Rent allowance table 2026

Rent allowance in 2026 depends on two numbers: your basic rent, which counts up to €932.93, and the assessment income of your household. A single person paying €1,200 with €25,000 of income receives €487 a month; with €35,000 the same person gets far less, because an income correction of 27% of the income above €23,425, divided by twelve, is deducted every month. This is the first year of the new system: no hard income limit, no maximum rent that excludes you, no service costs in the calculation and a base rent that is the same for everyone in the same household size. Expat guides written before 2026 still mention a rent ceiling above which you would get nothing; that rule no longer exists. The tables below show the monthly amount for seven rents and several incomes, for single people and couples, followed by the income at which the allowance reaches zero, all calculated by the engine behind our rent allowance calculator.

Table for single people

Table for couples

Where rent allowance stops

Above €932.93 the zero point stops moving, because any rent above the limit is treated as exactly the limit. A household of four has a later zero point than a couple with the same rent, thanks to the higher capping limit of €764.14, which reimburses more of the rent at 65%.

Using the tables for your situation

Take the basic rent from your contract, without service costs, and pick the nearest row. Add up the assessment incomes of everyone registered at the address, except a subtenant with a written contract and the first €6,218 of income of children under 23. If you fall between two columns, the allowance falls between the two amounts: above the reference income each extra €1,000 costs a single person €23 a month and a larger household €18.

Households of three or more use a higher capping limit than the couple table shows, so they get more for rents above €713.02. For an exact figure, with your household size, assets and age, use the rent allowance calculator. Remember that income is counted per calendar year: in the year a couple arrives, or the year one partner starts working, the joint income is often much lower than a full year of both salaries, and rent allowance can apply for that year even when it will not the next. Check again every January with the new figures, because the amounts in these tables change each year, and report a rent increase as soon as you receive the letter from your landlord about it.

How the table is built

Each cell follows the official steps. The base rent, €202.52 for one person or €200.71 for more, is paid by you. The rent between that base and €498.20 is reimbursed in full; between €498.20 and the capping limit at 65%; above it at 40%. The income correction is then deducted, and the result is rounded down. Two things are not in the table: assets (above €38,479 per applicant on 1 January there is no allowance) and the special rules for households where everyone is under 21. The rent allowance calculator handles both, and the asset limits guide explains what counts as assets.

Frequently asked questions