Child budget
If you get child benefit and your and your partner’s joint income is under a certain level, you may qualify for child budget from the Belastingdienst (Tax and Customs Administration). Child budget is an extra payment for families with children and is paid every month.
When will your child budget be paid?
The child budget will start from the month following the birth of your child.
Example
Sarah was born on 15 April. The parent who claims the child benefit can receive child budget as from 1 May.
If you already receive a benefit from the Belastingdienst, such as rent benefit or healthcare benefit, you do not need to apply for child budget yourself. You will receive a letter automatically from the Belastingdienst in your Message Box, stating the amount of the child budget.
The letter will be sent within 8 weeks of the birth of your child. You will only receive the letter if the Belastingdienst sees that your family income is below a certain level. Your partner’s income is also taken into account.
You will need to apply for child budget yourself if:
- you are receiving child benefit for the first time and you do not receive any other benefits from the Belastingdienst
- you have not received a letter from the Belastingdienst and you think you qualify for child budget
You can only get child budget if you are also receiving child benefit. If your child benefit stops, for example, because your child has turned 18, your child budget will also stop.
Example
Sam turns 18 on 15 April. Your child budget stops as from 1 May. You will receive your last payment at the end of March.
If you are co-parenting, you and your ex-partner should decide together what works best for you. The parent with less income can usually get a higher child budget. Child budget is paid to the parent who has claimed the child benefit.
If you do not receive child benefit for a child aged 16 or 17, you may still be able to get child budget. See the conditions below.
If your child lives at home
- Your child benefit stopped because your child left school without a school leaving qualification
If your child lives away from home
- You must contribute at least €488 per quarter to the support of your child, and
- Your child benefit stopped because your child left school without a school leaving qualification
If one of these situations applies to your child, we will inform the Belastingdienst that you qualify for child budget again. You do not have to do this yourself.