Housing allowance

What is housing allowance?

The Dutch government created the Dutch housing allowance (also known as rental allowance or rent benefit) as a financial contribution towards the cost of a rented dwelling. The housing allowance (in Dutch: "huurtoeslag”) is only intended for people below a government-determined income threshold. In addition, there is a maximum rent eligible for subsidization. In order to be eligible for the housing allowance you have to meet certain conditions.

Conditions housing allowance

Anyone above 18 years old and rents a house /apartment in the Netherlands can request for housing allowance. You have to meet the following criteria.

1. Dutch residence permit or Dutch/EU-nationality;

2. Independent (autonomous) housing;

3. Total rent payable below threshold;

4. The gross employment income is below the threshold;

5. Worldwide estate / wealth below the threshold;

Please find further explanation regarding the conditions below.

1. Dutch nationality / residence permit

To be entitled to housing allowance, you must have the Dutch nationality or a residence permit received from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (IND). In the latter case, you can receive housing allowance as long as the license is valid. If you have the nationality of one of the EU-countries (and Liechtenstein, Norway, Iceland of Switzerland), you automatically have a residence permit.

 2. Independent housing

To be entitled to Dutch housing allowance, you must have independent housing. A home is regarded as independent housing when it has an own entrance-door that you can lock from the inside / outside and meets the following conditions:

a. Private living and/or bed room;
b. Private kitchen with sink, water supply and cooking;
c. Private toilet with water supply.

Type of housing

Residence that qualify as independent housing include:

1. Apartments
2. Private rooms
3. Flats
4. House / Villa
5. Split house/dwelling with one address
6. Shared apartment
7. Trailer

Room / Lodging

In case you live in lodging and share a toilet or kitchen with other tenants/roommates, your room does not qualify as independent housing unless the building in which you rent is registered for housing allowance. This information is available via your landlord or housing association.

The following residences do not qualify as independent housing.

1. House boot 
2. Temporary stay

3. Maximum yearly income

The base of your annual income is your gross annual Dutch income (“verzamelinkomen”). You can find your annual income in your Dutch income tax return of the previous year or tax assessment.

Please note that income from a student finance loan is exempt. Thus, this is excluded in the calculation of your annual income. 

If you did not file a tax return yet: the rule of thumb to determine the annual income is 12,8 times your monthly salary.

Single: income < EUR 22.700
In the year 2019 you are entitled to housing allowance in case your annual gross income does not exceed € 22.700.

For 2018 the maximum annual gross income amounts to € 22.400

Including partner: income < EUR 30.825. 
In the year 2019 you are entitled to housing allowance in case the joint annual gross income does not exceed € 30.825.

For 2018 the joint maximum annual gross income is EUR 30.400

The exact amount of the housing allowance to be received depends on your income and the rent paid.

When do I have a partner for housing allowance purposes?

You have a partner when:

1. Married or “geregistreerd partnerschap”:

If you are married, or if you entered into a “geregistreerd partnerschap”, you are considered to have a partner.

2. Not married or “geregistreerd partner”, but there are several people (“roommates”) registered at your address and if one or more of the following conditions apply:

- Cohabitation agreement: you have concluded a cohabitation agreement with your “roommate” at the notary.
- Together a child: you and your “roommate” have a child together.
- Child recognized: You have acknowledged the child of your “roommate”, or your “roommate” acknowledged your child.
- Pension Partners: You and your roommate are partners in each other pension scheme.
- Homeowners: You and your roommate are joint homeowners.
- Minor in your household: you or one of your roommates has a minor child.
- Partner in the previous year! In the previous year you had an allowance partner.

 3. Roommate: a roommate is someone who is part of your household and is registered at the same address with the municipality. For example a child, grandchild, parent or just a roommate.

Partner during the year
When you become allowance partners during the year, but you lived earlier that year together, you will be seen as allowance partners from the moment of cohabitation.

Example: You live together since May 5th. On October 10 you sign a cohabitation agreement. As of May 5th you will be considered as allowance partners.

Divorced
If you are officially divorced, you do not have an allowance partner unless you have an allowance partner based on the rules mentioned above, for instance registered at your address.

You can apply for individual housing allowance as soon as you filed for divorce and are not joint registered at the town hall. Apply now via housingallowance.nl.

4. Worldwide assets

Do you, your allowance partner and roommate have assets, like savings, investments or real estate in the Netherlands or abroad? If the assets are above a certain threshold, you are not entitled to housing allowance. In case you have children below 18 years old (minors) with assets please add their assets to your own assets.

Assets

Savings, investments, bank accounts, stocks, bonds and other securities and real estate located in or outside of the Netherlands, not being your main residence minus loans, debts or mortgages.  

