Kinderbijslag 2026: Dutch child benefit amounts, claim and payment dates

Kinderbijslag (KIN-der-bye-slakh) is the Dutch child benefit. It is paid every quarter for each child until the child turns 18, and it does not depend on income or savings. The payer is the SVB (Sociale Verzekeringsbank, the Social Insurance Bank), not the tax office. In practice you do not fill in a form at the town hall: the municipality registers the birth, the SVB writes to you, and you finish the claim online in Mijn SVB.

The benefit itself is simple. The trouble comes in a few predictable places. If you moved here with children, nothing starts unless you act. If your child lives in your home country, whether you qualify depends on the country. When you separate, move house or leave, there are reporting deadlines. This guide sticks to the SVB procedure and the amounts, and points to our other guides for the overlapping parts.

What this guide is based on (all opened and checked on 3 November 2026)

• SVB amounts and payment dates page, and the SVB notice of 19 June 2026 on the July increase
• SVB pages on claiming, living abroad, treaty countries, reporting changes and separation, plus Rijksoverheid's claim guidance
• Belastingdienst, "Can I get kindgebonden budget?"
• Expat media: IamExpat, Expatica, DutchReview, ACCESS Netherlands, The Hague International Centre and DutchNews

1. The 2026 amounts: higher since July

Amounts are per child, per quarter, in three steps that rise with age. The SVB announced on 19 June 2026 that they would go up from 1 July (the third quarter), and its amounts page now shows the same figures for the third and fourth quarters of 2026. On 3 November 2026 the page did not yet show amounts for the first quarter of 2027.

The table compares the first and second halves of 2026. The yearly column is our own arithmetic (second-half amount times four), not an SVB figure.

The July rise is about €3 to €5 a quarter at every age. The SVB said the new amounts would reach bank accounts for the first time in early October 2026.

Watch out for old amounts

Expat articles often carry figures from another year. IamExpat's article, last updated on 24 December 2025, gives €291.49, €353.95 and €416.41 a quarter for 2026, which does not match the SVB's first-half 2026 amounts (€295.07, €358.30 and €421.53). We used the SVB page throughout. For any claim or budget, use the SVB's current figures.

Age bands switch on the first day of the quarter

The amount does not change the day after a birthday. The SVB looks at your child's age on the first day of the quarter being paid (1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October). If the child has not yet turned 6 or 12 on that day, you still get the old amount for that quarter.

The table below shows how a 6th (or 12th) birthday maps to the first quarter with the higher amount. It is a general illustration of the rule; the SVB site also has a birth date calculator.

So depending on where the birthday falls, the increase can arrive up to three months later than you expect. If the amount did not rise after a birthday, check the child's age on the first day of the quarter first.

Order of magnitude over 18 years

If the second-half 2026 amounts stayed constant, six years at each band would add up to about €26,089 (€7,161.60 + €8,696.40 + €10,230.96). Amounts change twice a year and quarter boundaries shift the totals, so treat this only as a sense of scale.

2. Payment dates: paid after each quarter

Kinderbijslag is paid after a quarter ends, not during it. The benefit for January to March arrives in early April. These are the SVB's published dates.

January and October fall on the 4th, not the 1st. Dates differ from year to year, so do not assume "always the 1st"; use the SVB's current list. The date for the fourth quarter of 2027 (early 2028) was not published on 3 November 2026.

Time of day, and foreign bank accounts

The SVB says it cannot know when the money lands in your account, because that depends on your bank. Someone else may have received theirs while yours is still on its way. Check again later in the day.

The SVB also pays to foreign accounts. It normally sends euros through Citibank, so the money can take longer to arrive, and the SVB says its own cost is at most €0.48 a payment. Your own bank may charge extra. For a few countries (Australia, Canada, the UK, Morocco, New Zealand, the United States and South Africa) it pays in local currency instead, in two moments each month.

