Childcare Allowance (Kinderopvangtoeslag)

Kinderopvangtoeslag is financial assistance for childcare costs while working. For example, assistance for paying for daycare or after-school care, which can be very expensive.

The amount of kinderopvangtoeslag depends on factors such as income (yours or your combined income with your toeslagpartner, if applicable), and the number of hours your child attends the childcare facility.

If you do not have a fixed income, because you work on a flexible schedule, you still need to provide an estimated income. It is advisable not to underestimate it, to avoid receiving too high a kinderopvangtoeslag that you will have to repay.

If your child spends varying hours per month at the facility due to your flexible work, it is important to regularly check the data monthly or quarterly and report the actual hours.

With any changes in your situation (income change, working hours, childcare hours), you must immediately report this through Mijn toeslagen, to avoid both overpayment and receiving too high an allowance that you will have to repay.

Requirements for kinderopvangtoeslag

• You live at the same address as your child and are registered with the municipality. You can receive assistance for your own children, your partner's children, foster children (both pleegkind and adoptiekind)
• You provide adequate care for the child - you must be able to demonstrate that you contribute at least 519 euro per quarter to the child's maintenance, for example for food and clothing.
• You work and pay taxes. You are also entitled to childcare allowance if you work part-time. If you volunteer and do not pay taxes, the allowance is not granted. Do you have a toeslagpartner? Then you both must be working. Sometimes you can still receive kinderopvangtoeslag if you or your toeslagpartner are not working but are, for example, studying (recognized by OCW, referring to full education, not courses), taking an integration course (at an approved school), or in a job-seeking process (e.g., through UWV).
• Your child attends a registered childcare facility - the municipality checks whether the facility is good and safe. Approved organizations are registered in the National Childcare Register (LRK) and have an LRK number. Without this number, you cannot apply for childcare allowance.
• You provide the BSN of yourself, your partner, and your child to the childcare facility.
• You pay part of the childcare costs yourself - this is a mandatory personal contribution. You must be able to demonstrate with bank statements that you have paid the childcare costs on time.

If you are divorced and became a co-parent

You are a co-parent if you agreed with your ex-partner to divide the daily care and upbringing of your child approximately equally over the year. This can be done in various ways; it is important that your child spends at least 156 days per calendar year with each parent. Then you will receive your share of the kinderopvangtoeslag.

Applying for kinderopvangtoeslag

You can use Mijn toeslagen to apply for the allowance; it is not granted automatically. You must provide the following information:

• the childcare contract or, for example, an invoice
• the name and address of the facility
• the LRK registration number
• the number of hours per month the child will spend at the facility
• the childcare costs (hourly rate)
• information about your annual income (and your toeslagpartner's, if applicable).

If you stop working

Your child can still attend the childcare facility and you are entitled to kinderopvangtoeslag for 3 months, during which you can use unused childcare hours. Report this immediately through Mijn toeslagen.