The reference date of the threshold is on January 1 of the specific year.

Threshold

In the table below you can find the threshold of assets you, your partner and your roommate can maximum hold per person to be entitled to Dutch housing allowance. The reference date is January 1, 2019.

Assets above the threshold? Stop your allowance now!

You are not entitled to Dutch housing allowance if your worldwide assets are above the threshold on January 1 of the specific year! Stop your housing allowance now via housingallowance.nl.

Did your assets decrease below the threshold on January 1 of the specific year. Apply now for your Dutch housing allowance via housingallowance.nl.

If you do not have allowance partner during the whole year, please do not include his or her assets when calculating the threshold. 

How we work

Arrange your housing allowance in 3 simple steps.

1. Calculate your refund;
2. Fill in the requested data 
3. Claim / alter or stop your housing allowance via our online form.

After completion and payment you will receive a confirmation e-mail with an overview of your application. Our mission is to maximize your benefit so upon receipt of the application our tax professionals will assess your application and will contact you via e-mail or telephone in case of any questions. After the assessment we will file your application with the Dutch tax authorities. Within 4-8 weeks you will receive the decision of the Dutch tax authorities. The allowance will be paid out on your bank account a week after.

As of which date can I apply for the Dutch housing allowance? 

You can apply for the Dutch housing allowance as of the date you are officially registered at the city hall and your residence meets all the required conditions. Please note that you can collect your Dutch housing allowance retroactively in case you request it before September 1 of the next year. Check now if you meet all the other conditions.

Independent housing

To be entitled to the Dutch housing allowance, you must have independent housing. A home is regarded as independent housing when it has an own entrance-door that you can lock from the inside/outside and meets the following conditions:

a. Private living and/or bed room
b. Private kitchen with sink, water supply and cooking.
c. Private toilet with water supply.

Type of housing

Residence that qualify as independent housing include:

1. Apartments
2. Private rooms
3. Flats
4. House / Villa
5. Split house/dwelling with one address
6. Shared apartment
7. Trailer

Room / Lodging

In case you live in lodging and share a toilet or kitchen with other tenants/roommates, your room does not qualify as independent housing unless the building in which you rent is registered for housing allowance. This information is available via your landlord or housing association.

The following residences do not qualify as independent housing.

1. House boot 
2. Temporary stay

When do I have a partner for housing allowance purposes?

You have a partner when:

1. Married or “geregistreerd partnerschap”:

If you are married, or if you entered into a “geregistreerd partnerschap”, you are considered to have a partner.

2. Not married or “geregistreerd partner”, but there are several people (“roommates”) registered at your address and if one or more of the following conditions apply:

- Cohabitation agreement: you have concluded a cohabitation agreement with your “roommate” at the notary.
- Together a child: you and your “roommate” have a child together.
- Child recognized: You have acknowledged the child of your “roommate”, or your “roommate” acknowledged your child.
- Pension Partners: You and your roommate are partners in each other pension scheme.
- Homeowners: You and your roommate are joint homeowners.
- Minor in your household: you or one of your roommates has a minor child.
- Partner in the previous year! In the previous year you had an allowance partner.

 3. Roommate: a roommate is someone who is part of your household and is registered at the same address with the municipality. For example a child, grandchild, parent or just a roommate.

Partner during the year
When you become allowance partners during the year, but you lived earlier that year together, you will be seen as allowance partners from the moment of cohabitation.

Example: You live together since May 5th. On October 10 you sign a cohabitation agreement. As of May 5th you will be considered as allowance partners.

Divorced
If you are officially divorced, you do not have an allowance partner unless you have an allowance partner based on the rules mentioned above, for instance registered at your address.

You can apply for individual housing allowance as soon as you filed for divorce and are not joint registered at the town hall. Apply now via housingallowance.nl.

Maximum yearly income

The base of your annual income is your gross annual Dutch income (“verzamelinkomen”). You can find your annual income in your Dutch income tax return of the previous year or in your final Dutch tax assessment.

Please note that income from a student finance loan is exempt, so does not have to be included in the calculation of your annual income. 

If you did not file a tax return yet: the rule of thumb to determine your annual gross income is 12,8 times your monthly salary.

Single: income < € 22.700
2019: you are entitled to housing allowance in case your annual gross income does not exceed € 22.700.
2018: you are entitled to housing allowance in case your annual gross income does not exceed € 22.400.

Including partner: income < € 30.825 
2019: you are entitled to housing allowance in case the joint annual gross income does not exceed € 30.825.
2018: you are entitled to housing allowance in case the joint annual gross income does not exceed € 30.400

Please note that the exact amount of the housing allowance to be received depends on your income and the rent paid. Calculate it via housingallowance.nl. 

