Zorgtoeslag 2026: who gets it, how much, and how to apply — the allowance that pays half your health insurance

In short: Dutch health insurance is compulsory and expensive — €140–185 a month. The zorgtoeslag
(healthcare allowance) is the state’s contribution to it: in 2026 up to €129 a month for a single
person, €246 for a couple, if your income and assets are under a limit. It doesn’t come by itself:
you have to apply, with DigiD, on the Belastingdienst website — and it can be claimed retroactively,
for 2026 until 1 September 2027. This article covers the conditions, the amounts and the steps to apply,
plus the two pitfalls that hit agency workers in particular: a spouse’s income back home, and repayment.

Who is entitled

Four conditions, and you need all four:

1. You are 18 or older.
2. You have Dutch basic health insurance (basisverzekering). This is the key: the allowance goes
   with the insurance, not with an address. Anyone who works in the Netherlands and pays contributions here
   must be insured, and is thereby entitled to the allowance — also when registered in the RNI with a
   foreign address*¹.
3. Your income is under the limit: in 2026 €40,857 for a single person, €51,142 jointly for a
   couple, annual gross income. On minimum wage, full-time, that fits comfortably.
4. Your assets are under the limit: on 1 January 2026 €146,011 for a single person, €184,633 for
   a couple — savings, bank balances, a second property together (your own home doesn’t count).

“Couple” here is not a matter of choice. The Belastingdienst treats your spouse or registered partner as
your toeslagpartner even if they live at home in Hungary, Poland or Romania and have never set foot in
the Netherlands. In that case the joint income counts towards the limit — your spouse’s earnings at home
too*². This is the most common mistake agency workers make: they apply as single, are assessed as a
couple, and have to pay back the difference.

How much you get

The allowance is income-dependent: the less you earn, the more you get.

	Maximum (2026)	Income limit	Asset limit
Single	€129/month	€40,857/year	€146,011
With a toeslagpartner	€246/month	€51,142/year	€184,633

The maximum applies at the lowest incomes and tapers to zero as you approach the limit. A full-time
minimum-wage earner (about €28,000 gross a year) is typically close to the maximum, but not at it*³ —
the exact amount comes from the Belastingdienst calculator (“Proefberekening toeslagen”), 2 minutes,
no DigiD needed.

What to expect from 2027: the asset limit is planned to drop by about €30,000*⁴. That rarely affects
an agency worker living on wages, but it matters to anyone who sold a flat at home and has the money in
the bank.

How to apply — step by step

1. You need DigiD. No BSN, no DigiD; no DigiD, no application — which is why this is step four of
   “The first 30 days”. (Our article: “The first 30 days in the Netherlands”.)
2. Belastingdienst → Mijn Toeslagen → Zorgtoeslag aanvragen. Free. You need: your insurer’s name and
   policy number, your estimated annual income, your bank account number (in your own name), and your
   partner’s details if you have one.
3. You estimate your income — estimate it realistically. The allowance is an advance (voorschot):
   it’s calculated on the annual income you give, paid monthly (around the 20th), and finalised the
   following year on your actual income. If you stated less than you earned, the difference is claimed
   back.
4. It can be claimed retroactively. If you’ve just realised you’ve been entitled for six months: for
   2026 the application can be filed until 1 September 2027, and it’s paid from January (or from the
   start of your insurance).

Through the agency? Some agencies “help” with the zorgtoeslag and have the allowance paid into their
own account, to offset it against the insurance premium they deduct. Don’t allow it: the allowance is due
in your name, to your account, and your DigiD is yours. If the agency handles it, you don’t see how
much came in, and at the final settlement it’s you who pays back.

The two pitfalls that hit agency workers in particular

1. Worldwide income counts, not only the Dutch part. If you worked at home for part of the year, that
income also counts in the annual total — in the application you estimate the whole year. If you live in a
“spring to autumn in the Netherlands, winter at home” rhythm, you’re entitled, but the estimate is harder:
estimate on the high side; the difference is paid out at finalisation anyway.

2. When you leave, stop it. The zorgtoeslag goes with Dutch insurance. When you go home and the insurance
ends, the allowance must be stopped (Mijn Toeslagen → stopzetten) — if it keeps running, that too is
claimed back, in one sum. The same if your income rises significantly during the year (overtime, allowances,
a second job): adjust the estimate, don’t wait for the letter.

What to do with letters from the Belastingdienst: don’t put them aside. The Dutch allowance system
communicates everything by letter — advance, changes, final settlement, repayment — and the deadlines are
short. If you’re in the RNI with a foreign address, the letter goes there; in Mijn Toeslagen everything is
readable just the same.

What to do now

1. Run the trial calculation on the Belastingdienst site (Proefberekening toeslagen) — 2 minutes,
   and you know whether you’re entitled and roughly how much.
2. Apply with DigiD, to your own account, with a realistic annual income — and if you’re entitled
   retroactively, claim that too.
3. Put it in your calendar: if you leave the Netherlands or your income rises, you adjust in Mijn
   Toeslagen — the same month.

Related: The first 30 days in the Netherlands: BSN, DigiD, insurance, bank →
In the listings, the “Pay” field shows gross hourly pay; to estimate annual income, multiply by weekly hours
and by 52.

* Notes — where there is no exact or citable figure:
*¹ The exact conditions for zorgtoeslag with a foreign (RNI) address and Dutch insurance also depend on the Belastingdienst’s individual assessment; this article describes the main rule (the insurance is the basis), not the exceptions.
*² The toeslagpartner status of a spouse living abroad and the inclusion of joint income follow from the Belastingdienst’s general partner rule; whether the single or the couple maximum applies when the partner has no Dutch insurance was not verified for this article — the calculator gives a precise answer.
*³ The minimum-wage example is our own estimate (€14.99 × 36 hours × 52 weeks ≈ €28,000); the actual allowance is only given by the Belastingdienst calculator.
*⁴ The 2027 asset-limit reduction is a government plan from November 2025 (per the Zorgwijzer summary); the final figure was not verified for this article.

Sources: Zorgwijzer — Zorgtoeslag 2026 — hoeveel ontvang jij? (2026-09-02) · Zorgwijzer — Zorgtoeslag omlaag in 2026: bereken hier hoeveel je per maand krijgt (2025-11-20) · Belastingdienst — Zorgtoeslag: voorwaarden en aanvragen (2026) · Flexnieuws — Per 1 juli 2026 stijgt het wettelijk minimumuurloon naar € 14,99 (2026-04-25)