What is huurtoeslag?
Renting in the Netherlands is expensive, and for many households the rent takes a large share of their income. To help with that, the benefits service of the Dutch tax authority (Belastingdienst/Toeslagen) pays a monthly contribution towards your rent called huurtoeslag, or rent allowance.
Huurtoeslag is a means-tested contribution to the rent of a self-contained home. You do not get it automatically: you apply for it yourself. What you receive during the year is based on the income you expect. The Belastingdienst calculates the final amount later, and if your actual income turns out higher than your estimate, you may have to pay part of it back.
This guide covers what changed in 2026, who qualifies, how the amount is worked out and how to apply.
2026 changes: what is new this year?
2026 brought the biggest simplification of huurtoeslag in years. Most of the changes widen access.
The maximum rent limit is gone
Until the end of 2025, your rent could be too high for huurtoeslag. If it was above the maximum rent limit, you usually got nothing, however low your income. From 2026, that maximum is no longer a condition. Renters with a lower income and a higher rent can now apply, just like tenants of social housing.
There is still a ceiling on what counts. You receive allowance only over the part of your rent up to €932.93 a month in 2026. The government expected about 170,000 households to qualify through this change, receiving an average of €175 a month.
Full huurtoeslag from 21 instead of 23
You can get huurtoeslag from the age of 18. Until 2025, young people only had a right to full huurtoeslag from 23. In 2026 that age dropped to 21, the same age at which the full statutory minimum wage starts.
If everyone in your household is under 21, the allowance is calculated over the part of the rent up to €498.20 (2026). Before 2026, under-21s could only get huurtoeslag if their rent was below that amount. Now they can also apply when the rent is higher, and the allowance covers the part up to €498.20.
Service costs no longer count
Until 2025, part of four types of communal service costs counted towards the rent used for your allowance. From 2026 that contribution has gone, and the rent used for huurtoeslag is simply your kale huur: the bare rent, as stated in your contract. The government estimated that about 20% of existing recipients would receive less as a result, on average €9 a month.
Lower personal contribution and a simpler taper
Everyone who receives huurtoeslag pays a net €7.58 less in personal contribution (eigen bijdrage) from 2026. The way the allowance reduces as your income rises has also changed to a linear taper, so it is easier to predict what happens to your allowance if you earn more.
Eligibility: do you qualify?
To receive huurtoeslag in 2026, the main conditions are:
Age. You are 18 or older. Separate rules apply if you are younger.
A rental agreement for a self-contained home. You and your landlord have a rental agreement for a zelfstandige woonruimte: a home with its own lockable front door, its own kitchen with a sink and a connection for a cooker, its own toilet and, since 1 March 2024, its own shower or bath. If you share the toilet, kitchen, shower or bath with other tenants, it is not self-contained. Some non-self-contained homes still qualify, so check the Belastingdienst’s list if you are unsure. You cannot get huurtoeslag for a houseboat.
Registration. You and everyone you live with are registered with the municipality (in the BRP) at the address. Your address must appear in Mijn toeslagen before you can apply.
Living in the Netherlands, lawfully. You live in the Netherlands, and you, your benefits partner and any co-residents aged 18 or over have Dutch nationality or are lawfully resident. For a non-EU national, that means a valid residence permit that gives a right to benefits.
Paying the rent. You pay the rent yourself and can show it with bank statements. Your partner or a co-resident may not own the home.
Income. Your income may not be too high, but there is no fixed income limit. How much you can earn depends on your rent, your age and the make-up of your household. The income that counts is your toetsingsinkomen, and the income of a benefits partner and co-residents counts too. Part of the income of children living at home does not.
Assets. On 1 January 2026, each resident may have at most €38,479 in assets, such as savings, shares or a holiday home. Partners together may have at most €76,958. The home you live in and your car do not count. The assets of a child under 18 count towards yours.
How much can you receive?
There is no flat rate. Your allowance depends on your income, your rent, your age, your household and your assets. The Belastingdienst says plainly that it cannot give a general answer, and points everyone to its proefberekening (trial calculation). That is the only reliable way to see your own amount.
What is known about how the calculation works in 2026:
- You always pay part of the rent yourself. That part is roughly €200 a month. The government’s 2026 figures put the minimum base rent at €202.52 for a single-person household and €200.71 for a multi-person household.
- There is no allowance over the part of your rent above €932.93. For a household in which everyone is under 21, that limit is €498.20.
