Dutch Healthcare Allowance (zorgtoeslag)

All Dutch citizens and employees are required to have a health insurance. Foreign nationals moving to the Netherlands must enroll in Dutch health insurance within four months of receiving their residence permit. The health insurance in the Netherlands is often considered to be on the expensive side, amounting to an average of 1500 euros per year per person in 2021. For this reason, if you reside in the Netherlands you may be eligible for a healthcare allowance (zorgtoeslag). The monthly premium payment for the Dutch health insurance is partially covered by this benefit.

The “zorgtoeslag” is a scheme put together by the Dutch government in order to help low income families with their healthcare insurance premium.

The healthcare allowance may also be requested by foreign nationals or students who are (temporarily) employed in the Netherlands.

You can submit an application for a healthcare benefit through the website of the Dutch tax authority. A DigiD is required for this.

You will be asked some questions about your age, income, and marital status during the application process.

Additionally, you may apply for the “zorgtoeslag” for any prior years (if applicable).

You can inform the tax authority of any changes to your circumstances, like an increase in income, via the website, otherwise if there is any surplus in your healthcare allowance, you will be sent an invoice in order to pay it back to the government.

Yes, you have until September of this year to make a request if you want back payments from 2021. The deadline to submit an application for 2022 is September 2022, and so on.