How the first payment is decided

The first quarter you are paid for depends on the child's birth date. The SVB says that a child born on the first day of a quarter counts from that quarter; a child born after that day counts from the next quarter.

These rows apply the SVB rule to example dates. A baby born on 1 January is covered three months earlier than a baby born the next day. The quarter in which a baby is born is not covered unless the birth is on its first day, so plan the first months without this money.

Age 18, and children aged 16 or 17

Kinderbijslag runs until the child turns 18. Because it is paid in arrears, you still get a payment after the 18th birthday, and that is the last one. For 16- and 17-year-olds the rules change: the SVB says the child must be in education, hold a startkwalificatie (a havo, vwo or mbo level 2 or higher diploma), or have an exemption. See the SVB page on children aged 16 and 17 (Dutch).

3. After the birth is registered: a letter, then Mijn SVB

For a first child born in the Netherlands, the sequence below applies. The split is simple: the municipality registers the birth, the SVB handles the claim.

1. Register the birth

You register the birth with the municipality within 3 working days, not counting the day of birth (Rijksoverheid's checklist). Registration puts the baby in the population register and issues a BSN, and the municipality passes the birth to the SVB. Our guide to having a baby in the Netherlands covers the registration itself.

2. The SVB letter

SVB pages give slightly different waits: its FAQ says you will hear within four weeks, its claim page says to wait three to six weeks, Rijksoverheid says about two to four weeks after registration, and The Hague International Centre says two to four weeks as well. Treat it as a few weeks, and call the SVB if nothing has arrived after six.

3. Claim in Mijn SVB

When the letter arrives, log in to Mijn SVB with DigiD (the Dutch government login, with SMS check or the DigiD app) and finish the claim. The SVB says the claim is already waiting for you there. Ask the SVB for a paper form if you cannot use the portal (Rijksoverheid).

4. Decision and payments

After you claim, the SVB sends a decision with the amount and the start. Your first payment follows the rule in the section above.

If you already receive benefit for an older child

A second or later child born in the Netherlands normally needs no claim. Register the birth, and the SVB adjusts the amount and writes to you. The exception is when the child was born abroad, you live abroad, or you did not register the birth within one month: then you must tell the SVB yourself (Rijksoverheid).

Insure the baby within four months

Every SVB page on claiming adds the same warning: register the baby with your health insurer within four months, or medical costs may not be paid. That is an insurer step, not an SVB one, and it also applies if the child was born abroad and came here later.

4. If you moved here with your children

The "letter after registration" sequence describes a child born in the Netherlands and registered here. If you arrive with children, nothing triggers the SVB to write to you. Rijksoverheid says that when you come to live or work in the Netherlands with a child, you must give the child's details to the SVB yourself, otherwise you cannot claim. ACCESS Netherlands gives the same advice for children born abroad.

If you are unsure, first ask whether a letter would be triggered at all. If not, do not wait.

Order of steps after you arrive

The SVB has a claim route called "you have only recently started living or working in the Netherlands", which says to claim through Mijn SVB and to contact the SVB if that fails. DigiD needs a BSN, so the order is below. The sequence is our reading of the SVB and municipality guidance, and timings vary.

1. Register at your municipality, which gives you and your children a BSN.
2. Get a DigiD (with SMS check or the app).
3. Log in to Mijn SVB, enter the child's details and claim.
4. Register the children with a health insurer within four months.
5. Wait for the decision and check the first quarter it covers.

If your child needs a residence permit, our guide to residence permits explains the IND side.

What if you claim late?

Some online guides say payments can be back-dated by at most a year. We could not find that figure on an SVB page, so we do not state it. Claim as soon as you are registered, and ask the SVB about earlier periods.

5. Who qualifies: residence permits and work

Kinderbijslag requires you to be "insured" (verzekerd) under the Dutch national insurance scheme. That does not mean buying a policy. It follows from living or working in the Netherlands.

