Childcare allowance

The Dutch Childcare Act is based on the assumption that formal childcare is financed by parents, employers and government. The employers of both partners together pay one third of the total costs of childcare. As from 1 January 2007 employers are obliged to contribute to the costs of childcare paid by their employees. The amount of this contribution is not related to the level of income. In addition to this, parents may also receive an allowance from the government, the amount of which does depend of the level of their income. The income threshold for entitlement to this allowance has been raised. Both the employers’ contribution and the government allowance are paid by the government. To receive them, applicants and their partners must both work, attend some form of education, participate in a naturalisation course or a work re-integration scheme.

Data on the amounts paid for childcare allowances are based on information provided by the Ministry of Finance, reference date March 2010. The data are provisional as not all requests have been submitted as yet.