Childcare allowance table 2026

The childcare allowance table for 2026 has one rule at the top and a long tail below it. Up to a joint assessment income of €56,412, the Dienst Toeslagen reimburses 96.0% of childcare costs for every child. Above that, the percentage for the first child drops in 49 brackets to 36.5%, which it reaches at €165,658; the percentage for the second and further children falls much more slowly, to 68.2% in the top bracket. At €95,000 that means 76.7% for the first child and 91.5% for the others; at €160,000 it is 40.5% and 82.7%. These percentages apply to costs up to the maximum hourly rate (€11.23 for day care) and up to 230 hours per month. Below is the official 2026 table as our calculator uses it, with a last column showing what the first-child percentage pays on 100 hours of day care at the maximum rate.

The full table

Brackets, not a sliding scale

Healthcare and rent allowance fall a little with every euro of income. Childcare allowance does not: within a bracket the percentage is fixed, and it changes only when your joint income crosses into the next bracket. For dual-income expat households this has a practical consequence. A bonus or a 13th month that lifts you just over a bracket boundary lowers the percentage for the whole year, and the difference is settled when the Dienst Toeslagen makes its final calculation after the year. The steps are small, but on a full-time day-care place they add up to tens of euros a month.

The table also explains why childcare allowance remains relevant at high incomes. There is no ceiling and no asset test: two earners on a combined €200,000 still receive 36.5% for the first child and 75.5% for a second. What limits the allowance in practice is the maximum hourly rate, not the income. In cities where day care costs well above the cap, the part above it is often the largest item on the parents' side of the bill, whatever bracket they are in. Comparing providers on their hourly rate therefore usually matters more than the bracket you fall into.

Worked example

A couple with a joint income of €95,000 has a toddler in day care for 100 hours a month at €12.80 an hour and a school-age child in out-of-school care for 60 hours at €10.20. The toddler has more hours, so counts as the first child: the allowance is 76.7% of 100 hours at the capped rate of €11.23, which is €861. The older child receives 91.5% of 60 hours at the capped bso rate, €548. In total €1,409 a month on costs of €1,892, leaving €483 for the parents. Try your own numbers in the childcare allowance calculator.

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