- Lower income, more allowance. Someone with a low income usually receives more than someone with a higher income, and at some income level the allowance stops.
- Higher rent, usually more allowance. But you never get the whole rent covered.
The government’s 2026 parameter table also shows that the rent above your own contribution is covered in steps. It lists 100% up to the “kwaliteitskortingsgrens” of €498.20, 65% between that and the “aftoppingsgrens” (€713.02 for one or two people, €764.14 for three or more), and 40% above the aftoppingsgrens, up to €932.93. You do not need to calculate this yourself; the proefberekening does it for you.
How to apply: step by step
Step 1: Check the conditions. Run the proefberekening on the Belastingdienst website. You fill in your situation and see whether you would get huurtoeslag, and roughly how much.
Step 2: Prepare. Make sure you are registered at the address with your municipality. After a move, the new address appears in Mijn toeslagen within 1 to 5 working days of the municipality processing it. Have your rental contract and any letters from your landlord ready, because you need to enter the kale huur. You also need your expected annual income, and that of your benefits partner if you have one. It helps to activate your MijnOverheid Berichtenbox, so you get an email when there is post about your application.
Step 3: Log in to Mijn toeslagen. This is your personal environment on the Belastingdienst website, where you log in with DigiD.
Step 4: Apply. Choose “Huurtoeslag” and then “Aanvragen”, answer the questions and send the application. Some details are already filled in. You usually see straight away how much allowance you will get, and you normally receive a letter, by post and in your Berichtenbox, within 5 weeks.
When it starts. Huurtoeslag starts on the first day of a month. If you are not yet registered at the address on the first of the month, it starts the month after.
Applying for an earlier year. You do not have to apply in the same year. Huurtoeslag over 2025, for example, can still be requested until 31 December 2026. Huurtoeslag over 2024 can no longer be requested; that deadline was 2 September 2025.
Common mistakes to avoid
Not reporting changes. If your income or your household changes, you must report it to the Belastingdienst within 4 weeks. Your allowance is an advance based on the information you give. If your final income is higher than you estimated, you will have to pay back the difference.
Forgetting about the people you live with. A partner or other co-resident moving in changes your household. Their income counts, and their assets have to stay under the limit too. A co-resident with more than €38,479 on 1 January can mean you get no huurtoeslag for that year.
Assuming you do not qualify. The old rent limit no longer applies, so renters who were turned down before 2026 because their rent was too high may qualify now. Run the proefberekening before you decide.
Waiting too long. Late applications are possible, but each year has a deadline. Over 2025 that is 31 December 2026.
Using the wrong rent figure. Enter your kale huur, the rent without service costs, gas, water or electricity. If you pay an all-in price, ask your landlord to split it into rent and costs.
Find a rental that fits your budget
Understanding huurtoeslag is one part of the equation. The other is finding a home whose kale huur keeps the allowance meaningful for you, ideally with a rent that does not run far past €932.93, because nothing above that amount is covered.
RentBear watches the major Dutch rental sites and alerts you when a listing matches your search (instantly or hourly on Premium, in one daily digest on the free plan). You set a maximum rent, and each alert links to the original listing, so you can respond directly.
Set up your free search on RentBear and hear about homes that fit your budget.
Sources
- Belastingdienst, Kan ik huurtoeslag krijgen?
- Belastingdienst, Voorwaarden voor huurtoeslag
- Belastingdienst, Hoeveel huurtoeslag kan ik krijgen?
- Belastingdienst, Hoe hoog mag mijn inkomen zijn voor huurtoeslag?
- Belastingdienst, Hoeveel vermogen mag ik hebben om huurtoeslag te krijgen?
- Belastingdienst, Voor welke woningen kan ik huurtoeslag krijgen?
- Belastingdienst, Ik ben geen Nederlander: kan ik huurtoeslag krijgen?
- Belastingdienst, Hoe moet ik huurtoeslag aanvragen?
- Belastingdienst, Tot wanneer kan ik een toeslag aanvragen?
- Volkshuisvesting Nederland, Wijzigingen huurtoeslag
- Rijksoverheid, Indexering inkomensgrenzen, maximale huurprijsgrenzen en huurtoeslagparameters 2026 (25 November 2025)
- Rijksoverheid, Hoeveel huur betaal ik maximaal voor mijn woning? (all-in rent split)
