From 1 January 2029 the government wants to abolish the childcare allowance. Instead, the government pays an income-independent subsidy directly to childcare organisations and childminder agencies. Working parents then only pay a limited own contribution.
For you as an entrepreneur, what mainly changes is who pays you. Now the parent pays your whole invoice. Later, the largest part comes from the government, with conditions: childcare becomes a service of general economic interest (SGEI), and the subsidy may not exceed your costs plus a reasonable profit.
In short
- The government wants to move to a subsidy to the organisation in 2029, with a contribution of 95.6% of the maximum hourly rate for all working parents. The bill is with the Council of State and goes to the House of Representatives in autumn 2026.
- You may continue to set your own price. However, the subsidy may not exceed your costs plus a reasonable profit, and overcompensation is reclaimed. How high a reasonable profit is, is still being researched.
- In 2025, parents receiving the allowance paid on average 31.8% of the costs themselves, of which 4.6% for hourly rates above the maximum. 63% of parents paid more than the maximum hourly rate for at least one child.
Position on 1 November 2026. The new system is a bill. The House of Representatives and the Senate still have to decide on it.
In this article
- What changes in 2029?
- What does the subsidy mean for your cash flow?
- Will you still be allowed to charge more than the maximum hourly rate?
- What does the SGEI mean for your profit and your bookkeeping?
- Will your organisation fall under the Top Incomes Act?
- What changes for childminders and childminder agencies?
- What does research say about higher subsidies and more demand?
What changes in 2029?
The allowance for parents disappears and the government pays a subsidy directly to the childcare provider. The amount no longer depends on the parents' income. All working parents become entitled to the same contribution, and parents only need to register with the government once (Government of the Netherlands, plans for new childcare funding).
The government is raising the contribution step by step, until all working parents are entitled to 95.6% of the maximum hourly rate in 2029. For 2027, parents with a joint assessment income up to about € 72,000 are expected to receive the maximum percentage (Government of the Netherlands, news release 21 September 2026).
It is not yet certain. Minister Aartsen sent the bill to the Council of State on 21 September 2026. After that it goes to the House of Representatives in autumn 2026, and both Houses still have to decide on it (Government of the Netherlands). The government expects to spend about € 9 billion a year on childcare from 2029.
What does the subsidy mean for your cash flow?
Your largest debtor becomes the government instead of the parent. Now you invoice the parent and the parent waits for the allowance. According to Statistics Netherlands, childcare cost an allowance recipient an average of € 10,510 in 2025, of which 68% was reimbursed. The parent paid an average of € 3,340 themselves (CBS, Childcare reimbursement rose further in 2025).
How and when the government will pay is not yet set out in the public documents. For your liquidity that is the key question. So in your forecast for 2029, show two flows separately: the parents' own contribution and the subsidy. Include a scenario in which the subsidy arrives later than parents pay now.
Will you still be allowed to charge more than the maximum hourly rate?
Yes. According to the government, the SGEI does not regulate prices and you may keep charging the price you want for your services. The restriction is that the revenue from that higher price must equal the costs, including a reasonable profit (Government of the Netherlands, questions and answers on the SGEI, 10 February 2026).
The average price is already above the maximum. In the second quarter of 2026, the average hourly rate for day care was € 11.62, against a maximum of € 11.23. For out-of-school care it was € 10.58 against € 9.98 (Ministry of Social Affairs, second quarterly childcare report 2026, table 6). In 2025, 63% of allowance recipients paid more than the maximum hourly rate for at least one child (CBS, 2026).
The provisional maximum hourly rates for 2027 are € 11.60 for day care, € 10.31 for out-of-school care and € 8.77 for childminding (Government of the Netherlands, 21 September 2026). The ministry warns that the average rates come from data the Benefits Service does not check for an accurate picture of the market.
What does the SGEI mean for your profit and your bookkeeping?
The subsidy may not exceed your costs plus a reasonable profit, minus what parents pay themselves. If the subsidy is higher, that is called overcompensation, and the government must reclaim it (Government of the Netherlands, questions and answers on the SGEI). An SGEI is a service of general economic interest: the government supports it because the market would otherwise not provide it on socially acceptable terms.
What a reasonable profit is has not yet been set. There will be an independent study. According to the government, it is not a maximum profit for the organisation: only the subsidy is capped. Investments in quality or capacity count as costs, as do depreciation and interest on earlier loans (Government of the Netherlands, questions and answers on the SGEI).
- All activities within the SGEI go into accounts that you submit each year to a supervisor still to be appointed.
- Services outside the SGEI, such as hot meals for parents, are kept in separate accounts.
- You prepare one SGEI statement per holder. Revenue from one location may cover losses at another.
- Sale profit as a pension for the entrepreneur is still a point of attention in the elaboration, according to the government.
Anyone who already separates locations, costs and revenue per activity in their records will have less work later.
Will your organisation fall under the Top Incomes Act?
Only if your organisation is a legal entity. Because childcare will be paid for largely with tax money, the government wants to apply the Top Incomes Act to the whole sector. The act caps the income and severance pay of directors and requires openness about pay above the limit (Government of the Netherlands, questions and answers on the SGEI).
Sole proprietorships, such as many childminders, and general partnerships do not fall under it. Legal entities with a gross payroll below € 175,000 a year are, under conditions, exempt from the duty to publish pay (Government of the Netherlands). For a company with a director-major shareholder, this is a point to watch for their own salary.
What changes for childminders and childminder agencies?
The subsidy also goes to childminder agencies. Legally, the SGEI applies to all providers, including childminders. Childminders are, however, exempted from the extra obligations, because the subsidy they can receive is limited (Government of the Netherlands, questions and answers on the SGEI).
The number of childminder locations has been falling for years. In January 2021 there were 22,675, in July 2026 only 13,322. Over the same period, day care locations rose from 9,066 to 9,426 (Ministry of Social Affairs, second quarterly childcare report 2026, table 7).
What does research say about higher subsidies and more demand?
Higher subsidies lead to more demand, but the effect on work is modest. After the 2005 Childcare Act, public spending on childcare rose from 1 to 3 billion euros between 2004 and 2009. The reform raised mothers' employment by 2.3 percentage points and their hours worked by 1.1 hours a week (Bettendorf, Jongen & Müller, 2015). That research measures the act and a simultaneous tax credit together.
The government also expects demand to rise as childcare becomes more affordable. Because of staff shortages, it is therefore choosing a gradual transition (Government of the Netherlands, 21 September 2026). For the entrepreneur that means: more demand, but also more competition for staff. You can calculate staff costs under the collective agreement on the page about the childcare agreement (childcare collective agreement).
Sources
- Government of the Netherlands, Government plans for new childcare funding, read 1 November 2026 (in Dutch). rijksoverheid.nl
- Government of the Netherlands, Government takes important step towards new childcare funding system, news release 21 September 2026 (in Dutch). rijksoverheid.nl
- Government of the Netherlands, Childcare funding bill: questions and answers on the SGEI, 10 February 2026 (in Dutch). rijksoverheid.nl
- Statistics Netherlands (CBS), Childcare reimbursement rose further in 2025, news release 7 August 2026 (in Dutch). cbs.nl
- Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment, Second quarterly childcare report 2026, tables 6 and 7 (in Dutch). open.overheid.nl
- Bettendorf, L. J. H., Jongen, E. L. W. & Müller, P. (2015). Childcare subsidies and labour supply. Evidence from a large Dutch reform. Labour Economics, 36, 112-123. doi.org