Worldwide assets

Do you, your allowance partner and roommate have assets, like savings, investments or real estate in the Netherlands or abroad? If the assets are above a certain threshold, you are not entitled to housing allowance. In case you have children below 18 years old (minors) with assets please add their assets to your own assets.

Assets?

Savings, investments, bank accounts, stocks, bonds and other securities and real estate located in or outside of the Netherlands, not being your main residence minus loans, debts or mortgages.  

The reference date of the threshold is on January 1 of the specific year.

Threshold

In the table below you can find the threshold of assets you, your partner and your roommate can maximum hold per person to be entitled to Dutch housing allowance. The reference date is January 1, 2019.

Assets above the threshold? Stop your allowance now!

You are not entitled to Dutch housing allowance if your worldwide assets are above the threshold on January 1 of the specific year? Stop your housing allowance now via housingallowance.nl.

Did your assets decrease below the threshold on January 1 of the specific year. Apply now for your Dutch housing allowance via housingallowance.nl

If you do not have allowance partner during the whole year, please do not include his/her assets when calculating the threshold. 

Formalities

Registration municipality/town hall
In order to receive housing allowance you have to be registered with the municipality/town hall where you live.

Deadline
Housing allowance 2019
You can apply for housing allowance for the year 2019 from January 1, 2019 up to September 1, 2020.

Housing allowance 2018
You can apply for housing allowance for the year 2018 up to September 1, 2019.

Exception
There is one exception: if you have requested a postponement for filing your Dutch income tax return. In that case, you can apply for that year until the moment when the postponement expires.

Age

Age (=>18 years)
You are entitled to housing allowance as of the month following the month in which you turned 18 years. 

 Age (<18 years)
In principle you are only entitled to housing allowance if you 18 years old. However, if you meet the following conditions you can be eligible. 

• Both your parents passed away
• You are married or have a partner  (“geregistreerde partner”).
• You have a child

Required personal data / information

To apply for the housing allowance you are required to provide the following information. Please note that incorrect information can lead to the obligation to payback (a part of) the housing allowance at the end of the year. 

To apply for the housing allowance the following information is required:

1. Your name and (if applicable) of your partner;
2. Your address
3. Your social security number (BSN) and (if applicable) from your partner;
4. Bank account number (IBAN);
5. Estimation of your annual gross income and (if applicable) the income of your partner;
6. Rent payable per month (“rekenhuur”). Note: this is excluding service costs;
7. Copy of your rental agreement;
8. Your birth date and nationality, incl. and (if applicable) of your partner;

Dates of payment

In 2019 the healthcare allowance will be paid out on the following days: 2019

The Dutch tax authorities agreed with the Dutch banks that the allowance will be on your bank account on the same day as mentioned above.

Age

Age (=>18 years)
You are entitled to housing allowance as of the month following the month in which you turned 18 years. 

Age (<18 years)

In principle you are only entitled to housing allowance if you 18 years old. However, if you meet the following conditions you can be eligible. 

1. Both your parents passed away.
2. You are married or have a partner  (“geregistreerde partner”).
3. You have a child.

Housing allowance 2019

Request

Do you want to apply for the housing allowance 2019? Check our online module to see if you are eligible and how much housing allowance you can expect. 

If you expect a housing allowance 2019 we can arrange it for you via the online module. We use professional software approved by the Dutch tax authorities, no DigiD username or password required.

You can apply for the housing allowance 2018 up to September 1, 2019, unless you have requested for deferral of filing. Please note that to apply for the housing allowance 2018 you have to file a separate request.

Change

Already receiving housing allowance? However, did something changed in your personal situation, like your personal income or marital status? Please use our online tool to change your housing allowance 2019.

Stop

Receiving housing allowance, but not eligible anymore? Please note that you are responsible to stop your housing allowance as soon as you are not entitled to it anymore. You can stop your housing allowance quick and easy via housingallowance.nl

Housing allowance 2018

Request

Do you want to apply for the housing allowance 2018? Check our online module to see if you are eligible and how much housing allowance you can expect. 

If you expect housing allowance for 2018 we can arrange it for you via the online module. We use professional software approved by the Dutch tax authorities, no DigiD username or password required.

You can apply for the housing allowance 2018 from January 1, 2018 up to September 1, 2019. Please note that to apply for the housing allowance 2018 you have to file a separate request.

Change

Already receiving housing allowance? However, did something changed in your personal situation, like your personal income or marital status? Please use our online tool to change your housing allowance 2018.

Stop

Receiving housing allowance, but not eligible anymore? Please note that you are responsible to stop your housing allowance as soon as you are not entitled to it anymore. You can stop your housing allowance quick and easy via housingallowance.nl.