Key facts
- Healthcare benefit (zorgtoeslag) in 2026: you must be 18 or older, have Dutch health insurance and earn no more than 40,857 euros a year, or 51,142 euros together with a benefit partner.
- The highest healthcare benefit in 2026 is about 129 euros a month for one person and about 246 euros a month for a couple.
- Rent benefit (huurtoeslag) is only for a self-contained home with its own lockable front door, kitchen, toilet and shower or bath. Most rooms in shared houses do not qualify.
- From 2026 there is no maximum rent to qualify for rent benefit, but rent above 932.93 euros a month is not counted (498.20 euros if everyone in the home is under 21).
- You apply for both through Mijn toeslagen with your DigiD. Report changes in income or rent within 4 weeks, or you may have to pay money back.
- The IND says that applying for rent, healthcare or childcare benefit will not end your residence. Social assistance (bijstand) can.
What to do
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You need to be registered with the gemeente, have a BSN and a DigiD. For healthcare benefit you also need a Dutch health insurance policy. Non-EU residents need a valid residence permit that entitles them to benefits.
Use the proefberekening (trial calculation) on the Toeslagen site. It is only in Dutch, so keep a translator open. Use your expected gross income for the whole year, not one month.
Log in with your DigiD and apply. You can apply for a year until 31 December of the next year, so a 2026 benefit can still be requested until 31 December 2027.
A new job, a raise, a partner moving in, a new rent or moving abroad all change your benefit. Change it in Mijn toeslagen within 4 weeks. It is better to receive a bit too little now than to pay back a lot later.
The monthly money is an advance. After the year ends you get a final calculation. If you received too little, you get the rest. If you received too much, you pay it back.
Healthcare benefit (zorgtoeslag)
Healthcare benefit helps pay your monthly health insurance premium. You can get it if you are 18 or older, have a Dutch health insurance policy, and your income and savings are not too high.
For 2026 the income limit is 40,857 euros a year on your own, or 51,142 euros together with a benefit partner (toeslagpartner). The Belastingdienst counts your toetsingsinkomen, which is roughly your gross yearly income, usually a little higher. Your savings and investments must be below 146,011 euros on 1 January 2026, or 184,633 euros with a partner.
If your income is 29,500 euros or less, you get the maximum: about 129 euros a month on your own, or about 246 euros a month for a couple. The amount goes down as income goes up. On your own, at 35,000 euros you get about 69 euros a month, and at 40,000 euros about 11 euros.
For international students it depends on your health insurance. If you only study and have no paid job, you usually stay insured in your home country, and then you cannot get healthcare benefit. If you have a paid job next to your studies, you must take out Dutch health insurance, and then you can apply. A temporary visitor or travel insurance does not count.
Rent benefit (huurtoeslag)
Rent benefit is for people who rent a self-contained home (zelfstandige woonruimte), such as a flat, a studio or a terraced house. Self-contained means your own lockable front door, kitchen and toilet, and since 1 March 2024 also your own shower or bath. If you share the kitchen, toilet or shower with other tenants, it does not count.
So most rooms in shared houses, including student rooms, do not qualify. There is one exception for student rooms in buildings approved before 1 July 1997. Ask your landlord if your room falls under this.
The rules changed in 2026. There is no longer a maximum rent to qualify. The benefit is calculated on rent up to 932.93 euros a month (498.20 euros if everyone in the household is under 21), and anything above that is yours to pay. You always pay roughly the first 200 euros of rent yourself. Service costs no longer count, only the bare rent (kale huur).
There is no single income limit for rent benefit. It depends on your rent, your age and who lives with you, and the income of a partner or co-tenant also counts. Savings must be below 38,479 euros per person on 1 January 2026, or 76,958 euros for partners together. The trial calculation is the fastest way to see if you qualify.
Paying back: how to avoid a nasty letter
Benefits are paid around the 20th of each month, as an advance based on the income you entered. The real amount is fixed only after the year ends, using your actual income. If you earned more than you said, you pay the difference back.
This catches many internationals in their first year. You start mid-year, enter a low estimate, then get a raise or a bonus or a partner moves in. Update your income in Mijn toeslagen as soon as something changes. Changes must be reported within 4 weeks.
Leaving the Netherlands? You are no longer entitled to benefits after you move. Stop your rent benefit yourself and tell the gemeente. Dienst Toeslagen ends healthcare benefit, but if you received too much, you still have to pay it back from abroad.
