This is one of the questions expat families ask us the most: does it actually pay off for both of us to keep working, or does the cost of childcare mean one of us is basically working just to pay the nanny? It’s a fair question, and the answer isn’t obvious. Let’s run the numbers.
The system is built for both parents to work
Before calculating anything, it helps to understand the Dutch logic: every childcare benefit assumes both parents work. Kinderopvangtoeslag disappears if one parent stops working. Kindgebonden budget drops if income falls too much. And the tax system also pushes both partners toward the labor market.
To be clear: staying home is a completely valid personal choice. But the Dutch financial system gives you fairly clear incentives to keep both parents working.
The full calculation: what comes in and what goes out
To know whether it pays off, you need to look at the whole picture. What comes in:
- Net salary (after taxes).
- Kinderopvangtoeslag (up to 96% of childcare costs, depending on income).
- Kindgebonden budget (up to around €2,580/year per child in 2026, depending on income).
- Kinderbijslag (€295.07 per quarter per child aged 0-5 in 2026).
What goes out:
- Your share of childcare (whatever the subsidy doesn’t cover).
- Commuting costs.
- Other work-related expenses (clothing, meals out, etc.).
A real example: how much is left over?
A concrete example with 2026 figures. Laura earns €2,500 gross a month; her partner earns €3,500. They have a 2-year-old in dagopvang 4 days a week (144 hours/month) at €11.23/hour, the official 2026 cap.
Scenario A: both parents work
- Laura’s net income: ~€1,900/month
- Gross childcare cost: ~€1,617/month
- Combined income ~€72,000 → kinderopvangtoeslag covers ~82%: ~€1,326
- What they pay for childcare: ~€291/month
- What Laura’s income adds to the household: ~€1,600/month
Scenario B: Laura stops working
- No income from Laura.
- They lose kinderopvangtoeslag (it no longer applies since she’s not working).
- No childcare cost (the child stays home).
- Kindgebonden budget may go up slightly as combined income drops.
- Difference compared to working: ~€1,600 less a month in the household.
In this case, Laura working puts over a thousand net euros a month into the household. That’s not nothing.
When might it NOT be worth it?
The math changes in a few scenarios:
- Very low salaries with several kids in childcare at once: what’s left to pay can get close to the net salary itself.
- A lot of childcare hours: full-time hours with multiple kids means what the subsidy doesn’t cover adds up fast.
- Expensive childcare in a big city: if the rate is well above the cap, that extra comes entirely out of your pocket.
Even so, continuing to work usually pays off in the medium term: you keep your work history intact, keep building pension rights (pensioenopbouw), and avoid having to re-enter the workforce from scratch once the kids are older.
What the numbers don’t capture
There’s something no calculator tells you: the opportunity cost of stepping out of the labor market. Careers in the Netherlands are built over time, and two or three years away can cost you seniority, technical relevance, and in some sectors, coming back can be harder than expected. That’s not an argument against staying home — it’s a variable that deserves a seat at the table, alongside the euros.
Tools for your own calculation
Every family is different. For your specific case:
- Kinderopvangtoeslag calculator — Belastingdienst
- 2026 maximum rates and percentages — Rijksoverheid
- Kindgebonden budget calculator — Belastingdienst
- Nettoloonberekening.nl — for your net salary
With that, you can build a realistic picture in under half an hour. And for the full context, check out how much childcare really costs and our guide to the four Dutch government subsidies you might be missing.
The bottom line is simple: between kinderbijslag, kindgebonden budget and especially kinderopvangtoeslag, the Netherlands turns what looks like an impossible burden into something fairly manageable. The key is knowing about these benefits, applying for them, and keeping them up to date.
Have you run these numbers for your own family? Tell us how it worked out in the comments.