If you live here

The SVB says that people living in the Netherlands are insured for child benefit. Municipal registration alone does not automatically count as living here. The SVB also looks at whether you work here, where your family is, whether you have a home here, why you came, and your nationality.

Anyone who is not a Dutch, EU, EEA or Swiss national needs a residence permit, even if married to an EU citizen. The permit comes from the IND.

The permit type matters less than the facts

The SVB pages do not list which permit types qualify. They look at whether you actually live here, or work here with permission. Because permits for work, family or study may be treated differently, ask the SVB whether yours qualifies.

None of this includes a minimum income or hours. ACCESS Netherlands says there are no income or asset criteria, and Rijksoverheid says child benefit is paid to parents whatever their income.

Paid by a foreign employer, or posted from abroad

If you live here but your contract is with an employer in your home country, or you are covered by another country's social security, the Dutch position can change. NederlandWereldwijd says people working outside the Netherlands are usually not insured here, with exceptions such as a Dutch posting certificate (detacheringsverklaring). The combination of employer, home country cover and where you live decides it, so the SVB has to assess your case.

What this guide cannot decide for you

We cannot give personal advice on residence or social security. Ask the SVB directly if:

• your permit application is still pending;
• you are posted here and covered by your home country's social security;
• only one parent lives in the Netherlands;
• your child attends school abroad.

You can find the right office from the SVB's contact page (Dutch).

6. When your child lives abroad

Some parents live in the Netherlands while a child stays with grandparents or at school in the home country. What the SVB checks is your insurance status and where the child lives.

The SVB says kinderbijslag is paid for children who live in:

• an EU member state, an EEA country or Switzerland;
• a country with which the Netherlands has an agreement (a "verdragsland").

For a child living in a country without an agreement, the SVB says no kinderbijslag is paid. The SVB's list of non-EU treaty countries on 3 November 2026 is below.

If your child's country is not on this list, the child would not qualify, on the SVB's own description. Japan and India are two examples of countries that are not listed. Lists change and personal circumstances can change the outcome, so check the SVB's country lookup or ask the SVB before you rely on this.

Holidays and short trips do not count as moving away

If your child spends a long holiday in the home country, that is different. The SVB says a child on holiday, or travelling for a few months, does not count as living away from home for child benefit. A hospital stay under six months also keeps the child "at home". If the stay becomes long, for instance a child starting school abroad, the child effectively lives there, so tell the SVB beforehand.

When a child lives away from home inside the Netherlands

For boarding or lodging in the Netherlands, the SVB uses another rule. A child who sleeps away from home four nights a week or more is "uitwonend", and you only get benefit if you spend at least €540 a quarter on the child's upkeep. This is a domestic rule and does not apply to a child living abroad.

Amounts for children abroad

Where a child lives in a treaty country, the amount may be adjusted to local price levels by a woonlandfactor (country-of-residence factor). The SVB announced in August 2025 that factors changed for some countries from 1 January 2026. Children in countries without an agreement are not covered, though some people, such as Dutch government employees, have exceptions. We did not check any specific factor, so we do not quote one.

7. Moving away or leaving: what to report and when

Moving house or leaving the country can change the amount or end your entitlement. The SVB says to report mandatory changes within four weeks, or six weeks if you live outside the Netherlands. Report in Mijn SVB under "Wijziging doorgeven" (report a change) or with the paper form.

Those deadlines are the general ones the SVB gives for mandatory changes. Whether a particular change must be reported is listed on the SVB page on which changes to report (Dutch).

If you move home yourself

The SVB says that if you move out of the Netherlands and are no longer insured, the benefit stops, and you may be able to claim a similar family benefit (gezinsbijslag) from the new country. Whatever family benefit your home country pays is a separate system with its own rules, and this guide does not cover it.

If you do not report

The SVB says that following the rules and reporting on time is how you avoid a boete (fine). Details of fines and other measures are on its page "Boeten en maatregelen".

