
- Hourly price: your price, or the cap if that is lower.
- Hours: the hours in your contract, at most 230 a month per child.
- First child: the child with the most childcare hours a month. If two children have the same hours, the one with the higher costs.
- Income: your toetsingsinkomen plus your allowance partner's.
- First child's allowance: hours times price, times the first-child percentage for your income.
- Other children: the same, using the percentage for the next child.
- Total: add them up. The monthly total is rounded down to whole euros.
The Belastingdienst's own first example is a couple earning €60,000 with one child in daycare for 122 hours at €10.50. The cost is €1,281 a month; at 93.9% the allowance is €1,202.86, paid as €1,202.
The income table, in short
| Combined income (2026) | First child | Each other child |
|---|---|---|
| Up to €56,412 | 96.0% | 96.0% |
| €59,958 to €61,895 | 93.9% | 95.6% |
| €80,892 to €84,693 | 83.7% | 93.2% |
| €99,890 to €103,694 | 72.1% | 90.5% |
| €118,964 to €122,857 | 60.6% | 87.9% |
| €165,658 to €169,547 | 36.5% | 81.4% |
| €235,698 and over | 36.5% | 68.2% |
This is a selection of bands; the full table has 69 rows, and the calculator uses all of them. The first-child rate stops falling at 36.5% from €165,658. The rate for other children keeps falling until €235,698, but never below 68.2%. That is why a second child in childcare costs proportionally less than the first.
Who can get it
According to the Belastingdienst's conditions page, you and your partner must each work, follow a recognised course of study, follow a route to work, or take a compulsory integration course. Self-employed people and freelancers count as working. The care must be registered in the national childcare register (LRK), your child must live at your address and be registered there, and you must pay part of the cost yourself. You can apply as soon as you sign the childcare contract, and at the latest within 3 months of the care starting, or you lose money.
The number of hours you work does not limit the hours you can claim: everyone who qualifies can get up to 230 hours a month per child, as the Belastingdienst explains. If you use fewer than 230 hours in a month, you can use the hours left over later in the year.
What changes in 2027
Not everything is known yet. On Prinsjesdag 2026 the government sent parliament a draft decree that raises the percentages in 2027 by €322 million in total. The government's news release of 21 September 2026 says working parents with a combined income of up to about €72,000 are expected to get the maximum percentage in 2027, and it gives provisional caps:
| Type of care | 2026 | 2027 (provisional) |
|---|---|---|
| Daycare | €11.23 | €11.60 |
| After-school care | €9.98 | €10.31 |
| Childminder | €8.49 | €8.77 |
The 2027 percentage table itself was not published in October 2026, so our calculator shows 2026 only and marks 2027 as pending. From 2029 the government plans to replace the allowance with funding paid directly to childcare providers, with working parents paying only a limited contribution of their own. That plan was sent to the Council of State in September 2026 and is not law.
What this tool leaves out
The calculator assumes you qualify for every month of the year and that nothing changes mid-year. It does not handle months without work, a partner arriving or leaving, or repayments of advances. For a binding estimate, use the Belastingdienst's proefberekening toeslagen.
Sources
Belastingdienst, Berekening kinderopvangtoeslag 2026 and the pages on maximum hourly rates and hours; Rijksoverheid, Bedragen kinderopvangtoeslag 2026 and the news release of 21 September 2026. All checked on 18 October 2026.