Student finance for EU students who work (DUO)
Students from the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK can get Dutch student finance (studiefinanciering) if they work enough in the Netherlands. The usual standard is paid work of at least 32 hours a month. If you work between 24 and 32 hours a month, DUO looks at your case. Under 24 hours on average, you are not entitled.
An income of at least 50 percent of the social security norm also counts: 700.75 euros a month in 2026, or 173 euros a month if you are under 21. Living in the Netherlands for 5 years in a row also makes you eligible. You must be under 30 when your student finance starts.
For HBO and university students living away from home, the monthly maximum from September 2026 is a basic grant of 324.52 euros, a supplementary grant of up to 491.08 euros (depending on your parents' income), a loan of 315.17 euros and a tuition fee loan of 224.50 euros. The grants become a gift if you graduate within 10 years. Loans must always be paid back.
DUO checks your hours afterwards. If you cannot show you worked enough, you must pay back the student finance and an amount for the student travel product. On a zero-hour or on-call contract, you first get 6 months and then reapply with new payslips. Keep every payslip and bank statement.
- Apply in Mijn DUO with your DigiD.
- Upload your contract, latest payslip and the bank statement that shows the salary, with the application or within 4 weeks. You can upload only once, so send everything together.
- Expect a decision within about 8 weeks.
- Non-EU students need Dutch nationality or a residence permit type II to V (type I in some cases). A normal study permit is not on DUO's list.
Help from the gemeente Eindhoven on a low income
Besides national benefits, the gemeente Eindhoven has its own schemes. Most use an income limit linked to the bijstandsnorm (the social assistance level). Check what you might get with the Bereken je recht tool before you apply.
- Kwijtschelding (remission) of municipal taxes: if you cannot pay your yearly municipal tax bill, you can ask for it to be cancelled. For tenants this is mostly the waste levy, 229.46 euros for one person and 287.07 euros for two in 2026. Apply as soon as the bill arrives, before the payment term ends. Students must use a paper or PDF form instead of the online counter. A car worth more than 3,350 euros or too much in the bank can lead to a no.
- Meedoenbijdrage: a once-a-year payment you can spend freely, 200 euros per adult under pension age in 2026. Your income must be no more than 130 percent of the bijstandsnorm, for example 1,845.30 euros net a month for a single person aged 21 or over. Apply from 1 February to 31 December 2026. Students cannot get it.
- Collectieve zorgverzekering (gemeentepolis): a health insurance package through VGZ or CZ with the same income limit. Savings may be at most 8,000 euros on your own or 16,000 euros as a couple. If you are not with VGZ or CZ yet, sign up in November or December so it starts on 1 January.
- Sport & Cultuur (Volwassenenfonds): a contribution to sport or culture costs if your income is up to 120 percent of the bijstandsnorm.
- Free help: Werkplaats Financiën Eindhoven is run by volunteers and helps Eindhoven residents for free with money problems, official letters and applying for allowances. The gemeente can also help with debts. Call 14 040 to reach the gemeente.
Will an allowance affect my residence permit?
This is the question we hear most. The IND says clearly that applying for rent, healthcare or childcare benefit will not end your residence. Whether you are entitled is decided by the Belastingdienst, not the IND.
Social assistance is different. Benefits under the Participatiewet (bijstand) and several others can end your right of residence. The IND says its list is not complete.
EU citizens who are not working, and students, must be able to support themselves. If you work at least 40 percent of a normal working week, or earn at least 50 percent of the social assistance level, a benefit application does not stop your right of residence. If you have permanent residence, after 5 years with a valid permit, applying does not end it.
The IND page does not mention municipal schemes such as the Meedoenbijdrage or kwijtschelding. If you are on a residence permit and unsure, check with the IND or ask the Holland Expat Center South before you apply.
Mistakes to avoid
- Applying for rent benefit for a room in a shared house; if you share the kitchen, toilet or shower, it almost never qualifies.
- Entering a low income estimate and never updating it; a raise or bonus later in the year means paying back.
- Thinking healthcare benefit is only for Dutch people; if you have Dutch health insurance and a low income, check it.
- Applying for healthcare benefit with only travel or visitor insurance; it has to be a Dutch health insurance policy.
- Not keeping payslips when you get DUO student finance; DUO checks your hours afterwards.
- Forgetting to stop your rent benefit when you leave the Netherlands.
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We checked this guide against its sources on 13 October 2026. Rules change: the official source always wins. Spotted something out of date? DM @gone.with.us or email contact@gonewithus.nl.