If the children go home first

A family sometimes sends the children back first, or one parent leaves ahead of the others. How that period is treated depends on where the child lives, who is insured and for how long. Once you have a date, ask the SVB before it happens.

8. After a separation: who gets the benefit

The SVB's basic rule is that the parent the child lives with gets kinderbijslag. If you separate and the child keeps living with the current payee, nothing changes.

So the payee only moves when the child's home moves.

What counts as shared care

The SVB calls it co-ouderschap when all of these apply:

• you raise and look after the child together;
• the child stays with each of you in turn, about equally often;
• you pay the child's costs together, about half each;
• the arrangement is written down and signed by both of you, or set by a court.

If so, you can agree how to divide the payment. With a signed agreement the SVB follows it; without one, it takes a court ruling into account. If nothing is arranged, each parent gets half.

Effect on residence rights and on kindgebonden budget

A separation changes more than child benefit. The SVB says it usually affects kindgebonden budget too. If your residence permit depends on your partner, there are separate reporting deadlines; see our guide to separating when you hold a partner-based permit.

9. Kinderbijslag versus kindgebonden budget

Kinderbijslag is often mentioned together with the kindgebonden budget (child-related budget). The names are alike, but the payer, the conditions and the payment rhythm are all different.

The table sets the SVB's and the Belastingdienst's descriptions side by side, as at 3 November 2026.

You can read from this that receiving kinderbijslag is the entry ticket for kindgebonden budget. In general you cannot get kindgebonden budget without it. One exception is for 16- and 17-year-olds who meet certain conditions.

Amounts

Kindgebonden budget depends on income and the number of children, so this guide does not quote amounts. Use the Belastingdienst's calculator. For the whole toeslagen system, deadlines and repayments, see our guide to Dutch allowances; for childcare costs, see childcare costs in the Netherlands.

Two claims, two offices

The kinderbijslag claim and the kindgebonden budget claim are separate procedures at separate offices. If you already receive another allowance such as rent or health care allowance, the SVB says you do not need to claim kindgebonden budget; Dienst Toeslagen writes to you within eight weeks of the birth. If nothing comes after eight weeks, claim in Mijn toeslagen. Kindgebonden budget starts on the first day of the month after the birth.

10. Common stumbling blocks

If the letter never arrives

The SVB sends the letter after the municipality passes on the birth. If you just moved, or your registered address is out of date, the letter can go astray. After six weeks, contact the SVB.

If DigiD does not work

Mijn SVB uses DigiD. The SVB also offers a paper form and a contact route for those who cannot log in. If you live in Europe, you can use a recognised European login.

11. What may change: one combined child scheme

Reform is under discussion. On 18 June 2026 Rijksoverheid said the cabinet is exploring a single "kindregeling" that would merge kinderbijslag and kindgebonden budget. A minister and a state secretary sent options to the House of Representatives. The aims are fewer repayments and, ideally, automatic payment without a separate claim.

DutchNews reported on 24 February 2026 that the coalition wants the merger, run by the SVB. According to the CPB, families who get only kinderbijslag would gain €238 to €339 a year per child, and families who get both would gain €30 to €131.

This is a plan, not a decision, and no start date has been given. Until something changes, the rules in this guide apply. If a change is decided, check the SVB and Rijksoverheid.

12. What to do, step by step

If a baby is born or about to be born

1. Register the birth with the municipality within three working days.
2. Register the baby with your health insurer within four months.
3. Wait for the SVB letter; contact the SVB if it has not come after six weeks.
4. Claim in Mijn SVB with your DigiD.
5. Read the decision to see the amount and first quarter.

If you moved here with children

1. Register to get BSNs for you and the children.
2. Get a DigiD.
3. Claim yourself in Mijn SVB.
4. Register the children with an insurer.
5. If you need a permit, check your permit status too.

If something changes

1. Report a move, separation, new partner, marriage or your child moving abroad within four weeks (six if you live abroad), in Mijn SVB.
2. Read each decision letter again.
3. If unsure, contact the SVB.

