Statistics Netherlands (CBS) has reported that, in 2023, 75 percent of parents in the Netherlands paid more for childcare than what the government provided them with the childcare allowance. On average, parents spent more than 3.000 euros of their own money on childcare.

The Dutch childcare allowance: What you need to know

The Dutch government sets a maximum hourly rate for childcare in the Netherlands that they will cover for parents who apply for the allowance. Last year, the maximum hourly rate for daycare at a childcare centre was 9,12 euros and, in 2024 it went up to 10,25 euros as the childcare allowance was increased. 

The percentage of a family’s childcare costs that the government will cover with the allowance is determined by the number of children in childcare, the type of childcare and the taxable income of the parents. The higher the parents’ income, the less allowance they will receive. 

However, childcare organisations determine their own hourly rates and this is often more than the maximum the government gives parents. It is then up to the parents to pay the difference.

Majority of parents in the Netherlands pay more for childcare than government allowance

Of the 700.000 parents that received the childcare benefit in 2023, 75 percent of them paid some of their own money for childcare. 

The average cost of childcare for a family last year was 8.950 euros and the childcare allowance would cover 64 percent of that (5.740 euros). That means that parents would have paid the remaining 3.210 euros themselves. 520 euros of the parents’ contribution covered the extra amount that childcare organisations charged above the maximum hourly rate set by the government. 

Hourly rate for Dutch childcare benefit to be frozen in 2026

The new government wants to stop increasing the maximum hourly rate for the childcare allowance from 2026, which could save up to 254 million euros every year. 

At the same time, they want to increase the percentage that the allowance covers to 96 percent. Using the average cost in 2023 as an example, the government would pay 8.000 euros of the 8.950 euros in childcare costs.