Budgeting

The first payment comes after the quarter following the birth, so plan the first months without it.

13. Quick guide by situation

These are general situations, not individual cases.

14. What not to do

15. Checklist

• I know the birth or arrival date of each child.
• We have BSNs and a DigiD.
• The birth was registered within three working days (if born here).
• The child is registered with an insurer within four months.
• The SVB letter arrived, or six weeks passed and I contacted the SVB.
• I claimed in Mijn SVB and checked the amount and first quarter.
• I tested whether we might get kindgebonden budget.
• I will report moves, separation and a child moving abroad within four weeks (six if abroad).

16. Summary

• From July to December 2026 kinderbijslag is €298.40, €362.35 and €426.29 per child per quarter by age band, regardless of income.
• It is paid after each quarter; the SVB's dates are 4 January, 1 April, 1 July and 4 October 2027.
• After a birth in the Netherlands, the SVB letter leads you to claim in Mijn SVB.
• If you moved here with children, no letter comes: register, get DigiD and claim yourself.
• You must live or work in the Netherlands, and non-EU nationals need a residence permit. A child in a country that is not on the SVB treaty list (Japan and India are examples) is not covered, on the SVB's description.
• Report moves, separation and a child moving abroad within four weeks (six if abroad); the payee is generally the parent the child lives with.
• Kindgebonden budget is a separate income-tested benefit for which receiving kinderbijslag is the entry point.

Where the answer depends on your situation, ask the SVB.

Sources used

Primary (SVB and government)

• Amounts and payment dates for kinderbijslag — SVB: 2026 amounts by age, 2027 payment dates, age rule, foreign account costs
• Kinderbijslag rises on 1 July 2026 — SVB: notice of 19 June 2026
• When do you receive the first kinderbijslag — SVB: how the first payment is set
• You are having a child — SVB: the sequence after a birth
• Claim kinderbijslag — SVB: claim routes by situation, separation, no letter
• FAQ on claiming — SVB: letter timing, separation, shared care
• Living in the Netherlands — SVB: registration is not enough, permits, short stays
• Your child moves abroad — SVB: children living abroad
• You move abroad to live or work — SVB: parents moving abroad
• Treaty countries — SVB: list of treaty countries
• New country-of-residence factors from 1 January 2026 — SVB: factors and non-treaty countries
• Report a change — SVB: four- and six-week deadlines
• Changes in your family — SVB: separation, marriage, a new child
• When is your child living at home or away — SVB: holidays, hospital stays, domestic lodging
• Education for children aged 16 and 17 — SVB: conditions at 16 and 17
• Kindgebonden budget — SVB: how the two benefits link
• How do I claim kinderbijslag? — Rijksoverheid: when you must report the child yourself
• Checklist: having a child — Rijksoverheid: 3 working days to register, four months to insure
• Cabinet works on a simple child scheme — Rijksoverheid: 18 June 2026, merger idea
• Can I get kindgebonden budget? — Belastingdienst: conditions for kindgebonden budget
• Can I get kinderbijslag outside the Netherlands? — NederlandWereldwijd: insurance when working or living abroad

Expat media

• Child benefits in the Netherlands — IamExpat: updated 24 December 2025; amounts are from another period
• Child benefits in the Netherlands — Expatica: updated February 2025; kinderbijslag versus kindgebonden budget
• The ultimate guide to applying for child benefits — DutchReview: updated 2022; application steps and documents (amounts are old)
• How can I get kindersbijslag — ACCESS Netherlands: no income or asset criteria
• Legal matters regarding birth — The Hague International Centre: registration and letter timing
• Child benefit reforms will leave poorer families behind: CPB — DutchNews: 24 February 2026, merger idea and CPB estimates

We checked the SVB and Rijksoverheid pages on 3 November 2026. Dates of expat articles are those shown on each article. Rules and amounts change, so check the current SVB page before you claim.